(NASHVILLE, TN) August 18, 2021 – Steve Berger, founding pastor of Grace Chapel and pastor to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, recently sent out a barrage of threats to those he suspects of helping 14-year-old Gracie Solomon. He has yet to make a statement about her alleged abuser, Aaron Solomon, who reportedly still attends his church.
In her video entitled A Cry For Help, Gracie says her brother Grant told their pastor about the abuse in 2018. Berger claims the church fulfilled their reporting obligations and admits to meeting with Grant three days after that, but insists they only spoke about Jesus.
In 2020, Grant died in unexplained circumstances with his father as the only witness. After her brother’s death, Gracie says she was forced to go public as her father threatened to take physical custody of her. “My brother died protecting me from my father, Aaron Solomon,” she says. “My father raped me, hurt me, and I’m not going to be a victim of this monster.”
Her former pastor, who infamously preached sexual assault claims had to be accompanied by two or three witnesses, is demanding the video and all social media accounts @freedomforgracie be removed. Earlier this month, Berger appeared on the Fox program Canceled in the USA claiming to be a victim of cancel culture himself. “It felt horrible. I finally had to shut down my Twitter,” Berger says in the episode.
Berger is represented by Todd McMurtry, a far-right Kentucky lawyer, and one-time failed politician. “Canceled in the USA? More like cover-up in the south,” says a supporter of Gracie. “Mr. McMurtry isn’t even licensed in Tennessee, but I’ve seen him on Fox and Berger is Governor Lee’s pastor. Lee obviously has ambitions for the presidency. Maybe they don’t want Gracie to complicate things.”
