Inside the secretive church that’s turn into Trump’s greatest feminine fan group | EUROtoday

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Among the hordes of Donald Trump supporters in attendance at marketing campaign rallies is a gaggle that the previous president fondly refers to as “those beautiful ladies from North Carolina.”

The ladies, usually pictured smiling bigly and of their Sunday finest, are all members of the identical evangelical church.

The Word of Faith Fellowship, in Spindale, was established in 1979, and in keeping with its web site its members “strive to live righteous, godly lives.”

But they’ve additionally been accused of utilizing foreigners, together with youngsters, for unpaid labor.

At his rallies, Trump has usually used ladies from the church – who’ve attended over 250 rallies – to show his reputation with feminine voters, proudly observing that they attend his rallies “without their husbands.”

“Somebody said, ‘Women don’t like Donald Trump,’” he stated from a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on August 30. “I said, ‘I think that’s wrong. I think they love me.’ I love them…”

He added: “They’re wealthy as hell. Look at them. They’ve got nothing but cash.”

According to the self-styled “North Carolina Girls”, and opposite to the previous president’s claims, the ladies and their husbands function a trusted volunteer arm of the Trump marketing campaign’s advance staff.

The New York Times experiences that the group arrives effectively earlier than the start of occasions, serving to to arrange chairs within the VIP part and run the media sign-in desk. In current months, the ladies’s husbands have additionally been seen distributing flooring passes and offering impromptu safety.

Despite this Trump makes no direct reference to the church itself and doesn’t title it when talking, maybe deliberately.

The Word of Faith Fellowship has confronted scrutiny way back to 1995, following a report by the TV information journal “Inside Edition” which culminated in an investigative sequence by two Associated Press reporters and later a e-book.

The AP investigation discovered that Word of Faith Fellowship used its two church branches in Brazil to siphon a gentle circulation of younger laborers who got here on vacationer and scholar visas to its 35-acre compound in rural North Carolina.

Some 16 Brazilian former members advised the AP they had been compelled to work, usually for no pay, and had been bodily or verbally assaulted. One particular person stated that staff had been handled “as slaves,” whereas one other claimed she was simply 12 years previous the primary time she was put to work.

Victims had been reportedly advised that they’d be “violating God’s will” in the event that they refused to do as they had been advised.

The church has vehemently denied all of the allegations, writing in an announcement on the time that it was “appalled” to study of the allegations, described as “obviously preposterous” and “all false.”

“Clearly, there is a group of people determined to stop at nothing in their campaign to destroy our ministry,” an internet assertion reads. “We are confident that the truth will ultimately prevail and we remain hopeful that the public will see through these fabrications and see them for what they are.”

Joshua Farmer, the group’s lawyer, advised The Independent that Word of Faith Fellowship had been “repeatedly vindicated against false attacks made against our church.” “The allegations in the Associated Press investigation are lies,” Farmer stated in an announcement.

Following an investigation, 4 congregation members had been convicted on federal fees in 2018 in reference to an unemployment advantages scheme. No fees had been introduced in relation to any allegations of abuse.

The church has remained a prevalent, although maybe controversial, participant in native Republican social gathering politics in Rutherford County, the place Spindale is positioned. In July, the church reportedly backed a fundraiser for embattled state Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who’s accused of writing posts calling himself a “black NAZI” on a porn web site.

When requested about Word of Faith’s position within the Trump marketing campaign and at rallies, Farmer supplied an announcement on behalf of the ladies and their husbands.

“We volunteer for the Trump campaign because we are fighting for our country and for the principles and values that have made this nation great. God has spoken to our hearts that President Trump is the person who will lead this country in the right direction,” the assertion learn.

“We have witnessed how President Trump’s leadership brought prosperity, safety, and liberty to America. His policies on important issues such as economics, immigration, foreign policy, and national security, have greatly benefited all citizens.

“Therefore, as a result of such compelling reasons, we have volunteered some of our time to further these principles and values that we share with President Trump.”

The Independent has reached out to the Trump marketing campaign for touch upon Word of Faith Fellowship’s attendance at rallies.