Indiana Pastor Nathan Peternel could face up to six months of suspension amid the ongoing fallout from his son’s child sex abuse case and a finding of “unbecoming” behavior by Peternel himself, according to an official dispatch from the National Assemblies of God relayed to congregants at a closed-door meeting Sunday.

Peternel will have his license to preach suspended for three months and possibly longer, submit to supervision by another pastor and spend a year in counseling, per the agreement reached with the Indiana district of the Assemblies of God. Peternel also opted against appealing his suspension, according to a person familiar with the closed-door meeting Sunday.

In the letter, the General Council of the Assemblies of God deferred decisions on Peternel’s suspension to the Indiana district leaders. (In response to questions from 24sight News last week about Peternel’s status, a national Assemblies of God spokesperson also directed questions to the Indiana district.)

Confusion has reigned inside the powerful, yet secretive, Indiana church ever since Peternel’s son was arrested last October on four felony counts of owning and trafficking in child sexual abuse material. In their investigation, police also discovered the son with more than 50 pictures and videos of his parents naked or having sex, which spurred a separate investigation by the Assemblies of God.

The Pentecostal denomination bans pastors from owning or viewing pornography, but the homemade sex videos posed an interesting dilemma for state and national church leaders of whether videos inside the covenant of marriage constituted pornography — a first for the Assemblies of God and a question they ultimately punted on, choosing to find Peternel engaged in “conduct unbecoming of a pastor”.

Indiana’s avowed Christian nationalist lieutenant governor, Micah Beckwith, leads one of Life Church’s four campuses and argued Peternel was wrongly being victimized by Assemblies of God leaders, according to the person familiar with the meeting.

Beckwith, whose office is under a separate criminal investigation related to a deepfake porn and possible ghost employment, has vacillated between talking about the scandal and directing congregants not to talk about it, supporting Peternel after he admitted to making the sex videos and most recently saying Peternel did not make sex videos.

At the meeting Sunday, Beckwith urged congregants to target Assemblies of God leaders who he accused of failing in their handling of the Life Church scandal and Peternel investigation. At one point Beckwith stated the denomination leaders gagged Peternel, but Life Church board members interjected telling Beckwith he was wrong, according to the person with knowledge of the meeting.

Life Church’s interim lead pastor Mike Maleto, who is Peternel’s brother-in-law, did not return a request for comment for this story. Beckwith’s communications staff did not return a request for comment, nor did anyone else associated with the church when asked via its official media email address. Nathan Peternel did not attend Sunday’s de facto town hall, according to the person familiar with the meeting.

The monthslong scandal inside Life Church has seen a wave of families depart for other churches and three top pastors resign, amid anger at shifting explanations of what happened and who was responsible. One week after his son was sentenced to six years in prison, Peternel announced he would be stepping aside after the Assemblies of God investigation, but confusion about even that persisted until Sunday.

The latest flare-up in the Life Church scandal came after Law and Crime’s Jesse Weber published bodycam footage from the Sept. 10 search of the Peternels’ home, revealing that Peternel kept bringing his son to church and around children despite knowing he was suspected of owning child sexual abuse material. In the bodycam footage, Peternel also states that his son may have been molested by an older woman when he was younger.

Maleto originally announced they would answer questions about the bodycam footage at the meeting, writing in a message to congregants “we don’t want you hearing things secondhand or wondering what’s going on. You’re family, and you deserve to hear from us directly.”

But Maleto said Sunday they would not take questions on that topic, according to the person familiar with the meeting.

Despite the wave of departures and resignations, Sunday’s closed-door meeting of members from all four campuses, was well attended, according to the person familiar with the meeting.

The Noblesville campus, where Sunday’s meeting was held, has continued to be a hub of political activity since the arrest and sentencing of Jonathan Peternel. In February Beckwith and Turning Point USA hosted a State of the Union watch party with students at the church.

Since Jonathan Peternel’s arrest in October, former congregants and former members of Nathan Peternel’s youth groups have come forward with stories of Nathan Peternel regularly demanding they discuss sex with him. In a 2016 encounter, Peternel demanded to know how a 17-year-old girl and her fiancé pleasured themselves in the bedroom, something Peternel brushed aside in a private meeting last year but has yet to address publicly.

Beckwith and Peternel co-hosted a podcast entitled “Jesus, Sex and Politics” for four years, but stopped posting new episodes two days after the Peternels’ home was searched and their electronics seized by police. They also deleted two episodes of the podcast dealing with sex and sexual assault.

Throughout the closed-door meeting Sunday, congregants debated who should be held accountable for the mess inside the church, but there was no outright shouting or fighting during the meeting, the person familiar with the meeting said.

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If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26

Do pastor’s sex videos constitute porn violation? - 1/30/26

Peternel gets 6 years in child sex abuse case - 2/13/26

Nathan Peternel stepping aside after investigation deems sex videos wrong - 2/22/26

Third pastor leaves Life Church, head pastor schedules emergency meeting about bodycam footage - 4/13/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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A third top pastor at the powerful Life Church in Indiana left Sunday amid an ongoing scandal which has forced the lead pastor into a Pentecostal rehab program and his son sentenced to six years for trafficking in child sexual abuse material.

The latest bombshell to rock the church, which is led in part by Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, came after NewsNation and Law and Crime host Jesse Weber published police bodycamera footage from the search of lead pastor Nathan Peternel’s home, revealing among other things that he kept bringing his son around children in the church despite knowing what he was being investigated for.

On Sunday, Derek Lopez, lead pastor of one of Life Church’s four campuses, left the church. Lopez was a popular leader at the Fishers campus, who was hired away from nearby ITown Church (created by the grandson of famous televangelist Lester Sumrall). His departure marks the third resignation by top staff, Life church’s lead youth minister and the head of their Pendleton, Indiana campus both left in January.

Interim lead pastor Mike Maleto told congregants Sunday that they would host a “Life Church family meeting” this upcoming Sunday at 2:30 p.m. which will be open to “anyone”.

“As a board, we were just having the conversation, ‘How do we facilitate transparency?’ Because that’s what, it seems like the perception is it’s lacking, and we really don’t want that to be the case,” Maleto said in his Sunday sermon. “We don’t want you to feel like you’re only going to get information from the media.”

Maleto did not reply to text messages seeking comment sent over the course of the past three days. Lopez did not reply to a call and text seeking comment. And an email sent to the press account for Life Church was not returned, the same as all previous emails to that account seeking comment.

Maleto also announced Lopez’s departure and the meeting in a pair of emails sent to congregants which were obtained by 24sight News.

Ever since Jonathan Peternel was arrested October 23rd and charged with four felony counts related to trafficking in more than 200 videos showing pre-pubescent children being drugged, raped and tortured, decades of stories from inside the secretive church have poured forth.

Nathan Peternel, who employs Lt. Gov. Beckwith and his family as pastors at Life Church, himself is not facing any criminal charges or any known investigations. But has become the focus of as much if not more attention than his son since the October arrest.

Police reported they discovered more than 50 videos of Nathan and Christina Peternel having sex or naked on the confiscated cellphone of their son, Jonathan. Nathan Peternel struggled to explain why there were sex videos for months, ultimately accusing Jonathan Peternel of getting high and hacking into a family account.

Under the Assemblies of God bylaws, credentialed pastors can be removed for “moral terpitude” involving pornography. Following a monthslong investigation by the Indiana office of the Assemblies of God, Nathan Peternel was forced to enter a “restorative process” but allowed to maintain control of the church.

🚨 Catch my interview with veteran broadcaster Rob Kendall with key insights on the reporting process for this Life Church investigation and what we know about the criminal probe of the Indiana lieutenant governor’s office.🚨

Former congregants and youth group members have told 24sight News of Nathan Peternel over the years regularly pressuring children to tell him about if they were having sex and preaching to the entire congregation about his own sex with his wife.

Nathan Peternel has regularly refused to speak in public about the stories and his conduct (and he kicked this reporter out of the church on February 22nd when he held a private meeting to answer congregant questions.)

But the bodycam footage from the Sept. 10 search of the Peternel home features more than 2 hours of Nathan and Chrissy Peternel each talking at length with police about a number of items which had been hidden from congregants, in some cases for many years.

In one instance an officer asks Nathan Peternel if his son was sexually assaulted before. Nathan initially replies “Not to our knowledge”, but then tells the officer that Jonathan told them that he was once kissed on the mouth by an older woman in the church and that she may have touched him over his clothes, but that they didn’t learn until years later and Jonathan didn’t want to talk about it.

