First federal hate crime indictment handed down based on sexual orientation due to Kentucky Equality Federation president Jordan Palmer

The Georgia Voice

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today it has indicted two Harlan County, Ky., men for participating in the kidnapping and beating of a gay man.

This is the first indictment handed down under the federal Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act involving sexual orientation, according to a press release from the DOJ.

The federal grand jury indicted David Jason Jenkins, 37, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, "for kidnapping and assaulting Kevin Pennington, and for conspiring with each other and other unnamed individuals to commit the kidnapping," according to the press release.

"The indictment alleges that on April 4, 2011, the two defendants kidnapped and assaulted Kevin Pennington because of Pennington’s sexual orientation. According to the indictment, the defendants enlisted two women to trick Pennington into getting into a truck with the defendants, so that the defendants could drive Pennington to a state park and assault him. According to the indictment, the defendants then drove Pennington a secluded area of the Kingdom Come State Park in Kentucky and assaulted him," states the DOJ release.

According to a statement given to the Kentucky Equality Federation, Pennington said he begged his attackers to stop.

"The whole time I screamed and begged them to stop, I was screaming I'm sorry for whatever I had done to make them want to do this to me. I can remember seeing bright flashes of light every time one of them would stomp or punch me in the head with them telling me he was going to rape me asking me if I was going to suck his [edited] how they would hold me down if they had to and how he was going to [edited] me in the [edited] dry until I bled," Pennington said.

The two men face a life sentence if convicted.

President Barack Obama signed the federal hate crimes bill in October 2009.

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Kentucky men face first-of-their-kind federal hate-crime charges

Two Eastern Kentucky men are the first in the nation to be charged under the section of the federal hate-crimes law that makes it illegal to attack people based on their sexual orientation, said U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey.

Two cousins targeted a gay Letcher County man for a vicious assault because of his sexual orientation, a federal grand jury has charged.

The grand jury indicted cousins David Jason Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, of Partridge on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping and committing an act of violence based on the victim's sexual orientation.

They face a possible life sentence if convicted.

The two are charged in the beating of Kevin Pennington during a late-night attack in April 2011 at Kingdom Come State Park, near Cumberland.

Anthony Jenkins' wife, Alexis Leeann Jenkins, and his sister, Mable Ashley Jenkins, both 19, allegedly urged on the attack, yelling "kill that faggot," according to a court document.

Pennington, 28, said he was able to run away during a brief lull in the attack. He hid in the woods until the four stopped looking for him, then made his way to the ranger station to call for help.

Pennington said he suffered various injuries, including bruises over much of his body, a torn ligament in his shoulder, a closed-head injury and a torn ear.

In a telephone call recorded at the Harlan County jail after the four were arrested, David Jason Jenkins told his ex-wife that Anthony Jenkins didn't like Pennington because he was gay, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.

Pennington told the Herald-Leader there also had been some friction because he had rejected advances from David Jason Jenkins and, soon before the attack, from Mable Ashley Jenkins, who goes by Ashley.

According to the indictment, David Jason Jenkins, who goes by Jason, and Anthony Jenkins came up with a plan to assault Pennington because he was gay.

They had Alexis and Ashley Jenkins lure Pennington from his home with the promise to take him somewhere to get Suboxone, a much-abused pain drug, according to the indictment.

Court documents said the two men dressed in hooded shirts or jackets they thought would conceal their identities, and they disabled the interior light in Anthony Jenkins' extended-cab Chevrolet Silverado pickup so Pennington wouldn't be able to recognize them when he got in the back seat with the women.

Pennington said he'd seen the two men attack a friend of his in 2009 and wouldn't have gotten in the truck if he had known they were inside, according to a court document.

Pennington said once he realized who the men were, on the way to the state park, he asked them to let him out of the truck, but they refused.

The two men allegedly dragged Pennington from the truck at a secluded part of the park and punched, kicked and stomped him.

Jason, Anthony, Alexis and Ashley Jenkins were charged first in Harlan County in the attack, but the FBI filed a complaint last month charging the four with taking part in kidnapping Pennington.

The new indictment, returned Wednesday evening, added more charges against Jason and Anthony Jenkins. However, Alexis and Ashley Jenkins were not charged in the indictment.

Jordan Palmer, president of the Kentucky Equality Federation, said Thursday he was pleased to see a hate-crime charge filed in the case.

"We do believe that a hate crime occurred," Palmer said.

The federation, which advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to take the case.

