Jerry Falwell Jr.

Jerry Lamon Falwell Jr. (/ˈfɔːlwɛl/; born June 17, 1962) is an American attorney and academic administrator. He served as the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, appointed in 2007 upon his father's death. On August 7, 2020, the board of Liberty University requested that he take an indefinite leave of absence after a series of controversial photographs of Falwell surfaced on social media.[1]

This article is about Jerry Falwell Jr. For his father, see Jerry Falwell Sr.

Jerry Falwell Jr.
2nd President of Liberty University
In office
May 15, 2007 – August 7, 2020
Preceded byJerry Falwell Sr.
Succeeded byJerry Prevo (acting)
Personal details
Born
Jerry Lamon Falwell Jr.

(1962-06-17) June 17, 1962
Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Becki Tilley
Children3
ParentsJerry Falwell Sr.
Macel Pate Falwell
RelativesJonathan Falwell (brother)
EducationLiberty University (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)

Early life and education

Jerry Falwell Jr. was born on June 17, 1962, the eldest son of Jerry Sr. and Macel Falwell (née Pate).[2] He attended private schools in the Lynchburg area, attending Lynchburg Christian Academy (later renamed as Liberty Christian Academy) where he graduated in 1980, and attended Liberty University where he obtained a B.A. in religious studies in 1984.[2] Falwell then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he obtained Juris Doctor in 1987.[2]

Career

From 1987 until 2007, Falwell served in private practice in Virginia and as the lawyer for Liberty University and its related organizations. He joined the Board of Trustees of the university in 2000.[2]

As part of a succession plan the elder Falwell laid out before his death, Jerry Jr. was to be entrusted with Liberty University while Jerry Sr.'s other son, Jonathan Falwell, inherited the ministry at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The decisions were rooted in each's personality: Jerry Jr. had aggressive business instincts, and Jonathan was a more charismatic and morally upstanding character.[3] This succession plan took effect when Jerry Sr. died in 2007.

Under Falwell Jr., Liberty University has come under scrutiny for its authoritarian control over employees and students, for its nepotism toward Falwell family-owned businesses in the school's investments, and for the increasing influence of Falwell's wife Becki in school affairs. A 2019 Politico article described the University as a "dictatorship" in which Falwell ruled through fear; it also reported that the University sold merchandise promoting Donald Trump's presidential campaign; that Falwell Jr. had crude discussions about his sex life at work; and that Falwell Jr. showed other Liberty employees provocative photos of his wife.[3]

In June 2020, he had posted a racist remark, leading to two football players' withdrawal from the school.[4]

Politics

Muslims

Falwell stated during one of the University's Convocations that he thought that, if, speaking of the 2015 San Bernardino attack, "some of those people had got what I have in my back pocket right now," that it would not have happened. He said that he was astounded that Barack Obama's answer to the problem was more gun control. He "always thought that, if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them."[5][6]

His comments were criticized by both Christians[7] and Muslims.[8] According to one report, Falwell was only heard saying "then we could end those Muslims before they walked in", with the "and killed them" part drowned out by applause. Falwell later said he was referring to Muslims committing terrorist attacks and not Muslims in general.[9]

Donald Trump

On January 26, 2016, Falwell announced his endorsement of Donald Trump for the Republican Nomination in the 2016 Presidential Election; causing some Liberty University alumni and other Christians to express concern that Falwell had "sold his soul."[10][11] On July 21, 2016 at the RNC convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Falwell Jr. called Trump "America's blue collar billionaire" and "one of the greatest visionaries of our time" in his endorsement of the candidate he felt most likely to defend the "right to bear arms," "stop Iran...from becoming a nuclear power," and "appoint conservative pro-life justices to the Supreme Court." [12]

President Donald Trump and Falwell, 2017.

