Pete Buttigieg impersonator whips Jesus in bizarre anti-gay protest
Pete Buttigieg protest where an impersonator “whips” a man dressed as Jesus Christ (Scott Olson/Getty)
A bizarre anti-gay protest in Iowa has seen a Pete Buttigieg impersonator whipping a man dressed up as Jesus Christ while being egged on by Satan.
Gay presidential candidate Buttigieg has been canvassing in Iowa this week where he has been met by a number of anti-LGBT+ protesters.
In the bizarre scene—videos of which were shared online by Marcus DiPaola and Charlotte Alter—a man dressed up as Satan shouted: “Beat him Peter, beat him. I hate this guy. More blood, Peter. Every vote is a lash on the back of Christ.”
In another video, the Satan impersonator talks about how he loves drinking a cup of “warm blood” in the mornings.
Oh my god. The protester has a fake @PeteButtigieg whipping Jesus on a cross. I have no words. pic.twitter.com/VxeqXbfAIs
— Marcus J. DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) April 17, 2019
The protesters were reportedly from the Society for Truth and Justice. The same group has staged similar protests in the past involving whippings of Jesus Christ and impersonations of other politicians.
Pete Buttigieg has faced a number of anti-gay protests in Iowa
This was not the only anti-gay protests Buttigieg faced in Iowa. On Tuesday, he was met by protesters who shouted “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah” at him, according to CNN. The quote references the Biblical cities where residents engaged in “sexual immorality” and were punished with “eternal fire.”
In another incident, a protester stood up and said: “Grandparents, do you want your grandchildren following his example? God loves us… but he stands for the murder of unborn babies.”
“The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.”
– Pete Buttigieg
After the man was removed by security, Buttigieg—who is mayor of South Bend, Indiana—defused the tension with a joke.
“That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator,” Buttigieg said afterwards. “I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently and never question one another’s choices.”
At one point, Buttigieg said: “The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.”
Pete Buttigieg (Scott Olson/Getty)
Pete Buttigieg has opened up about coming out as gay when he was 33-years-old
Since Buttigieg officially announced his candidacy for the presidency on Sunday, he has been busy on the campaign trail.
This week, he was interviewed by Rachel Maddow where he opened up about his experience of coming out as gay at 33-years-old.
When asked by Maddow why he didn’t come out sooner, he said: “I guess I just really needed to not be [gay],” he explained. “There’s this war that breaks out I think inside a lot of people when they realise that they might be something that they’re afraid of. And it took me a really long time to resolve that.”
Buttigieg’s openness could be winning him more support. Hollywood stars including Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Glee‘s Jane Lynch, West Wing‘s Bradley Whitford and Mandy Moore of This is Us are among those to have made donations to his campaign.
