U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s Georgia church has some explaining to do after it was uncovered that it owns an apartment building where residents are being evicted onto the street while paying thousands a month for the pastor’s home.
The Washington Free Beacon published a bombshell story that highlights hypocrisy when it comes to the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The church is reportedly booting tenants for being in arrears for as little as $28.55 in past-due rent.
“Unemployment benefits have expired, rent is due today, and many Georgia families are at risk of eviction in the middle of a pandemic,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote in a tweet in August 2020, accusing his Republican opponent of being “clearly only concerned with serving their own interests” at the time. Those chickens are now coming home to roost thanks to the Beacon’s in-depth reporting.
The leftist senator also serves as senior pastor at the church drawing a salary along with a lavish $7,417 monthly housing allowance.
NEW: Records obtained by @FreeBeacon reveal Raphael Warnock's church, which pays him a $7,417 monthly housing allowance, secretly owns a low-income apartment building that tried to evict residents during the pandemic.
One for just $28.55 in late rent.https://t.co/nAXcUi4qdX
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
Pandemic unemployment benefits and eviction protections will expire this month.
And it's all because @Kloeffler and Senate Republicans refuse to fight for families.
Pandemic relief is at stake in the #GASen race. #GASenDebate #VoteWarnock
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) December 7, 2020
A Fulton County marshal carried out a court-ordered eviction notice less than 3 weeks after Warnock sent this tweet.
The resident was sued for late rent of just $28.55 https://t.co/6n7gFvDcYE
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
“Plaintiff DEMANDS … Possession of the premises … Past due rent of $28.55 for the month(s) Feb … $75.00 Late Fee + $60.00 Court Cost + $250.00 Consq Exp”
This lawsuit was filed not even halfway into February 2020. The resident wasn’t even 2 weeks late paying their rent. pic.twitter.com/ZXdnoTqIXP
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
The church owns 99 percent of the Columbia Tower at MLK Village in downtown Atlanta, according to documents obtained by The Washington Free Beacon. Those documents describe the building as a home for the “chronically homeless” and those with “mental disabilities.” And yet, they are being kicked out the door despite the church’s proclaimed Christian principles and its purported obeyance to Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings.
During the pandemic, a dozen eviction lawsuits were reportedly filed against Columbia Tower residents. The total sum of the back rent sought in these proceedings was $4,900. Less than one month of Warnock’s housing allowance.
In a legalistic two-step, the church’s business partner, Columbia Residential, filed the lawsuits.
Warnock’s carefully crafted image of fighting for the downtrodden just took a massive hit with this unexpected revelation.
Financial statements indicate that the church closed out 2021 with cash and “cash equivalents” exceeding $1.2 million.
Warnock’s church has the resources to help these people.
It pays Warnock a $7,417 monthly housing allowance as he serves in the Senate, and the church’s audited financial statements obtained by @FreeBeacon show it ended 2021 with cash and “cash equivalents” exceeding $1.2 mil.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
Since early 2020, 12 eviction lawsuits have been filed against residents of Columbia Tower at MLK Village, which Warnock’s church owns 99% of.
The average rent owed by the residents clocked in at just $125 a month.
The building has received over $15 million in taxpayer funding.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
The Free Beacon interviewed some of the residents. They didn’t even realize that Ebenezer Baptist Church owns their building. They did, however, state that they live under landlords who are eviction-happy, even if they miss paying the rent by just a few days or are a bit short.
“They treat me like a piece of sh*t. They’re not compassionate at all,” Columbia Tower resident Phillip White, a 69-year-old African American proclaimed. He served in Vietnam.
White received an eviction notice on Sept. 20 for failure to meet a $192 rent payment. This is the second time they have tried to evict White, who received his first eviction notice in September 2021 for $179 in past-due rent. That case was eventually dropped after he paid his rent, plus an additional $325 in fees, according to the Free Beacon.
“They treat me like a piece of shit. They’re not compassionate at all,” Columbia Tower resident Phillip White told me.
White is a 69-year-old African American who says he served in Vietnam and received an eviction notice on Sept. 20 for failure to meet a $192 rent payment.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
The building tried to evict White in September 2021 for $179 in past-due rent. He said the case was dropped after he paid up, plus an additional $325 in fees.
White plans to fight his latest eviction, but he will do so without legal representation. He doesn’t even own a phone.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
Other stories are very similar to White’s.
The report by the Free Beacon claims there are ties between Warnock and Columbia Residential, the property manager of the building. Columbia Residential founder and CEO Noel Khalil, who passed away in October 2021, donated $14,000 to Warnock’s 2020 Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Columbia Tower claims to be a landing spot for those who have fallen on hard times. A mural on the side of the building calls it a “Safe Haven.” The building has received over $15 million in federal and state funding to shelter the chronically homeless since 2005.
In late August, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) awarded the church $5 million in leftover federal COVID funds to renovate all the apartment units in Columbia Tower.
Ebenezer said in a June application seeking $5 million in funding from Georgia to renovate the apartment that it owned 99% of Columbia Tower, and that its charity was founded in part to facilitate its ownership of the building.
Note the building address. Same as the lawsuits. pic.twitter.com/sG2UMOSoYw
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
Since the apartment complex is owned by a church, it pays almost no property taxes. The current market value of the property is $1.72 million. According to Fulton County tax records, Ebenezer and Columbia Residential have paid $77.77 in property tax over the past seven years.
“It’s disheartening. It’s horrible. It’s actually horrifying,” one resident told the Free Beacon. “We need the help. I understand churches take care of their pastors, but the excess, it’s not good. Not when you have people that need help here.”
“I put in the wrong card number. The money was in the bank but it didn’t go through. The next day I rectified the situation, but they still served papers,” the unidentified resident stated, adding that she ultimately paid more than $300 in court fees.
“It was devastating and surprising. I know they have the ability to be patient with me and let me pay my rent. And it was paid,” the resident commented. “I asked for patience, but I was totally ignored.”
None of the residents of the building I spoke with had any idea that Ebenezer Baptist Church owned their building.
One resident told me she was served an eviction lawsuit during the pandemic after she paid her rent one day late.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
Warnock is in the midst of a very tight Senate race against Republican nominee Herschel Walker. The race could potentially determine control of the Senate in 2023.
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