Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke Refuses to Wear Face Masks and Does Not Require Congregants to Wear One Because It’s ‘Utter Nonsense’
Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. | Instagram/Greg Locke
Pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Tennessee and popular internet personality Greg Locke said he is willing to go to jail to defend his right not to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic and says he has been telling his church members to do the same too.
“I’m so sick of this mask brigade nonsense. Bunch of Nazis,” Locke said in a video rant on Facebook Tuesday.
“We don’t require masks at our church,” he said. “We probably had 450 people crammed into a tent this weekend. Two people in the whole place had a mask. If they want to wear a mask, that is great, I’m not going to mandate it. As a matter of fact, I discourage it because I think it’s utter nonsense.”
Locke has nearly two million followers on Facebook and produces viral videos on the social media platform that reaches tens of millions. His video on Tuesday, which he says was triggered after a confrontation with a male staffer at an unidentified Dunkin’ store over his refusal to wear a mask, has already been watched by more than six million people.
“I’m pretty spittin’ mad about a bunch of nonsense. Did you know that there’s nothing in the American culture and nothing in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that has separated the body more than these stupid things right here? We call them safety precautions. No, what these are, these are gags, ladies and gentlemen,” Locke railed, calling masks “idols” that have been used to divide the Church.
“These have become idols. These don’t do anything whatsoever. They are the dumbest thing to have ever been created by humanity. They are scientifically proven to do Jack sprat! But I’ll tell you, religiously what they’ve done, they’ve divided the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. These things are so dumb,” he said.
Locke’s declarations come as more than 4.4 million people have been infected with the virus across the United States. More than 150,000 people have also died from COVID-19 related illnesses, according to the CDC, including former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who also publicly eschewed the wearing of masks.
The outspoken pastor’s advice on mask-wearing challenges a recent call from President Donald Trump to wear them and evidence from the CDC that affirms that cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 and could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities.
“We are not defenseless against COVID-19,” CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield said in a press statement earlier this month. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting. All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.”
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