Catholic school teacher who stormed church pulpit to recite his own version of prayer for migrants is arrested

A fired Catholic school teacher was violently wrestled to the ground and put in handcuffs after he stormed a Kansas church's pulpit to pray for migrants.

Jimbo Gillcrist planned to share his own version of the Our Father prayer shortly before the 11am mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park on March 23, according to the Kansas City Star.

His goal was to speak out against Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.

But shortly after he paced up to the pulpit at the church he grew up in, Gillcrist was halted by four parishioners - including a deacon.

The group then marched him out of the church, and Gillcrist found himself handcuffed by police and questioned in the back of a police vehicle.

In dramatic audio of the incident, one churchgoer could even be heard asking if anyone was armed - to which two parishioners replied that their weapons were in the car.  

'I thought the worst that could happen is maybe they'd try to shut me down and ask me to leave,' Gillcrist told the Star in the aftermath.

'I in no way thought I'd be tackled in a church.' 

The former had just started his prayer when a priest approached him and told him: 'Come with me.'

The priest could then be heard telling staff members to 'turn the sound off,' before he directed his attention back at Gillcrist, telling him, 'Brother you need to leave.'

Sounds of a scuffle could then be heard, after which someone could be heard telling Gillcrist to 'stay still,' promising him, 'we're not going to hurt you.'

'You already used violence against me in a church,' Gillcrist, a former ethics teacher, shot back.

At that point, the mob accused him of trespassing - to which he replied that he is a baptized Catholic attending church.

He was then told 'it's inappropriate,' and when Gillcrist tried to clarify whether they meant it was inappropriate 'to pray,' they responded 'there's an appropriate time.'

'It is the appropriate time,' Gillcrist cried.

'No, you have to listen to your authorities, which is your pastor,' one of the parishioners then tells him before leading him out of the church building.

Gillcrist only raised his voice as he was being led out of the building, telling the congregation to 'Love your neighbor as yourself! And who is my neighbor?' 

When police then arrived at the scene, an officer could be heard asking those who marched him out whether he did 'anything physical,' according to the Star.

One of the tacklers then alleged that 'he pushed our priest off the steps, but he didn't fall or anything' - claims which Gillcrist strongly denied.

But when a second cop arrived at the church, he asked, 'Is he the one who pushed the priest? Put him in handcuffs.'

The former teacher remained in the back of the police vehicle as the officers then started to ask him questions about what happened.

'They were trying to pull me away from the pulpit. I grabbed the pulpit and just held on. I didn't push anyone,' he insisted.

'They had four guys grabbing me and dragging me off then.'

At that point, the cops asked Gillcrist why he wanted to preach.

'I'm worried about human beings, our brothers and sisters who live within our midst and are being targeted by the government,' he replied, later clarifying that he was referring to 'undocumented immigrants.'

In the remarks, which Gillcrist shared on X, he intoned that God's Kingdom is not one of 'borders and fixed realms and flags and exclusion'. 

He would have also urged congregants to 'not merely forgive' those who have 'trespassed in the truest sense of the word' but also 'open our arms to and welcome them' to help heal their trauma.

The remarks would go on to mention Gaza and Ukraine.

'They're our brothers and sisters,' he told the cops of his decision to mention the two war zones. 

'When we stop seeing people that way it's so easy to start making laws or enacting policies that harm them,' he argued. 

In the end, another officer said he had spoken with the pastor and agreed Gillcrist would not be charged with any wrongdoing for now 'but if you do return here, you will be charged with trespassing.' 

But this is not the first time the former Catholic school teacher faced backlash for his opinions.

He was previously arrested in 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest, and in November, he was fired from Rockhurst High School after telling students that they have a moral obligation to stand up to deportations, the Star reported.

He said at the time that when you vote for a candidate promising mass deportations 'you become an accomplice in the violation of the human rights of the asylum seeker and the refugees.'

It is against school policy, however, to speak about politics in the classroom. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to church officials for comment.