A radical anti-Semitic Arizona pastor has become the first person banned from entering Ireland under an order signed by the Irish minister of justice.
Steven L. Anderson, who is known for preaching a 2009 sermon where he said he prayed for President Barack Obama to die, is no longer allowed to enter Ireland where he had scheduled to travel to later this month. This is the first time an exclusion order was issued for an individual under Irish immigration law.
[Related: Americans divided by political party on who to blame for anti-Semitism: Poll]
Anderson is the pastor of the fundamentalist Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Ariz. Anderson has a history of controversial remarks. After the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, he relished the fact that there were “50 fewer pedophiles” and believes that the Bible supports executing gay people.
He further drew ire by producing videos promoting Holocaust denial and has said that the Jewish Messiah is the Antichrist.
Before he was banned, a number of Irish LGBT groups started a petition that called for him to be denied entry into the country.
Countries that have previously banned Anderson include Canada, Great Britain, Malawi, South Africa, Jamaica, and other European Union nations.
