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Open Letter To District Attorney and Local
Pastors in El Paso
District Attorney, Jaime Esparza, Tries to
Intimidate the Church
by Tom Brown
  When I
was in Malta preaching the Gospel, my wife, Sonia, told me the shocking
news: The District Attorney
was investigating me, and looking for a way to indict me and throw me
into prison. I think Mayor Cook wanted the DA to intimidate the churches so
they
would back off from
the recall. I was shocked that this was happening to me. Was I living in
the United States that affords me constitutional rights, or was I living in
China?
Anyone, no matter which side of the
political fence they are on, has to be horrified to think that the
government would use its power to try to imprison political opponents. But
it is happening here in El Paso, Texas. It is time for the Church to arise
and stand for our constitutional rights. It is time to say "no" to bullies
like Mayor Cook and District Attorney, Jaime Esparza.
Here's the facts: Jaime Esparza received a
referral from the Attorney General about a complaint they received. At
first, Jaime Esparza gave the impression that the Attorney General wanted
him to investigate me. He let the citizens and the press erroneously think
that he was doing what the Attorney General asked him to do.
But on
further investigation, the Attorney General never ordered or even asked
him to investigate me. Their referral was an ordinary referral brought to
them by a
gay affirming organization, accusing me of breaking the election code.
The group, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, has been
after me for a long time. They complained to the IRS about me; nothing
happened. So now they are using the District Attorney to do their dirty
work. Everyone should have the right to propagate their religious views on
gay marriage, but it's not right to use the strong arm of the law to
intimidate opponents, which is what the group, with the help of the DA, is
doing. In my view this amounts to an abuse of power of the DA to investigate
me.
Something similar happened during the Mexican Revolution which resulted in
the 1917 constitution, which barred bishops, priests, deacons and the laity
from involvement in politics, freedom of worship and redress of grievances.
This is exactly what Mayor Cook has done--using the court system to stop our
freedoms. But make no mistake, we will not shut up. We not not stop fighting
for our rights.
I am asking the DA to do the right thing:
End the investigation in my life and ministry. Mr. Esparza, quit using your office
to intimidate people of conservative religious views. I know you must do
your duty to investigate possible crimes, but you were not elected by the
people to conduct witch-hunts, and to scare church goers. I can tell you the
way most ministers feel: an attack against one minister is an attack
against us all. We ministers will not stand for this and will work in
any legal way to make sure religious liberties are protected.
Now the District Attorney has used the Grand Jury to
subpoena the recall petitions and has ordered the City Clerk to appear
before the Grand Jury to testify as a witness. I have a reliable source that
told me that the District Attorney attempted to indict the three that did
the recall, but the Grand Jury came back with a "no bill", which means the
District Attorney had little or no evidence of any wrong doing. Shame on him
for even attempting to indict these fine citizens. At this point the
District Attorney has not tried to indict me, but does that means Jaime
Esparza will later try to indict me and maybe others since he apparently
already tried. This action will be a huge
mistake for the DA and will be sure to rally huge support for our religious
liberties. Mr. Esparza, you do not intimidate me, because I am not afraid to
go to jail. Great saints before me has suffered prison, torture, and even
death. I will be proud to stand in the shadows of the prophets in the Old
Testament, in the shadows of the apostles in the New Testament, and
ultimately, in the shadow of our blessed Lord and Savior who was arrested,
tried, found guilty and executed. But the Romans forgot one thing: It was
only Friday...Sunday was coming. Our Sunday will come!
Pastors need to stand along side their fellow worker in the Kingdom. Right
now, the DA is going after me, but who is next? When will it stop? We need
to let Jaime Esparza know that if he attacks ONE he attacks us ALL. Already
we have seen an attack against our religious freedom in El Paso. First it
was an attack against me, then it was an attack against all churches by
removing them from polling places, then the attack was against
Pastor Alfredo Sanchez who was forced to stop praying with a High School
Football team, and now the secularists have gone after
Pastor Charles Nieman and his Abundant Living Faith Center by
criticizing his giving toys and showing a Christmas play to school children.
If you are a pastor and would like to join the
Pastor Council to protect our
religious liberties, then click here.
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