A homophobic Republican politician in Arkansas not only confirmed he said the LGBTQ+ community is “of the devil” in a recent sermon posted to social media, but also embraced the comments. The video clip has since gone viral.

Jason Rapert, the man responsible for the comments, is a former state senator most recently appointed to the Arkansas State Library Board. The video was uncovered and posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Right Wing Watch.

“The LGBTQ movement in the country is of the devil,” Rapert said at the beginning of the 38-second clip, beginning his comments with an anti-trans slur.

“That’s right,” one member of the congregation said, as others murmured in agreement

“Period. Of the devil,” Rapert continued. “So you don’t need to be supporting people or voting for people that do things of the devil.”

“That’s exactly right,” an attendee said in approval.

“Amen,” said another.

“There’s no way a real Christian can do that,” Rapert said, before looking at the camera. “I don’t know if you’re live-streaming this or not. I’m telling all of you today: you cannot be a Christian and vote for people that do the devil’s work. You can’t do it.

Rather than shy away from the public spotlight on his anti-LGBTQ+ comments, Rapert embraced the controversy in a post to X Twitter.

“I am Jason Rapert and YES I endorse this message from my recent sermon,” Rapert said in a post to X Twitter on Monday.

Rapert is a former State Senator from 2011 to 2023 representing Arkansas’s 18th and later the 35th districts. He is also the founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers.

Rapert was appointed to the Arkansas State Library Board by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He made headlines recently after attempting to use the board to withhold state funds for libraries suing the state in opposition to Act 372, which requires libraries to segregate LGBTQ+ books deemed offensive by some community members, the Arkansas Advocate reported at the time.

He tried but was prevented from reading an excerpt All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson at a board meeting in August. He claimed the book was pornography and inappropriate for children.

“We do not ban books on this board,” board member Shari Bales, another Sanders appointee, told Rapert during heated discussions.

“I will never vote for censorship.” board member Pamela Meredith told Rapert at another point in the meeting.

Later in the same meeting, Rapert said he had been contacted by state politicians wanting to disband the board unless they approved his proposals.

“And unless the board acts, I say, amen, destroy it and put it in the hands of somebody who knows you shouldn’t be putting pornography in front of children,” Rapert warned.

The first Razorback victory at home over a Top 5 team since that 1999 win over Tennessee was sweet.

Yes, I had a 33-0 record on the picks following the first five weeks of the season. Yes, I picked Tennessee to win. But the perfect record had already been ruined earlier in the day when UCA lost to Abilene Christian and UAM lost at East Central Oklahoma.

I was happy for Sam Pittman, a man who came into the game with a 6-16 record in one-score contests; a man facing growing fan discontent. What you see is what you get with Pittman, and he deserved this moment. It was on the big stage — an ABC prime time game with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Kirk’s dog in the house.

Arkansas is 4-2 overall (that could easily be 6-0) and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama and Georgia, among others, have the same number of SEC losses at this point.

And don’t listen to those Tennessee sympathizers who want you to believe that this was some kind of fluke.

Consider the fact that Arkansas outgained Tennessee 434-332.

Consider the fact that the Razorback defense held Tennessee 40 points below its FBS-best scoring average of 54 points.

Consider the fact that the Hog defense held Tennessee 233 yards below its total offense average of 565 yards.

Consider the fact that Arkansas led in time of possession 35:35 to 24:25.

That’s no fluke. That’s lining up and beating the Vols. Arkansas now gets a well-deserved open date before hosting LSU in Fayetteville on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. The game will be on ESPN. LSU will be coming off what promises to be a tough battle this Saturday against Ole Miss.

Last week’s 7-3 record makes the season record 40-3. You Razorback fans should use this open date to get out and see one of the other college teams in the state. There are some good ones out there. Here are the picks for this week’s games:

Texas State 31, Arkansas State 29 — The Red Wolves picked up an 18-16 victory over South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference opener when Clune Van Andel drilled a 34-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining in the game. It was one of four Van Andel field goals on a night when the Red Wolf offense struggled. Both ASU and Texas State are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Texas State’s victories have been by scores of 34-27 over Lamar, 49-10 over Texas-San Antonio and 38-17 over Troy. The losses were by scores of 31-28 to Arizona State and 40-39 to Sam Houston State. I’ll give a slight advantage to Texas State since the game is in San Marcos.

