During the debate last week, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) denied that his church, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, had been evicting people from a building owned by the Church for which he works, while at the same time that same Church is paying him a $7417-a-month housing allowance. Herschel Walker nailed him on that and offered to pay the rent of the people that were being evicted.
Warnock subsequently tried to clarify, claiming there had been “no evictions.”
First, that wouldn’t change the fact that they were trying to evict the people for tiny sums in the middle of the pandemic. Imagine thinking that changes the nature of what is going on here or the hypocrisy of the scandal after he went after Republican candidates for not supporting a rent moratorium.
Second, what Warnock said is not true, as the Free Beacon reporter Andrew Kerr, who broke the story, explained:
Warnock is lying. 12 eviction lawsuits have been filed against residents of the building owned by his church since 2020. I talked with some of those sued who paid over 2 months’ worth of rent in court fees to stay in their homes. 2 lawsuits resulted in court-ordered evictions.
So Warnock is lying to the faces of the people of Georgia.
Kerr also noted again that Warnock has been the principal officer of the Ebenezer Building Foundation which owns the building and is managed by the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
But that’s not all, it gets worse.
Not only have they been trying to evict people for very small amounts who are barely late, but the building itself also appears to be a hell hole.
A low-income apartment building owned by Raphael Warnock’s church is plagued by pests, maintenance problems, and filth, according to residents–and at least two people have sued the building this year after the elevator allegedly collapsed on them.
Residents of the Columbia Tower at MLK Village complained about living conditions in the building, telling the Washington Free Beacon that garbage is left to pile up in the storage rooms for days, creating an “overwhelming trash smell,” common areas aren’t maintained, and the air vents produce a “sickening” amount of dust.
Tenants also said the elevators often break down, and handicapped residents have had to call the fire department to carry them to their rooms.
The Free Beacon further notes on Warnock:
Warnock serves as senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, which, through a charity it controls called the Ebenezer Building Foundation, owns 99 percent of Columbia Tower, according to records obtained by the Free Beacon. It’s not clear what Warnock’s role was in overseeing Columbia Tower. A repair grant Ebenezer Building Foundation filed in June, however, said Warnock “works closely” with Ebenezer’s executive pastor “in managing the overall vision, ministries, and operations” of the church.
As we previously reported, Georgia has opened an investigation into the Ebenezer Building Foundation because they don’t have an active registration for their charity, yet are operating in the state. A watchdog group has also filed a complaint with the IRS to audit the situation with the Church and the shell companies hiding ownership.
As we previously noted, despite the efforts to evict people for small amounts and the terrible alleged condition the building received millions in state and federal funding for taking care of the homeless.
After the debate last week, the Democratic mayor of South Fulton, Georgia, Khalid Kamau said Raphael Warnock’s dishonest answer about his church evicting tenants made him “a little queasy.”
You can say that again.