Stephen C. Lee is one of the lesser-known figures indicted with former President Donald J. Trump in Fulton County, Ga., on charges of unlawfully conspiring to keep Mr. Trump in power after the 2020 election.
But on Thursday night at an evangelical church near Chicago, dozens of people held their arms aloft and prayed over Pastor Lee at a fund-raiser where he was portrayed as an American hero — and a victim of religious persecution.
“We’re going to be talking about the weaponization of government against religion,” Gary S. Franchi, Jr., a host on a conservative online news channel, declared from the pulpit at Families of Faith Ministries in Channahon, Ill., at the start of the event.
“We’re going to be supporting ‘America’s chaplain,’ and religious liberty, here tonight.”Pastor Lee, 71, is a former law enforcement officer who became a Lutheran minister and currently leads a small church in Orland Park, Ill.
He says he has offered spiritual support to police officers and victims after some of the worst American tragedies of the last quarter-century, including the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado and the Sept. 11 attack in New York.
Persons:
Stephen C, Lee, Donald J, Trump, Pastor Lee, —, “ We’re, Gary S, Franchi, Jr, ‘, ” Pastor Lee
Organizations:
Faith Ministries, Columbine High School
Locations:
Fulton County ,, Chicago, American, Channahon ,, Orland Park, Colorado, New York