A Flagler County Circuit Judge has sent a 29-year-old probationer back to jail on a probation violation stemming directly from his refusal to profess his faith in a Christian God at a faith-based drug-treatment facility he chose to attend, thinking he wouldn’t be so compelled.
The judge’s decision took place during a status hearing probationer Joshua Seth King asked for, which he attended by zoom with a probation officer from Faith Farm Ministries, a faith-based organization with several locations in Florida. He was enrolled at the Okeechobee facility. King appeared without his lawyer. He had previously been represented by Assistant Public Defender Evan Altes.
“He doesn’t like their terms, I get that. I’m not somebody who likes religion forced. I’m sure we’re all spiritual in our own different ways,” Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols said at the end of the May 5 hearing. “But if that’s the program I picked, and I’m not complying with their terms, then I think I’m in violation. I’m not going to send him to prison. I’ll just send him to another program, but it’s got to be a DOC-approved program. He doesn’t get to pick the next program.” DOC is the Department of Corrections, or the state prison system, which is supervising King’s probation.
“Do I need to take him into custody today?” Walter Souter, the supervisor of the Okeechobee probation office who had arranged King’s appearance by zoom, asked the judge.
“I would just take him into custody now,” the judge said. “As soon as we can, we’ll get him over here.” Meaning back to Flagler County and theSeventh Judicial Circuit, which would process his probation violation and arrange his reassignment as he waits for it at the local jail.
As of today–May 11–Faith Farm said in writing that he was discharged on May 5. He was not at the Okeechobee County jail. He was not at the Flagler County jail. Altes did not respond to an email asking for King’s whereabouts before this article initially published.
On Jan. 11, 2024, King, 27 at the time, was arrested for his sixth DUI in less than eight years after being clocked going faster than 100 mph on I-95 in Palm Coast. He was driving without a license. That April he pleaded no contest. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced him to a year in jail, with the option of going to a rehab facility instead, and five years on probation. King chose rehab at Faith Farm Ministries.
Before reporting there, he had to report to a Mississippi prison to serve a probation violation. Before that, he spent two months at the Flagler County jail, completing a course on drug addiction through Victory House. He says he “met three outstanding individuals who helped me question many things in regards to the Bible and healing.” He then served his term in Mississippi, and once released there, reported to Faith Farms.
King, who has a 5-year-old son, describes himself as a Wiccan, a nature-based Pagan religion. He had reason to think that Faith Farm would not force Christianity on him when he researched it. Faith Farm’s FAQ page reasonably leads anyone to believe that their own faith or lack of faith would be respected.
“Can I participate in a faith-based addiction recovery program in Florida if I don’t belong to a specific faith or religion?,” the question reads. Faith Farm’s answer: “Yes, many faith-based recovery programs in Florida are open to individuals of all faiths or even those who do not have a specific religious affiliation. While these programs incorporate spiritual elements, they often welcome participants from diverse backgrounds who are seeking support and a holistic approach to recovery.”
On the other hand, the FAQ also notes in answer to another question: “When choosing a program, individuals should consider their personal beliefs and whether a Christian or secular approach aligns with their preferences and goals for recovery.”
Neither answer is so categorical as to close the door on non-Christians, but each is ambiguous enough to allow for interpretation.
In a letter to the judge, King described what he said amounted to a “cult” where not only was he forced to follow the facility’s Christian doctrines, but where even his mother was forced to attend church when she visited him for Easter. Otherwise, he said, she would not have been allowed to visit.
During his intake at Faith Farm, “they were made aware of my nonreligious beliefs in God with my stepdad and mom standing right there. I was told that this was not an issue,” he wrote. He told the facility that he would participate in Christian activities to his own comfort level.
“This location has been mentally abusive,” he wrote, describing how his mother at Easter was told she could not bring her service animal into the facility. Though she attended church at her son’s request, so they could see each other, “she came in with a open mind to the religious program, but left utterly shocked, insulted, and extremely worried about the rights being violated,” he wrote. “My 1st Amendment has been stomped on by this administration, due to them using this against me as being of a different faith and refusing to lie in any church. Last week, I was forced to pray with them and told I had no choice in the matter. So I completed the prayer as directed by the teachers at the farm. Afterwards, I expressed that I was upset about it and was confronted with you will do this otherwise.”
King said when he was first at the facility, he would work on the farm, feeding animals, but was since moved to the kitchen after he was told he was not “Christian enough to be outside.” He was then told that he would have to “confess God” in Phase 3 of the program or be kicked out. A counselor told him he could either do so or fake it, otherwise he’d be kicked out. He did not want to fake it, considering that hypocritical.
“I do not want to violate my probation here, and would like to be moved to a location that is more suitable to my mental and physical health,” King wrote.
Nikki Foxworth, an intake counselor at Faith Farm, wrote the court that King “was unsuccessfully discharged from the Faith Farm Program” on May 5 after repeatedly saying he would not participate in religious aspects of the program. “We gave him some time to make adjustments to see if he would come around.” That did not take place. She wrote that he was asked during his initial interview “why he didn’t share” his intent not to participate religiously.
“Joshua stated he didn’t know he needed to. He also stated he was under the impression this was like another program he had been to previously and didn’t realize he would have to participate in the religious aspects of the program,” Foxworth wrote. “However, during the interview the details and participation requirements were shared with Joshua. At no time did Joshua voice his lack of religious beliefs or his unwillingness to participate in them. Had Joshua voiced his position we would never have approved him for the Faith Farm program. Instead, during the interview he agreed to participate in everything that was being shared with him.”
The court granted King’s request for a status hearing, only to find him in violation of his probation.
“He doesn’t get to pick where he goes. He did last time, it didn’t work out so hot,” the judge said at the May 5 hearing. “I’m inclined to take him into custody because he’s not in compliance. I mean, if he leaves that program, he’s not in compliance.”
“I didn’t leave,” King said. “I petitioned to try and get transferred to a new place. They [] waited for me to have my court hearing, and they have asked me to pack my things.”
“Well, that’s an unsuccessful completion. I can ask for a violation of probation, because you picked that program, and now you don’t like it,” the judge said.
“But your honor, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it,” King said. “I was given a choice to either confess Christ or to be kicked out because I’m not a Christian, and so I wanted to come through the court in the proper way. I stayed there and continued to be in the program while waiting for the court hearing.”
“Mr. King, the name of the program is Faith Farm,” the judge told him, “and so, it is a faith-based program. You picked it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m not here to force-feed religion into you. My goal was only to get you treatment. And I thought it was treatment or prison. Was it not?”
The plea Perkins accepted was either 364 days at the county jail or in-patient treatment and 60 months on probation, with the understanding that he would also be serving over two years in prison elsewhere. Though his two charges totaled a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, he did not score prison time under the state’s sentencing guidelines.
King’s attorney had approached the prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Tara Libby, with the proposed plea resolution. “He specifically asked for this program,” Libby told Judge Nichols.
“So Mr. King, most respectfully,” the judge told him, “what I’m going to do is ask that you probably be taken into custody. I’ll ask for a warrant and for non-compliance with the program that you selected. Then we can put you in another program.”
King asked for house arrest in the meantime. The judge did not agree. She said the referral can happen quickly. The referral is being handled through the Seventh Judicial Circuit–the circuit controlling Flagler County, not Okeechobee.
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