Nathan also tells the police their son was first exposed to pornography when he was 10 or 11. In a separate interview, Chrissy Peternel tells the police that Jonathan was once referred by school officials to the police after they found nude photos on his school laptop.

At the beginning of his talk with police, Nathan Peternel refers to a recent incident with the church in which he said police lied to staff and that he was advised by his lawyer, local powerbroker Ray Adler, to not speak with the police. He also references referrals to the state Department of Child services, but does not offer specifics.

Life Church rose to prominence over the past five years as Nathan Peternel and Micah Beckwith locked arms, merging politics with the church — including signing it up as an official Turning Point USA Faith church in 2022 — and ultimately using the church as a homebase of Beckwith’s successful 2024 run for lieutenant governor.

Beckwith still preaches on Sundays and said last year that he was supporting Nathan Peternel, but he has refused to answer questions about his church and the ongoing scandal.

The scandal inside Life Church landed just as the larger Assemblies of God denomination of pentecostals has been going through a widespread unearthing of decades-old sexual abuse allegations. A lengthy investigation by NBC News, “Pastors and Prey”, led to the arrest of popular pentecostal preacher Joseph Campbell recently.

And a prominent leader with the National Assemblies of God, Rod Loy, stepped aside in February amid accusations of sexual abuse.

Throughout their interviews with the police in September, Nathan and Chrissy Peternel regularly referenced their support of efforts to combat sex-trafficking and support for police who investigate sex crimes. The couple regularly mentioned their connections to the Assemblies of God affiliated Project Rescue and Chrissy Peternel noted that Nathan’s mother serves as the chaplain to the local police department regularly pastoring to police investigating sex crimes.

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🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26

Do pastor’s sex videos constitute porn violation? - 1/30/26

Peternel gets 6 years in child sex abuse case - 2/13/26

Nathan Peternel stepping aside after investigation deems sex videos wrong - 2/22/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced Wednesday a two-track plan to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

The announcement marks a reversal for Johnson, who on March 27 dismissed a bipartisan Senate bill that omitted ICE and CBP funding.

At the time, Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, “This gambit that was done last night is a joke.

“I’m quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill. We’re not doing that,” he said at the time.

The House passed its own legislation to fund DHS for 60 days, which was not taken up in the Senate after both chambers departed for a two-week recess, with the shutdown reaching a record 46 days.

Under the new plan, Republicans would push ICE and border enforcement funding through reconciliation, allowing the GOP to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

Funding for the rest of DHS would be done via the regular appropriations process, which will need Democratic votes to pass.

The Senate Budget Committee has already begun work on the reconciliation bill, with President Donald Trump setting a June 1 deadline for Congress to send it to his desk.

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) announced late Thursday evening he will not seek re-election, bowing out of his May 26 primary runoff shortly after House GOP leadership publicly called on him to withdraw amid fallout from his admission of an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

In a statement, Gonzales framed his exit around his military and congressional record, with no direct mention of the scandal that had consumed his final weeks as a candidate.

“At 18, I swore an oath to defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. During my 20 years in the military and three terms in Congress, I have fought for that cause with absolute dedication to the country that I love,” he said. “From overcoming the border crisis to taking a stand with my communities after the worst school shooting in Texas’ history, my philosophy has never changed: Do as much as you can, and always fight for the greater good.”

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district. Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful,” he added.

The announcement came hours after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) issued a joint statement urging Gonzales to step aside and calling on the House Ethics Committee to act swiftly on its investigation into his conduct.

Gonzales had publicly admitted the affair earlier in the week in an interview with conservative radio host Joe Pags, acknowledging a relationship with Regina Santos-Aviles, a married mother of one who served as his regional director. Santos-Aviles died Sept. 14, 2025, after sustaining injuries from a fire in her backyard in Uvalde, Texas. The county medical examiner ruled her death the result of self-immolation.

Text messages obtained by 24Sight News from a forensic extraction of Santos-Aviles’ phone showed Gonzales asking her about sexual preferences and requesting photos during a late-night exchange in May 2024. Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back, writing:“This is going too far, boss.”

Even as the Texas Republican admitted the affair, Gonzales had accused Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrien Aviles, of attempting to extort him and alleged coordinated media attacks against him. Aviles vehemently denied the accusation and called on the congressman to take responsibility. Gonzales had vowed to remain in the race as recently as Wednesday.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) had filed a censure resolution against Gonzales. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) attempted to force a House floor vote requiring the Ethics Committee to release all records related to sexual misconduct investigations involving lawmakers — a resolution the House voted to send back to committee on Wednesday.

Gonzales had failed to clear 50 percent in Tuesday’s primary, setting up a runoff against gun-rights activist and YouTube personality Brandon Herrera. With Gonzales’ exit, Herrera is now positioned to advance unopposed.

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WASHINGTON — House GOP leadership is calling on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to abandon his reelection campaign after the congressman publicly admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, a scandal that has triggered a formal House Ethics Committee investigation and calls for his resignation from within his own party.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) urged the House Ethics Committee to move swiftly and said they have asked the embattled Texas congressman to drop out of the race.

“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” they wrote.

Gonzales, in a Wednesday interview with conservative radio host Joe Pags, broke from weeks of denial and acknowledged the relationship with Regina Santos-Aviles, a married mother of one who served as his regional director.

“I take full responsibility for those actions. Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever. When you make mistakes like this, you know it’s never easy. It humbles you, but it’s important to kind of work through it all,” he said on the program.

Even as he acknowledged the affair, Gonzales went on offense, accusing Santos-Aviles’ widower, Adrien Aviles, of attempting to extort him for money, and alleging that the media has coordinated attacks against him ahead of a May 26 primary runoff against gun-rights activist and YouTube personality Brandon Herrera. Gonzales asserted he had no plans to step aside.

Text messages obtained by 24sight News from a forensic extraction of Santos-Aviles’ phone — conducted as part of an active legal claim by her widower’s attorney — show Gonzales asking her about sexual preferences and requesting photos during an exchange in May 2024. Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back, stating: “this is going too far, boss” in one of the exchanges.

Santos-Aviles died Sept. 14, 2025, after sustaining injuries from a fire in her backyard in Uvalde, Texas. The county medical examiner ruled her death the result of self-immolation.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers have spoken out, calling for Gonzales to step down. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told 24sight News on Wednesday she filed a censure resolution to formally condemn him. The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday it had opened a formal investigation into the matter.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), separately attempted to force a House floor vote Wednesday that would have required the Ethics Committee to publicly release all records related to investigations into sexual misconduct by lawmakers within 60 days, with victims’ identifying information redacted. The House voted to shelve the resolution.

“I know there’ll probably be a fight on the floor. It’ll probably go down and be tabled, but this is the kind of transparency Congress needs right now. We’re talking about members like Tony Gonzales — this young woman killed herself in the most horrific way, she set herself on fire and died, and we’re just going to shrug it off and let the process play out,” Mace told 24Sight News on Tuesday.

The Ethics Committee released a statement opposing Mace’s resolution, arguing that mandatory disclosure of records could discourage victims and witnesses from cooperating and could retraumatize those involved, adding that sexual harassment and workplace misconduct “have no place in the halls of Congress.”

Mace said she is also exploring options to expose an alleged congressional slush fund used to pay off sexual harassment claims, and said she plans to subpoena records through the House Oversight Committee.

Gonzales failed to secure more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, setting up the May 26 runoff against Herrera.

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WASHINGTON- The House voted to table a resolution on Wednesday aimed at forcing the House Ethics Committee to release all its records on investigations into sexual misconduct involving lawmakers.

Thirty-eight Republicans and 27 Democrats supported the measure — Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) — coming up for a full vote, which will now instead be referred to committee, where its fate remains uncertain. One Republican, Rep. Brad Knott (R-N.C.) — a member of the House Ethics Committee — voted present.

Under the resolution, the panel “would be required to publicly release all reports, conclusions, draft reports, recommendations, and accompanying materials within 60 days of adoption. Personally identifiable information of victims or alleged victims would be redacted to protect their privacy.”

