An Arizona-based street evangelism ministry says members of its team were attacked while sharing the Gospel in West Hollywood’s LGBT “Rainbow District,” according to a recent report by The Christian Post.
David Hoffman of His Kingdom Enterprises said he and other evangelists were conducting an outreach in the West Hollywood area at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 16 when fellow team member David Ramirez was allegedly struck from behind by an unidentified person.
Hoffman said the confrontation took place outside Sweetwater, a lesbian bar near San Vicente and Santa Monica Boulevards. At the time, Ramirez was “giving someone else a hug to show them that he loved them and was not against them.”
Video from the scene shows Ramirez speaking to people gathered near a rainbow-painted “LGBT pride” crosswalk and saying, “Receive Jesus as your Savior; I want you to enter the Kingdom of God,” shortly before a pedestrian appeared to assault him.
Afterward, Ramirez can be heard responding, “Praise God, praise God. Hallelujah.” In a caption accompanying the video, he said he had been struck two or three times, including a blow to the throat that hit his Adam’s apple and temporarily left him unable to speak.
Hoffman said the suspect, whose face is not clearly visible in the footage, walked away while “cursing him out,” as others nearby also joined in. Describing Ramirez’s condition immediately after the attack, Hoffman said, “He came over to me and pointed to his throat and almost inaudibly said that he couldn't talk. At first, I thought it was just a small thing. Like maybe the wind had got knocked out of him.”
Hoffman said he contacted police following the incident, but added that “they were not much help.”
The evangelist said the team had not realized before arriving how strongly the area was associated with LGBT culture. “We did not know going in that West Hollywood was the most densely LGBT place in the world,” he told The Christian Post. “Nevertheless, God cares about the people there and wants them to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ. We were not preaching in a provocative way. We weren't really talking about the sin of homosexuality or calling any group out.”
