Portsmouth Councilman Mark Whitaker loses motion to have his fraud case dismissed

From what I can tell, this case appears to be one of political intrigue rather than religious batshittery.  This article here gives some background as to how and why Whitaker and his church is involved, "[a] special grand jury impaneled to hear evidence about Whitaker’s church, New Bethel Baptist Church, and its development company and its now-defunct credit union returned the indictments."

Whitaker, assistant pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, is charged with 11 counts of forgery, seven counts of passing forged checks and two counts of identity fraud.

The charges stem from an investigation Sheriff Bill Watson initiated into Whitaker’s church, its development company and its now-defunct credit union.

Whitaker’s trial had been scheduled to start Monday, but the judge postponed it until March 21 so the defense could argue various motions.
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The attorneys also argued that the judge should dismiss 15 of the counts because of insufficient evidence. They noted that two of the victims identified in the indictment have come out in support of Whitaker. Malinda Starkley, who worked at the church and credit union, and Caroline Larosiliere, Whitaker’s sister, have said that if Whitaker signed their names to any documents, he did so with their permission.

Portsmouth Councilman Mark Whitaker loses motion to have his fraud case dismissed