The resolution comes in the wake of Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) facing sharp criticism from a growing number of colleagues over allegations he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

“I know there’ll probably be a fight on the floor. It’ll probably go down and be tabled, but this is the kind of transparency Congress needs right now. We’re talking about members like Tony Gonzales — this young woman killed herself in the most horrific way, she set herself on fire and died, and we’re just going to shrug it off and let the process play out,” Mace told 24sight News on Tuesday.

Multiple Republican women have taken aim at Gonzales over the accusations, calling for him to step down. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) introduced a censure resolution to formally condemn the Texas lawmaker, who faces a runoff battle against primary opponent and gun-rights activist Brandon Herrera after the incumbent failed to garner 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday.

Mace said she is also exploring options to expose an alleged slush fund used to pay off sexual harassment claims in Congress, adding that she plans to “subpoena the slush fund on the Oversight Committee — that’s the one way to get it.”

The House Ethics Committee — which announced an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday — came out against the Mace resolution, making the case it could retraumatize victims and hinder their ability to get witnesses to cooperate.

“All Members of the Committee treat their roles with solemn responsibility and utmost seriousness. Regardless of party affiliation, there is a shared view that sexual harassment and workplace misconduct in particular have no place in the halls of Congress. Here and elsewhere, perpetrators of sexual misconduct should never be shielded from responsibility for their misdeeds,” the committee said in a statement.

“We believe the forced disclosures mandated by House Resolution 1072 could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations. Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits. And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”

He has come under substantial scrutiny after text messages obtained by 24sight News revealed correspondence between the congressman and his late staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, in which he asked for sexual photos and expressed his preferences. She responded by pushing back, saying it had gone “too far.”

Gonzales has asserted he has no plans to step down.

The runoff election for his primary is scheduled for May 26, with early voting running from May 18–22.

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WASHINGTON- Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) asserted he has no plans to resign on Tuesday as an increasing number of GOP lawmakers call for him to step down or not seek reelection after text messages emerged showing the congressman solicited explicit photos and made explicit sexual requests to his late staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles.

“I will not resign,” he told reporters at the Capitol, adding that “What you have seen are not all the facts,” when pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju.

Gonzales, a married father of six, has repeatedly denied allegations of an affair despite Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, speaking out and a former staffer confirming the relationship.

Santos-Aviles died in September, with the coroner’s report confirming she died of self-immolation.

The texts, which were obtained through forensic download as part of an active legal claim by her widower’s attorney and obtained by 24Sight News, show exchanges beginning around midnight in May 2024, with Gonzales asking his former aide to send him a “sexy pic,” which she pushed back on, replying “life has been a Telenovela for the past seven days” and that he didn’t “really want a hot picture” of her.

When Gonzales responded that he was “just such a visual person,” Santos-Aviles declined again, saying she didn’t like taking pictures of herself. As the conversation continued, Gonzales asked about her sexual preferences and positions. The messages indicate Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back. “This is going too far, boss,” she wrote.

Pressure for the Texas Republican — who is facing a tight primary battle against YouTuber and gun store owner Brendan Herrera, whom he narrowly beat last cycle — to face repercussions has ramped up in recent days, with at least six of his colleagues voicing that he should drop his reelection bid.

GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Brandon Gill (R-Texas), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Nancy Mace have all condemned his push to remain in office next term in the wake of the developments.

Mace introduced a resolution on Monday that would require the House Ethics Committee to preserve and release all reports related to investigations into lawmakers regarding allegations of sexual relationships with staffers and harassment claims.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told CBS News the allegations are “detestable,” but feels they need to “allow all the facts to play out.” Johnson told reporters he planned to meet with Gonzales to discuss the matter on Tuesday.

Gonzales has repeatedly slammed the accusations, accusing Santos-Aviles’ widower and his lawyer of extortion in a recent social media post.

Aviles blasted the claims, posting “We have never blackmailed anyone. What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image,” on X in response to Gonzales’ claim.

The primary election is slated to take place on March 3.

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WASHINGTON- A growing number of House Republicans are calling for Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to either resign from Congress or drop his reelection bid after text messages surfaced showing the married father of six soliciting explicit photos from a staffer who repeatedly rebuffed him, and who later died by suicide.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was the first to go public, taking to X to demand Gonzales step down, posting: “RESIGN!”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) followed with a statement, writing: “A young woman is dead. Regina Santos-Aviles took her own life. The allegations against Congressman Tony Gonzales are deeply disturbing — a sitting Member of Congress accused of soliciting explicit photos from a staffer and subjecting her to graphic sexual texts. This is an abuse of power. Congressman Gonzales must address these allegations and resign.”

Santos-Aviles, a mother and regional district director in Gonzales’ office, died by self-immolation in September 2025. According to her widower’s attorney, the alleged affair had sparked a separation between Santos-Aviles and her husband Adrian Aviles in the period before her death.

Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), a member of Gonzales’ delegation, stopped just short of calling for his resignation, instead calling for him to drop out of the race.

“America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race,” he posted on X.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) echoed Gill’s sentiment, posting: “It is time for Tony to let someone else represent the great people of TX.”

And the conservative Freedom Caucus Fund went further still, endorsing Gonzales’ primary challenger Brandon Herrera and calling him “a bold, unapologetic defender of the Second Amendment” committed to President Trump’s America First agenda.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) acknowledged the gravity of the situation but was careful not to withdraw his support, telling NBC News it was “too early for anybody to prejudge any of that.”

At the center of the storm are text messages obtained from Santos-Aviles’ phone through a forensic download by her widower’s attorney and published Monday by 24Sight News.

They show Gonzales initiating contact just past midnight in May 2024, asking his regional district director to send a “sexy pic” and making sexually explicit requests which she repeatedly pushed back on.

A former colleague told 24Sight News that Santos-Aviles had spoken openly about what was happening, describing how Gonzales had allegedly used the resources of his office to elevate her standing — championing her projects, placing her on a pedestal.

Gonzales has repeatedly denied allegations of an affair, accusing Santos-Aviles’s husband Adrian Aviles and his attorney of seeking money in exchange for silence.

Aviles’ attorney dismissed the claim, telling CBS News that Gonzales was “playing the role of a victim in a situation that he created.” Aviles responded directly on social media, writing that his family had never sought to blackmail anyone.

The allegations come at a particularly precarious moment for Gonzales, who is locked in a tight primary race against Brandon Herrera — a YouTuber and gun shop owner who has also called on Gonzales to step down. The Freedom Caucus Fund’s endorsement of Herrera, whom they praised as “a bold, unapologetic defender of the Second Amendment,” is likely to intensify pressure on the embattled congressman in the weeks ahead.

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Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) made explicit sexual requests to his late congressional staffer who repeatedly resisted, according to text messages obtained by 24Sight News from a forensic extraction of Regina Santos-Aviles' phone conducted as part of an active legal claim by her widower's attorney. The messages add to a growing body of evidence of an alleged improper relationship — allegations Gonzales denied as recently as last week.

Santos-Aviles died on September 14, 2025, after sustaining injuries from a fire in her backyard in Uvalde. The county medical examiner determined her death was the result of self-immolation.

The messages show the exchange beginning around midnight in May 2024, with Gonzales asking Santos-Aviles to send him a “sexy pic.” She deflected, writing that her “life has been a Telenovela for the past seven days” and that he didn’t “really want a hot picture” of her. When Gonzales responded that he was “just such a visual person,” Santos-Aviles declined again, saying she didn’t like taking pictures of herself.

As the conversation continued, Gonzales asked about sexual preferences and positions. The messages indicate Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back. “This is going too far, boss,” she wrote at 12:50 AM.

She also asked whether Gonzales had hired her because of her appearance, which he denied. When Gonzales pressed further with an explicit sexual question, Santos-Aviles pushed back again, writing: “never.”

Gonzales, a married father of six, represents a southern border district. Santos-Aviles was also married and the mother of a young child.

Attorney Bobby Barrera, who represents Santos-Aviles’ widower Adrien Aviles, said in an interview last week that the power dynamics between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles point to improper coercion.

“What one person may say is a simple question, someone else may interpret as coercion, because, guess what, it’s coming from your boss requesting that you do something that is not particularly proper, as in, send him pictures or meet him at particular locations,” he told CBS News.

A former Gonzales staffer who worked alongside Santos-Aviles in the district, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told 24Sight News last Monday that Santos-Aviles had confided in them about the alleged relationship. The source said they were the only other staffer based with Santos-Aviles from June 2024 until her death, and described themselves as the person closest to her in the office.

