RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, is planning a campaign fundraiser Tuesday with a secretive religious group that for years has been publicly accused of wielding cult-like control over its followers and of engaging in criminal behavior including slave labor, financial fraud and the sexual and physical abuse of children.
The fundraiser backed by leaders of Word of Faith Fellowship, based in rural Rutherford County in western North Carolina, has raised questions among critics about Robinson’s connections to the group, which has given him thousands of dollars in campaign donations. Some of the accusations against the church have resulted in criminal convictions; church leaders deny the rest.
Robinson has long espoused conservative Christian values and has made speaking at churches a key part of his campaign for governor. The practice has come under scrutiny because of the secular nature of his role in the state’s second-highest executive office — and because of the hardline nature of Robinson’s comments during those sermons.
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