YouTube photo

"Freddy" is gripped roughly as "prophet" Patricia McKinney (in yellow) and "overseer" Kelvin McKinney (in black) "free" him from homosexuality

Freddy is on the floor. Two women dressed in scrubs put white blankets on him as he goes into spasms. The overhead lights shine down on him. He can see dozens of feet.

Over the piano, hymn singing and general commotion, it's difficult to hear what "prophet" Patricia McKinney is yelling into the microphone. Some words are clear: "That is not of God!" "You homosexual demon!" "Out! You sex demon!" She says every syllable with a snarl.

The prophet, a heavyset woman dressed in bright hues, puts her hand on Freddy's chest as he rolls around. She steps on him. She tells the women in scrubs to take away the white blankets. She yells for the music to stop. She commands the room to be still and silent. "Nobody talk! Nobody!"

"Overseer" Kelvin McKinney, dressed entirely in black with a silver cross around his neck, kneels down in front of Freddy. "Loose in the name of Jesus! Right now in the name of Jesus! I cure your homosexuality right now in name of Jesus!" The overseer is inches from his face and Freddy tries to flip over onto his stomach. But the overseer digs his hands beneath Freddy's chest and flips him over.

The prophet pours some kind of clear oil on Freddy's face. He flails all four of his limbs but the overseer keeps a hand firmly his forehead. "Get out in the name of Jesus! I command you in the name of Jesus!"

"Stand him up," the prophet commands. "Something needs to come out of his belly."

A tall man in a red shirt locks his arms under Freddy's. He struggles to get out of the grip as the overseer continues to scream at him, inches from his face.

They eventually let Freddy fall back to floor. The two women in scrubs approach with white plastic bags into which he vomits.

Freddy lies back down. He wiggles for a few more minutes but he is obviously out of strength.

You can see all of this by logging onto YouTube because the church, Bridgeport-based Manifested Glory Ministries, recorded and posted it. It is at worst an assault, and at best an unusual and controversial practice.

The video, broken into two parts that total an excruciating 20 minutes, is marked with a description saying the events happened at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn. Manager Bill McGary confirmed the church did rent space from the hotel but has not been back since it found a space of its own. McGary says the Holiday Inn rents meeting space to a lot of church groups and the only complaints it's received has been over loud singing.

Manifested Glory Ministries lists "Overseer Kelvin McKinney and Prophet Patricia McKinney" as its leaders and a P.O. box in Bridgeport as its address on its Web site. Exact dogma and denomination aren't described, but the site makes it clear the group believes in Satan, prophesy and Armageddon.

Its footage of Freddy has been attracting mostly negative attention on blogs — and not all of them gay-friendly blogs.

Rev. D.L. Foster, who heads Gay Christian Movement Watch, an Atlanta-based "ministry" that opposes the acceptance of homosexuality in the church, posted it on his Web site.

"I thought what I saw in the video was bizarre and I don't think [the practice depicted] is biblical," Foster says. "There is a sense of spiritual coercion. You have a young man on the floor being stepped on, being videotaped." He says he has seen incidents like this (he doesn't condone them), but "this is extreme."

Robin McHaelen, Executive Director of the Manchester-based LGBT advocacy group True Colors, says this is not the first time she has seen something like this. Since True Colors started its mentor program in 2003, "at least five children in the program have been subjected to some form of 'demon-casting' or exorcism by their caregivers," McHaelen says. "In one case, the child was on the phone with our mentoring coordinator, Kamora Herrington. He locked himself in his room, while his caregivers and a 'priest' attempted to exorcise him through the door. It was horrific — and they didn't even touch him."

She adds, "One of the things that struck me so profoundly in watching this video is that the adults in the group clearly believed they had this child's best interest at heart — they were doing what they thought was helping him. They interpreted his reaction, fainting, vomiting, etc., as the work of the demons inside him. I can't help being profoundly sad for them as well as this boy."

Manifested Glory closed its YouTube account shortly after the Weekly began reporting for this story, though the videos were — and as of press time still are — posted on another account.

Patricia McKinney, when contacted for this story, said the writer "could not possibly understand what went on" at the Holiday Inn. She insisted that what was seen on the video "is just a small portion of what we do."

As for the Freddy seen in the video, all McKinney would say is that he is no longer in Connecticut.

She did not want to explain what was happening in the video. "What's going on is going on," the prophet said. "It's up to us to share what we want to."

Watch the videos:

"Overseer & Prophetess McKinney casting out the homosexual spirit"

"Casting out the homosexual spirit continued"