“She told me everything,” the source said. “Regina always told me that he came onto her first.”

Multiple sources have also claimed there was a toxic work environment within the Gonzales office. 24Sight News spoke with two former female staffers who said they received text messages from Gonzales that, while not overtly sexual, made them uncomfortable during the course of their employment.

Another individual close to the Santos-Aviles family, who spoke directly with her, told 24Sight News in October that the late staffer had confided in them about the alleged relationship.

“She said, ‘I need your advice — I’ve really screwed up,’” the individual said. “It’s a very tragic situation because, in my opinion, Tony took advantage of a young woman without regard for the consequences.”

The former district staffer also told 24Sight News that during Gonzales’ 2024 runoff campaign, Gonzales and Santos-Aviles allegedly made at least two visits to a rental cabin in Concan, Texas owned by the staffer’s family, arranged as a place for the congressman to rest between campaign events. The source asserted they were not aware of the alleged relationship at the time.

“I ended up setting up the whole thing. In hindsight, it’s embarrassing, because they used it as a place to hook up,” the source said. “I just accidentally facilitated it.”

The former staffer also alleged that Gonzales leveraged his position to advance Santos-Aviles, selecting her community projects for federal funding and elevating her profile above other regional staff.

“He definitely used his power and his position in the office to coerce her,” the source continued. “He put her on a pedestal and he got something out of it.”

The Daily Mail first reported allegations of a relationship between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles in October 2025. Barrera told 24Sight News last week that the alleged relationship came to light around June 2024, when Aviles discovered evidence that Gonzales and Santos-Aviles had allegedly spent time together in the weeks prior.

Barrera said the discovery of the alleged affair strained the marriage. Adrien Aviles wanted his wife to resign from her position in Gonzales’ office, the attorney added, but Santos-Aviles declined, wanting to finish the community projects she had been working on. The alleged affair ultimately led the couple to separate, according to Barrera.

On June 1, 2024, Adrien Aviles sent a text message from his wife's phone to a handful of Gonzales staffers and individuals associated with the office, informing them of the alleged affair, according to screenshots obtained by 24Sight News.

“Just a heads up this is Adrian Aviles, Regina's soon to be ex husband,” he wrote. “I just wanted to inform all of you that we will be getting a divorce after my discovery of text messages and pictures, that she's been having an affair on me with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now.”

Santos-Aviles had no documented history of mental health struggles before the alleged relationship began, Barrera told CBS News.

“The deterioration of her mental state was exacerbated by the conduct Tony engaged in, the workplace harassment after the discovery of the affair,” he told the outlet.

Gonzales has repeatedly denied having a sexual relationship with Santos-Aviles. He is in a tight primary race against Brandon Herrera, a YouTube personality and gun store owner who narrowly lost to him in a 2024 runoff.

In a statement to CNN on Thursday, Gonzales called the allegations political smears orchestrated by his opponent.

“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place. Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before,” he said. “It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started. I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”

When Gonzales posted to X on February 19 claiming he would “not be blackmailed” and that people were profiting “politically and financially off a tragic death,” Aviles responded directly, writing: “We have never blackmailed anyone. What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image. You’re a classic case of a two-faced politician who says whatever is convenient to save face.”

Aviles also addressed Gonzales’ call for full release of the Uvalde police report, saying the decision to withhold it had nothing to do with protecting the congressman and everything to do with protecting his son.

“We chose to hold back the full police report and body cam footage for one reason only, it shows my wife suffering severe burns in horrific detail,” he wrote. “I will not allow that graphic material to become accessible to our 8 year old son in the future when he is old enough to search for or come across it. Nothing in that police report protects you, that decision is about protecting our child’s well-being, not concealing anything improper.”

Barrera rejected Gonzales’ characterization of the legal claim as extortion.

“Any claim of extortion implies that he actually did something wrong and that we want money to keep our mouth shut,” he told CBS News. “But what he’s failed to acknowledge is that he had this affair. It shocks the conscience that he would do this, with the exception that he’s trying to play the victim once again.”

In a subsequent post on X at 3:46 AM on Feb. 22, Gonzales wrote that during his six years in Congress not a single formal complaint had been levied against his office, and dismissed the allegations as coordinated political attacks days before the election.

Aviles responded: “This isn’t ‘coordinated political attacks. This is exposing the real Tony Gonzales, this is tragedy you helped create, and you refuse to own it. I’m sure others stayed silent in fear of your power, but I fear no man but God. My 8 year old son will grow up knowing what a real man of honor looks like. I’m exposing your disgust as my duty to him, and in memory of Regina, who deserved better than your abuse of power. You don’t deserve the responsibility of being a congressman or a leader. Texans deserve a leader with integrity, not a coward.”

Aviles concluded by calling on President Donald Trump to pull his endorsement of Gonzales.

Gonzales is also facing a House Ethics inquiry. A House GOP leadership aide told CBS News that “leadership is waiting and watching to see what happens with Tony Gonzales,” adding that there are currently no retractions in endorsements or support.

Gonzales and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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INDIANAPOLIS _ The lead pastor of the politically powerful Life Church, Nathan Peternel, announced Friday that he was stepping aside following an investigation which found that sex videos he and his wife made fell below the moral standards set by the Pentecostal Assemblies of God.

Peternel announced that his brother-in-law would take over leadership of the church, which employs Indiana’s lieutenant governor and his two brothers as top pastors, while he undergoes a “restorative process” required by the Indiana Assemblies of God.

His decision to step aside comes one week after an Indiana judge sentenced his son to six years in prison for the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. As part of the investigation, police discovered his son in possession of more than 50 videos of his parents naked or having sex, something Nathan later stated was a result of his son getting high and hacking into a password protected account.

“After a careful and thorough review, the District Executive Presbytery concluded that certain personal behaviors related to my use and retention of private digital content involving my spouse fell short of the standards expected of a credentialed minister and were determined to be unbecoming of ministerial leadership,” Peternel wrote in his email obtained by 24sight News.

Peternel wrote he would step aside beginning March 1, he did not say how long the “restorative process” would last.

“In the short term, I will focus fully on this season of restoration. In the long term, the plan is for me to remain the Lead Pastor of Life Church as I walk through and complete the restorative process,” Peternel wrote. “Chrissy and I are approaching this season with humility and expectancy. When this restorative process is complete, I look forward to returning with renewed vision and a refreshed heart to continue leading Life Church forward as we pursue our mission and the vision of reaching beyond what we currently see.”

He said he would address questions during the church’s annual meeting Sunday during a 90-minute session.

Peternel did not return a request for comment Friday evening. Peternel’s brother-in-law, Mike Maleto, the lead pastor of the church’s Eagle Creek campus, did not return a request for comment Friday.

An official with the Assemblies of God declined comment for this story.

It was not immediately clear if Peternel’s license had been suspended following the results of the state Assemblies of God investigation, but the restoration process is generally reserved for Pentecostal ministers who have been removed as leaders of their church. Peternel, in his email, said he would be retaining his leadership position, the state Assemblies of God did not issue a statement.

The Assemblies of God recommends a series of bed and breakfasts and retreat centers across the nation as part of its restoration process for pastors, according to its website. Another powerful Pentecostal figure, Rod Loy of Arkansas, recently was reprimanded by the national Assemblies of God amid accusations he sexually abused a former congregant for two decades beginning when she turned 16 years old, according to The Birmingham News. (Loy has denied the charges.)

Despite agreeing to step aside, Loy promptly returned to the stage of his Arkansas mega-church this week, according to the church’s YouTube channel.

In an extensive investigation, NBC News reported on years of abuse by prominent pastor Joseph Campbell, resulting in his arrest last month on charges he sexually abused two girls.

Peternel is not facing any criminal charges or known criminal investigations and has been circumspect in his limited public statements regarding the sex videos of him and his wife. But former Life Church members have reported an environment of regular harassment, control and profligate discussions of sex — sometimes in front of the entire congregation — over his almost three decades as a pastor.

Peternel rocketed to prominence in Republican circles in recent years helping to run one of his top pastors, Micah Beckwith, for lieutenant governor of Indiana. Beckwith and his team have refused repeated requests for comment regarding Peternel and his son, but in sermons last year the state’s second-in-command said he was standing by Peternel and chastised congregants for asking questions.

