A young gay man has revealed how his devout Christian parents hired an evangelist to exorcise his bedroom after he come out to his family.
Andrew Hartzler, 25, shared footage of the incident which was purportedly captured by security cameras installed in the ceiling of his home in Kansas City, Missouri several years ago.
Hartzler — who happens to be the nephew of former Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler — told his 55,000 followers that his mom and dad hoped the religious leader would rid the room of “demons” that had hypnotized their son into homosexuality.
“Devil, in Jesus’ name, you foul spirit, leave!” the evangelist can be heard imploring in Hartzler’s clip, which has clocked up close to 1 million views.
The footage further shows the exorcist opening the bedroom’s closet and compelling evil spirits to leave.
“Something foul is happening in this closet in Jesus’ name. Every evil spirit go now in Jesus’ name,” the evangelist declares.
“I plead, plead the blood of Christ over this closet, over every piece of cloth here,” he continues. “We now commission angels to be in this closet.”
The evangelist subsequently sprinkles oil around the room, claiming it “represents the oil of the holy spirit.”
At one point, he walks over to Hartzler’s bed and states: “We anoint this bed in the name of Jesus… That every person that touches his bed shall be saved, in Jesus’ name.”
Many TikTok viewers were left shocked by the surveillance footage, with one writing: “I‘m so sorry you had to go through this!”
Another also offered their commiserations, stating: “My parents are pretty religious, but this is next level. I don’t know how you made it through that, but my hat’s off to you.”
In an interview with Insider, Hartzler said that the exorcism episode occurred while he was away at college six years ago.
He had set up the surveillance cameras in his bedroom himself prior to leaving for school, fearful that his parents would rifle through his things.
Hartzler told the publication that he first came out to his parents at 14, before he was sent to conversion therapy.
“It basically just teaches you learned self-hate, like learning to repress half of your mind. It’s exhausting,” he recalled of the experience, describing it as one of the “darkest moments of my entire life.”
Hartzler — who was raised in an evangelical sect known as International House of Prayer — once again came out to his parents during college, prompting them to call in the evangelist to try and turn their son straight.
The TikTok user identified the religious leader as John Jacobs, the founder of The Power Team, a group of bodybuilding Christians “that showed their belief in Christ by tearing apart phone books and lifting weights.”
“My father thought my identity issues were a ‘demonic stronghold,'” Hertzler explained. “He always used that type of language around my sexuality.”
Today, the youngster is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and works at Oklahomans for Equality, a non-profit that seeks equal rights for LGBTQ individuals and families “through intersectional advocacy, education, programs, and alliances.”
Hartzler no longer speaks to his parents saying he finally cut them off two months ago after years of pain.
“I told them you chose your religion over your son, and you’re welcome on my journey of life, but you’ve chosen otherwise,” he declared. “So, goodbye.”