UCA 28, West Georgia 17 — The Bears had moved up to No. 5 and No. 7 in the two main FCS polls before going to Abilene, Texas, and losing 41-34 to Abilene Christian. UCA trailed by 14 points at halftime. Abilene Christian is now 4-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Bears fell to 4-2 and 1-1. West Georgia comes to Conway this week with a 1-4 record. The lone victory was 38-29 over Samford in the season opener. That has been followed by loses of 38-24 to Abilene Christian, 26-7 to Eastern Kentucky, 25-16 to North Alabama and 20-16 to Austin Peay.

Prairie View A&M 14, UAPB 8 — The Golden Lions get national television exposure on ESPN2 Friday night when they host Prairie View A&M. UAPB fell to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the SWAC with a 38-28 loss at Alcorn State. UAPB led 14-0 in the first quarter of that game. Prairie View is 2-4. The wins were by scores of 37-31 over Northwestern State of Louisiana and 36-34 over Grambling. The losses were by scores of 27-9 to Texas Southern, 40-0 to Michigan State, 31-24 to Southern University of Baton Rouge and 56-28 to Incarnate Word of San Antonio.

Harding 69, Northwestern Oklahoma 13 — The defending national champions from Harding get stronger with each passing week. The victim this week will be 1-4 Northwestern Oklahoma. Harding, 5-0, is ranked No. 1 in the nation in NCAA Division II by the American Football Coaches Association, and I don’t think there’s a close No. 2. Harding defeated 2-3 Southwestern Oklahoma 57-3 as quarterback Cole Keylon passed for 130 yards, unusually high for Harding’s option offense. Keylon ran for two touchdowns and passed for three more. The Bisons led 36-3 at halftime. As usual, they rested the starters in the second half.

Ouachita 34, East Central Oklahoma 15 — Ouachita improved to 5-0 with a 25-9 victory on the road against Southeastern Oklahoma, the best of the six Oklahoma teams in the Great American Conference. The Tiger offense struggled at times, but the defense played well throughout the game. East Central comes to Arkadelphia this Saturday with a 1-4 record. Ouachita moved up to No. 10 in the AFCA poll. It’s nice to have two of the Top 10 teams in the country from Arkansas.

Southeastern Oklahoma 24, UAM 21 — Both teams are 2-3, but Southeastern appears to be the more talented squad. Arkansas’ GAC teams are now 17-1 against the Oklahoma teams. The first loss came Saturday when UAM fell 42-17 to a previously winless East Central Oklahoma squad. East Central jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and never looked back. UAM won its first two games of the season and has now lost three consecutive games. Last year, the Bolls Weevils got off to a 2-0 start and then didn’t win another game.

Arkansas Tech 32, Southwestern Oklahoma 30 — The Wonder Boys are 3-2. Southwestern Oklahoma is 2-3. Advantage Wonder Boys since the game is in Russellville. Tech made the long trip to Alva, Okla., last Saturday and came home with a 44-21 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma. The Wonder Boys jumped out to a 31-14 halftime lead.

Henderson 46, Southern Nazarene 16 — The Reddies moved to 4-1 with a 52-7 thrashing of 1-4 Oklahoma Baptist in Arkadelphia. Jody Easter returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a Reddie touchdown. Quarterback Andrew Edwards was 15 of 21 passing for 242 yards with a career-high six touchdowns. This week’s game is on the road, but an 0-5 Southern Nazarene team won’t present much of a challenge.

Southern Arkansas 43, Oklahoma Baptist 10 — The 4-1 Muleriders have a Thursday night game against 1-4 Oklahoma Baptist. SAU posted a 49-21 win over Southern Nazarene last Saturday as Judd Barton threw three touchdown passes. Barton was 25 of 31 passing for 332 yards.   

For the first time, Arkansas election officials have added artificial intelligence to their list of concerns while preparing for a general election.

The State Board of Election Commissioners oversees all elections in Arkansas, and officials have been gearing up for November’s general election since last fall. Ongoing preparations include coordinating with key players during what SBEC Director Chris Madison calls “election month,” which covers early voting, Election Day and the certification process that follows.

“What we want is a no-drama election [where] voters show up, cast their ballot and then we get good results, timely counted and certified, and there’s like no news stories,” Madison said.

Madison said his primary concern with artificial intelligence is that quick-spreading false information could overwhelm online channels on Election Day and discourage the public from voting.

“If you hear something that comports with your worldview, then you’re more likely to believe it than disbelieve it,” Madison said. “There’s a lot of people that are suspicious of elections and the processes, and it’s because they don’t necessarily understand all the processes that go into play.”

