Senate protester: Disruption of Hindu prayer honored God, nation's founders

Senate protester: Disruption of Hindu prayer honored God, nation's founders

The man who was arrested for disrupting a Hindu chaplain's prayer in the U.S. Senate on Thursday claims he was "honoring the intentions" of America's founding fathers and hoping to "avert the wrath of God on the nation."

North Carolina Christian activist Ante Pavkovic says when he prayed loudly as Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed was approaching the Senate podium, he was "standing up for God" and paying tribute to America's founding fathers who openly named "Jesus" in their speeches and documents. Pavkovic, his wife, and his 19-year-old daughter were arrested and charged with misdemeanor unlawful conduct and disrupting Congress. They are scheduled to appear in court July 31.

Pavkovic says he knew beforehand he would likely be arrested for what he planned to do from the Senate gallery. "My hope was that our prayer to the Lord God may have provided a shield, lest the wrath of God come down on our nation for allowing pagan prayers to false gods to be offered," he explains. "We just felt like we've got to go stand in the gap, and cry out to the Lord for mercy for what we're allowing in our government."

The activist claims he and his family members did not shout or disrupt the Hindu man's prayer.

"We were praying," he asserts. "If our prayer disrupted anything, then so be it, but we were not shouting." And they were not there to harass Zed, he says. "I don't want it to be mischaracterized as we were there just heckling this man. We were not," says the North Carolina activist. "We prayed to the Lord, and we were obedient to the founding fathers and the first few generations afterwards."

Pavkovic says although he believes Zed's prayer was "idolatrous," he loves the Hindu chaplain and wants him "to know the true and living God."