Harvey said he has made enforcement of civil-rights laws, including the law on hate crimes, a priority since he took over as the top federal prosecutor for Central and Eastern Kentucky in May 2010.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has since conducted training for state and local police and prosecutors on federal civil-rights laws, and met with community groups to raise awareness. Harvey also has designated a unit in the office to focus on civil-rights enforcement.

Harvey said he could not comment on specifics of the case from Harlan County, but said "it certainly is the kind of case that will be a priority for us."

Lexington Herald-Leader: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/04/12/2148377/two-eastern-kentucky-men-indicted.html#storylink=cpy

Two Harlan County men indicted for federal hate crime Read more: The Harlan Daily Enterprise - Two Harlan County men indicted for federal hate crime

Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Perrye Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI jointly announced Thursday that two Harlan County men were indicted for their roles in kidnapping and assaulting a gay man because of his sexual orientation.

According to a press release, a federal grand jury in London returned a three-count indictment Wednesday charging David Jason Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, of Partridge, with kidnapping and assaulting Kevin Pennington in April of last year. The indictment also charges the men with conspiracy. Both men will be arraigned in London at 2 p.m. today.

According to the indictment, on April 4, 2011, the defendants enlisted the help of two women to lure Pennington into a truck with the defendants. According to the indictment, Anthony and David Jenkins transported Pennington to a secluded area of the Kingdom Come State Park and assaulted him.

Both defendants were indicted for committing a hate crime in violation of the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal jurisdiction to include certain assaults motivated by someone’s sexual orientation. This case marks the first case in the nation charging a violation of the sexual orientation section of the federal hate crimes law.

The Federal hate crimes law under which these defendants were charged, criminalizes certain acts of violence motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender.

This case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Kentucky State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hydee Hawkins and trial attorney Angie Cha with the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.

The kidnapping and assault offenses carry maximum penalties of up to life in prison.

Mable Jenkins, 19, of Partridge, and Alexis Jenkins, 19, of Partridge, were also arrested in March by federal authorities for their alleged involvement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday that information and further charges against the two women are pending at this time.

“People cannot assault people based on their sexual orientation,” stated Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer.

Read more: The Harlan Daily Enterprise - Two Harlan County men indicted for federal hate crime

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Kentucky advocacy group pushes first federal hate crime arrests

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Four people were charged Wednesday with kidnapping a man and taking him to a state park in Kentucky's Appalachian region, then severely beating him while yelling slurs about his sexual orientation.

The FBI arrested 37-year-old David Jason Jenkins of Cumberland, 20-year-old Anthony Ray Jenkins and 19-year-old Alexis Leann Combs Jenkins of Partridge and 19-year-old Mable Ashley Jenkins and charged them with kidnapping and aiding a kidnapping.

The charges stem from an incident on April 4, 2011, when, the FBI said, the four took the man against his will into Kingdom Come State Park near Cumberland in Harlan County and beat him until he escaped.

Kyle Edelen, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Lexington, said the kidnapping charge carries a maximum of life in prison and that the investigation is ongoing. Prosecutors have 30 days to bring the case before a grand jury.

Attorney Michael Murphy, who represents Alexis Jenkins, said he was assigned the case this morning and hadn't digested all of the details in the FBI's affidavit. But, Murphy also wondered about the time elapsed between the alleged attack and the federal charges.

"Why, after all this time, has the federal government come in and charged them now?" Murphy said.

Attorney James Hibbert, who represents Mable Jenkins, declined comment. Messages left for the attorneys for David Jenkins and Anthony Jenkins, were not immediately returned Wednesday.

The Kentucky Equality Federation, a civil rights group, pushed to have the four charged under a 2009 federal hate crimes law.

"We wanted this in federal court where the judges are appointed, not elected, so they don't have to keep a portion of the population happy," said Jordan Palmer, executive director of the group.

FBI Special Agent Anthony M. Sankey indicated in an affidavit that the investigation started out as one into a hate crime because of sexual orientation, but that the four have only been charged with kidnapping.

David and Anthony Jenkins were initially charged in state court with attempted murder, while Alexis and Mable Jenkins were charged with complicity to attempted murder. Anthony and Mable Jenkins are siblings. It was not immediately clear how, or if, they were related to David Jenkins and Alexis Jenkins.

Harlan County Commonwealth Attorney Henry Johnson said the March 27 trial in state court for the four will be called off and the charges likely dropped now that federal authorities have stepped in. Johnson said it made sense to let the case go federal because the potential penalties are greater.

