When Texas Rep. Colin Allred (D.) visited Dallas’s Friendship-West Baptist Church in June, the pastor, Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, was already known for praising anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan as a "wonderful man" and delivering an anti-Israel, anti-American rant the day after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. But Allred didn’t hesitate to embrace the radical pastor on stage.
Allred’s coziness with the pastor—who has described the congressman as a "brother"—could dent the moderate image that Allred has sought to portray in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Haynes blessed Allred’s campaign twice in sermons on Sept. 17, 2023, and June 9, 2024, a Washington Free Beacon review found.
Haynes, who has close ties to Vice President Kamala Harris, praised Allred as a "mighty good man" in the sermon last year, and joked that the lawmaker’s appearance at the church could be used against him "on Fox News."
Weeks later, Haynes delivered an explicitly anti-Israel sermon, accusing Israel and the United States of "apartheid."
"I recognize that we gotta be pro-Israel … or we get in trouble," Haynes said on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. "Well, I'm coming to get in trouble."
That didn’t deter Allred, who embraced Haynes on the church stage in a sermon on June 9. "I’m really glad today to have a history-making, game changing brother," Haynes said, referring to Allred.
Allred’s courtship of Haynes could prove a political liability as he runs a centrist campaign in conservative Texas. Allred, who has faced scrutiny before for praising anti-Israel cleric Omar Suleiman, has aired ads claiming he has "teamed up with Republicans" on various bills. And Allred has portrayed himself as tough on border security, an ally of Israel, and pro-police.
But Haynes has used the church pulpit and other high-profile venues to preach against all of those causes.
At the Democratic convention in 2020, Haynes said supporters of the southern border wall "may well go to hell." He has compared supporters of police officers to the Ku Klux Klan. Haynes supports cash reparations for slavery, and has organized events at his church in favor of critical race theory, which holds that American society is inherently racist.
And he has worked closely with prominent anti-Semites.
In 2017, he called Farrakhan a "wonderful man," ignoring the Nation of Islam leader’s decades of anti-Semitic rhetoric. And moments after Haynes praised Allred in the sermon last year, the preacher announced his collaboration with anti-Semitic activist Tamika Mallory, who has refused to say Israel has "a right to exist."
Haynes has used his church to go especially hard against Cruz and other Republicans, who he said in his June 9 sermon are "diabolically determined" to roll back civil rights protections.
"Jesus, Ted Cruz. How do we even do that?" Haynes said in the sermon as Allred left the stage. "Let me get back in the spirit mood because Ted Cruz sent me in another way. Devil … just the, nothing but the devil."
Haynes’s political talk has landed him scrutiny over potential violations of IRS rules that prohibit churches and other nonprofits from making political endorsements. The liberal outlet ProPublica reported that Haynes had likely violated those restrictions by endorsing former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in his race for Texas governor in 2022.
Allred’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.