Former congregants have described Peternel regularly demanding that they, as minors, tell him about the sex they were having, talked at length about his own sexual relations with his wife, preached about the “pleasures” of sex from the pulpit and, in one closed-door meeting in 2016 demanded a 17-year-old girl describe how she orgasms.

Peternel and Beckwith previously toured the country with Charlie Kirk and his Turning Point USAministries operation and regularly recorded a podcast titled “Jesus, Sex and Politics.”

Since his son’s arrest and the discovery of his sex videos, congregants have fled the church in droves and two pastors announced their resignations. Angry former congregants have expressed frustration at the secrecy from Peternel, concerns that his son was around their children while under investigation for child pornography and refused to heed their concerns when confronted directly.

“Nathan and Life Church leadership need come completely clean on what Nathan knew about his son and when, and why Jonathan was apparently allowed back into Life Church where little children were present after the search of Nathan’s home and confiscation of devices,” veteran Indianapolis conservative talkshow host Rob Kendall said Friday.

Kendall left Life Church last year after his wife was baptized there by Beckwith and called for Peternel’s resignation last month after Peternel’s son pleaded guilty on child pornography charges.

“Nathan also needs to provide a clear explanation why his son was in possession of a massive collection of sex videos of Nathan and his wife, and how the church is ensuring no images or videos of children who attend the church were obtained by Jonathan,” Kendall said. “This issue demands full, public transparency, and thus far Nathan and Life Church have refused to provide it.”

🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26

Do pastor’s sex videos constitute porn violation? - 1/30/26

Peternel gets six years in child sex abuse case - 2/13/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) is coming under fire from political opponents as he heads into a heated primary, with Democrats boosting his primary challenger and amplifying damaging press coverage over an August trip to Mexico that multiple senior intelligence officials and congressional leadership sources now say has been mischaracterized.

At the center of the controversy is a report claiming CIA officials sent a cable to agency headquarters alarmed at Crenshaw’s behavior, raising concerns about unprofessional conduct linked to drinking and decorum during a congressional delegation meeting with Mexican officials. Four sources in the intelligence community and Congress, including senior intelligence officials, sources familiar with the cable, and a source familiar with the matter on Capitol Hill, are now disputing key elements of that account.

Crenshaw was not mincing words about who he holds responsible. “I’m just happy that this vicious deep state lie has finally been debunked,” he said. “This is more than just a slander against me. It is a betrayal of our national security where someone was willing to lie or possibly even fabricate a classified CIA document. Jake Sherman either lied about it, or he was lied to. Which is it? The public deserves to know.”

Democrat challenger Sean Finney launched a $300,000 ad buy over the Mexico trip as part of a broader $800,000 spending push by Democrats to attack Crenshaw. In the ad, Finney says the reports raise “serious questions” about Crenshaw’s “professionalism and his ability to serve” and pledges to offer “cold, sober professional leadership.”

The strategy is aimed at taking out one of the House’s most prominent Republicans before he ever faces a Democrat on the ballot. The ads have amplified reporting that intelligence officials now say was inaccurate.

“At an event Tuesday, Shaun told me directly he’d rather face my primary opponent Steve Toth. It is clear as day that the Democrats are trying to boost my primary opponent,” Crenshaw said. “It’s as if the Democrats are working hand in hand with my Republican primary opponent, Steve Toth.”

Senior intelligence officials disputed that the incident ever rose to the level of an international incident. “What is false about it is the idea that this was some international incident,” one senior intelligence official told 24Sight News. The same official confirmed there was “no communication between the [CIA] director [John Ratcliffe] and the speaker about it as an issue.”

Leadership sources also confirmed that the Speaker never received calls from the ambassador or the CIA director about the trip.

One senior intelligence official familiar with the cable’s contents said the document contained no mention of drinking or description of misconduct alleged against the Texas Republican.

“It’s just sort of reporting — hey, this is what happened in our AOR. We had a congressional delegation show up and they had a meeting,” the source told 24Sight News.

Multiple sources stated that the cable reflected standard operating procedure following congressional foreign travel, documenting who was met with, what was discussed, and noting the meeting was somewhat tense around discussions of Mexico’s need for American support.

“Having knowledge of what the cable actually said versus what was reported, they are very different,” the source added.

Punchbowl News, which first reported the story, cited multiple sources in the administration, intelligence community and on Capitol Hill. Sherman declined to comment.

Crenshaw acknowledged the August meeting included a toast with crude language but said the context matters.

“As is often the case in Mexico, military officials offer a toast at the end of each meeting. It’s a way for military guys to bond. It’s diplomacy. It’s my job to maintain those good relations so that we can combat our mutual enemy: the cartels,” he told 24Sight News.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) weighed in on Crenshaw’s behalf.

“Dan Crenshaw has always been and still is our point man in Congress when it comes to addressing the threat of the drug cartels. His insights and expertise in these and other matters regarding intelligence and national security are invaluable,” he said in a statement. “As a former Navy SEAL, he has earned his large platform. Despite recent media attacks by his political opponents, we know Dan, we stand by his record, and we have full confidence he will continue to deliver results.”

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ANDERSON, Ind. _ Jonathan Peternel was sentenced Friday to six years for possessing and distributing gruesome videos of child rape and torture.

The son of politically plugged in pastor Nathan Peternel and longtime church member read an apology in Madison County Court saying that he was ashamed of his sin, committed himself to Jesus Christ and would give money to an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit.

“I hate my sin that I’ve committed and I want to apologize to anyone who has fallen victim to this. I also want to apologize to my family, my friends and my church family for the stress and embarrassment I’ve caused you,” Jonathan Peternel read from a statement. “Last, to my mom and my dad, I’m sorry I put you through this humiliating situation you have been dishonored and your names have been dragged through the mud.”

Circuit Court Judge Mark Dudley said that while it has not the worst crime he has seen, Jonathan Peternel’s possession and trafficking of child sexual abuse material “affects what other people do, which helps them exploit minors.”

Dudley read through the list of factors he weighed, from aggravating and mitigating factors to mandatory sentencing guidelines in the four felony charges Jonathan Peternel pled guilty to before announcing the sentence.

Weighing Jonathan Peternel’s apology, Dudley explained that the 24-year-old member of Life Church was clearly a smart man and had character, but that he had to consider both rehabilitation and accountability in the sentencing in the case of more than 200 videos discovered on Jonathan Peternel’s phone which showed young children being drugged, raped and tortured.

The judge said that Jonathan’s possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material on June 5 last year and again on September 10, when his electronics were seized as part of the investigation, along with being under the influence of drugs suggested that he only stopped the criminal behavior when he was caught.

“I can’t say with assurance that you won’t commit another crime because with your background you knew it was wrong the very first time you did it, but you continued to do it until you got caught”, Dudley said.

The Jonathan Peternel case has rocked the Pentecostal Life Church in Central Indiana where Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith works as a lead pastor of one of its four campuses and the church has served as a political staging grounds in recent years.

Beckwith has worked closely with Peternel, his boss at the church, since the two launched Beckwith’s political career from the church more than five years ago. And Beckwith has repeatedly said he stands by Nathan Peternel, urging congregants not to ask questions about the criminal case or Nathan’s own conduct.

But Beckwith, who has recently championed efforts to crack down on child sexual abuse material in the Indiana statehouse, did not appear in court Friday in support of the expansive Peternel family which packed the audience. Beckwith and his staff did not return a request for comment Friday.

Nathan Peternel did not return a request for comment Friday or a phone call. Nathan, along with his wife Christina and much of the larger Peternel family packed the seating in the small courtroom Friday, leaving en masse as Jonathan Peternel was walked by the sheriff from the courtroom.

Jonathan Peternel’s arrest on October 23rd touched off the scandal which has rocked Life Church, but it has been the discovery by police that Jonathan had more than 50 videos of his parents naked or having sex, reports of Nathan Peternel repeatedly demanding minors tell him about their sexual activity and efforts to stymie questions from congregants which have spurred a wave of departures, including two top pastors and dozens of families.

Nathan Peternel has admitted that he and his wife filmed themselves having sex and accused Jonathan of getting high and hacking into their password protected account. 24sight News reported last month that an official with the Indiana Assemblies of God had been investigating Nathan Peternel’s conduct, which could potentially result in a revocation of his credentials for possessing pornography.

When Jonathan Peternel was given a public defender in November, he had spent two weeks in jail with nobody paying the $2,500 needed to release him and sitting alone, like a ghost, at the defense table, with none of his family in the audience.

