Hundreds of United Methodist clergy bring church charges against Jeff Sessions

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MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

According to the United Methodist News Service, more than 600 United Methodist Church clergy and laity say they are bringing church law charges against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions related to the "zero tolerance" policy and resulting separation of families along the Mexico border.

In a complaint Monday, the group from the UMC accused Sessions of child abuse, immorality, racial discrimination and dissemination of doctrines contrary to the standards of the doctrine of the United Methodist Church.

"However, an authority on church history and polity said he’s unaware of a complaint against a lay person ever moving past the district level," the United Methodist News Service stated.

According to the Associated Press, nearly 2,000 children have been taken from their parents since Sessions announced the zero tolerance policy, which directs Homeland Security officials to refer all cases of illegal entry into the United States for prosecution.

The church complaint says Sessions, who is a member of Ashland Methodist Church in Mobile and active participant at Clarendon UMC in Arlington, VA, has a unique combination of social and political power that calls for "some degree of accountability."

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