Street preachers inspire racial, religious scuffle in Winnipeg

Three men who preach a message on Winnipeg streets of a coming apocalypse that will see white people slaughtered helped kindle a scuffle in Central Park recently.

The argument, which involved some pushing and shoving, happened late in the afternoon on Sept. 26 andwas broken up by police. There were no arrests or charges.

During the incident, some people in the park took issue with what the three men were saying about race and the Bible. The three are part of a movement of mostly black males known as Hebrew Israelites who believe they are the true Jews and that white Jews of European descent are imposters.

At the Central Park incident, 11-year-old Teaghan Colpitts said she had a flag staff broken over her arm when she was caught in the middle of the brawl.

It appears that we have attended the same area on more than one occasion regarding male(s) preaching/demonstrating resulting in minor altercations requiring police to attend.- Winnipeg Police Service

"My mom's friends came over and they got out of the car and they came over with these 'native pride' flags and they knocked over all the posters and all their stuff," Colpitts said.

"Then one guy, he grabbed one of the native pride flags and they hit me on my arm and they left a bruise there. And they hit my arm so hard with the flag that it snapped over my arm.

"Some of the people rushed over to me and they, like, started asking if I was OK. I was saying I was fine but honestly I felt like [I] really wasn't at the time."

Raymond Marcelline is one of the trio of street preachers who was involved in the scuffle. He says his trio was rushed by a group wearing masks and carrying an Idle No More flag. He says he didn't hit Colpitts.

One of the posters displayed by the trio of men is of a white European-looking Jesus with devil's horns and the number 666 across his forehead. The point of the poster, according to Marcelline, is to make people aware that the idea that Jesus is white is a lie.

"We put the horns on because the word devil means 'the deceiver,'" Marcelline says. "If someone's going to go around and tell someone that the Lord is a white man. We just go out and tell people that no, this is a deceptive image. It's made to gain control over minds, over the mind of the people of the world."

Confronted

Wilma Houston was one of the people in the park who confronted Marcelline and the other two street preachers.

"When I walked up and saw the posters I was completely shocked," said Houston. "The one poster said that God is Negro, which is fine everybody believes that God looks their own certain way. But when I saw the picture of Jesus Christ that had devil horns and the numbers 666 across his forehead, I told him, as a Roman Catholic, that offends me.

"He told me straight [up] that he could tell I was Roman Catholic and that I was damned just for being born and raised a Roman Catholic. He then proceeded to tell me that because I was walking with a cane that God was already showing his wrath on me, that God had already cursed me because he hated me for being Roman Catholic and for being native," said Houston.

Marcelline defended his group's confrontational approach.

"We're just out there to wake up the elect.... In the Bible there are 144,000 that are going to be saved through the great tribulation. And we're hoping to be of those numbers and we're hoping to wake up those numbers," said Marcelline.

When contacted by CBC News for confirmation of another incident allegedly involving the sermonizing trio, police responded with this statement:

"On Sept. 19, 2015 at about 4 p.m., officers responded to the area of Portage and Carlton regarding the report of an assault. An intoxicated female was located with minor upper body injuries. The investigation determined that the female instigated an altercation with a male also in the area. No charges were laid; all parties involved were assisted as required. It appears that we have attended the same area on more than one occasion regarding male(s) preaching/demonstrating resulting in minor altercations requiring police to attend."