Frisco pastor says he’s a target of ‘cancel culture’ after viral comments about Trump and guns

A Frisco pastor said he has become a “target of the cancel culture” and of what he says are nationwide attacks on people of faith after his rhetoric drew national attention and condemnation from community members.

KingdomLife pastor Brandon Burden posted a video statement to the church’s YouTube channel Monday, about two weeks after the Jan. 10 service in which he urged his congregants to keep their guns loaded and stock up on food and water before President Joe Biden’s inauguration and cited “prophetic voices” who said God told them Donald Trump would be president for eight years.

“Make no mistake about it,” Burden said in the video. “I am a target of the cancel culture and the establishment media is coming after me. But it is not just about me. People of faith are under attack in this country. … Sadly, we will see many more attacks of this nature as time goes on.”

The pastor also said that it’s unfortunate some of his words have caused people pain and that he forgives those who betrayed him.

“For those who have felt the need to abandon me or to even run down my name, I want you to know that I forgive you,” he said. “I realize that some of the words I spoke were inartfully said, and it has caused some of you to catch some heat.”

City leaders and residents have called Burden’s rhetoric “dangerous” and “not good for Frisco.” Council members Shona Huffman, Brian Livingston and Will Sowell took to Facebook to denounce his comments, while community members flooded social media and addressed their concerns during a Jan. 19 council meeting.

Burden said in Monday’s video that he didn’t intend to promote violence, but instead wanted to encourage congregants to practice self-defense during a time of heightened division in the country.

“Many people are afraid and have been asking me as a pastor what to do,” he said, adding that “radical groups like antifa” have threatened to harm suburban residents and have placed piles of bricks to use in attacks around Frisco — a rumor that surfaced during last summer’s Black Lives Matters protests and was proven false. Police said the bricks were left for a construction project.

During the Jan. 10 service, Burden referred to the state’s Castle Doctrine, which says it is illegal for a resident to shoot a trespasser on the lawn, but legal to shoot a person who attempts to enter a home.

Burden also said in Monday’s video that he forgives people who are trying to shut down the church or have threatened him and his family. He is “humbled and grateful” to those who have reached out with words of support or prayed for him.

The pastor also said that some of his comments “were not said the way that I meant to say them,” and that he’s seeking the Lord’s help to communicate more clearly.

“I will be more careful about my words as God works with me and through me,” Burden said. “But I will never back down from standing up for the Judeo-Christian values that are at the core of the American concept from the very inception.”