A Florida pastor sparked outrage when he claimed the deadly Wuhan coronavirus was sent by God to punish unbelievers and parents who transgender their minor children.
The death toll in China jumped to 132 with more than 6,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in 18 countries.
Pastor Rick Wiles founded the non-denominational Flowing Streams Church and he is the creator of the TruNews streaming channel, Newsweek reports.
According to Right Wing Watch, Wiles made the controversial comments during a podcast on January 27.
“Look at the scriptural rebellion that is in this country, the hatred of God,” Wiles said. “Just vile, disgusting people in this country now, transgendering little children, perverting them. Look at the rapes, and the sexual immorality, and the filth on our TVs and our movies.”
Wiles continued: “Folks, the Death Angel may be moving right now across the planet. This is the time to get right with God.”
Wiles previously called former President Obama a “demon from Hell” and he warned that “there’s gonna be violence” if President Donald Trump is removed from office.
The United States chartered a jet to fly 201 Americans from Wuhan to America. The plane landed in California on Wednesday after an emotional stopover in Alaska.
The passengers and crew were screened multiple times for symptoms of the virus during the flight, during the stopover in Anchorage, and when they landed at the March Air Reserve Base in California.
The passengers will be held in quarantine at the base for at least 72 hours before they are allowed to leave.
The flight was chartered by the U.S. State Department. More flights will return to Wuhan to transport up to 1,000 Americans from the coronavirus epicenter.