In an August 19, 2016 editorial in The Washington Post, Falwell compared Trump to Winston Churchill: "We need a leader with qualities that resemble those of Winston Churchill, and I believe that leader is Donald Trump."[13] A group called the "Red Letter Christians"[14] criticized Falwell for the pivotal role he played in "forging the alliance between white evangelicals and Donald J. Trump, who won 81 percent of their vote."[11] Trump, who is a personal friend of Falwell's, gave the commencement address in 2017 at Liberty University, Lynchburg which is "at the heart of pro-Trump evangelical Christianity".[11]

In August, following a white supremacist terror attack in Charlottesville, Falwell defended President Trump, saying that the President doesn't have "a racist bone in his body," adding that the president is being attacked by "thin-skinned Americans". ... "You know, he's a little abrasive sometimes in the way he says things, and we have some thin-skinned Americans sometimes who ignore the substance of what he's saying because they're put off by his demeanor," Falwell said. "And I think we need to grow up as a people and stop being so easily offended."[15]

Asked in a January 2019 interview, "Is there anything President Trump could do that would endanger that support from you or other evangelical leaders?", Falwell answered, "No."[16]

Israel

In June 2016, Falwell expressed support for Israel when Liberty University moved to invest $5 million of its endowment in Israel. Falwell stated, "Liberty is glad to be part of supporting the only democracy that's a close ally of the United States (in an area) that is in such turmoil right now."[17]

In April 2017, Falwell referred to Trump as the "dream president" for evangelicals, and cited "uniting with Israel" and appointing "people of faith" in his administration as the reason why evangelicals support Trump.[18]

Coronavirus response and conspiracy theories
See also: Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was spreading quickly in the United States, leading to the widespread closures of schools and universities.

By March 13, most universities in Virginia's announced that they were moving their classes to online only, discontinuing in-person instruction.[19] Falwell announced on March 13 that in-person classes at Liberty University would resume following spring break (March 14–22, 2020) in defiance" of "nationwide calls for mandatory school closures."

Also on March 13, Falwell promoted a conspiracy theory that North Korea and China conspired together to create the coronavirus.[20] He also said that people were overreacting to the coronavirus outbreak and that Democrats were trying to use the situation to harm President Trump.[19]

After spring break on March 23, without the knowledge of city officials,[21] Falwell reopened Liberty University to students to physically return to the campus despite calls for the campus to stay closed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Falwell then claimed that the mortality rate among young people was low.[22] He also blamed the media for exaggerating the threat of COVID-19, saying, "They are willing to destroy the economy just to hurt Trump."[23]

In response to Falwell's decision to reopen Liberty University, Lynchburg Mayor Treney Tweedy said in a statement:[24]

I want the residents in this community to know that at no time did I or the City Manager endorse having the students return to Liberty University's campus or any of the other college or university campuses in our community. In fact, it is quite the opposite. When we asked President Falwell to close his campus, he explained that he had to remain open for on-campus international students who had not gone home, some lab classes and the School of Aviation. President Falwell also noted that the University would be moving to an on-line platform for instruction. ...

I was very surprised and disappointed to later learn of President Falwell's most recent decision to allow students back on campus. We are in the midst of a public health crisis. I am concerned for the students, faculty and employees at Liberty University, and I am also very concerned for the residents of the Lynchburg community. Liberty University is an important part of this community; however, I believe it was a reckless decision to bring students back on campus at this time. It is unfortunate that President Falwell chose to not keep his word to us and to this community.

