A Texas businessman whose anti-India immigration post on X went viral has claimed that he has been removed from his church. He also said that after his tweet, he faced death threats and his business took a hit.
What did he post on X?
Last month, Daniel Keene shared a video showing a street celebration in his neighborhood. "We have to cancel the H-1Bs," he wrote on September 6, adding, "I want my kids to grow up in America. Not India."
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His tweet sparked a massive backlash, which caused him to delete the post. However, he has now opened up about paying a hefty price for his take on H-1B.
"I wanted to bring awareness to the policy effect on the ground," Keene told Newsweek in an interview. "I did not want to get death threats.
Daniel Keene claims he was removed from church:
In a series of posts on X, he claimed that he was expelled from his church after his tweet. He alleged that the church elders put him through hours of interrogation in response to his post, declined to see his “character witnesses from Indian friends,” and refused to review his anti-racism posts.
{{/usCountry}}In a series of posts on X, he claimed that he was expelled from his church after his tweet. He alleged that the church elders put him through hours of interrogation in response to his post, declined to see his “character witnesses from Indian friends,” and refused to review his anti-racism posts.
{{/usCountry}}“The elders told me to leave the church on the evening of the 24th of September in many different ways over a two hour meeting with seven elders,” he said in an X post, claiming that despite this he was not removed from the “member/donation management system.”
Church denies claims:
"At no time during our recent meetings with the Keenes were their political opinions ever a point of focus or topic of disagreement," a church spokesperson told Newsweek.
“Instead, our discussions centered on the gospel mandate to love our neighbors as Christ has loved his church — however or wherever or whenever those neighbors arrive. At our last meeting, we asked them to consider whether they could joyfully continue as members of the church.”
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Gym membership cancelled:
Keene’s gym membership was also cancelled, which the owner said was not because of his “political stance” but because he "negatively singled out a cultural group.”