Confused Danish Preacher Housed with Mexican Criminals

Yesterday, a reader posted a comment saying evangelist Torben Sondergaard had been arrested. I started checking the web, and at first, it looked like a hoax. The story only appeared on obscure wackjob sites, and there were no details. The facts presented seemed inconsistent. I read that the FBI had arrested him for smuggling weapons into Mexico, and I also read he had been arrested in Orange County, Florida, where he was detained in the county jail.

Clearly, Florida does not border Mexico, and smuggling weapons into Mexico would be a federal crime, so why jail the suspect in a county facility?

Today I finally got some confirmation. Torben has a Facebook account, and he put up a post. I will take the liberty of republishing it here.

Torben Søndergaard
July 3 at 9:27 PM ·

BREAKING NEWS!!! – FOUNDER OF THE LAST REFORMATION TORBEN SONDERGAARD HAS BEEN FALSELY ARRESTED AND DETAINED BY THE FBI AND HOMELAND SECURITY AS A NATIONAL THREAT FOR SMUGGLING WEAPONS TO AMERICA… ??????

Hello everyone out there. I, Torben Sondergaard, am sharing this message with you from a phone call in Bakers Jail near Jacksonville, Florida, where I have been detained for two days in isolation after the most crazy days of my life. I don’t remember all the details, so maybe I will be wrong about some of the details I’m saying here, so I need you to forgive me, but I don’t have any pen or anything to write with, so this is just coming out of my memory through a phone call to my wife Lene, so we can get it up here on Facebook and YouTube to all of you out there.

First, I know many of you have heard about it and are praying for me, and I thank you so much. It means so much to me to know that you are out there praying. This Thursday, I was invited to a meeting with Homeland Security who wanted to talk about my asylum case – a case where I, in Denmark three years ago, was accused of doing many things I had not done, and where I ended up fleeing to America seeking asylum.

But then, they suddenly said that the real reason I was there was because they had been notified that I was smuggling weapons from Mexico to America, and I was in shock.

I have been staying in California with my wife and kids and we have just finished up a Bible school over the border in Mexico, where many of our helpers traveled from Mexico to America several times a week, but NONE of them were smuggling weapons, and I have NEVER had anything to do with smuggling weapons. I know NOTHING about smuggling weapons.

But there, they brought it up on the table and said that because of what they have heard, and because of all the crazy things happening in America right now, they see me as a national threat, and therefore they have chosen to detain me. Afterwards, I was put up against the wall, put in handcuffs, and led into a room. Later I was put in handcuffs again on my hands and on my feet, and then brought to Orange Jail where I was sitting on a chair for eight hours waiting, before I was put into a room with twenty other people. This was one of the most unreal experiences in my life. I talked with my wife Lene on the phone and we talked about that maybe God brought me there for a person, and it so happened that I prayed for one guy who got healed and he started to cry and said, “Whoa, God has truly sent you here to me because two days ago I prayed that God would send somebody to me.” So I had a beautiful moment with God even though it was terribly hard.

I almost didn’t sleep that night. The next morning they came and picked me up again with handcuffs on my hands and feet, and put me in a car, and I was driven three hours to Bakers Detention where I am now, where I’ve been sent to isolation for seven days. To come here was a shock. My room is very small. It is 7.13 feet or 2.3 meters. I am in isolation 24/7, where I can come out a half hour per day, and use the phone as I’m doing right now. Otherwise, I have nothing in there. The room is very dirty and moldy. I have not talked with the lawyer yet and I actually don’t know what is going on yet.

But, I want to say to all of you out there, I’ve tried many crazy things in my life, but nothing like this. I want to encourage you all to pray for me and stand together with me, because this is an attack on me because I’m preaching the Gospel. I am encouraged, because Jesus says, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16-20, 23) And He also says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

(Matthew 5:10?-?12) This is what is happening right now.
It has been hard, and it is hard, but I also see that God is changing me in all of this. To be in isolation, with no windows, and no clock, and talking with no one is just a weird experience. People are sometimes shouting from one cell to another, but it seems like almost everyone here speaks Spanish except for me.

I’m reminded of Paul’s words when he wrote, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear.”

(Philippians 1:12?-?14) Paul said that his chains would give them more boldness, and I’m encouraged that even with my chains, that you will get more boldness to preach the Gospel out there!
This is what I want to say to you out there – BE BOLD! PREACH THE GOSPEL! STAND FIRM on the WORD OF GOD, and please pray for me, and pray for my family. Pray that everything will turn out good here. This will also have an influence on my asylum case, so I will hopefully know more in a few days, and I will keep you updated here on my Facebook page and YouTube.

