Pastor praying for Obama's death sparks protests

Summary

Dozens of demonstrators gathered Sunday outside Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe to protest the message preached by the Rev. Steven Anderson.

Story Published: Sep 7, 2009 at 8:12 PM PST

Story Updated: Sep 7, 2009 at 8:27 PM PST

Pastor praying for Obama's death sparks protests
PHOENIX (AP) - An Arizona pastor has triggered protests after preaching a sermon last month titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama."

Dozens of demonstrators gathered Sunday outside Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe to protest the message preached by the Rev. Steven Anderson.

In his August 16th sermon, Anderson quoted Old Testament passages about the kind of people that God hates, and said they apply to President Obama.

Anderson told his congregation that he doesn't advocate taking up arms, but he does pray that Obama will die for the good of the nation.

Protesters on Sunday told KNXV-TV that they believe Anderson is guilty of hate speech.

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