ACLJ Confirms Dismissing Attorney Accused of Affairs With Young Gay Men
James Matthew Henderson Fired From Conservative Christian Nonprofit Legal Group
Recent unconfirmed reports indicate that James Henderson, a senior attorney for the conservative, Christian Washington, D.C.-based legal group American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), was fired from his position at the organization in late September due to his alleged relationships with two younger men.
"The employment of James Matthew Henderson, Sr. with the American Center for Law and Justice - DC ceased effective September 25, 2012. He is no longer affiliated with any ACLJ entity. ACLJ will not comment further on this personnel matter," the American Center for Law and Justice told The Christian Post Tuesday in an emailed statement.
According to Metro Weekly, the ACLJ fired Henderson, who is married with eight children, one day after scathing reports surfaced on the Internet revealing that Henderson had allegedly carried on relationships with two younger men.
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The blogs Exposed Politics and The Patriot-Ombudsman were the first to break the news that Henderson allegedly had these relationships, supplying video footage and Facebook conversations which apparently detailed Henderson's relationship with the men.
Although the age of the two men which Henderson reportedly had relations with has yet to be confirmed, it is still unclear whether they were of the age of consent in Henderson's state of Virginia, which is 18.
On Sept. 24, 2012, Exposed Politics published an unconfirmed report accusing Henderson of creating a fake Facebook page under the alias "Kyle Johnson." The article also featured several videos showing an alleged Henderson driving in his car with a young male.
In one video, the viodeographer, a young man who remains anonymous, films Henderson reportedly admitting that "Kyle Johnson" is not a real name, but rather one he borrowed from a Locksmith Company based in Chicago, Ill.
Another video filmed by someone purportedly sitting inside Henderson's car shows a piece of mail addressed to a "James Henderson".
The Exposed Politics report, which claims that it received all of its information through an anonymous tip, also reveals exchanges between "Kyle Johnson" and two young men on Facebook. "Johnson" makes references to smoking marijuana in the Facebook posts.
The Patriot-Obudsman reveals 2010 conversations which reportedly took place between "Kyle Johnson" and his two male lovers, "Zach Payne", who was reportedly 19 at the time, and "Julius."
"Kyle Johnson" offered marijuana to "Zach Payne" in the back-and-forth Facebook conversations.
As The Huffington Post reports, Johnson also posted cryptic Facebook messages possibly referencing his homosexuality.
"And I hate having live [sic] such a long time wish [sic] such a lie," Johnson writes in one post, as reported by The Huffington Post.
"I have pretty well concluded that for the sake of my own mental health, I am going to have to come clean," Johnson adds.
"I mean walking out of the closet and into the sunshine of day," Johnson concludes.
The American Center for Law and Justice was founded in 1990 by evangelical Christian leader Pat Robertson. As Metro Weekly reports, the ACLJ has "scrubbed Henderson from its website," including deleting his biography and articles he wrote for the conservative Christian organization.
According to Mindy Hughes, director of Public Relations at Regent University, located in Virginia Beach, Va., Henderson formerly taught part-time at the university's law school until Spring 2011. Regent University was also founded by Pat Robertson.
