CHURCH AND STATE

Priest in Ohio Suspended, Faces Defrocking After Attending Capitol Riot

Father Mark Hodges told The Lima News that he didn’t participate in any violence, and was just there to support then-President Trump.

An Ohio priest might have to pray for his job after attending the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Father Mark Hodges, who has been a priest at St. Stephen the First Martyr Orthodox Church in Lima for about two decades, has since been suspended and faces a possible expulsion from the ministry, according to The Lima News. Hodges said he was just there to support President Trump, and did not participate in the riot, in which 5 people died. “It’s not about Trump vs. Biden, or Left vs Right, but is about free and fair elections. I honestly believe we have lost our democratic republic,” Hodges said of the rally, centered around trying to overturn the results of an election.