On April 2, the Key of David Christian Center campus preached near the Theatre Arts Building (TA) at Montgomery College Rockville campus; the Key of David Christian Center is a non-denominational Christian church that currently meets in western parts of Philadelphia. They are known for their controversial statements and for preaching on college campuses, led by Pastor Aden Rusfeldt and his family. With just one Google search, Pastor Aden Rusfeldt’s name is tied to many contentious protests, some of which led to lawsuits like Rusfeldt v. City of New York.
Some of the provocative signs held by the group stated claims such as: “Not a virgin + Not married = Whore”, “Women belong in the kitchen, a list of A-listers in hell, along with a list of groups who “will burn in hell”, e.g., Muslims, women cops, and the Pope.
The group verbally harassed students whom they felt were not following their holy path of Christianity. Students who were continuously harassed by the group were primarily members of the LGBTQ+ community and non-Christians.
Students questioned the group about their beliefs, fact-checked any biblical or religious claims, and stood up against harassment towards their fellow students. While many observed from a safe distance, a few students counter-protested, and others yelled at the group, either in response to the group’s remarks or to draw attention away from them.
John Robert Mahoney and Donovan Brown were two of the standout counter-protesters against the group. Mahoney silently protested with their body after many homophobic remarks against the LGBTQ+ community by Pastor Rusfeldt. Brown counter-protested by creating his own poster at the scene, stating “God loves everyone” and “Men=Women; Be Kind; Get a job.”
Because Donovan Brown protested near Pastor Rusfeldt and his family, Public Safety escorted him out. After a while, Brown was seen again, counter-protesting behind the group.
At around 3 p.m, the campus preach led by Pastor Rusfeldt ended, and the crowd of students dispersed. Questions against Public Safety were raised by students as to why no action was taken, while the group activity harassed students. For instance, one anonymous student quoted, “Why are [Public Safety] telling us to stay away?” after Donovan Brown was told to step back from Pastor Rusfeldt and his family.
Students did not know what the protocols were during the incident, and only witnessed Public Safety telling them to keep a safe distance from the group. This only deepened questions like how Public Safety could allow such groups to enter Montgomery College campuses in the first place.
On May 5, Vice President for Public Safety, Health & Emergency Management, Chief of Campus Police, Public Safety, Health, and Emergency Management, Adam Reid, and Manager for the Public Safety office at the Rockville campus, Robert Mueck, spoke at the ICC meeting held in the SV building to answer some questions.
Reid’s response was “The core frame here is this is all protected activity under the First Amendment. With that being said, no one is a captive audience, where no one is being forced to hold there.”
Mueck claims that because Montgomery College is a public institution, Public Safety is unable to do anything due to the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and assembly. During the meeting, Mueck mentioned an email received by Public Safety from the group stating their “intentions, and what they were going to do.” If Public Safety had turned Pastor Rusfeldt and his family away, they would have taken legal action and sued the college for denying them their First Amendment rights; the group stated this in their email, as Mueck stated.
Pastor Rusfeldt mentions this approach of preaching the gospel in his book, “Open Air Fire: Principles of Open Air Outreach.” In this book, Pastor Rusfeldt encourages his supporters and others with similar mindsets to preach Christianity in public areas and offers practical guidance. Through this book, Pastor Rusfeldt provides insight into his beliefs and argues that his style of preaching is more effective than passive preaching.
Browsing the Key Of David Christian Church General Statement of Faith, they also mention their distaste for being a 501(c)(3). Many churches in the US are filed as non-profits, where they get their money from donations. However, as mentioned earlier and again by Reid during the ICC meeting, “They make their money by suing institutions for violations of First Amendment rights.” Hence, their appearance on our campus.
Many also wondered if this is something that could happen again, and the definite answer is yes. Mueck stated, “They liked the interactions so much that day that as they were leaving, they told us they were going to be back.”
Mueck continued, claiming that the group and their church mainly target college campuses, going up and down the East Coast to protest and harass students. Mueck mentioned that they have agreed with our Public Safety to give a 24-hour notice before they come back.
Something that piqued students’ interest was whether this was considered an obstruction of learning, as the Maryland Education Code §26-101 protects schools and colleges from protests like these on campus. According to Reid, “They were on a grassy area. They were not impeding anyone’s access. They were not in the buildings.” This means there is no real obstruction of education as they weren’t in anyone’s way, and were not a part of the prevention of going to class.
As the semester comes to a close, it is not likely we will see this group again. However, as they have stated, they will be back. With that being said, further questions and concerns can be directed to our Public Safety at MC, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Disclaimer
All April 2, 2026 moments and events mentioned herein occurred between 2 p.m and 3 p.m. The Key of David Christian Center arrived at Montgomery College before noon; nothing from their arrival till 2 p.m. is covered in this article due to the absence of a student reporter at the scene.
Furthermore, Farahnaaz Qaderi, the Advocate staffer at the scene, was verbally harassed during this protest by Pastor Rusfeldt for debunking his comments against the acceptability of abuse towards women in Islam. Pastor Rusfeldt was recorded saying to Farahnaaz Qaderi, “Are you Muslim? You know why you say it’s not true if you’re Muslim ‘cause your man would’ve [hit] you in the face if you respond.”
