■ Screenshot of the front page of the "Tom Greene for Sheriff" website.

Saturday May 5, 2007  –  An election campaign for the sheriff of a practically unheard of county in America’s Pacific Northwest is hardly the place one would expect to find itself in the middle of a row involving the homophobic preacher Dr. Ken Hutcherson, The White House, the Department of State, the FBI, Latvian gays and the Riga-based New Generation Church together with a preacher from Kazakhstan.

But a four-paragraph item in today’s Everett Herald mentioning that Tom Greene, who is campaigning for election as Snohomish County Sheriff, is holding a fundraising breakfast at the Holiday Inn later this month caught our eye.

While we have never heard of Mr. Greene – or even Snohomish County (head north out of Seattle and you will soon cross the border between King County and Snohomish County), we did recognise the name of the event’s guest speaker.

Dr. Ken Hutcherson, the former linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL, founder and chief of the Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, near Seattle, and, he claims, “special envoy of the White House”.

■  Hutcherson speak in Riga last March.  “I come to you representing the White House”

The bottom line is that the campaigning law enforcer, in his bid to be elected sheriff, is being backed by an alleged law-breaker.

Hutcherson has links to the New Generation Church, which is based in Riga, Latvia, and headed by Alexei Ledyaev, a native of Kazakhstan

In February, Ledyaev was accompanied by Hutcherson on a visit to the White House for a meeting with Jay Hein, the head of President Bush’s “Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives”, set-up by the President in January 2001 to protect traditional Christian values in the society.  The office is under the President’s direct control.

Hutcherson claims that at this meeting, Hein appointed him a “special envoy” of the White House – a claim that the White House is denying.

However, Hutcherson has spoken publicly spoken of his “White House status”.

“I come to you representing the White House,” he told congregants at the New Generation Church service in Riga on Sunday Match 11.

On the same day, Dr. Scott Lively, co-author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuals and the Nazi Party who accompanied Hutcherson to Riga, posted a message on the New Generation’s forum under the heading Riga Mission Prayer Request.

“With me is Dr. Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church of Seattle, who has been granted the status of Special Envoy of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives of the White House,” Lively posted – the full post can be seen HERE. 

At a press conference in Riga on March 12, Hutcherson told reporters:  “We are here to investigate that US [is] not used for lobbying one group’s interest over others.  I have power and authority to ask such questions.”

He claimed to have had meetings at the US Embassy in Riga, but officials there will neither confirm or deny this.

On returning to the USA, Hutcherson emailed his church’s “Prayer Warriors” on March 16:

Dear Prayer Warrior,

Thank you for praying for my call to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. It went very well.

I was honored to receive a commission by the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives as a Special Envoy in the following areas: Adoptions, Family Values, Religious Freedom, and Medical Relief, which allowed me to meet with the Latvian government.

The purpose of the trip to Latvia was to support the Latvian government as they stand for Family Values and Religious Freedom in their country.  I met with all the Religious Leaders in Latvia except two.  I also met with the Ministers of Integration, Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Human Rights and Parliament.

The successful result of the meeting was to foster complete agreement to work together in the future to strengthen family values.  All agreed to keep traditional values of marriage between a man and a woman and ensure that marriage remains an institution between a man and woman as well as ensure religious freedom within the country.

During my meeting with the American Embassy I expressed that many in the Latvian Parliament and many of the Latvian people believe that they in the American Embassy support the Homosexual agenda.  I talked to them about their funding of many Homosexual groups against the wishes of the majority of the Latvian people.

Pray that my discussions will produce a change of policy.  That is what we are expecting when we receive the full report that I requested from the Embassy.

Continue to pray that the new influence that God has granted through me serving as a special envoy for the White House will be effectively used as I deal with the adoption issue in the United States this next week.

Your Pastor,

Hutch

So how does all this fit in to Hutcherson being an alleged law-breaker?

The United States Code, at Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 43, § 912: Officer or employee of the United States, reads:

Whoever falsely assumes or pretends to be an officer or employee acting under the authority of the United States or any department, agency or officer thereof, and acts as such, or in such pretended character demands or obtains any money, paper, document, or thing of value, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

Both the Department of State and the FBI are said to be investigating Hutcherson’s “envoy” claims.

With the White House denying that Hutcherson had been given any special status for his trip to Latvia, and Hutcherson claiming that he has “video proof” (though he is refusing to produce this), it is a certain case of “oh no we didn’t” and “oh yes they did”.

So, in true British pantomime tradition, perhaps there should also be the “behind you” message sent out to the Bureau Chief of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office who is now campaigning for election as sheriff..

■ The Seattle-based Gay Curmudgeon has some interesting research on Hutcherson.  Click HERE for all Hutcherson-related articles.

SEE ALSO

The Anti-Gay US-Latvian Axis: Homophobes of All Nations, Come Together!  By Kārlis Streips.  Once again we can prove to ourselves that religious extremists do not live in our world, they live in some parallel world which they alone are aware of.  It has been reported that the noisy structure known as “New Generation” invited an American called Kenneth Hutcherson to visit.  (UK Gay News, March 30, 2007)

This Is War, Anti-Gay American Preacher Hutcherson Tells Europe.  As news emerged that a new “anti-gay” group had been registered in Latvia, the plot thickened as to the involvement of an American preacher with religious groups in the country who told an American newspaper: “this is a war”, referring to his anti-gay campaign in Europe.  (UK Gay News, March 26, 2007)

Anti-Gay Latvian Group Charges Blair With Interfering In Domestic Politics.  A letter of protest has been sent to British Prime Minister Tony Blair by the Latvian “No Pride” group, which organised the protest against Riga Gay Pride last year when demonstrators threw excrement at Pride participants.  (UK Gay News, March 12, 2007)