Deported over a prayer for Trump. American evangelical pastor fined and detained after a Kamchatka church talk is ruled unlawful missionary work

The case against Gione rested largely on two men who, by their own account, had no connection to the church. According to the court materials, the pair were “out for a walk around the city” on the evening of May 23 when they passed the Full Gospel Church in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Upon “seeing a group of young people going inside”, they decided to follow them; inside, they were told a lecture on religion was about to begin.

A young woman sang a song about Jesus Christ to a guitar, and those present were told that “our American friend” named Paul would speak. Through an interpreter, Gione talked about Jesus, the importance of religion and the need to pray, “including for the President of the USA.” Afterwards, he told everyone he held individual consultations on God and religion and invited anyone interested to come and see him while he was in the city. One of the two men recorded the talk, and the audio was later entered into evidence.

Officers from the regional anti-extremism police, Centre E, logged the alleged offence five days later, casting the evening as religious “discussions”, a “lecture on the subject of Jesus Christ”, delivered alongside religious materials “in the presence of no fewer than fifteen people with no connection to any religious organisation.”

Gione denied any wrongdoing. He told the court that he and his wife, both Evangelical Christians, had travelled to Kamchatka as tourists, that he had been invited to the church as a guest, and that he had simply shared his love of God with a room he took to be made up of existing believers. There had been, he said, no missionary activity, no leaflets or literature.

Testifying through an interpreter, Gione said he had come to Russia 58 times “because he loves this country”, and that the five girls he and his wife adopted from Russian orphanages, now living in the US, had been brought back repeatedly so he could tell them “that this is their homeland.” In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, he stayed in an apartment he had once owned and since sold.

Gione added that when police detained him he had been frightened and so confessed, realising only later what he had done. He asked for a lawyer and was told he did not need one, as the matter was not a criminal one. He asked the court not to punish him, saying he wanted to keep coming to Russia.

The court ruling leaned heavily on Gione’s initial statement to police. In it, he said a parishioner named Sergei had invited him, and that the senior pastor’s son had asked him and his wife to speak to the congregation and screen a religious film. He had talked about his family and his life, about God and the importance of prayer, and had remarked that “in the US they pray for their political leaders” before suggesting that those present pray for the US president.

Two parishioners testified in his favour, describing an informal gathering over tea and music. One said the pastor was known locally for charity work, feeding the homeless and touring schools to warn against alcohol, smoking and drugs. The court set their evidence aside as the “subjective” view of church members, while treating the two strangers as “disinterested” witnesses.

The case then moved unevenly through the courts. A judge first threw out the police ruling on June 8, finding that the officer had merely described the evening without weighing the evidence and had failed to justify the deportation order. Days later the penalty was reinstated. In upholding the deportation, the court held that letting Gione leave of his own accord “would not be carried out and would not ensure the aim of preventing further offences,” and that the money he had for a ticket was no reason to soften the order.

The pastor’s wife faced the same outcome but was fined under a immigration violation charge and was allowed to leave the country by herself on her June 5 return flight.