(RNS) — The previous president of an evangelical get-out-the-vote nonprofit, which seeks to inspire Christian voters to advertise household values and “biblical fact” within the public sq., was charged Monday (Nov. 4) with eight counts of possessing little one pornography.
Jason Yates, former CEO of My Religion Votes, was charged throughout a video courtroom listening to within the District Courtroom of McLeod County, Minnesota. State officers allege that from February 2023 to July 2024, Yates possessed a tough drive with digital pornographic photos of minors beneath 14 years of age.
The Minnesota Bureau of Prison Apprehension started investigating the 55-year-old Yates on the finish of July after a relative, recognized in courtroom paperwork as “Witness #2,” unintentionally found a tough drive containing over 100 photos of kid porn in Yates’ workplace, in accordance with an announcement of possible trigger filed within the case. That relative advised a second relative, recognized as “Witness #1,” who turned the arduous drive over to legislation enforcement. In accordance with courtroom paperwork, the arduous drive allegedly comprises each nonetheless photos and movies of pornography involving minors beneath 14.
Throughout an interview on Sept. 13, Yates allegedly confirmed that the arduous drive didn’t belong to Witness #2 however declined to present legislation enforcement a password for encrypted recordsdata on the arduous drive.
“Defendant said that he had a previous conviction, which had been expunged, associated to CSAM/little one pornography,” the criticism filed towards Yates alleges.
An lawyer for Yates declined to remark.
For a lot of its historical past, Jason Yates was the CEO and president of My Religion Votes. He was nonetheless listed as CEO on the group’s web site as of Aug. 19 however his identify and picture had been eliminated someday after that date.
The group’s web site blames Christians for failing to face up towards “secular progressives” — which the group faults for a bunch of social ills.
“Because of apathy on the voting sales space and in public life, we’ve suffered devastating ethical decay, declining non secular freedom, immoral nationwide debt, and the erosion of conventional household values,” the group’s web site reads.
In early July, a couple of weeks earlier than the arduous drive allegedly containing little one porn was turned over to police, Yates wrote an op-ed for The Washington Occasions, urging Christians to combat “sexually deviant” messages geared toward youngsters, primarily about LGTB points.
“This infernal programming is being downloaded into our kids, and it turns into far simpler when it finds no resistance in our public sq. — when it’s allowed to fill the void left by the absence of our religion,” he wrote.
A biography of Jason Yates from April 2024 describes him as having left a company profession in 2015 to change into CEO of My Religion Votes. Together with selling voting amongst Christians, he served on the board of a number of different ministries.
Yates’ listening to on Monday occurred only a few hours earlier than My Religion Votes held an internet pre-election prayer occasion, urging listeners to vote for candidates who assist Christian values.
Based because the Imaginative and prescient Charitable Belief in 2007, My Religion Votes started spending tens of millions beginning in 2016 to inspire Christian votes. The group was based by Sealy Yates, an influential Christian literary agent for best-selling authors similar to Chuck Swindoll, John Maxwell, Mark Driscoll and Ben Carson — with Carson serving as an honorary chairman when the nonprofit started specializing in voting. Former presidential candidate turned conservative discuss present host Mike Huckabee at present serves because the group’s honorary chair.
Sealy Yates didn’t reply to a request for remark. His relationship to Jason Yates isn’t clear.
Wired journal lately described My Religion Votes as certainly one of a bunch of nonprofits geared toward rallying assist for former President Donald Trump via get-out-the-vote efforts. My Religion Votes can be one of many companions of the “Letter to the American Church” movie based mostly on a e-book by pro-Trump radio host Eric Metaxas, which claims America is being overtaken by secular forces.
Jason Yates expressed concern in an interview this previous summer season that evangelical Christians would possibly sit out elections and mentioned, because of this, My Religion Votes was asking Christians to signal a pledge to vote in each election.
“As a Christian, I decide to voting for candidates and insurance policies that uphold the sanctity of life, the standard household, non secular liberty, and justice for all,” the pledge reads. “I consider that my biblical values ought to information my selections on the poll field, guaranteeing that our nation’s legal guidelines and leaders mirror God’s fact and righteousness.”
My Religion Votes additionally produced a sequence of movies, known as “Suppose Biblically,” geared toward educating church small teams about social and political points. Launched this previous summer season, the video sequence options audio system similar to Albert “Al” Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Texas pastor and writer Voddie Baucham; and former Deliberate Parenthood staffer-turned-anti-abortion advocate Abby Johnson.
“It’s time Christians let their religion information their politics — aligning their views with God’s Phrase and boldly confronting right this moment’s cultural challenges,” Yates mentioned in a video asserting the sequence. “It’s essential that we reject apathy and assume biblically concerning the points in entrance of us, and this sequence is the perfect useful resource to assist Christians navigate each political difficulty via the lens of the Phrase.”
