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Billy Graham Association Threatens Copyright Infringement Lawsuit over Harris' Anti-Trump Ads

Milton Quintanilla

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association recently threatened to sue Evangelicals for Harris after the political action committee (PAC) rolled out a $1 million ad campaign last month using footage from the Rev. Billy Graham to attack former President Trump.

Related Article: Evangelicals for Harris Launch $1M Anti-Trump Ad featuring Billy Graham

"We have communicated directly to this group our concerns about the unauthorized, political use of BGEA's copyrighted video, and we will continue taking appropriate steps to address the matter," the spokesperson of Charlotte, North Carolina-based nonprofit told The Christian Post. 

Last month, Evangelicals for Harris released multiple ads featuring decades-old sermons from Billy Graham to imply Trump is not a candidate Christians should support. The latest ad, titled "Keep Clear" taken from a 1988 sermon Graham delivered on 2 Timothy 3:1-5 suggested that Trump exhibits the character of evil men in the last days.

The BGEA spokesperson suggested that Graham himself, who passed away in 2018 but expressed regret in later life for getting too close to politics, would have been offended that his sermons proclaiming the Gospel were being used to attack a presidential candidate and make a political point.

"It may be worth noting that, in all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God's Word," the spokesperson said. "He never criticized presidents publicly and would undoubtedly refuse to let his sermons be used to do so, regardless of who is involved."

In response to the cease-and-desist letter, Evangelicals For Harris issued a formal legal response arguing that "limited use of Billy Graham's speech falls squarely within the fair use protections afforded by Section 107 of the Copyright Act."

The PAC also wrote a series of posts on X alleging that Billy Graham's son, evangelist and BGEA president Franklin Graham, intends to "silence" them because he is "scared" of their ads.

In August, Franklin Graham said Trump was the last presidential candidate his father voted for and wrote that the PAC was "trying to mislead people."

Evangelicals for Harris, which was founded by former Evangelical Environmental Network and Evangelicals for Biden head Rev. Jim Ball, also issued an extensive statement Tuesday accusing Graham of idolatry and threatening to take the legal matter to court.

"Franklin has placed his hope in a man and a darkness we saw manifest when police lines were overrun at our nation's Capitol on January 6, in Springfield this past month, and in the spirit of fear and anger fed at every Trump rally Franklin attends. Our hope is not in any man or woman but in Christ alone," the PAC wrote.

"Our call is to serve, to witness Christ's love and compassion, and to follow His example of standing between the hypocritical religious leaders and the social outcast. We know the law is on our side in this case. If Franklin follows through on his threats, we'll see him in court," they added.

During a Zoom call organized by Evangelicals For Harris in August, Jerushah Duford, who is Franklin Graham's niece, implied that Trump supporters are causing people to turn away from Christianity.

Duford, who has ties to The Lincoln Project and whose website describes her as an "LGBTQ+ friendly" licensed professional counselor in Greenville, South Carolina, has previously been outspoken against Trump.  In an op-ed in 2020, she urged Christian women to reject the former president, claiming "the church honors Trump before God."

Last week, she accused her uncle of abandoning his family in western North Carolina to survey the hurricane damage with Trump in Valdosta, Georgia.

"I'm glad he had the time and resources to fly to Georgia just so he could stand next to Trump. While his 79-year-old sister, my mom, is stranded with no food or water," Duford wrote in an Oct. 1 post on X, adding, "#wwjd."

Photo Credit:©Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff

Milton QuintanillaMilton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.