Meet Jacob Kersey. He’s the 19-year-old ex-cop/conservative podcaster from Georgia being heralded by right-wingers as a hero for resigning from his job in protest after being reprimanded for making homophobic remarks online.
The teenager just quit his job with the Port Wentworth Police Department, which serves a town of roughly 11,000 citizens in the Savannah metropolitan area, after claiming “there’s no such thing” as gay marriage on social media and then refusing to take down the post after someone saw it and complained to his boss.
“God designed marriage,” Kersey boasted to his 625 followers on January 2. “Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there’s no such thing as homosexual marriage.”
God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 2, 2023
Kersey was placed on paid administrative leave on January 4 and an investigation was launched.
Ultimately, it was determined he hadn’t broken any department policies, but his boss cautioned him that social media posts about “protected classes”, in this case the LBGTQ+ community, “could raise reasonable concerns regarding your objectivity and the performance of your job duties when a member or suspected member of the LGBTQ+ community is involved.”
“As we have discussed previously, please be reminded that if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as able to perform, your job in a fair and equitable manner, you could be terminated,” the letter stated.
But rather than take what his boss said to heart and, say, think about how he might be a better police officer to the all members of the community he swore to protect and serve, Kersey decided to quit.
“I knew immediately that there’s no way that I could back down,” the 19-year-old told the conservative blog The Daily Signal in a recent interview. “Especially after standing up and encouraging people, saying, ‘Hey, stand up for what you believe. Don’t be silenced. Don’t let cancel culture cancel you. Share your story.’ And I’ve been saying that for years.”
“At the end of the day, I knew what I had to do,” he added. “And I believe part of that was the Holy Spirit coming in and in the moment letting me know, ‘Hey, you have to do this.'”
Kersey has also purportedly spoken with a law firm about potential legal action he might take against his former employer. He has also doubled down on his homophobia on Twitter, obsessively tweeting and retweeting things about gay people.
Here’s just a small sampling…
This country was founded upon men who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for freedom of religion.
In that same country, I was told that I would get fired for being outspoken about my religion.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 27, 2023
Marriage is the God created union of a man and a woman. No law will ever change this.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 26, 2023
Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is right. The laws of man change but the Word of the Lord remains forever.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 30, 2023
If you go to a same-sex marriage affirming ”church”, it is not a church and it is not a house of God.
It is a building and it is a house of Satan.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 27, 2023
God created marriage. He gets to define what it is and what it is not.
(WARNING: If you RT, you might get fired)— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 27, 2023
False teachers affirm what God opposes.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 29, 2023
Listen to my conversation with @DrMichaelLBrown on how Christians should respond to homosexuality:https://t.co/hhmShqUszv https://t.co/fAfk9h4foV
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 30, 2023
I don’t hate homosexuals. I don’t hate adulterers. I don’t hate fornicators. I don’t hate idolaters. I don’t hate sinners. For I was one!
I love Jesus and Jesus loves people. Jesus wants to transform sinners the same way He transformed me.
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 27, 2023
When he’s not constanting thinking about homosexuality, Kersey moonlights as a performance artist, dressing up as a soldier for local Revolutionary War reenactments and a Roman soldier for his town’s Christmas pageant…
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
No word yet on what Kersey plans to do for employment now that he’s out of a job. Lucky for him, thanks to Obamacare, he still has another seven years on his parents’ healthcare plan.
ZzBomb
At 19 you can be cop? Yeah we need police reform b/c no 19 y/o is stable enough to carry such responsibility. At least he yeeted himself out of the profession and into the common resulting place most right wing lackeys end up: unemployment
LumpyPillows
Agreed.
Mattster
He’s a walking Madison Cawthorn!
jcool
hehe. funny
inbama
Another imbecile who thinks Christianity is the only religion – and his quasi-literate brand at that.
UlfRaynor
Like most Christians, he definitely has selective reading skills.
Jesus told his followers that they must render unto Caesar what is Caesars and that they were to obey the laws of the land. last I checked, the law of the land is that same sex marriages are legal.
He is being willful, rebellious and prideful in thinking he speaks for or knows better than God.
Brian
Marriage was invented 2,000 years ago! Before that, nobody got married! And certainly nobody in Ancient Egypt or China ever got married because they’re not white!
Anyone this stupid shouldn’t be allowed to be a cop. Homophobia aside, the guy is just far too stupid for employment.
Terrycloth
Chic FIL A is always hiring
missvamp
yep- take your christo-facism there. ugh. who brainwashed this little nutbag?
Mister P
Isn’t polygamy the norm for marriage in the old uncredited book he thinks is holy?
Kangol2
Closet queen. It’s all over Miss Thing’s face!
Jim
the town is better off without him. Who in their right mind hires a 19 year old cop???
Leo
Exactly, well gone.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
A nineteen year old is too young and immature to be given the power of life and death. Many of you didn’t know it but that is what a police officer is given once he is given a gun and badge.
Neoprene
Thanks for that heads up, Sister Obvious.
devinn
I have always took t “a man should not lie with a man as he lies with a woman” to mean don’t treat your partner as if he was a lowly woman, you are equals…woman in the bible are most surly second class…I want to know when we are going to start stoning the commandment breaking republicans as the bible clearly says to…As a family bonding experience I would gladly throw the first stone a MJG.
Thad
Freedom of religion means you have to respect someone else’s religion.
hwgusn
That is absolutely not what freedom of religion means.
scotty
nope.
rand503
Goddess: Please spare me the teenagers who believe they know everything and need to lecture us.
Leo
Here is hoping he is sterile.
Ken A.