Last month, when Jonathan Peternel changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on all four felony counts, he kept his head bowed as his father, Nathan Peternel, looked on with his chin jutted forward from the front row of the audience.

Friday, before he was sentenced, Jonathan walked into the court the other prisoners now walking with ease with his hands and feet cuffed and chained and sitting up straight. He spoke louder than in previous appearances as he read his apology and said he would commit himself to fighting child sexual abuse and trafficking.

Judge Dudley called said that Jonathan’s crimes were not the most heinous he had seen in his courtroom and also dismissed as an aggravating factor a juvenile incident from Jonathan’s past and, as mitigating factors he noted that Jonathan did not have a history of delinquency and had shown remorse in the courtroom.

But Dudley said that in addition to rehabilitation, court sentences must deal with accountability, which was why he gave Jonathan Peternel under the plea agreement reached last month.

“You have a strong personality and you have a lot of support,” Dudley said, “Prepare yourself for when you get out to do good.”

Jonathan Peternel will be transferred to a state prison where he will serve a maximum of four years, then two years on probation and have to register as a lifetime sex offender.

Peternel’s family walked out of the courtroom Friday solemnly as the sheriff walked him back to detention.

🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26

Do pastor’s sex videos constitute porn violation? - 1/30/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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The Indiana office of the Assemblies of God has been investigating Life Church lead pastor Nathan Peternel amid the fallout from the arrest of his son on child sex abuse charges and the discovery of sex videos Peternel made with his wife, according to two people familiar with the probe.

Peternel’s 24-year-old son Jonathan pled guilty this month to four felonies related to his owning and distribution of gruesome videos showing children being raped and tortured. During their investigation, police also discovered that Jonathan had more than 50 videos on his phone of his parents naked or having sex.

In the months since the discovery of the Peternel sex videos, former congregants have come forward with stories of abuse and demands from Nathan Peternel himself that minors tell him about their sexual relationships, something one former member of his “Stormfront” youth group deemed clearly “grooming” behavior.

The scandal has rocked the Life Church network of four modestly sized campuses, dwarfed by other megachurches in the area, but still packing significant political power having successfully run one of their top pastors for office as Indiana’s lieutenant governor in 2024.

Nathan Peternel and his employee, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, have struggled for months to stop current and former congregants from talking about the criminal case, the sex videos and Peternel’s own regular fixation on preaching about sex before the entire congregation. Two of the churches top pastors joined dozens of families, recently, announcing their departures amid the fallout.

Now, Nathan Peternel’s license to pastor through the Assemblies of God could be revoked if the state’s Assemblies of God credentialing committee determines he made a “moral transgression involving pornography” by making the videos of him and his wife having sex.

Nathan Peternel did not respond to a request for comment for this story. An email sent to Life Church’s media contact was not returned either. The Indiana Assemblies of God, including the pastor conducting the investigation, did not respond to requests for comment.

Peternel has apologized for having the videos and accused his son of hacking in to a password protected account to obtain them. Behind the scenes, former congregants of Life Church say Peternel has accused his wife of being a “Jezebel spirit” who pushed him to make the sex videos.

In close to three decades of pastoring in Indiana, Nathan Peternel has argued regularly for the need for the church to teach sex education from the pulpit in lieu of children learning it through pornography or outside the church. And much of what Peternel included in his official pre-marital counseling materials regarding sex references longstanding Christian sex therapist and marital stability works published by long-running Christian publisher Zondervan.

But former congregants have regularly complained of Nathan Peternel refusing to acknowledge their concerns when they came to him saying they felt uncomfortable with his regular preaching about sex. And after a 2016 incident in which he demanded a 17-year-old girl describe her sexual activity in graphic detail, other leaders in the church reprimanded Nathan Peternel.

The Assemblies of God has been of the fastest growing denominations at a time when most churchgoers and even the churches themselves have been breaking away from formal denominations. The Pentecostal denomination’s focus on speaking in tongues, expressing the presence of the Holy Spirit physically and strict patriarchal rules have meshed in recent years with conservative online influencers and a dramatic shift in Silicon Valley from the far left to the far right.

But the Assemblies of God has also struggled recently with national pastors speaking out in protest over the national office’s handling of decades of sexual abuse reports, detailed at length in a blockbuster NBC News investigation.

Nathan Peternel and Beckwith carved a name for themselves in politics recently accusing LGBTQ+ activists of being “groomers” and fighting to hide books in public libraries which they deemed obscene.

But at the same time, Peternel himself preached in church to his entire congregation, including children, about what he said were God’s rules for sex and the types of sex married couples could have.

Since the scandal broke, Nathan Peternel and Beckwith have yet to publish any new episodes of the “Jesus, Sex and Politics” podcast and deleted a pair of episodes dealing with child sex abuse and sex trafficking and a discussion of sex with their wives.

Jonathan Peternel is set to face sentencing in his child sexual abuse case on February 13th. Nathan Peternel has scheduled Life Church’s annual business meeting, in which congregants can raise concerns, for February 22, according to the church’s website.

🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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Florida GOP Chairman Faces FEC Complaint Over Alleged Misuse of Party Resources in Congressional Bid

An FEC complaint filed this week against Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power accuses him of using his position and party resources to gain an unfair advantage in the GOP primary for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, allegations Power says are completely without merit.

Keith Gross, Power’s primary opponent in the race to replace retiring Rep. Neal Dunn, filed the complaint, claiming Power is breaking federal campaign finance laws by trying to do two jobs at once — running the state party, which pays him an estimated $150,000 a year, while running for Congress. Power jumped into the race on January 14 but hasn’t given up the party chairmanship.

Power vehemently dismissed any wrongdoing. “I’ve kept everything in my silos, as they will. And I’m going to continue to run for Congress and represent the people of Florida and I will follow all laws,” he told 24Sight News. “So it’s a frivolous complaint that is sad that people are trying to do that to us.”

Gross sees it differently.

“The actions outlined in this Complaint paint a damning picture of insider corruption: a party boss moonlighting as a candidate, hijacking donor funded tools to rig his own race and disenfranchising the voters of CD-2 who deserve a fair election,” he said in a statement. “Evan Powers is using party resources to bolster his own sorely unpopular candidacy, extorting members of congress into endorsing him by leveraging state party authority to pressure officials and using donor funds to serve himself instead of the party from which he continues to receive a paycheck.”

According to the complaint, Gross says Power has been using Republican Party donor and voter lists worth over $50,000 for his own campaign, getting free promotion on the party’s social media accounts, and leaning on local officials to endorse him by making it clear their party support could dry up if they back someone else. He also claims Power has turned party events into campaign stops and is using party lawyers to help with his congressional run. Add it all up, Gross says, and you’re looking at more than $100,000 in benefits — way over what federal law allows.

Under current law, corporations can’t give to federal candidates and individuals can only give $3,500 per election.

Power took over as Florida GOP chairman just over a year ago after former Chairman Christian Ziegler was ousted following sexual misconduct allegations.

The 2nd Congressional District runs across the Florida Panhandle from Tallahassee to Panama City and leans so heavily Republican, with the winner of the primary expected to coast to victory in the general election.

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WASHINGTON — Paris Hilton stood with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Thursday in support of legislation aimed at combating AI-generated deepfake pornography, as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) made the case for giving survivors the right to sue.

The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate unanimously last week, and advocates in the House are pushing for swift passage. If it becomes law, it would be the first time victims have clear federal recourse when someone uses AI to create sexually explicit images or videos of them without consent.

Hilton got personal about why she feels the legislation needs to be signed into law. She revealed that over 100,000 explicit deepfake images of her have been created by AI and are floating around online. “Not one of them is real, not one of them is consensual,” she said. “And each time a new one appears that horrible feeling returns, that fear that someone somewhere is looking at it right now and thinking it’s real.”

The technology has changed everything about this kind of abuse.

“Before someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination,” she told reporters. She called it an epidemic and pointed out that even with her resources, there’s nothing she can do to stop it under current law.

“Today I stand here without shame. I am Paris Hilton, a woman, a wife, a mom, a survivor, and what was done to me was wrong,” she said. She told Congress it’s time to act: “Let’s finally make it law.”

Lee laid out how the bill could help targets of the abuse, telling reporters it would let victims sue anyone who knowingly creates, distributes, or solicits non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes, or who just doesn’t bother checking whether the person depicted consented. The statute of limitations accounts for the fact that victims often don’t find out about these images right away — sometimes they surface months or years later. And there are privacy protections built in so victims aren’t put through hell just trying to get justice.

