Leader of church at center of scandal attends fundraiser for Lt. Gov. Forest

A photo provided to The News & Observer shows Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest at a fundraiser with a leader of a western North Carolina church that’s being sued by a former member who says church leaders tried to beat the “homosexual demons” out of him.

Forest, who was elected to a second term last year, is a socially conservative Republican who’s expected to run for governor in 2020.

The photo shows Forest standing in a living room with Robin Webster, a leader of Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale in Rutherford County, about 70 miles west of Charlotte. Word of Faith has come under scrutiny in recent months after 43 former members told the Associated Press that church members try to expel demons using “blasting” prayers where congregants were smacked, choked, punched and thrown to the floor.

A former member is suing the church, saying that five church leaders blasted him for two hours to try to expel his “homosexual demons.” The AP also reported the church has brought people from Brazil who say they were forced to work at the church or at senior church leaders’ businesses.

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