[Updated] Flashy Bishop Whitehead of Brooklyn Reenacts Getting Robbed at Gunpoint

Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead speaks with the media about his attempt to negotiate the surrender of a man accused of gunning down a stranger on a New York City subway train, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in New York. Miller-Whitehead, a preacher known for his close friendship with New York City’s mayor, was robbed of more than $1 million worth of jewelry Sunday, July 24, 2022, by armed bandits who crashed his Brooklyn church service.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead of Brooklyn reenacted being robbed at gunpoint during his first sermon since the incident, according to New York Daily News. To his congregation of 20 people, he laid down on the pulpit demonstrating his attempt to surrender to the bandits. Though some were sympathetic, he’s gathered a lot of skepticism since the incident went viral (I mean, the news made it to Ukraine).

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The incident was caught on livestream but has since been deleted. It showed a group of armed men walking up on the pulpit to steal the bishop’s jewelry, according to CBS News. Thankfully, no one was hurt but Whitehead said he was the main target. The cost of the jewelry stolen was initially estimated to a total of $400,000 but increased to about $1 million, according to the NYPD.

More on the incident from CBS News:

Whitehead believes his family was targeted because of the publicity he received when he helped turn in the suspect wanted in the fatal subway shooting of 48-year-old Daniel Enriquez in May.
“I turned him in, but the media called me ‘the bling, bling bishop.’ They had my Rolls-Royce car all over everywhere and I feel that that played a part in this,” said Whitehead. “I think all pastors should be able to get permits for pistols.”

As expected, some critics were skeptical about Whitehead’s loftiness and thought the entire incident was a scheme for insurance money. Whitehead said in his sermon Sunday that he’s “God’s chosen vessel” and that ‘He’ didn’t tell him what he could and couldn’t wear, via NY Daily News. Sure enough, he stepped out in a Gucci suit.

“‘Why’s he gotta wear Gucci?’ Because I want to. It is my civil right to wear what I want to wear. ... We are a church of wealth. We’re not a church of poverty,” he said. Is it a church of wealth or just a church with a wealthy pastor?

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Police haven’t made any arrests regarding the robbery but Mayor Eric Adams vowed to bring justice to Whitehead and his family. In the meantime, Whitehead has to answer to a woman suing him for scamming her out of her life savings (yikes).

“They don’t like Bishop Whitehead because I am God-made, not man-made,” he said Sunday.

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If “First Sunday” was based on a true story, this was the inspiration.