Convicted Sex Offender Leads Prayer at Whatley Rally

Pastor Daimon L. King, a registered sex offender who served prison sentences for convictions involving minors, delivered the opening prayer at an Aug. 28 North Carolina Republican event featuring Senate candidate Michael Whatley and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz. King, a Craven County Republican precinct chairman, prayed for “integrity and honesty” and urged God to right wrongs against conservatives. Whatley’s campaign said he did not know King, did not organize the event, and did not invite the guests, placing responsibility for the gathering with the Craven County Republican Party. The episode could undermine Whatley’s attacks on Democratic opponent Roy Cooper as soft on crime and draw renewed scrutiny to the candidate’s ties to other convicted sex offenders, particularly as Democrats run related advertisements.