Months ago, megachurch founder Bishop T.D. Jakes was accused of inappropriate conduct by former pastor Duane Youngblood, starting off a major controversy that deeply affected Jakes’s career and reputation. However, press accounts recently confirmed that Tryone Blackburn, the attorney who represented Youngblood in his case against Jakes, has been arrested for assault.
For context, Tyrone Blackburn, a New York City-based attorney, was reportedly formally charged with assault and arrested after he submitted a request to the clerk of the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania to remove himself from Youngblood’s case against Jakes, who accused Youngblood of sending him a “$6 million extortion letter” over claims that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct with Youngblood.
Additionally, according to press accounts, Blackburn was arrested after he got into his car as an aging court messenger was serving him a legal complaint related to another case. TMZ reported that Blackburn then “Blackburn allegedly slammed his car into reverse and backed up, hitting the process server in the leg and causing a minor injury.” The outlet added, “The victim reported the incident to police.”
The news that Blackburn had been arrested came several months after Bishop Jakes filed a defamation lawsuit against Duane Youngblood, who press accounts described as a “former-pastor-turned-sex-offender.” Jakes’ lawyers responded to Youngblood’s accusation that he was assaulted by Jakes decades ago by describing the case as “a carefully planned effort by a convicted criminal.”
Furthermore, lawyers representing Bishop Jakes said that in suing Jakes, Youngblood was attempting “to rewrite history in order to deflect blame and accountability for his own reprehensible and criminal conduct and to publicly smear a renowned and eminently respected religious leader in a blatant and explicit attempt to extort him for millions of dollars.”
Importantly, in an exclusive interview with TODAY, Bishop Jakes responded to the allegations brought forward by Youngblood by saying, “Enough is enough,” adding that he vehemently denied Youngblood’s claims.” Moreover, Jakes explained that he had filed the defamation suit against Youngblood because “if you don’t ever speak back, it just continues to go on and on and on, and I decided enough is enough.”
Moreover, according to TODAY, Jakes’ lawyers said that Younblood’s “tale of grooming…at the hands of Bishop Jakes is patently false,” and the bishop added, “I haven’t seen this person for 40 years.” Jakes also told TODAY that he had been faced with accusations “all year from different people in different places.”
Explaining further, Jakes said that because of the accusations against him, he felt that the current era is “a time of misinformation and disinformation that’s hard to live with.” He added, “And I came to a few conclusions: No. 1, some people don’t see you as an individual, they see you as an opportunity. And we’re living in a time right now of people being misaligned and seldom challenged.”
Featured image credit: TD Jakes via X