"I've been aware of the fact that there was an investigation going on, and the federal authorities have been very thorough in their investigation on this," Johnson said.

Sankey said the man went for a ride with the four, but asked to be taken home after a few minutes. The group told the man they planned to go to Kingdom Come State Park near Cumberland in Harlan County, then return home.

The man told investigators that David Jenkins asked and then demanded a sexual favor from him, which was refused, Sankey wrote. Then, the man said, David Jenkins threatened to violently rape him, Sankey said.

Sankey wrote that the truck stopped in the park because a tree had fallen across the road and Anthony and David Jenkins pulled the man out of the truck, then hit and kicked him while "making anti-homosexual statements."

"During the attack (the victim) was covering his face and they were all screaming `how do you like this faggot?"' Sankey wrote. "Ashley yelled `yeah that what you like queer were gonna kill your ... now'."

In hand-written statements to police in April 2011, each of the four acknowledged having the man in the truck that night, and three of the four implicated David Jenkins as the instigator of the attack in those statements. Authorities said David Jenkins pointed to Anthony Jenkins as the one who began the attack, saying he only joined in after it had started. None of the four uses any anti-gay slurs in the statements.

Mable Jenkins said in her statement that David Jenkins got out of the truck when it stopped and "starts beating the crap out of the boy."

"So me, Anthony and Alexis get (David) off of him and get him in the truck and he jumps out again and starts hitting him again and finally we get in the truck and leave," Mable Jenkins wrote.

The man escaped when Anthony and David Jenkins went back to the truck to discuss getting a tire iron, Sankey wrote. After hiding behind some rocks for about 20 minutes, the man saw the truck drive away and made his way to a ranger station, Sankey added. Unable to locate a ranger, the man broke into the station and called 911.

Later, Sankey wrote, David Jenkins told an acquaintance in a recorded phone call that Anthony Jenkins initiated the attack on the man, but said he was beaten with "our fists," and that Anthony Jenkins disliked the man because he was "a faggot."

The man suffered injuries to his chest, head, back, face, neck and ear. The man was treated at a hospital and later released. Palmer said the man has access to counseling and is "doing better than he was."

"He was afraid for his life," Palmer said.

Four face federal charges after allegedly assaulting gay man

Four people face federal charges in the alleged kidnapping of a gay man in Harlan County who said they attacked him because of his sexual orientation.

The four aided one another in kidnapping Kevin Pennington and holding him for the purpose of assaulting him, according to a federal complaint sworn out by Anthony M. Sankey, an FBI agent.

The alleged crime was a federal offense because the four used instruments of interstate commerce in the crime: a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and U.S. 119, a federal road.

Charged are David Jason Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland; Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, and his wife, Alexis Leeann Jenkins, 19, of Partridge; and Mable Ashley Jenkins, 19, also of Partridge.

The two men are cousins, and Mable Ashley Jenkins, who goes by Ashley, is Anthony Jenkins' sister, Pennington has said.

It is a federal crime to attack a person because of his or her sexual orientation. The four have not been charged under that federal hate-crimes law, but defense attorneys said it's likely they will be.

Alleged violence against a gay person "is going to get you a hate crime," said Andrew M. Stephens, a Lexington attorney who represents David Jason Jenkins.

The four had their initial appearance in federal court in London on Wednesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins said in court that the government would ask to have all four held in jail until the trial. They face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The alleged assault that led to the charges happened last year.

Pennington, 28, of Letcher County, said he had known the four for years and once had had a relationship with a male relative of Anthony and Ashley Jenkins.

Pennington told the Herald-Leader that about a week before the alleged kidnapping, Ashley Jenkins asked him to go out with her, but he turned her down in pointed terms, angering her.

Pennington said he also had rejected advances from David Jason Jenkins.

Sankey, the FBI agent, said in a sworn statement that Pennington told him that the two young women came to his home on April 4 and that Ashley Jenkins said she wanted some Suboxone. That is a pain medication often abused in Kentucky.

Pennington said he already had arranged to get a Suboxone strip. The two agreed that Ashley Jenkins would drive Pennington to get the drug and pay for it if he would share it with her, according to Sankey's affidavit.

David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Jenkins were in the truck outside.

The group skipped the drug buy because some of them were concerned the source was cooperating with police. Instead, Anthony Jenkins drove to Kingdom Come State Park, just outside Cumberland, refusing Pennington's request to let him out.

Jenkins parked on a trail, then he and Jason Jenkins dragged Pennington from the truck and began punching and kicking him, he told Sankey.