Virginia's Governor, Ralph Northam, criticized Falwell's decision to reopen Liberty University, citing scripture to support his statement.[25]

Marybeth Davis Baggett, a professor at Liberty University, has protested against Falwell's reopening of the university. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post and Religion News Service, Baggett called Falwell's decision a "foolhardy decision [that] tracks Falwell's conspiratorial thinking about COVID-19 and smacks of defiance." She continued, "[Falwell's] public comments on the pandemic have manifested bravado, self-congratulation and callousness in the extreme, as ... he spewed far-fetched, unsubstantiated and misleading information about the coronavirus outbreak. ... By continuing to flout the danger of this novel coronavirus, Falwell also encourages reckless behavior in the university's students."[26]

Prior to the school's reopening on March 23, Liberty University's leading physician at the school, Thomas W. Eppes Jr. informed Falwell that, "We've lost the ability to corral this thing."[27] Of Liberty University's 15,000 on-campus students, 1,900 students initially returned, and 800 subsequently left after initially returning. Falwell said that, the university administration had "no idea" how many of these students had "returned to off-campus housing." By March 30, according to a report by the University's leading physician, almost a dozen returning students had symptoms of COVID-19, eight students were told to self-isolate, three were tested and one student that lived off campus, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.[27] By March 30, any student who returns to Liberty University is required to self-quarantine for 14 days.[27]

An anonymous student filed suit against Liberty U in April. "Liberty's decision to tell its students that they could remain on campus to continue to use their housing, meal plans, parking, and the benefits of the services and activities for which their fees paid, was not only illusory and empty—because there were no more on-campus classes—but it was also extremely dangerous and irresponsible," the lawsuit states.[4]

Lawsuits

Falwell was sued over a Miami Beach, Florida hostel, which he had invested in along with Giancarlo Granda, a pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Hotel. The lawsuit was first filed in 2015; it was dismissed and then refiled in August 2017.[28] Falwell has denied any relationship, business or otherwise, with Granda, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and insisted that the pictures of him at the hostel were altered.[3]

On July 15, 2020, Liberty University announced that they are suing The New York Times, along with reporters Elizabeth Williamson and Julia Rendleman, for defamation. The complaint claims that The New York Times published an article that "intentionally misrepresented that Liberty had 'reopened' its campus after spring break and suffered a COVID19 outbreak as a result."[29] The lawsuit refers to the article titled "Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus Fears, Too."[30] The lawsuit asserts that The New York Times and reporter Elizabeth Williamson falsely claimed that Liberty University's handling of the virus and the university's response lead to an outbreak of COVID-19 on Liberty's campus, and that reporter Elizabeth Williamson intentionally published false and defamatory claims.

Possible governmental positions

In November 2016, Falwell said that President-elect Donald Trump offered him the position of United States Secretary of Education but that he turned down the offer citing personal reasons and because he did not want to leave Liberty University for more than two years.[31] In January 2017, Falwell said that he had been asked by President Trump to head a task force on reforms for the United States Department of Education.[32] In June 2017, Falwell confirmed to the Chronicle of Higher Education that he would be one of 15 college presidents participating in the task force.[33] The task force was never formed.[34]

Personal life

Falwell is married to Becki Tilley.[2] They have three children, among them businessman Jerry "Trey" Falwell III, and live on a farm in Bedford County, Virginia.[2]

Photographs

2019

In 2019, Reuters reported that Falwell asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen for a personal favor: to help get rid of photos described by Cohen as being "personal" and of the sort that would typically be kept "between husband and wife." Falwell's lawyers refused to comment.[35] Most of the photos were later discovered to be of Falwell's wife.[36]

According to Brandon Ambrosino, writing in Politico in 2019:[3]

Longtime Liberty officials close to Falwell told me the university president has shown or texted his male confidants – including at least one employee who worked for him at Liberty – photos of his wife in provocative and sexual poses.

At Liberty, Falwell is "very, very vocal" about his "sex life," in the words of one Liberty official – a characterization multiple current and former university officials and employees interviewed for this story support. In a car ride about a decade ago with a senior university official who has since left Liberty, "all he wanted to talk about was how he would nail his wife, how she couldn't handle [his penis size], and stuff of that sort," this former official recalled. Falwell did not respond to questions about this incident.

