Thread by @BozT

The evils committed by Ravi Zacharias were enabled by a toxic organizational leadership that is evidenced by how these same leaders responded when confronted about the widespread and ongoing abuses being perpetrated by the namesake of the institution. 1/29

Please take time to read this piece by @DavideAFrench and the 26-page letter written by a first-hand witness. Here are just some of the excerpts: 2/29

"At one point, Ravi suggested to me that the Task Force “issue a statement that they [the Thompsons] are hooligans, they are scoundrels, they are thugs, they are serial extortioners.” If we didn’t do that, he told me, he would ask his attorney to do so on his behalf." 3/29

"...I distinctly recall Ravi & Sanj mocking the Thompsons’ marriage & scornfully predicting how soon Brad & Lori Anne would get divorced. “I predict their marriage won’t survive the year,” Ravi asserted with laughter. “A year?” replied Sanj. “I wouldn’t give it six months!” 4/29

"In 2017, in the early stages of his RICO against the Thompsons, Ravi would often invoke Kelly [his attorney], making statements such as “my attorney said we are going to crush them.”" 5/29

"I will never forget an odd encounter with Ravi and Brian Kelly [attorney] at the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. on October 24, 2017, shortly before Ravi was headed to speak at Museum of the Bible for Kirk Cameron’s “REVIVE US 2” program that evening...6/29

...Ravi and Brian Kelly were literally high-fiving, trash-talking, laughing at the Thompsons, and gleefully celebrating the results of the mediation. “You really saw us through this,” Ravi told his attorney. “How can we ever thank you enough?”" 7/29

"When the question of whether to investigate the spa allegations came up there was widespread resistance to the idea. Abdu [Murray] [VP of RZIM] in particular was vigorous in his opposition, and suggested that instead we hire private investigators to go after the accusers." 8/29

"Abdu [Murray] said he had hired private investigator(s) to investigate the accusers in the spa allegations, stating something such as, “there are a lot of checkered things in their past,” including potentially criminal records." 9/29

"Mark DeMoss pushed back heavily to Abdu [Murray]... Abdu argued and told Mark and our team, “I disagree, I think it will help us discredit their accusations if we can show their past. I think we could convince people that they are lying.”" 10/29

"Then Abdu [Murray] said, “Brian Kelly knows an ex-cop in Atlanta who does his own investigations, and Brian told me he ‘doesn’t have a light touch.’” 11/29

"Abdu [Murray] went on to describe that according to Kelly, this ex-cop was “rough around the edges” and that approach might be effective in going after the accusers and exonerating Ravi." 12/29

"...no one else in the room expressed support for an investigation, except for Michael....The prevailing theme from that meeting was, “we are confident these accusations are not true” – a statement Sarah [CEO of RZIM] echoed verbatim in her memo to all staff that day. 13/29

"...when asked about RZIM issuing a call for possible victims, Abdu pushed back..., “Well that would assume that there are victims.” He echoed a similar sentiment a few weeks later, stating, “We would not want to give the impression that we think there are any victims.”" 14/29

"In an all-staff meeting in late October, Michael [Ramsden] even suggested that the women who spoke to Christianity Today [spa victims] might not exist at all." 15/29

"....Abdu [Murray] stated in a conversation with myself and Mark DeMoss that RZIM hadn’t decided what we mean by “the investigation’s findings” when it came to releasing the report....He continued, “We can never say ‘we know he did it,’ unless there is a video.”" 16/29

"Within my first month at RZIM, I was warned...“Whatever you do, don’t cross the Zacharias family.” ....It quickly became evident to me that there was not just an unhealthy adoration for Ravi, but also a focus on self-preservation—and we were all expected to play along." 17/29

"...Ravi’s traveling masseuse was placed on the ministry’s payroll as the Project Manager for “Touch of Hope,” an effort that has not been properly defined or explained even internally." 18/29

"I myself went on RZIM trips, including an international trip to Asia, where this young woman was traveling with Ravi." 19/29

"Their [Ravi and the masseuse] interaction struck me as very odd and I was concerned about the optics, but of course I learned early on that it was unacceptable to raise questions about Ravi whether at HQ or on the road." 20/29

"On December 3, 2017, during a call with Mark DeMoss, Nancy Gifford, and myself, Board member Bill Payne stated that he and the Board “did not ask Ravi any questions” [with regard to his RICO lawsuit against the Thompsons]. “Why would we, it’s Ravi?”" 21/29

"When I started to raise questions on the Task Force in January 2018—I was systematically marginalized, maligned, and misrepresented to others by key members of senior leadership." 22/29

"Michael Ramsden said in a Task Force meeting that I was “tired and emotional” and suggested I “can’t handle it” (after stating he was uncomfortable with my notetaking in Task Force meetings)." 23/29

"Vince Vitale [Regional Director - RZIM] said, “You just don’t know Ravi as well as I know him. If you had spent as much time with him as I have, you wouldn’t have these concerns.”" 24/29