Pastor leading Target boycott calls MAGA ‘roaches’ in sermon

A Georgia pastor who has been in the headlines for organizing a boycott against Target, referred to President Donald Trump and his supporters as “roaches” during his Easter Sunday sermon.

Rev. Jamal Bryant, an activist and senior pastor for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, railed against the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia and warned that Black Americans could be next “on the chopping block.”

“It’s dark in America,” he warned before going on to compare the Trump administration and Republicans to cockroaches.

“Roaches only start running when you turn the lights on. As long as the lights are out, they’re going to be comfortable,” he began. “I came to give a warning, Elon Musk, the light is getting ready to come on! Donald Trump the light is getting ready to come on! JD Vance the light is getting ready to come on! MAGA the light is getting ready to come on!” 

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“Welcome because the roaches will check in, but they won’t check out, the lights are coming on!” he added.

The clip picked up traction on social media this week after Bryant went viral in February for calling Black Trump supporters “coons” during a sermon.

On Sunday, Bryant also asked his congregation for a financial offering to fund their “fight” against the Trump administration’s efforts against diversity, equity and inclusion “DEI.”

He suggested several ways the money could be used, such as feeding school children who may no longer get free lunches due to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education, or to fund a library for Black books, after the Naval Academy purged hundreds of DEI books from its library. 

He went on to warn that the Trump administration could “withhold funds” from Historically Black Colleges and Universities after it froze billions of dollars in federal funding from Harvard University.

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Bryant also gave his congregation an update on the Target boycott, saying it had been successful, but the fight was not over.

In February, he called for a 40-day “fast” from shopping at the retail giant during Lent to protest its scaling back of DEI initiatives.

He touted that Target had lost “$12 billion” since the boycott and had pledged to give $2 billion to Black businesses by July 31. 

However, he said the company had not met them on their other three demands, so the boycott would continue.

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“I want the stock to go down because we are standing in righteous indignation against racism and sexism in this nation,” Bryant said in February, according to Fox5. “We are going to break the spirit of White entitlement. We are going to break the spirit of racism and sexism.”

Target announced in January that it was scaling back its DEI policies following President Donald Trump’s executive order to review such initiatives. The move adds Target to a growing list of companies scaling back or eliminating their DEI efforts as these programs come under increased scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Target told Fox News Digital, “At Target, we have an ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming environment for all team members, guests, and suppliers. It’s core to how we support and grow our business. We remain focused on supporting organizations and creating opportunities for people in the 2,000 communities where we live and operate.”

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields responded to Bryant’s remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Pastor Bryant should remember this verse, ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.’ – Luke 6:37,” he said. 

Jamal Bryant did not respond to a request for comment.

Fox Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.