2020

In August 2020, Falwell published a photograph on Instagram (since deleted) of himself with his jeans unzipped and his hand around the waist of a young woman whose shorts are similarly unzipped;[37] the image was taken at a party on a private yacht, which Falwell later explained as the result of a dress-up theme to the Trailer Park Boys television series.[38] These included photos of himself and others in group photos showing them in partial states of undress and suggesting the consumption of alcohol, actions that violate the Liberty University code of conduct. Falwell had his arm around a woman on a yacht, both with their pants unzipped.[39][40][41] A former instructor at the university, Congressman Mark Walker (R-NC), called for Falwell's resignation.[42] On August 7, Liberty University announced that Falwell would be taking an "indefinite leave of absence" from his positions.[1][39]

References
  1. "Jerry Falwell Jr to take leave of absence after racy photo". BBC News. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  2. "Jerry Falwell: President". Liberty University. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  3. Ambrosino, Brandon (September 9, 2019). "'Someone's Gotta Tell the Freakin' Truth': Jerry Falwell's Aides Break Their Silence". Politico. Retrieved September 9, 2019. photos of his wife in provocative and sexual poses.
  4. Budryk, Zack (August 6, 2020). "GOP congressman calls for Falwell's resignation". TheHill. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  5. Jim DeMint — The Integration of Politics and Spiritual Maturity. Lynchburg, Virginia. December 4, 2015. Event occurs at 46:53. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. Manch, Rob (December 9, 2015). "Jerry Falwell, Jr. defends his statements about Muslims and gun control opposition". WSLS 10. Lynchburg, Virginia. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. Merritt, Jonathan (December 6, 2015). "Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Troubling Remarks on Guns". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  8. Wheaton, Oliver (December 6, 2015). "University President: 'If more people had guns, we could end those Muslims'". Metro. Retrieved December 6, 2015. Falwell has been accused of 'anti-Muslim bigotry' by Ibrahim Hooper from the Council on Islamic-American Relations.
  9. Tobi Walsh and Jessie Pounds (December 4, 2015). "Update:Falwell defends convocation remarks - 'I'm not backing down'". The News & Advance. Lynchburg, Virginia. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  10. Clark, Heather (January 27, 2016). "Liberty University Alumni Express Concerns About Falwell After 'Soul Selling' Trump Endorsement". Christian News Network. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  11. Goodstein, Laurie (May 23, 2018). "'This Is Not of God': When Anti-Trump Evangelicals Confront Their Brethren". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  12. Rohr, Alex (July 21, 2016). "Falwell's GOP convention speech echoes his father". The News & Advance. Lynchburg, Virginia. Retrieved September 9, 2019. Falwell often compares his endorsement of [Donald Trump] to his father, The Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., endorsing divorced actor Ronald Reagan over Baptist Sunday school teacher Jimmy Carter.
  13. Falwell, Jerry Jr. (August 19, 2016). "Jerry Falwell Jr.: Trump is the Churchillian leader we need". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  14. "What is RLC?". Red-Letter Christians. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  15. Blue, Miranda (August 17, 2017). "Jerry Falwell Jr.: 'It's Offensive For Anyone To Say That President Trump Is A Racist'". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  16. Heim, Joe (January 1, 2019). "Jerry Falwell Jr. can't imagine Trump 'doing anything that's not good for the country'". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  17. Pounds, Jessie (June 18, 2016). "Liberty University makes $5 million investment in Israel, more anticipated". The News & Advance. Lynchburg, Virginia. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  18. Mazza, Ed (May 1, 2017). "Jerry Falwell Jr. Calls Donald Trump The 'Dream President' For Evangelicals" – via HuffPost.
  19. Heim, Joe (March 13, 2020). "Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. says in-person classes to continue". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2020. 'It's just strange to me how so many are overreacting,' Falwell said, comparing media coverage of the novel coronavirus to coverage of earlier epidemics. 'It makes you wonder if there's a political reason for that. Impeachment didn't work, and the Mueller report didn't work, and Article 25 didn't work. And so maybe now this is their next attempt to get Trump.'