Pennington said the two women cheered on the attack, yelling "Kill that faggot," and "You're going to die out here," Sankey said in his statement.

During a lull in the attack, Pennington was able to run away and hide in the woods. He waited until the four stopped looking for him and left, then limped to a ranger station and called for help.

Pennington said he sustained various injuries, including bruises over much of his body, a torn ligament in his shoulder, a closed-head injury and a torn ear.

Jason and Anthony Jenkins were charged in Harlan County with attempted murder, and Ashley and Alexis Jenkins with complicity.

In statements to police, Anthony, Ashley and Alexis Jenkins pointed to Jason Jenkins as the main aggressor. Jason Jenkins admitted hitting Pennington but said Anthony Jenkins hit him first, according to his statement.

Jason Jenkins told his ex-wife in a call recorded at the jail that Anthony Jenkins didn't like Pennington because he was gay.

A woman who was in jail with Ashley and Alexis Jenkins said the two had bragged about helping plan the attack and talked of how funny Pennington looked lying on the ground while the men beat him, according to Sankey's affidavit.

Commonwealth's Attorney Henry Johnson said Wednesday that he would drop the state charges against the four. The stiffer potential penalty and the lack of parole in the federal court system make it a better venue to handle the case, Johnson said.

The Kentucky Equality Federation, which advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersex people, had urged federal authorities to investigate the alleged attack on Pennington, arguing it was a hate crime motivated by his sexual orientation.

Jordan Palmer, president of the federation, applauded the federal charges in the case.

"In a civil society, we must live together in peace and harmony," Palmer said in a statement. "We cannot allow citizens to be targeted because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, Latino, or any other manner you can separate and label a person."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/14/2109216/four-arrested-by-fbi-for-alleged.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Four from Cumberland charged with kidnapping Case remains under investigation by FBI

Joe P. Asher; Staff Writer
Published: March 15, 2012

Four Harlan County residents are being held on federal charges of kidnapping. The Kentucky State Police assisted the FBI on Tuesday evening in picking up David Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland; Anthony Jenkins, 20, of Partridge; Mable Jenkins, 19, of Partridge; and Alexis Jenkins, 19, of Partridge.

The arrests stem from an alleged incident where two men and two women took Kevin Pennington to Kingdom Come State Park and he was severely beaten in April of last year.

Pennington reportedly sustained injuries to his head, chest, back, face, left arm and leg, his neck and ear.

According to an affidavit prepared by FBI Agent Anthony Sankey, Pennington was at his home when the two female defendants stopped by and asked Pennington if he would go riding with them.

Pennington stated he did not know who was in the truck when he first entered, but did recognize two male defendants when a light was turned on in the truck. Upon recognizing them, Pennington asked to be taken home and was told they were just riding up to the park and would turn around.

The affidavit also stated, the vehicle stopped when they drove up on a fallen tree across the road on Little Shepherd Trial. The two male defendants then pulled Pennington from the vehicle and started to punch and kick him while making anti-homosexual statements. During the attack Pennington was covering his face and they were all screaming "how you like this faggot."

Pennington was able to escape when the defendants went back to the truck, while they walked to the truck they were discussing getting a tire iron. Pennington jumped down the mountain and hid behind some rocks where he hid for approximately 20 minutes after seeing the headlights pull away.

Pennington then made his way to the park ranger station in search of help. He was unable to locate any park rangers, so he broke out a window in the park manager's residence and used the telephone inside to call 911. He remained at the residence until the police arrived.

David and Anthony Jenkins were originally arrested on indictment warrants returned by a Harlan County Grand Jury on a charge of attempted murder. Mable and Alexis Jenkins were served with indictment warrants on a charge of complicity to attempted murder. These charges will be dropped in deference to the federal case.

Also alleged in the affidavit, "there is sufficient probable cause to believe that David Jason Jenkins, Anthony Ray Jenkins, Mable Ashely Jenkins and Alexis Leeann Jenkins, aided and abetted by each other, did willfully and unlawfully kidnap, abduct, seize, confine, inveigle, decoy and carry away, Kevin Pennington and hold him for the purpose of assault, and did use an instrumentality of interstated commerce, to wit; a vehicle and an interstate road, in committing the offense, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. SS 1201 (a)(1) and 2."

At this time, federal authorities have not charged the defendants with a hate crime, however, the investigation is still ongoing.