He epresses his opinion on his private Facebook page and gets reprimanded for it and he resigns from being a cop. I don’t agree with his views but he is entitiled to them. Yet I see others expressing their views so freely, mocking him and belittling him. The hypocrisy just seeps out of the communitie’s pores. “We can say what we want but you cannot. Sick.
linedrive
He’s charged with protecting everyone he serves–and that includes the gay community that he clearly has nothing but disdain for. I don’t blame his superiors for being nervous about his ability to do his job properly. Meanwhile, I have no such conflict of interest and I am not dismissing the rights and humanity of an entire group of people. I’m simply calling out one idiot. How is that hypocrisy?
dbmcvey
So if you’re a gay person and he beats you up you have a really great lawsuit!
bodie425
That’s the breaks when you’re in a forward facing community job like he is, and like I am. To vent my more controversial feelings, I only post to social media anonymously.
LumpyPillows
When people show you who they are, believe them. This boy used really bad judgment. Police need to have good judgment.
GayAllDay
I agree Ken. The entire purpose of the 1st Amendment is to protect the right of free speech for people you don’t agree with. People like Jacob Kersey always surface the core values of hatred and hypocrisy that rule today’s generation of LGBT activists. It’s really quite embarrassing how ignorant, ill-informed and seething the gays are these days. I don’t agree with much of anything he says in his posts but it’s really pretty flamboyantly ignorant to think he’s harmed anyone by his posts.
linedrive
Obsessed is right! He can’t stop thinking about those homos that he supposedly doesn’t hate. I’m sure he’ll find a way to spin his newfound notoriety into some god-approved moneymaking scheme.
dbmcvey
So, to become a right wing hero you just have to be a terrible person.
linedrive
That pretty much sums it up.
TedV
He sure does love a costume, though…
bodie425
I did notice that, too. Drama club anyone? He’s certainly got the “drama” part down.
ChrisGMN
I authored and enforce my company’s social media policy. If this were my company, and we have nothing to do with policing, I wouldn’t have pushed for him to be fired because he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the company, in his official capacity, nor was he using official company social media sites. However, in this case, the public needs to trust when the police are called, they will be treated the same way as everyone else. There is an argument that perhaps they should not fire him unless his actions equate to his words (he treats gays differently then straight people on the job), but there is a risk someone could get hurt. I hate that we have to censor some people, but I have to agree with his termination, as much as I find it distasteful.
So, in this case the police acted in advance based on hate speech to protect the LGBTQ community, and that is a positive. Then why do they do nothing to oust the white supremacists in the force as well as those prone to violence?
linedrive
He wasn’t terminated. He quit because they advised him to stop posting anti-gay sentiments.
DCFarmboy
It should be noted that when he first took the job, they explained the Police force’s policies concerning officers on social media.
GayAllDay
People who work in the public sector don’t sacrifice their right of free speech. That’s why they are called RIGHTS!
Neoprene
He’ll change his tune the first time he gets penetrated by a male sinner at the local park. Rejoice!
maxdadmark
Yeah, baby!
hwgusn
That kid is so far in the closet he can’t even see the door.
My2CentsWorth
This idea came to me too. Maybe IF he is active one of his meetups will out him.
TheMarc
He’s a grifter. He martyred himself for the attention. The department’s guidance was spot on, and as far as I can tell he only dealt with administrative leave; so paid leave. He’s got no reason to sue; yet, he’s retaining council. But do you know how much brainless right wingers will pay to have him speak at their churches, conferences, and so on? A pretty penny. The same for his inevitable book and other merch if he can raise his profile high enough and for long enough. He’ll never have to actually work a day in his life again. Because of the desperation these people have to find public “champions” or “heroes” to spew the same hate, insecurities, fears, etc., that they have in their hearts and then call it the “truth.”
Sotzume
She is obsessed with gay men….things that make you go “hmmmmm!”
scotty
who doesnt love a young man in a uniform?…i always carry a handcuff key. just in case.
maxdadmark
Bonus points for having a picture of this “tiny dancer” with a has-been TEEVEE Hercules. As a going away present, I’d like to offer him a tub of Crisco, a rubber sheet, and entry to the back room at an Atlanta leather bar. While he’s on his knees (and elbows) he can preach the made up passages from the bible regarding “gay marriage.”
My2CentsWorth
Jacob Kersey: “God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage.”
Unless I have it wrong, the Christian religious writings states that Jesus Christ was born approximately 2,000 years ago. Did marriage start 2,000 years ago? Am I wrong in assuming that many people in other parts of the world AND those who lived centuries before 2,000 years ago did not get married because marriage is only possible when it is sanctioned by Jesus Christ?
Maybe Jacob Kersey’s school history books were by the same outfit that publishes “America, Land I Love in Christian Perspective”, published by Beka Books.
still_onthemark
I went to a Buddhist event where they said American converts to Buddhism are often surprised to find out that marriage isn’t even a religious ceremony in most Buddhist countries, it’s just a simple government thing. (Buddhist religious ceremonies generally focus on DEATH.) This upsets many Americans, especially females, who can’t imagine how this can be!
still_onthemark
@realjacobkersey
Notice how so many of these losers put ‘real’ in their Twitter handles just because Agolf Twitler did it.
Fahd
From what I have heard, many gay men have experiences with the police that would lead one to believe that this boy’s homophobic feelings are common among police. Unlike many other police officers, he was/is too young or dumb to realize that he shouldn’t have posted these things online. Maybe things are getting better, and this “twinkicer” was a rogue outlier. Let’s hope so.
Overall, I don’t take much notice of a teenager’s attention-seeking opinions, especially if those opinions are expressions of intolerance, hate, and religious fanaticism. People do grow up. Still, he shouldn’t be a police officer so things have worked out with him quitting.
Btw, another non-story from Gremore on Queerty – who cares about this teenager from Georgia? (as if he were the only religious fanatic homophobe online). I feel so diminished to have got caught up in it. My bad.