Ohio priest who attended DC rally before Capitol riot calls his suspension ‘unjust’

An Ohio priest for the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church In America said he was suspended after attending the Washington, D.C., rally that preceded the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to media reports.

Rev. Mark Hodges said he was not a part of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol that resulted in five deaths, according to the Lima News. Instead, he said he took part in the “Stop the Steal” rally — which he called “joyful, positive and orderly,” the outlet reported.

Hodges told the Journal-News he attended the rally as a way of “expressing extreme concern over voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election.”

Former President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly made unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud following the 2020 presidential election, spoke at the rally before telling supporters to head to the Capitol building, where legislators were working to certify Biden’s Electoral College victory. A pro-Trump mob stormed the building, forcing the House and Senate to evacuate before lawmakers returned later that evening and cemented Biden as the nation’s 46th president.

The diocese announced Jan. 14 that Hodges “is suspended from all priestly functions, effective Jan. 12, 2021.” Hodges told media outlets that suspension will last three months.

“Archbishop Paul (Gassios), whom I love dearly and respect, said in his suspension letter that I was ‘guilty by association,’” Hodges told the Lima News. “And I disagree, you know. I think it’s an unjust suspension.”

Hodges is part of St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church in Ohio, according to the Journal-News.

But Father Alexander Koranda, director of communications for the Diocese of the Midwest, said Hodges was not suspended for attending the rally, according to the Christian Post.

“Fr. Mark was not suspended for his presence at the rally. This suspension is a result of various circumstances that is currently part of an internal process,” Koranda said.

On Dec. 31, Hodges urged his Facebook friends to attend the D.C. rally in support of Trump. He said people “will be about as safe as you can be in present-day America.”

“Whatever happens on that historic day, it will be an event to remember,” he said in the post. “You can tell your grandchildren that you were on the front lines in the Second American Revolution, where you fought to save the Republic.”

The rally turned into the deadly insurrection on the Capitol, with rioters scaling walls, smashing windows and breaking into Congress, including the Senate chamber. A Capitol police officer was among the five who died during the riot.

Dozens of other law enforcement officers were injured and more than 100 arrests have been made.

Hodges, a “supply” priest who fills in at various parishes in Ohio and Michigan, said he does not condone the violence that occurred at the Capitol.

“All I wanted to do was yell, ‘Stop the Steal!’ outside where Congress was meeting,” Hodges said, according to the Journal-News.

As he marched from the White House to the Capitol on Jan. 6, he saw tear gas being deployed and left the area, he told the Lima News.

The Orthodox Church in America outlines in its social media guidelines rules pertaining to politics.

“Clergy should refrain from making political statements, joining political groups, or ‘becoming fans’ of particular political candidates or political causes on social network sites,” according to its website.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Ohio priest who attended DC rally before Capitol riot calls his suspension ‘unjust’."