Harlem Hate Pastor Says He'll Burn Rainbow Flag to Celebrate Court Ruling

After narrowly escaping foreclosure on his Harlem church, Reverend James David Manning of the Atlah Worldwide Church said that his group would burn the rainbow flag as a celebration of their victory.

"The foreclosure & sale of Atlah Church has been vacated. To celebrate we will burn the rainbow fag�flag in our courtyard TBA," read the notorious red and white sign in front of Rev. Manning's on West 123rd Street.

Similar threats by Manning were made on social media, according to NBC News.

DNA Info, reports that Manning's anti-LGBT victory celebration comes in response to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge's ruling that tabled the sale and foreclosure of the Atlah Church building on West 123rd Street in Harlem.

The foreclosure proceedings, which have been going on since January, relate to $1.02 million owed to creditors relating to a water bill. The church's defense rests on their belief that they are tax exempt and shouldn't have to pay.

According to DNA Info, Judge Manuel Mendez, who heard the case, said the sale and foreclosure of the Atlah Church are vacated until there is a ruling on the church's tax exempt status.

None of this is good news for the Ali Forney Center (AFC) for at risk LGBT youth, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding to purchase Manning's church at auction.

"Reverend Manning's threat to burn the rainbow flag in the courtyard of his church is reprehensible, especially in the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre," said Carl Siciliano, founder and executive director of AFC in a statement released on Friday. "We plan to surround his church with rainbow flags, the symbol of our pride as a community, to show that our pride cannot be destroyed, symbolically or otherwise. The best response to his hate is a display of community love and pride by the LGBT community and our allies," said Siciliano. � � ��

"Rev. Manning's declaration of victory is premature.", adds Siciliano. "All he has won for now is the opportunity to incur many further legal costs as he tries to escape the consequences of decades of failure to pay ATLAH's water bills."