Police in Philadelphia kicked out a man known as “Philly Jesus” for trespassing at a local cathedral.
Michael Dennis Grant, a Philadelphia local who dresses in a white robe and carries a shepherd’s crook, attempted to attend an installation mass on Tuesday for Archbishop Nelson Perez at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. According to Grant, he was only present for 20 minutes before law enforcement approached him asking him to leave the event.
“I said, ‘Who are they?’ I said it very politely. I wasn’t disruptive at all,” Grant told local media. “I said I’m a priest. He said, ‘You’re not a Roman Catholic priest.’ I’m a universal priest. Jesus said those who believe in him, his sincere children, are prophets, kings, and priests. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in the pew. You have the same authority as a priest or a pope.”
“They took me. They dragged my feet,” Grant said in a separate interview. “Took my ankles and dragged my hands like military-style — like I was a terrorist. I was so embarrassed. All I did was sit in front of the Holy Sacrament.”
Philly Jesus was cited for trespassing during the installation of Archbishop Nelson Pérez.https://t.co/Jy8HRKlsJC pic.twitter.com/8xPeMY7G4f
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) February 18, 2020
A video circulating online depicts officers explaining to Grant why he was removed from the cathedral. Grant was given a $25 citation for trespassing and was released shortly thereafter. “I forgive you for trespassing against me,” Grant can be heard saying in reply to officers. Though he expressed his willingness to “forgive,” Grant also told local media he plans to take legal action against the police, claiming he was unfairly removed from the event.
“They were just hating on me,” he said. “But Jesus said, ‘Hater’s gonna hate.’ He said that in John, Chapter 15, verse 18. Jesus said, ‘If the world hates you, remember it hated me first.’”
Grant has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement over the years. In 2014, “Philly Jesus” was taken into custody for accepting money so others could take photographs of him skating in a local park. In 2016, he was again arrested for trespassing in a local Apple Store. But despite all his confrontations with authorities, Grant told local media he has admiration for police.
