(NewsGlobal.com)- Georgia Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock canceled the eviction of a Vietnam veteran ahead of the Georgia runoff election between himself and Republican challenger Herschel Walker, according to Breitbart.
The senator is the reverend at Ebenezer Baptist Church, which owns Columbia Tower at MLK Village in Atlanta. The church’s landlord tactics have included issuing an eviction notice to war veteran Phillip White and charging him and others in the building fees for overdue rent.
The news is especially worthy because Warnock had campaigned on eviction protection in 2020. He accused his opponents of being “clearly only concerned with serving their own interests” when they did not support federal housing subsidies during the pandemic.
But since being a senator, Warnock has doubled his income. His reported income in 2021 includes his church salary ($120,964), Senate salary ($164,816), a church housing allowance ($7,417 per month), a book deal ($243,750), and speaking fees ($5,750).
Meanwhile, tenants like White are struggling to pay the remaining $179 of their rent.
“They treat me like a piece of sh**. They’re not compassionate at all,” White said last month referring to the building’s management. It was only after Warnock did not receive a majority of the casted votes that the church dropped White’s eviction notice.
White was only the first tenant that the church attempted to convict, with at least eight others threatening to be kicked out for failing to pay as little as $28.55. The others reportedly failed to pay their rent on time during the pandemic.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Spokesman T.W. Arrighi said that Warnock has to answer for the landlord policies of his church, at which he is still employed.
“This should deeply unsettle Georgia voters, not just as a sign of blatant hypocrisy, but of unjust cruelty from a wealthy man of his stature,” he said.
Walker, the Republican challenger, has reportedly pledged to pay the other tenants’ overdue rents, totaling $4,900, refusing to let the building evict anyone.
“I will personally pay the $4,900 in past-due rents listed in this article to keep Reverend Warnock from evicting these people,” he stated.
