A weekend worship service at Pastor Jamal Bryant’s church turned tense after an uninvited preacher barged into the building, pulled out a camera, and began shouting condemnations at the congregation mid-service.
Bryant, the senior leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, is now calling for authorities to identify and arrest the man, arguing that the disruption crossed the line from free speech into criminal behavior.
Video from the incident, which has circulated widely online, shows a white, self-described evangelical street preacher standing near the entrance to the sanctuary and loudly denouncing the church and its members.
Witnesses say he accused the congregation of moral corruption and hurled insults directly at Bryant while filming himself inside the building.
Church security eventually escorted the man off the property. No injuries were reported, and the service resumed.
Bryant addressed the moment on his Let’s Be Clear podcast, framing it as an intentional disturbance inside a sacred space.
“A white evangelical nationalist pastor had the audacity — he and his wife — to get out of his car… and for propaganda and disturbance, filmed themselves coming into our church using hate speech,” Bryant said. “And since you are against places of worship being disturbed… when is the arrest warrant?”
The pastor questioned what he called inconsistent enforcement when it comes to protecting houses of worship, especially Black churches.
After demonstrators interrupted a service in Minnesota earlier this year, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “We do not tolerate attacks on places of worship,” and federal authorities later arrested media figure Don Lemon in connection with that incident.
Bryant is asking for that same urgency to apply here.
Black churches have long been targets of violence, from bombings during the Civil Rights era to the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church, where nine people were killed during Bible study.
“This is not about disagreement,” Bryant said on the show. “It is about safety.”
As of this writing, the preacher’s identity remains unknown, and it’s unclear whether a formal investigation has been launched.