Marilyn Mosby pleads her innocence at Baltimore church after indictment; pastor calls charges 'demonic attack'
Controversial Maryland prosecutor Marilyn Mosby spoke at a prominent Baltimore church on Sunday, where the pastor suggested that the felony charges slapped against her a few days earlier related to allegations she lied on financial documents are the work of Satan.
The 41-year-old Baltimore state’s attorney, who first gained notoriety in 2015 for prosecuting police officers in the death of African American Freddie Gray, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for perjury and making false statements on loan applications.
Mosby is accused of falsely reporting that she “experienced adverse financial consequences” due to the coronavirus pandemic when applying to make a one-time withdrawal from her retirement account.
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“Mosby had not experienced adverse financial consequences stemming from the Coronavirus as a result of ‘being quarantined, furloughed or laid off’ or ‘having reduced work hours’ or ‘being unable to work due to lack of childcare’ or ‘the closing or reduction of hours of a business I own or operate,’” the indictment states.
“In fact, Mosby’s gross salary in 2020 was $247,955.58, and it was never reduced. She received bi-weekly gross pay direct deposits in the amount of $9,183.54 in all the months leading up to her ‘City of Baltimore Retirement Savings and Deferred Compensation Plans 457(b) Coronavirus-Related Distribution Request’ in May 2020. Rather than experiencing a reduction in income in 2020, Mosby’s gross salary in 2020 increased over her gross salary in 2019, which was $238,772.04.”
Mosby also faces charges for failing to report that she and her husband owed the Internal Revenue Service tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes when applying for mortgages for vacation properties in Kissimmee and Longboat Key, Florida. She was asked if she was “presently delinquent or in default on any Federal debt or any other loan, mortgage, financial obligation, bond, or loan guarantee,” and the indictment maintains that she falsely claimed that she was not.
Just days after her indictment, Mosby attended a Sunday service at Empowerment Temple, an African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northwest Baltimore.
The Rev. Robert Turner praised Mosby as a “dear servant and a community champion” before lamenting the indictment as a "demonic attack.”
Turner invited Mosby on stage, alongside several other congregants, and began praying.
“We ask right now in the name of Jesus that you cover, that you anoint, that you protect this, your child, from all the fiery darts of the enemy, that you bless her and her family, keep them strong, keep them fearless,” he said.
“We rebuke the enemy and his attack on their life. The devil is a liar,” Turner proclaimed. “We surround her physically now but spiritually forevermore as we intercede on her behalf.”
Turner pleaded with God to “protect her” and serve as her “advocate in a courtroom.”
He also urged God to “rebuke wickedness that’s in high places,” declaring: “We plead the blood of Jesus over her life from those that seek to kill her and destroy her and remove her legacy and diminish your glory over her life.”
After reiterating his belief that “what’s being done to this sister is dead wrong,” Turner offered Mosby financial support to assist her in legal challenges. Mosby indicated that she could not accept the offer, which Turner contended “shows her integrity.”
“So for anybody watching that thinks she’s all about money, Pastor Turner was offering to give her some money. … Empowerment Temple was prepared to give her some money, and I want whoever may serve on the jury to know she turned down … money.”
Mosby addressed the charges against her before the congregation.
“As a family, we are in the fight of our lives. But I stand before you confident and covered, trusting that with God on our side, I believe the fight is already fixed in my favor,” she said.
“I am innocent of the charges levied against me,” she added. “I have done nothing wrong, and I’m confident that I’ll be exonerated and my name will be cleared.”
Mosby previously brought up her Christian faith when speaking at a prayer breakfast shortly after the 25-year-old Gray’s death caused by injuries sustained while riding in a police van. She pointed to Isaiah 41:10 as a source of inspiration.
The Bible verse proclaims “Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Mosby praised the Bible verse for keeping her “grounded whenever I had that self-doubt, whenever I said, ‘This is too much for me to handle as a wife, as a mother, as an attorney.’”
Mosby said, “God got me through, and I have to believe that He put me here for a reason.”
In his remarks Sunday, Turner credited Mosby as the source of his inspiration for the “monthly community prayer walks” that his church will lead.
Stating that one of the church's members works in Mosby's office, Turner recalled that he was “invited to participate in a community prayer walk that was led and organized by” Mosby. He characterized Mosby as a “community leader and servant that wants to spiritually cover her jurisdiction in prayer.”
The charges against Mosby were announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron, FBI agent Thomas J. Sobocinski and Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation agent Darrell J. Waldon. An indictment is not a finding of guilt and Mosby is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Mosby faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of the two counts of perjury and a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of making false mortgage applications. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, “Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
Empowerment Temple was founded by prominent pastor and activist Jamal Bryant, who gave the eulogy at Gray’s funeral. Bryant left Empowerment Temple in 2018 to become the lead pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, following the death of its longtime leader Eddie Long.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
