Georgia police officer resigns after refusing to delete post defending traditional marriage

A 19-year-old Georgia ex-police officer chose his Christian faith over the threat of termination for sharing his beliefs when his command instructed him to refrain from making religious posts unless they were "a direct quotation from scripture."

Jacob Kersey, who started at the Port Wentworth Police Department last May, told The Daily Signal that "everything was going well" at his new job until his supervisors requested that he remove a Facebook post on his traditional views on marriage.



"God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church," he wrote in the post, referring to the Apostle Paul's words in the biblical Book of Ephesians. "That's why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage."

According to the report, someone took offense to this and brought it to the administration's attention on Jan 3, the day after Kersey made the offending post.

When Kersey declined to delete the post on grounds of his religious beliefs, his boss told him that this could result in termination. Next, the former officer said he was contacted by Lt. Justin Hardy, who said Kersey's public beliefs on marriage are a liability issue for "use of force" against members of the LGBTQ community.

Still, Kersey refused to take down the post.

Later that day, Maj. Lee Sherrod reportedly ordered him to come back to the office the following morning and return all city property in his possession. At this point, Kersey thought he was going to be fired, he told the outlet.

The next day, Kersey was met by Sherrod and Hardy, as well as Capt. Nathan Jentzen, and Chief Matt Libby. During the meeting, the young officer said he was "being placed on administrative leave while the city investigated to see if I could keep my job."

"I was told that I was wise beyond my years, an old soul, and that they brag on me all the time, but that I couldn't post things like that," he recalled in his interview with the Daily Signal.

Kersey claimed that Libby told him his post was the "same thing as saying the N-word and 'F— all those homosexuals.'"

He also reported that Jentzen warned him that free speech "was limited due to my position as… a police officer." 

Kersey was then placed on administrative leave for a week pending an investigation into whether he could keep his job. After the week was up, his supervisors informed him that he wouldn't be fired so long as he didn't share his religious opinions on social media.

According to the 19-year-old, he was instructed to only post direct quotations from the Bible, but  would be terminated if he again shared his "interpretation or opinion on Scripture if it was deemed offensive."

In a Jan. 13 letter from Sherrod, Kersey was reminded that "if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as [unable] to perform, your job in a fair and equitable manner, you could be terminated.”  

Just four days later, Kersey decided to resign his position after feeling bullied by department officials into censoring his own beliefs.

"I decided to resign… because I just didn't think it wise to go back and play their game," Kersey said, noting that "the way things went down, I didn't feel as if my command really had my back."

"Even though I resigned, it was made clear to me in the meetings by my command staff that if I was to go back to work, they could fire me at any time for any reason, as I was still in my work test period," he continued. "Those aren't very encouraging statements to make to an officer who is on administrative leave after being led to believe he was terminated."

According to Kersey, the whole ordeal was shocking because he has had his own Christian conservative podcast for years, where he has covered such issues. Despite sharing his religious beliefs on "The Jacob Kersey Program," he didn't have "people complaining about things that I said when I was off duty on my own time on the podcast."

"I'm sure people disagreed. I'm sure people didn't agree with everything that I said as a conservative Christian, and that's fine," Kersey said of his show. "But I came to work, I did my job, I was professional, and I had a great relationship with all my co-workers, who come from all different backgrounds and belief systems." 

In a Friday post, Kersey reiterated his feelings when it comes to homosexuality.

"I don't hate homosexuals. I don't hate adulterers. I don't hate fornicators. I don't hate idolaters. I don't hate sinners. For I was one!" he tweeted. "I love Jesus and Jesus loves people. Jesus wants to transform sinners the same way He transformed me."

"This country was founded upon men who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for freedom of religion. In that same country, I was told that I would get fired for being outspoken about my religion," he said in another post.