Governor Lee's pastor apologizes for his account of DC riots

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - In a written statement, Governor Lee's pastor apologized for sharing information that was deemed later to be inaccurate about the Washington D.C. riots.

Steve Berger says that the reporting of facial recognition systems identifying Antifa activists at the capitol was wrong. He shared that a report that claimed Antifa activists were being bused to Washington was also incorrect.

Berger made the comments during a Facebook LIVE from Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.

Berger claims he was in D.C. for meetings set up before the capitol protest was planned. He said he walked through the National Mall praying for America. He says he was back in his room by 11 a.m.

"I, in no way, intentionally misled or would mislead anyone," Berger said in the Facebook Live obtained by News 4. "There have been threatening, hateful accusations hurled at me that has no basis in reality, even by other church leaders."

The pastor closed by saying, "The events that happened at the Capitol were tragic, deadly, and unpatriotic. I condemn these actions unequivocally. Sadly, they are all too reflective of the vitriol within too many people."

A Christian organization of all denominations is asking the governor to denounce his pastor's actions. Members from the Southern Christian Coalition are calling on faith leaders to "act with integrity and honesty" and "not use their public profiles for political gain or to spread conspiracies."

Faith leaders ask governor to reject his pastor's account of D.C. riot

A Catholic organization is asking the governor to denounce the actions of his pastor after he was one of the people at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.