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LYNCHBURG, Va. – Students from Liberty University, Virginia, gathered Friday to protest new information alleging allegations that school president Jerry Falwell Jr. ., allegedly abused the establishment and denigrated students in emails.
Students gathered at the private Evangelical University, recognized as an influential center of conservative politics, waved placards calling for accountability and investigation.
Elizabeth Brooks, a young student in politics and politics, told The Associated Press by telephone that a recent article in Politico Magazine as well as a Reuters report had sparked the protest at the school from Lynchburg. She said that about 35 students were involved.
"I could not stay silent anymore," said the 20-year-old. "I would like President Falwell to talk about it himself and that there is an investigation into the allegations to see if they are true or not."
At least one student held a sign indicating "I TRUST JERRY".
The story of Politico contained allegations that Mr. Falwell "would preside over a culture of internal transactions" at Liberty that unduly benefited him and his family. The cited story describes anonymous sources described as being former or former officials or associates of Falwell.
Falwell told AP on Tuesday that he was not going to "give dignity to the lies that were reported" in the Politico article, calling the journalist of history a little boy".
Falwell said he would ask the FBI to conduct an investigation. He also said Liberty had hired "the meanest lawyer in New York", which he did not want to identify, to initiate civil suits.
Brooks said student protesters were particularly unhappy with e-mail quotes in the Reuters article published Thursday in which Falwell allegedly claimed that a student was "emotionally and physically unbalanced."
David Corry, Liberty's general counsel, told Reuters that Liberty would not react "without knowing the details or seeing the messaging channels in their entirety".
Brooks grew up in Lynchburg and recounted that she remembered the passing of Falwell's father, Jerry Falwell Sr., in 2007. She mentioned the quote used by former Falwell about the school. is a Christian, it should be better. "
"I am a Christian," said Brooks. "And this quote from Jerry. Sr truly embodies our mission. We did not come here to be angry or militant. Honestly, we just wanted to show the student body that there were people like them who care about the situation and who want this place to be the best possible. "
After Friday's protest, Falwell Jr. tweeted that he was "so impressed by the way @LibertyU students behaved today during the protest!"
"Those who had concerns and those who supported me were both respectful and not angry – their behavior was very similar to that of Christ," he continued. "Our students are an example that the world can learn!"
Liberty was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell's father with only 154 students. It now has more than 100,000 registrations, including those from its extensive online education program.
The early and ardent support of Falwell Jr. to President Donald Trump has created a fracture on campus during the presidential campaign and has since sparked controversy.
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