  20. Peters, Jeremy W. (March 18, 2020). "From Jerry Falwell Jr. to Dr. Drew: 5 Coronavirus Doubters". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2020. Mr. Falwell ... shared a theory that he said he had heard from a local restaurant owner: Perhaps the North Koreans and the Chinese colluded to spread the coronavirus inside the United States.
  21. Markay, Lachlan; Bredderman, William; Messer, Olivia (March 24, 2020). "Falwell Misled Me on Reopening Liberty University, City Manager Says". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  22. Griffith, Janelle (March 24, 2020). "Coronavirus: Liberty University's Jerry Falwell Jr. welcomes students back amid pandemic". NBC News. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  23. Folley, Aris (March 24, 2020). "Liberty professor slams Falwell's decision to welcome back students, calls for campus to be shut down". The Hill. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  24. "Mayor Treney Tweedy Issues Statement Regarding Liberty University, COVID-19 & the Lynchburg Community". The City of Lynchburg, Virginia. March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  25. Wilson, Reid (March 25, 2020). "Virginia governor 'concerned' over Liberty University reopening". The Hill. Retrieved March 25, 2020. As we are told in First Corinthians, it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Proving faithful means providing clear and consistent guidance. And it means respecting the duty that Liberty has to its students, staff, the Lynchburg community in which it is located, and our Commonwealth, referring to 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)
  26. Baggett, Marybeth Davis (March 23, 2020). "I work for Liberty University. Jerry Falwell Jr. is taking an extreme path that threatens lives". The Washington Post. Religion News Service. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  27. Evelyn, Kenya (March 30, 2020). "Liberty University student tests positive for Covid-19 after Falwell reopens campus". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  28. Roston, Aram (May 31, 2018). "Jerry Falwell Jr. And A Young Pool Attendant Launched A Business That Sparked A Bitter Dispute". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  29. "Liberty University, Inc. vs The New York Times Company" (PDF). PRNewsWire. July 15, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  30. Williamson, Elizabeth (March 29, 2020). "Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus Fears, Too". The New York Times.
  31. "Falwell says Trump offered him education secretary job". Associated Press. November 26, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  32. Blumenstyk, Goldie (January 31, 2017). "Jerry Falwell Jr. Says He Will Lead Federal Task Force on Higher-Ed Policy". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  33. Guttman, Nathan (June 13, 2017). "Evangelical Scion Jerry Falwell Jr. To Serve On Trump Higher Ed Taskforce". The Forward. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  34. Young, Will E. (July 24, 2019). "Inside Liberty University's 'culture of fear'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2019. in the end, the task force was never formed
  35. "Exclusive: Trump fixer Cohen says he helped Falwell handle racy photos". Reuters. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  36. Hanks, Douglas; Brown, Julie K. (June 19, 2019). "How cut-rate SoBe hostel launched Jerry Falwell Jr. 'pool boy' saga, naked picture hunt". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2019. images not of Falwell, but of his wife in various stages of undress.
  37. Mazza, Ed (August 4, 2020). "Jerry Falwell Jr. Shares, Then Deletes, Bizarre Pic With His Pants Unzipped". Huffpost Canada. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  38. Dias, Elizabeth (August 7, 2020). "Jerry Falwell Jr. Taking Leave of Absence From Liberty University". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  39. Mosbergen, Dominique (August 7, 2020). "Jerry Falwell Jr. Taking 'Indefinite Leave Of Absence' As Liberty University President". HuffPost. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  40. Stratford, Michael (August 4, 2020). "Photo appears to show Jerry Falwell Jr. with zipper down and arm around a woman". Politico. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  41. Bailey, Sarah Pulliam; Svrluga, Susan; Heim, Joe (August 8, 2020). "Jerry Falwell Jr., a prominent evangelical supporter of Trump, on indefinite leave of absence from Liberty U." The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  42. Stratford, Michael (August 6, 2020). "Top GOP lawmaker calls on Falwell to resign as Liberty University president". Politico. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
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