UPDATE: A court clerk confirmed to WAVY on Sept. 13, 2023 that the case against King had been set aside. Click here for more information.
Original coverage:
HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — Pastor Joshua Nathaniel King was arrested in July on serious charges following a domestic dispute with his 25-year-old son. 10 On Your Side spoke with the pastor Thursday, and he had no comment about the allegations against him.
King is the eighth pastor of the 159 year-old Zion Baptist Church, which is near Hampton University and the Hampton National Cemetery. 10 On Your Side spoke to him in 2021 after a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News. Here’s a portion of the interview with 10 On Your Side’s Aesia Toliver:
Aesia Toliver: This is Pastor Joshua King, one of the first pastors here. Talk to me about what church you are from and why you came out.
Pastor Joshua King: I came out to support my brother Tremaine Johnson, who is the pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Newport News.”
Now the pastor faces gun and other charges following a domestic dispute with his son.
According to records in Hampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, on July 23, police responded to a home on Ireland Street after Nigel King accused his father of assault. Following a heated exchange, the pastor allegedly pushed his son and put his hands around his son’s throat for about eight to nine seconds. The son then,reportedly put the pastor in a chokehold until a stepmother screams for him to stop.
The court records noted that King went to his vehicle, retrieved a firearm and pointed it at Nygel King, ordering him to exit his residence. Nygel King turned around, and Joshua King hit him in the back of the head with the firearm, according to court records
The pastor is charged with misdemeanor brandishing a firearm, misdemeanor assault on a family member and felony malicious bodily injury.
This is what King said back in 2021 about how pastors respond to violence.
“It’s concerning to us pastors any time violence breaks out in the community anywhere,” King said in 2021.
A call to King’s attorney has not been returned as of this writing.
As is customary in domestic violence cases, an emergency protective order was issued against the pastor, but it has since expired.
King is due in court for a preliminary hearing Sept. 13, five days before his son’s birthday.
10 On Your Side investigative reporter Sean Davis learned that the younger King played football for the University of Utah. He announced his intention to play for the team in 2016, and he was listed as a senior for the Utes in 2021.
