Franklin Graham prayer rally at Oregon State Capitol draws thousands
Thousands cheered Tuesday as Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, stood on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol.
"Our nation is in trouble, and like many people, we are fed up," Graham said.
The stop was the 30th of a 50-state tour, where Graham has been encouraging Christians to live out their faith: "at home, in public, and in the ballot box," according to his tour website. His next stop is Olympia, Washington, on Wednesday, June 29.
Hours before Graham arrived, evangelicals from around the Pacific Northwest were setting up camp on the grounds of the Capitol. By noon, thousands were gathered — about 4,000, given rough estimates from the Oregon State Police.
The rally was filled with murmurs, hushed silence and cheers. Graham led the audience in prayer multiple times: for the sins of their fathers, for the sins of the country, and for the Oregon government and political system.
"When we think of the sins of our country the list goes on and on," Graham said. "When we think about things like abortion, the murder of children in a mother's womb, same sex marriage today, which is legal and it's being flaunted and celebrated."
According to Capt. Bill Fugate with the Oregon State Police, about 25 troopers were staffing the event, and anticipated potential protests. According to state troopers and event staff, no on-site protesters were noted during the event.
However, a group of street preachers from Portland, the self-titled "Hell-Shaking Street Preachers," were at the event, bringing a number of banners to block and drown out any protest, according to one of its members, Lee Quincy. Quincy said the group responded to solicitations for help from event facilitators, and the street preacher Ruben Israel. They held up signs that stated judgement was coming for "baby killing women, porno freaks, so-called Christians, rebellious women, Jesus mockers, drunks, homosexuals and Mormons."
Franklin Graham media spokesperson Jeremy Blume said the group had not been invited by any of Graham's immediate staff. "That certainly would not be how we would be advancing those viewpoints," Blume said.
The event had several more political-oriented moments.
Following the tradition of his father, who met with 12 presidents, Franklin Graham has met privately with five U.S. presidents. He has drawn attention recently for a meeting with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, at the behest of Dr. Ben Carson.
While Graham told the crowd in Salem he did not have a preference for political support, and has also met with Hillary Clinton, Graham stated on Facebook that Trump's announcement of Supreme Court Justices he would nominate was "incredibly important for the future of our nation," and has tweeted at Clinton, asking why she has not released her list.
Since the meeting with Trump, Graham also stated on Twitter that Clinton was implicated in a Benghazi cover-up, following the release on June 28 of the report, despite the report's lack of direct implication of the Secretary of State.
"It should have never happened, and it happened on her watch," Graham said, in response to a question from the Statesman Journal.
As the event wrapped up, around 1 p.m., a number of attendees expressed overwhelming support for Graham's message.
"I didn't hear anyone say they were Republican or Democrat. But we should at least vote," said Amy Howell, a local who attends church in Salem. Howell was sitting with her family in lawn chairs after the rally, munching on sandwiches.
As the crowd dispersed, two booths remained — a "tabernacle-style" prayer tent, David's Tent, and Tent of Healing, both of which will remain on the Capitol lawn until July 4.
"We're praying over the city," said Linda Moore, the co-director of the Salem House of Prayer. "Anybody who knows anything about Jesus is welcome. Anybody who doesn't is welcome."
Contact Junnelle Hogen at jhogen@statesmanjournal.com; 503-399-6802 or follow on Twitter at @JunnelleH.