Suburban minister indicted in Georgia alongside Donald Trump targeted by Christian protesters

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A suburban minister, who is one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendant's in the Georgia election conspiracy case, is being targeted by Christian protesters.

The protesters want the Reverend Stephen Lee removed from his Lutheran church post.

The petition drive on a Christian website has nearly reached its goal of 15,000 signatures. It demands Lutheran church officials immediately expel the Reverend Lee, who is assigned to a congregation in south suburban Orland Park.

The campaign claims an abuse of pastoral authority; a threat to American democracy that contradicts the Biblical values of justice and truth.

In an exclusive interview, Lee's attorney, David Shestokas, defended his client.

"He has the full complete support of this congregation, that I can tell you for sure because I was with them," he said.

Shestokas also said the Georgia evidence is so thin that late last year a Kendall County, Illinois judge refused to order the minister to testify in front of a grand jury there as a possible witness.

The Georgia grand jury was investigating whether an election worker there had been pressured into falsely admitting election fraud.

"The judge in Kendall County said, 'No we're not going to compel his presence in Georgia.' So the first time anybody looked at it outside of the Georgia judge that looked at any of this, the first

Instance," Shestokas said. "They don't even have enough didn't make them him a witness, let alone a defendant. They never made any effort again, to contact us. And based on the lack of, the lack of effort and lack of interest, we had every reason to believe that there was no, no further interest in the Reverend Lee."

Shestokas also said they will vigorously fight the charges.

"We will be entering a plea of not guilty, because frankly, there's essentially four-- four counts directly relating to Reverend Lee. Two of them has him knocking on, knocking on people's doors and two of the others have him making a couple of telephone calls," he said.

A bond agreement late Tuesday was set at $75,000 for the Rev. Lee, with prosecutors apparently declining to let him out on his signature.

Lee's attorney said the suburban churchman doesn't have that kind of money, maybe not even the required 10%.

As with former president Trump and all 19 defendants, Lee has until Friday noon to surrender. Without the cash, Lee could spend days in Fulton County jail waiting for a court hearing and the chance to argue for a lesser bond.