Again, I cannot answer anything. Please pray for me. If you know somebody in a high position, somebody who can help, then please reach out to us. All communication can happen via email at The Last Reformation website, where I have friends who are checking the emails, and you are also welcome to reach out to my wife.

I have probably forgotten to say a lot of things in this message since I cannot read it, I just have to quote it, so please bear with me. But I want to say, these last days have been something I have never, ever experienced before, and I never thought I would experience – being jailed this way, and for something as crazy as smuggling weapons from another country to America. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So please keep me in your prayers, and pray that God will continue doing work in me. I feel that every day He is changing me, and doing great work in my heart. When I do nothing else than sleep and pray and eat. God bless you all out there. Remember my family in your prayers.

Blessings,
Torben Sondergaard

It appears he is in the Baker County ICE detention center in MacClenny, Florida, since it’s a federal lockup full of people who speak Spanish. I don’t think he’s in a county jail.

I very much doubt this man has been smuggling weapons. No one but a lunatic would abandon his own country due to documented religious persecution, move himself and his family to the US, apply for asylum, spend years building a prominent ministry, and use it as a cover to move guns. The very suggestion is just stupid. If you want to make money in America, and you’re a popular preacher, all you have to do is teach the prosperity gospel, and you’ll be set for life. It’s not necessary to risk federal prison.

The Obama administration smuggled guns across the Mexican border. Torben Sondergaard…probably not.

My guess is that some Christian who disagrees with him, or maybe an LGBT activist, made a false report in order to torment him and get him deported.

I don’t bet, and people surprise me all the time, but I think he’ll be out in a few days with no stain on his record.

There is a kooky preacher on Youtube talking about Torben, claiming to be his friend. He calls his group the Gospel Gunslingers, and he is apparently obsessed with armed resistance. He says he’s in Mexico seeking asylum for some reason or other. I have to wonder if he’s involved in this. Would he or his associates do something like this in order to get attention for his movement?

Why would any American need asylum in Mexico? It makes no sense. In terms of human rights, a move to Mexico is a step backward.

The preacher did a long video which was supposedly about Torben, but I quit watching because he talked incessantly about himself. I didn’t get any real information about the arrest. The video was disturbing and came off like an exercise in self-promotion.

God is not telling Christians to shoot it out with the authorities, Antifa, BLM, the Illuminati, the Trilateral Commission, or anyone else. If God were interested in having us form private armies and shoot unbelievers, there would be at least one clue in the New Testament, and there is not. There are plenty of martyrs in there, but no John Wicks.

We and our unreliable AR-15’s are not going to fix America. It’s not going to be fixed at all. People need to understand that so they can spend their time drawing close to God and assuring their salvation.

Honestly, it’s better to be killed and go to heaven than to live like a scared ape or rodent here on Earth, behaving exactly like the hateful people we were put here to reach. This place is disgusting, and it’s only going to get worse. Why would you become a killer just to stay here? Heaven is real. If you are killed, you go there instantly, and you can forget this awful place forever.

I want no part of gunslinging for the gospel or any other cause. It’s true that large numbers of Christians will eventually be killed here in the US, just as we are in foreign countries, but that’s just how things work. Satan is real, and only a small percentage of human beings are outside his control. He will use them to get rid of us during the apocalypse. So what? Jesus told us it would happen, and the same thing happened to him. It’s not a good excuse to start worshiping Eugene Stoner.

If they come for me, all I want are a moment to pray and a good clean kill shot. The Gospel Gunslingers can stay here and suffer if they want. I am ready to go. When I’m gone, they and the leftist nuts can fight over my ammunition and use it to send each other to hell if they really want to.

They have a web page. It says this: “If you found this page, you probably already are a Gospel Gunslinger and concerned about keeping America free and great.”

No, I am not. America is neither free nor great now, and I am not planning to try to change it, because that ship sailed long ago. It beats Somalia at the moment, but I’m not willing to prance around with an AR-15 in order to get lower taxes and an end to gay marriage.

Okay, I found some information about the asylum story. The Gospel Gunslingers guy says he has filed for asylum because Biden is persecuting him as a dissident. I really don’t think so. I think it’s more likely that he’s a tremendous liar and possibly a sociopath.

The Gunslingers guy, not Biden. I realize that was ambiguous.

I doubt Biden knows who he is. I would be amazed to learn otherwise. My gut says this man is just desperate for attention.

I will pray for Torben and his family. It will be interesting to see what develops, especially if the feds identify and try to arrest a lying snitch.