Building Owner Asking Pastor To Move His Church After Orlando Remarks

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The pastor who praised the murder of 49 people inside an Orlando gay nightclub is being asked to move his church.

Verity Baptist Church Pastor Roger Jimenez's controversial sermon was uploaded to YouTube where he faced backlash after declaring Orlando a safer place after the murders.

The owner of the business park that houses the church released a statement asking church officials to consider leaving before the church's lease is up in March of 2017.

Harsch Investment Properties says it respects Jimenez's right to free speech even if it disagrees with his views, and offered to cancel the church's lease without penalty.

"We have many places of worship and other religious organizations in the properties we manage like all of our tenants their occupancy rights are protected in their leases but we will not tolerate tenants who advocate hatred and the taking of innocent lives," the company said in a prepared statement.

Roger Jimenez has said he has no regrets about what he said in his June 12 sermon.

The company says it supports the LGBT community and many other organizations and says it will continue to work with the church to move out of the park.

"They're trying to distance themselves make people know that as the owners of the building they don't support with this person a set," said attorney Jeff Kravitz.