The numbers back up the urgency. Ocasio-Cortez said one in eight teenagers knows someone who’s been hit with AI deepfake harassment.

“While these images may be digital, the harm to victims is very real,” she said. “Women lose their jobs when they are targeted with this. Teenagers switch schools and children lose their lives.”

Lee noted the issue has managed to garner strong bipartisan support, with women on both sides of the aisle feeling it is crucial that the legislation be taken up swiftly.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring together members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to work on a shared priority,” she said. “We had an incredible coalition of Republicans and Democrats, all of whom rallied in protecting women and girls, and other individuals who had been victimized by this type of exploitation.”

But there’s one problem lawmakers are still grappling with: lawsuits cost money, and not everyone can afford a lawyer. Lee told 24Sight News she’s thinking about how to solve it, possibly by working with advocacy groups that could take on cases pro bono.

“Access to courts is well known [as an issue] in this type of civil case,” Lee, noting her background as a judge, said. “Many individuals and small businesses struggle to litigate righteous cases because of the expense associated with legal representation.”

She added that she’d like to work with advocacy groups to help victims obtain the necessary resources to seek justice.

“I think there’s a real interest in advocating for people who are victims of this type of behavior, and we would really be very receptive to trying to find creative solutions,” she said.

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Martin Cuellar — the Webb County sheriff in Texas and brother of recently pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) — was arrested in relation to a probe over alleged misuse of public resources and corruption involving COVID-era cleaning contracts, according to an indictment on Thursday.

Laredo residents Martin Cuellar, 67, and Alejandro Gutierrez, 47, turned themselves in to authorities and made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan in Houston, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas.

A federal grand jury returned the now unsealed five-count indictment Nov. 19, 2025. It alleges that between 2020 and 2022, Cuellar and Gutierrez conspired with others to misappropriate WCSO funds.

According to the indictment, Cuellar, Gutierrez and former assistant chief Ricardo Rodriguez used WCSO staff and resources to run a for-profit disinfecting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own. The indictment also alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.

The charges also allege Disinfect Pro Master secured a $500,000 contract to clean United Independent School District schools in Laredo and completed the work using WCSO staff and resources. For more than two years, the business allegedly operated almost entirely with county employees and supplies, incurring minimal overhead.

Cuellar, Gutierrez and Rodriguez each received approximately $175,000 – one third of the profits, according to the charges. Cuellar allegedly used part of his proceeds to purchase property in Laredo.

Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

“I am completely innocent of these charges. Over the course of my career—as a Texas State Trooper, a Narcotics Sergeant investigator, Narcotics Lieutenant and now as your Sheriff—I have learned the difference between what is right and what is wrong, and I know what I did and did not do,” he said in a statement.

If convicted, Cuellar and Gutierrez both face up to 10 years in federal prison, as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Cuellar is also charged with money laundering, which could carry an additional 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of property involved in the real estate transaction.

Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on March 16.

On Dec. 4, 24Sight News reached out to Henry Cuellar about his brother’s arrest, asking him to confirm details about the pending indictment. Cuellar responded: “Traveling but can follow up tomorrow.”

Days later he denied his brother had been indicted, stating it was “just rumors.”

The Webb County Sheriff’s office said in an email on Dec. 8, “We have no information about this matter and we don’t want to respond to unconfirmed rumors. Sheriff Cuellar is concerned about keeping the community safe,” when asked to comment on Dec. 8.

The indictment follows an FBI probe that became public in 2023 when agents searched the sheriff’s department headquarters and a private residence, forcing the building’s temporary closure, KGNS previously reported. The searches were part of an examination into cleaning contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rodriguez operated Disinfect Pro Master while holding a senior position within Cuellar’s department, NOTUS reported last year. Federal authorities sought records involving the sheriff during their investigation into the arrangement.

In 2021, the United Independent School District hired Rodriguez’s firm for sanitization services. Records show Rodriguez held three positions simultaneously: assistant chief under Cuellar, owner of the contracted company, and member of the school board that approved his business for the work, according to NOTUS.

Prosecutors examined pandemic-related sanitization deals, with Martin Cuellar confirming in a public statement that authorities questioned him regarding “employees going to daycares, churches, and County buildings to disinfect,” the NOTUS report said.

FBI - San Antonio and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation as part of the Laredo Border Corruption Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Winter and Robert Johnson are prosecuting the case.

When agents conducted their 2023 search, the sheriff attempted to separate himself from any potential wrongdoing, telling KGNS the inquiry targeted Rodriguez specifically. “If they were on duty working with this company, that’s on them,” Martin Cuellar told KGNS.

President Trump announced he was pardoning Martin’s brother, Henry Cuellar and the congressman’s wife, Imelda Cuellar, on Dec. 3 over allegations that they “accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City.”

Trump claimed, without evidence, that the congressman was targeted by former President Joe Biden’s administration over his position on border security.

“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Henry Cuellar and his wife have repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing. Following the pardon, the Texas Democrat thanked Trump on X for “his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.”

“I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time,” Cuellar wrote. “This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas. This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”

Trump later voiced that he regretted the pardon after the Texas lawmaker filed for reelection as a Democrat, blasting him for a “lack of loyalty” on Truth Social.

Colin Strother, the congressman’s former campaign manager, and his consultant Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, agreed to plead guilty in 2024 to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, but did not receive pardons. Strother’s lawyer, Michael McCrum, advocated for his client’s case to be dismissed in the wake of the pardon, telling the San Antonio Express-News: “If the president has deemed this prosecution as unwarranted of proceeding, then I would expect and hope that the Department of Justice would dismiss the case against Mr. Strother.”

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WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over their refusal to testify in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

The resolutions, which passed out of committee with broad bipartisan support, are slated to head to the House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.

Republicans blasted the Clintons for declining to appear before the committee, with House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) asserting that “subpoenas are not mere suggestions—they carry the force of law and require compliance.”

Republicans on the panel alleged the Clintons’ lawyers “made an untenable offer,” proposing that the chairman and ranking member “travel to New York for a conversation with President Clinton only. No official transcript would be recorded and other Members of Congress would be barred from participating. I have rejected the Clintons’ ridiculous offer.”

Comer—who argued that “No one’s accusing the Clintons of wrongdoing”—slammed the proposal and the Clintons’ decision not to appear before the panel, setting up Wednesday’s vote. The Clintons have argued that the subpoenas are “invalid,” contending they don’t serve a legitimate legislative purpose.

“We have tried to give you the little information we have. We’ve done so because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific,” the Clintons wrote to the committee last week.

A spokesperson for the Clintons took to social media to reject the notion that they were unwilling to have the interview transcribed.

“We never said no to a transcript. Interviews are on the record and under oath,” Angel Ureña, deputy chief of staff to the former president, posted on X on Tuesday. “Whether it was written or typed isn’t why this is happening. If that were the last or only issue, we’d be in a different position. You keep misdirecting to protect you-know-who and God knows what.”

Members on both sides of the aisle on the panel’s Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee previously passed a motion to issue subpoenas to 10 individuals, including the Clintons, to testify as part of their probe over the summer.

Democrats on the panel have asserted they want transparency and to forge forward with the investigation into Epstein and his associates’ abuse of minors, but have argued the files should be released. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — who voted against the resolutions — told reporters on Tuesday he would like to hear from the Clintons, but also feels AG Pam Bondi “should be held in contempt right now” due to the delay in the files being released.

Being held in contempt of Congress can lead to heavy fines and even incarceration, though it’s unclear whether the GOP efforts will result in enforcement.

The Jan. 6 committee previously subpoenaed President Trump as part of its probe into the 2021 riot at the Capitol. Trump’s lawyers pushed back, arguing that legal precedent has largely shielded former presidents from being forced to testify before Congress.

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ANDERSON, Ind. _ Jonathan Peternel, the son of a powerful Indiana pastor, changed his plea Friday to guilty on four felony counts related to more than 200 videos of gruesome child rape and torture found on his phone last year.

The son of Life Church’s lead pastor who had initially pleaded not guilty to the child exploitation and abuse charges will now face sentencing next month in a criminal case which has rocked the Pentecostal church of Indiana’s lieutenant governor for months now.

