Acting AG Matt Whitaker Defended Man's 'Religious Beliefs' To Call LGBT 'The Enemy'

Matt Whitaker, who President Donald Trump on Wednesday named as acting attorney general after he fired Jeff Sessions, once defended a man's “religious beliefs” to call LGBT people “the gaystapo.”

In 2014, Bob Eschliman, the editor of the Newton Daily News in Iowa, lost his job after he wrote a personal blog post criticizing the “Queen James Bible,” a version of the Christian Bible that does not contain negative references to homosexuality. Its authors claim those references were incorrectly added after 1946.

“I’d like to talk a little bit about deceivers among us, most notably the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo effort to reword the Bible to make their sinful nature ‘right with God,’” wrote Eschliman, a member of the Christian Reformed Church.

“If you ask me, it sounds like the Gaystapo is well on its way. We must fight back against the enemy,” Eschliman added.

In a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Eschliman argued that he was terminated because of his religious beliefs. Shaw Media, parent company of the Daily News, said that Eschliman was fired because he had “compromised the reputation of this newspaper and his ability to lead it.”

Eschliman was represented by the Dallas-based legal firm Liberty Institute and Whitaker, who had a private law practice.

“No one should be fired for simply expressing his religious beliefs,” Whitaker told the Des Moines Register at the time. “In America, it is against the law to fire an employee for expressing a religious belief in public. This kind of religious intolerance by an employer has no place in today's welcoming workforce.”

In July, 2015, the Newton Daily News reported that the complaint had been dismissed and that Eschliman had reached a confidential settlement with his former employer.

Eschliman said that he was pleased with the outcome, though he offered few specifics. “In general, I am glad this case has been resolved, and that it is seen as a victory for religious freedom over those who would attempt to bully people of faith into silence,” he said in an email.