"United States Attorney Kerry Harvey has shown enormous outreach and support of the federal hate crimes legislation," Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer said in a statement. "We have remained in regular contact with the commonwealth's attorney, county attorney, and the United States Attorney throughout this investigative process.

We also extend our thanks to Commonwealth's Attorney Henry Johnson and County Attorney Fred Busroe Jr."

Palmer continued, "In a civil society we must live together in peace and harmony. We cannot allow citizens to be targeted because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, Latino, or any other manner you can separate and label a person."

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Feds arrest 4 in alleged hate crime

Debbie Caldwell: Editor
Published: March 14, 2012

An alleged hate crime has now moved to the federal level. Four people are being held in federal custody at the Laurel County Detention Center for the alleged beating of a man at Kingdom Come Park last year. The Kentucky State Police assisted the FBI on Tuesday evening in picking up David Jenkins, 37, of Cumberland; Anthony Jenkins, 20, of Partridge; Mable Jenkins, 19, of Partridge; and Alexis Jenkins, 19, of Partridge.

The arrests stem from an alleged incident that was investigated by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Matt Cope, who now works for the Harlan County Sheriff's Office. It was investigated by Cope because of it allegedly occurred on state park property.

Cope said in a previous report that a 911 call came in at 11:47 p.m. on April 4. It's alleged that two men and two women took Kevin Pennington to Kingdom Come State Park and he was severely beaten.

David and Anthony Jenkins were arrested on indictment warrants returned by a Harlan County Grand Jury on a charge of attempted murder.

Mable and Alexis Jenkins were served with indictment warrants on a charge of complicity to attempted murder.

The Kentucky Equality Federation, an advocacy group for equal treatment of all citizens became involved with the case and asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the alleged hate crime in Harlan County.

In a recent press release, the Federation described the incident as "an unprovoked attack on a gay man" that was motivated by hate or intolerance toward sexual minorities. The group forwarded a report of the alleged hate crime to U.S. Department of Justice, and it also renewed its request that the Department intervene under newly federal hate crimes legislation.

Harlan County Commonwealth Attorney Henry Johnson said some prosecutors met with him and some members of his staff and had discussed the case along with a representative of the victim. "Because of the fact that the federal penalties for a hate crime of this nature are more stringentthe consensus was if the federal authorities were willing to undertake the case that would be a good course of action. Everybody was in agreement on that," Johnson said. "So, there was an investigation conducted and apparently it has resulted in federal indictments. The state case was set for trial on March 27, but that will be dropped in deference to the federal prosecution."

Johnson said the federal investigation has been under way for some time. "I've been aware of the fact that there was an investigation going on, and the federal authorities have been very thorough in their investigation on this," Johnson said. "They've put a lot of time and effort into it. I know they have really done the work that needs to be done for the federal indictments to be returned."

Information on the federal charges was not available at press time. The Enterprise will attempt to get information today for a follow-up on this report.

Mable Jenkins
David Jenkins
Alexis Jenkins
Anthony Jenkins

Harlan Daily Enterprise
Heartland Publications, LLC.

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Feds step up enforcement of hate crimes in Central, Eastern Kentucky

To those who might consider attacking people because of their race or sexual orientation, U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey has a message: Don't.

"They need to understand that they're playing with fire, that it won't be tolerated," Kerry said in an interview Friday.

Harvey said he has made enforcement of federal civil-rights laws — including the law regarding hate crimes — a priority since he took office in May 2010 as the top federal prosecutor for Central and Eastern Kentucky.

He designated a unit within the office to focus on civil-rights enforcement, and on Thursday the office hosted a training session for state and local police and prosecutors.

About 100 people attended the training.

It was the first such session during Harvey's time as U.S. attorney, said Kyle Edelen, spokesman for the office.

One focus was changes in federal hate-crimes law.

In 2009, Congress broadened the law to add crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, disability and gender to the list of hate crimes, according to Harvey's office.

Harvey said he could not discuss pending cases, but confirmed the changes "have generated some activity on our part."

Harvey said he wants to educate the public about civil-rights laws, and to deter people from committing hate crimes.

The federal hate-crime law also covers violent acts motivated by the victim's race, color, religion and national origin.

Harvey pointed out that while an assault might be considered a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by no more than a year in prison, the attack could be charged as a felony hate crime under federal law if it was motivated by the victim's race, sexual orientation or other factors covered by the law.

That could bring a sentence of up to 10 years, or life if the crime included aggravating factors such as kidnapping or sexual abuse.

