Jesse Lee Peterson (born May 22, 1949) is an American conservative radio host, pastor, and broadcaster. He is the founder of Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), a Christian ministry, and hosts the programs The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show and The Fallen State TV.[2]
Peterson has gained notoriety for his political views, which have been described by some as misogynistic,[3] homophobic,[4] and of a white nationalist nature.[5][6]
Peterson was born on May 22, 1949, in Midway, Alabama, and raised in Corner Hill by his grandparents, who worked on the Comer family plantation where his great-grandparents had worked as slaves a century earlier.[7] His mother and father moved to Gary, Indiana, and East Chicago, Indiana, respectively, where they separately started new families of their own. He was born with a cleft palate that was not repaired until his teens.[8] Peterson lived with his mother and stepfather in Gary as a teenager, briefly attending Edison High School. He then returned to Alabama and graduated from high school before moving to Los Angeles.[7] He attended Los Angeles City College for one year. He says that he started his own janitorial service in 1989.[8]
In 1990, Peterson founded BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny), later registered as a religious non-profit. BOND has close ties to the Tea Party movement. Advisory board members include Sean Hannity[9] and Dennis Prager.[10]
Peterson has participated in activism against illegal immigration, abortion, and gun control, and for traditional family values.[11][12][13][14] He has protested against the NAACP[15][16] and feminist lawyer Gloria Allred.[17][18] He has participated in discussions at the annual political convention Politicon.[19][20][21]
From 1999 to 2004, Peterson chose Martin Luther King Jr. Day to hold a "National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson" to highlight his opposition to Jackson, who was near King when he was assassinated.[22]