For example, a photo of officials conducting maintenance on election equipment could spread false messaging that the well-secured machines have been hacked, Madison said. To combat this, Madison said he’s establishing relationships with members of the press.

“A kernel of a little bit of truth could turn into a big popcorn of falseness,” he said. “How do we get ahead of those stories, address those stories or get good information out? That’s the type of stuff we’re talking about.”

At the secretary of state’s office, a team works to ensure candidates, ballot measures and absentee ballots are properly prepared, certified and distributed.

Spokesperson Chris Powell said he recognizes AI technology is “expanding and the potential for that technology is, as yet, unknown.”

The office isn’t moderating the technology, and Powell urged voters to consult with official sources for election-related information, as “inaccurate or deceptive information” can spread quickly.

Safety concerns

Beyond potential AI-related threats, the State Board of Election Commissioners is working closely with the secretary of state’s office, law enforcement agencies and county officials to secure the physical safety of the people at polling sites and deal with threats to election integrity.

Both Madison and Powell said they have had no indication that there will be any election-related violent threats in Arkansas, but the two agencies working with county officials will be the key to a problem-free election.

“One of the big things that we’re doing is making sure that information is flowing from the top down and the bottom up,” Madison said. “If we’re having an incident occurring in a county — we’re working real hard with our county people to know to contact us with the secretary of state’s office so that we can make sure that that’s not occurring elsewhere.”

Each Arkansas county has a three-person election commission that prepares polling sites and conducts voting on Election Day. The county election commissioners are also responsible for recruiting and training poll workers.

Angela Jean Scott, Republican chair of the Johnson County Board of Election Commissioners, said local poll workers have expressed concerns about Election Day violence based on stories they see in the news.

To protect everyone involved on Election Day, Scott said the commission has been coordinating with local law enforcement and emergency management personnel about potential violent altercations and natural disasters.

From gas leaks to fires, tornadoes and physical altercations, Scott said the commission is prepared for a number of emergencies.

“We want our poll workers to feel secure, and that’s why we’re going through these extra measures to make them feel that we’re looking out for them, because we want them back in two years,” Scott said. “We need them.”

With ‘heated’ Election Day ahead, Arkansas officials rally poll workers

Though Scott said she doesn’t foresee any violence occurring in Johnson County on Election Day, plainclothes officers will be visiting the 12 voting centers throughout the day. If violence does occur, Scott said the best approach is to call 911.

“Because we are a county that doesn’t have a huge expansion of law enforcement, you can’t just have people on standby in areas,” Scott said. “They actually are out working, and so they will be in that area just as soon as they’re called in case of an emergency.”

Johnson County has a population of about 26,000 residents. Clarksville is the county seat, and rural mountain towns dot the northern part of the county.

Election integrity

Election officials’ safety plans don’t stop at keeping people safe, but also extend to the security of ballots.

When the Advocate interviewed Scott, who also serves as Johnson County’s election coordinator, she was ensuring the software within voting machines was accounted for and working, which is a process she referred to as “logistics and accuracy.”

Next week, a small team will send sample ballots through the county’s 55 machines to confirm the selection of all candidates and measures on 76 different ballot types works correctly.

This test process is open to the public for observation and ends on Oct. 11, Scott said. Afterward, the machines are zeroed out and secured until Election Day when a tape showing each machine’s zeroed status will be posted at polling locations.

“As a commission, we have really tried to push education of how the equipment works so people have more faith in it,” said Scott, who also recently spoke to the local Rotary Club about the voting equipment.

During a recent experimental hand-count of sample ballots to verify the machines were tabulating correctly, Scott found human error and machine accuracy.

“These machines are 100% accurate, so I have a lot of faith in them,” she said. “I do not want to hand count ballots.”

The ballots are also considered during each emergency plan, Scott said. Two people are always required to be with the ballots, and after Election Day they are sealed and stored until the certification process begins.

November’s general election will be the first since the Arkansas attorney general’s office launched its Election Integrity Unit. Through the leadership of Wayne Bewley, a former Little Rock assistant police chief, the office will investigate any reports related to the election. 

Reports could include residents’ problems with ballot presentation, how a count is being conducted at a polling place or any feature of Election Day that seems amiss, said Jeff LeMaster, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office.

The investigations are a reactive measure to issues that could arise on Election Day, LeMaster said.