VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A man who resigned from the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission in 2019 after calling homosexuality “an abomination” and “mental illness” is accused of assaulting a family member, police say.
LaKendrick Coburn — also known as Brother Kenick El — is charged with simple assault and battery of a family member.
The Virginia Beach Police Department said officers responded to a domestic situation in the 5000 block of Ashforth Court at 12:20 a.m. on Monday morning. Coburn was arrested, and no injuries were reported to police.
Coburn was released from the Virginia Beach Correctional Center on Wednesday on a $5,000 bond.
10 On Your Side asked a clerk at the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court for copies of paperwork associated with Coburn’s arrest. We have not received the copies as of the time of publication.
Coburn made headlines in 2019 after a series of Facebook posts he made resulted in him resigning from the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission about five months after he began serving as a member.
One of the posts read that “Men trying to be women and women trying to be men is really confusing our children and I’m tired of seeing this nonsense promoted to our children.”
He also wrote “Homosexuality is an abomination to the Human Race” and that “Homosexuality is a mental illness and should be treated as such.”
Coburn spoke with 10 On Your Side in October 2019. He said the experience leading up to his resignation was humbling and that he did not mean any harm.
“I do feel that I owe it to my colleagues on the human rights commission as well as the citizens of the city of Virginia Beach to have the opportunity to express myself,” he said at that time.
Correction: The date of Coburn’s arrest was originally reported incorrectly. He was arrested on May 11.