Coronavirus: Florida pastor says parents 'transgendering little children' caused the outbreak
A right-wing evangelical pastor attempted to explain the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, claiming that the new strain is God's "death angel," and parents "transgendering little children" are to be blamed for the virus. Christian Pastor Rick Wiles from Florida also blamed "the filth on our TVs and our movies" for the virus's swift transmission.
Wiles, who is the creator of the TruNews streaming channel, on Monday, described China — the epicenter of the coronavirus — as having a "godless communist government," citing it as one of the reasons why the country has been severely affected.
China has seen nearly a 500 percent jump in the number of deaths from 26 on Friday, January 25, to 131 as of January 29. The number of confirmed infected cases has also seen a sharp increase from 1287 to nearly 6,000 in China alone in mere five days. The new virus, named 2019-nCoV, has reached at least 16 countries across the world. At least five cases have been confirmed to have the virus in the United States.
The pastor attempted to equate the spread of the virus with God's "judgment", saying "plagues are one of the last steps of judgment" and warned Americans to "get right with God," the Right Wing Watch reported.
Wiles addressed the outbreak of the deadly virus in his evening broadcast, saying: "Look at the spiritual rebellion that is in this country, the hatred of God, the hatred of the Bible, the hatred of righteousness. Just vile, disgusting people in this country now, transgendering little children, perverting them. Look at the rapes, and the sexual immorality, and the filth on our TVs and our movies. Folks, the Death Angel may be moving right now across the planet. This is the time to get right with God."
Wiles added that his "spirit bears witness that this is a genuine plague that is coming upon the Earth, and God is about to purge a lot of sin off this planet."
The evangelical pastor had created controversy previously by calling former President Barack Obama a "demon from hell." He had also commented on President Donald Trump's impeachment, saying "there's gonna be violence" if the Republican was removed office.