Life Church lead pastor Nathan Peternel, his wife Christina and a large gathering of Peternel family and top church members packed into the small Madison County courtroom Friday morning to await Jonathan Peternel’s hearing.

Jonathan Peternel looked briefly at his father and mother, seated in the front row of the courtroom, as he walked in with other inmates before looking away. As the court worked through a standard retinue of criminal cases Friday morning, Nathan Peternel jutted his jaw out a bit and tilted his head back while Jonathan, his son, sometimes scanned the room or kept his head down.

Two months prior, Jonathan Peternel sat alone in court, with none of his family present as the judge asked him why nobody had paid the $2,500 needed for his release. Now, on a cold, snowy morning, Jonathan Peternel sat at the defense table with his public defender as the prosecutor read through the gruesome details of the videos of child rape and torture found on his phone. Speaking in a much lower tone, almost muttering, the prosecutor read through the four counts.

As the circuit judge read through each felony count, one count of child exploitation and three counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, Jonathan Peternel bowed his head and replied “Guilty” each time.

Asked by 24sight News after the hearing how he felt, Nathan Peternel said “Very broken-hearted for every party involved, it’s a very sad situation.“

“There will be a story I’ll share at some point that will lead to that, I’m just not able to share it at this time,” he said when asked how Jonathan Peternel ended up in court.

Jonathan’s arrest last October has touched off a larger scandal in the church where Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is employed as one of its top pastors. Since his arrest, former youth group members and congregants have stepped forward with reports of Nathan Peternel regularly demanding they tell him about their sex lives, regularly talking about his own sex life and at times urging congregants to make homemade pornography of them and their spouses.

While it did not come up during Friday’s hearing, people inside the closed-off Life Church have pushed for months to find out why Jonathan Peternel was also found with more than 50 videos of his parents having sex or naked. Nathan Peternel accused his son of being high and hacking into a password protected account, but behind the scenes has also accused his wife of forcing him to film themselves having sex.

Reports of Nathan Peternel’s behavior with teens, his congregations and changing stories about his son and the sex videos have led to a steady stream of departures from the four-campus Pentecostal church which just a year ago was hosting major Republican politicians and hundreds of congregants celebrating in placing one of their own second-in-line to the governor.

Two of the church’s top pastors submitted their resignations shortly after the New Year.

Beckwith and Peternel have tried unsuccessfully for months now to stop congregants from asking questions. The pair used to co-host a podcast, “Jesus, Sex and Politics”, but haven’t made any new episodes since shortly after police searched the Peternels’ home. They also deleted two episodes of the show, including an episode focused on fighting child abuse and sex trafficking.

🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26

Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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The head of Life Church Indiana’s youth ministry and the pastor of one of its four campuses have resigned amid growing reports of abuse and a criminal case rocking the politically plugged in church, according to an announcement obtained by 24sight News Wednesday.

Pastors Tina Pavy and Ross Steele are leaving, marking the first departures from inside a very tight-knit circle in Life Church. Church leader Nathan Peternel and Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who leads one of the church’s other campuses, have tried to for months to get congregants to stop talking about the arrest of Peternel’s son and Peternel’s own behavior with minors.

The email announcing their departure did not reference the Peternel son’s criminal case or reports of abuse, only saying that Steele would be leaving to start his own church and Pavy was leaving after 16 years of pastoring.

“We celebrate both Pastor Ross and Pastor Tina and joyfully send them with our love, prayers and blessings as they step into what God has next,” reads the announcement sent Wednesday afternoon, signed by the “Life Church Leadership Team”.

Members of Life Church’s leadership and staff met all day Tuesday for their regular staff meeting. Beckwith, who presides over the Indiana state Senate as part of his state job, could be seen engulfed in his cellphone Tuesday afternoon as lawmakers debated measures in the state capital.

Peternel, as he has for more than two months now, did not return a request for comment Wednesday. An email sent to the church’s public relations address was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.

Peternel’s son is facing seven felony charges stating that he owned and distributed child sexual abuse material. But the discovery on the son’s cellphone of more than 50 videos or pictures of Peternel and his wife having sex or naked has caused almost more uproar at the Pentecostal church.

Peternel at first declined to explain why their son had the videos, then weeks later accused his son of getting high and hacking into a password protected account. Peternel has preached regularly about sex for decades and told members of his youth groups over the years that if they avoid pornography and abstain from pre-marital sex they can film themselves after they’re married.

In 2016, during a closed-door pre-marital counseling session, Peternel demanded that a 17-year-old girl and her fiancé tell him how they had sex in explicit detail. The young couple complained to the church and the national Assemblies of God. A decade later Paige, whose full name is being withheld, filed a police report with the Fishers, Indiana police.

Members of Peternel’s first youth group started in the late ‘90s, which he named “Stormfront” over protests that it shared a name with a neo-Nazi group, have recounted Peternel demanding he tell them about how they had sex and talking extensively with them about his own sex with his wife.

Peternel and Beckwith have worked closely together for more than five years, co-hosting a podcast named “Jesus, Sex and Politics” and campaigning for office in large part on promises to fight LGBTQ+ activists and public libraries they have accused of “grooming” children. The two haven’t recorded a new podcast since a few days after Peternel’s house was searched by police, and have deleted two episodes of the show, including one dealing with child abuse and sex trafficking.

Pavy and Steele’s departures come as dozens of families have left the influential Indiana church in the last two months.

🚨🚨 Friends, I’m crowdsourcing this investigative series. My reporting is having an impact, but I need your support. Please contribute at PayPal or Venmo or via my GoFundMe page.🚨🚨

If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.

The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:

Pastor’s son arrested on child sex abuse charges plans to hire lawyer embroiled in deepfake porn scandal - 10/23/25

Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25

Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25

AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25

Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25

Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25

The Survivors of Stormfront: Nathan Peternel’s discussions with teens about sex, youth group hazing culture, scarred a generation who left Indiana church decades ago - 11/13/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Beckwith, state director of Assemblies of God McAtee tell congregation to ignore Peternel sex abuse reports - 11/17/2025

Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25

Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25

Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25

Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/25

Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:

Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25

Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25

BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25

Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25

Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25

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WASHINGTON — Politicians are mourning GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), who died suddenly during emergency surgery after suffering a medical emergency on Monday evening, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Colleagues applauded LaMalfa — a rice farmer and seven-term congressman who was first elected to the House in 2012 — for his dedication to public service and jovial demeanor following the announcement of his death.

LaMalfa, 65, served as chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and was a prominent voice on energy and natural resources policy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he was devastated to lose his friend and colleague.

“Congress is devastated to learn this morning about the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Doug LaMalfa,” he said in a statement. “He was as fierce a fighter for his state’s vast natural resources and beauty as we have ever known. We are mourning the loss of our friend and brother today, and we send our respects for his life and work to his wife Jill and the LaMalfa family during this difficult time.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) echoed Johnson’s sentiments.

“I’m devastated to hear of the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Doug LaMalfa,” he said. “A fourth-generation rice farmer, he fought passionately for the region’s agricultural community and small businesses. Doug was a hardworking team player and happy warrior, known to spread joy throughout Capitol Hill with his famous LaMaffles. Doug will be deeply missed.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said LaMalfa “treasured his community, worked powerfully to protect California’s farmers and served those he represented with principled purpose.”

“Doug and I joined the Congress as classmates in 2013, and it was an honor to witness firsthand his passion and personal resolve for more than a decade,” Jeffries added in his statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) posted on X that LaMalfa “was a devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.” He added, “Jennifer and I are holding Doug’s family, loved ones, and colleagues in our thoughts as California mourns his passing.”

LaMalfa’s Chief of Staff Mark Spannagel said in a statement that the congressman, “leaves a lasting legacy of servant leadership and kindness to the North State.” He added that LaMalfa “cared deeply for the people he served and worked tirelessly to hold the government to its word to fix our failing forests, build water storage, and leave people to be free to choose what is best for themselves.”

LaMalfa leaves behind his wife Jill, four children, one grandchild, Spannagel noted.

President Trump addressed lawmakers at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, expressing his condolences over LaMalfa’s death.

“I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member,” Trump said. “He was a fantastic person. He was just with us. He was our friend.”

Newsom is required to set a date for a special election within the next 14 days. The election could take place as early as mid-May.

LaMalfa’s death shrinks the House GOP’s already narrow margin as leadership looks to pass key legislation ahead of the midterm elections.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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