‘It really grieves me’: Local street preacher recounts events at Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Street Evangelist Samuel Bethea, who has been in the middle of protests in Charlotte, was in Washington, D.C., last week during the protests and subsequent riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Bethea carried a sign that read “Jesus Saves” and shouted his message or hours.

“The reason why I came here was to show you exactly where I was standing,” Bethea, who was outside of the Capitol, told reporter, Mark Becker.

[ALSO READ: Uptown street preacher faces pressure to stop]

Bethea is not a stranger to controversies.

During the Black Lives Matter protests in uptown Charlotte last summer, some accused him of harassing protesters. Someone showered him with flour and glitter during those protests.

Last Wednesday, he watched from the outside as rioters ransacked the Capitol. The conservative said what he saw was wrong.

“And I ask for forgiveness,” he said. “Even though I didn’t go in the Capitol. Even though I didn’t step foot on the lawn. That is something that I will forever remember.”

He said the rally started peacefully.

“And for it to end that way, it just grieves me,” he said. “It really grieves me.”

Bethea, who moved to Charlotte from Washington, D.C., said he plans to be in the nation’s capital next week for the inauguration of Joe Biden.

Protesters throw flour, glitter on man sharing his own message during demonstrations in uptown

Cox Media Group