Kenneth Adkins was active in anti-gay politics in Jacksonville, FL, and someone the Republican party thought they could use to gain Black votes. After the Pulse Massacre, he tweeted
“Been through so much with these Jacksonville Homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!”
Jacksonville.com June 14, 2016
He moved to Brunswick, GA, where he was referred to as Bishop Ken Adkins. He was also arrested and convicted of child molestation, grooming two underage teens by saying he wanted to watch them have sex to ensure they were doing it right and then joining in with them. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 35 years.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated and arrested Adkins, but he was prosecuted by Glyn County DA Jackie Johnson who has been indicted for refusing to prosecute the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Her case is still ongoing as of August 2022. As Adkins is Black, they are alleging she was biased against him.
His defense is that the girl was sixteen when he had sex with the teens.
- Jacksonville.com: Brunswick pastor Kenneth Adkins tweets that homosexuals “got what they deserve”
- Florida Politics: How Hate Preacher Became Jacksonville’s Problem
- The Kenneth Adkins Freedom Project: Group advocating for a new trial
- Jacksonville.com: Judge sentences Kenneth Adkins to life in prison for child molestation
12 April 2017