Harvey said he wants police to be aware of the hate-crimes law and the changes so that they will be more likely to spot whether a crime was motivated by bias.

Kentucky State Police statistics show there were 69 hate crimes reported in Kentucky in 2010, according to Harvey's office.

Harvey said it's likely many hate crimes go unreported.

The U.S. Attorney's Office that covers Western Kentucky hosted a training session last year for state and local police that focused on hate crimes and human trafficking, according to Stephanie Collins, spokeswoman for the office.

Jordan Palmer, president of the Kentucky Equality Federation, which advocates for gay, lesbian, transgender and intersex people, applauded Harvey's focus on civil-rights enforcement.

"He's shown enormous sensitivity, enormous outreach," Palmer said.

The federation asked federal authorities to investigate alleged assaults on a gay man and a lesbian woman in Harlan County last year.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/02/24/2082534/feds-step-up-enforcement-of-hate.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Pastor's support of gays, lesbians leads to church leaving Baptist association

Lexington's Central Baptist Church withdrew from the Elkhorn Baptist Association after its minister's supportive position on gay and lesbian issues was questioned by a pastor in another association church.

The Rev. Mark Johnson, pastor at Central Baptist, said his church unanimously decided to split from the association in December. Johnson said the move stemmed from questions raised over comments he placed on his blog last fall suggesting that Jesus would have been supportive of gay and lesbian people.

Don Reed, executive director of the Elkhorn Baptist Association, said Thursday that Central Baptist chose to leave the organization before Elkhorn ever looked into questions about the blog post.

Now Central Baptist Church's decision is drawing praise from the Kentucky Equality Federation, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians.

Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer said in a statement, "We need more churches like this across the commonwealth. Everyone's relationship with God is personal and not for any one person or any association of churches to condemn or frown on."

Central Baptist withdrew from the Southern Baptist Convention and Kentucky Baptist Convention in fall 2000 in what church officials said at the time was a response to growing conservatism in both organizations.

But Central Baptist had remained in the Elkhorn Baptist Association, which includes more than 80 Baptist churches in Lexington and Central Kentucky. Formed in 1785, Elkhorn Baptist Association is the oldest Baptist organization west of the Allegheny Mountains. Central Baptist Church, which has about 350 members, joined the association almost 60 years ago, Johnson said.

Central Baptist officials released a statement saying the church has "no feelings of animosity toward or alienation from" Elkhorn Baptist Association, but members thought it was "best to officially part ways."

Johnson said events leading to the split began in October, when the Rev. David Prince, pastor of preaching and vision at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, wrote to the Elkhorn Baptist Association membership committee questioning statements Johnson made Sept. 23 on his blog.

In his post, titled "Who Stole Jesus," Johnson applauded a church in Indianapolis that believes Christ "would be a strong advocate and defender of equal rights for all persons, including those in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community."

Prince said Wednesday that individual Baptist churches are free to believe as they wish, but he considered Johnson's blog comments to be outside the "doctrinal commitments of the Elkhorn Baptist Association."

"A church sadly and tragically disqualifies itself by certain practices, conduct, preaching or doctrine contrary to the doctrinal statement," Prince said. "In my mind, that alone at least clarified that the pastor (at Central Baptist) was outside the bounds of our shared doctrinal commitment."

Prince said he simply suggested that the Elkhorn Baptist Association membership team "look into" the question.

Reed, the Elkhorn Baptist Association director, said Thursday that the organization received Prince's inquiry but that Central Baptist decided to leave before any action was ever taken.

The association never looked into whether Johnson's statements conflicted with doctrine, Reed said.

Johnson said in a statement that Central Baptist was faced with a choice of "should we fight to stay or graciously and quietly just go?"

"When we were informed that one church was perhaps asking the membership committee to look into what was going on, we felt that given the nature of how Baptists go about this, it probably wouldn't be a very nice experience," Johnson said. "We just felt, since we'd left the other two organizations, maybe it was time to leave the third."

Johnson said Central Baptist wanted to be "identified as an open and inviting fellowship for God's people."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/02/16/2071697/pastors-support-of-gays-lesbians.html#storylink=cpy

Kentucky Equality Federation makes the Top 10 in the 2011 Kentucky Top News Recap

Kentucky Equality Federation made # 2 on the Top 10 List for "2011 Kentucky Newspapers." From our Rally in Hazard, KY to our defense of victims of Hate Crimes, our partnership with StoryCorps, and Jordan Palmer being in the national magazine, The Atlantic.