A prominent Christian leader has been charged with “inciting racial disharmony” over comments he made earlier this year where he called for a “purge” of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs from New Zealand.
Destiny Church founder Brian Tamaki, who had his firearms seized shortly after making the comments in June, shared footage of police turning up at his home in Auckland on Thursday to serve him with a court summons requiring him to be in court on Monday.
He later confirmed that he was facing three charges of inciting racial disharmony between June 15 and June 21, and that he believed the charges were in relation to statements he made in a video ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and called it “the beginning of the end of free speech in New Zealand”.
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This morning’s visit from New Zealand Police serving me with a summons to appear in Court on 3 x *Racial Disharmony* charges. This Monday morning 9am, Manukau.
This is the beginning of the end of Free Speech in NZ.
— Brian Tamaki (@BrianTamakiNZ) October 14, 2026
Mr Tamaki has repeatedly denied calling for violence during the video, where he also brought up Christian churches being burned in India and asked: “If they’re burning churches down, why don’t we burn mosques and their temples down? Tit for Tat.”
After being charged Mr Tamaki said in a statement that his comments were about religion and not race, and said the charges appeared to be an attempt to intimidate New Zealanders ahead of next month’s election.
“I have never threatened anyone. I have never advocated violence against anyone. I have consistently challenged religious beliefs, religious practices and political leaders – not people because of their race. I have Indian friends. I have people from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds in my church,” he said.
“Since when did defending persecuted Christians become a criminal offence in New Zealand?
“This looks like an escalating campaign of intimidation against a Christian leader who refuses to be silenced. I will not be bullied into silence. I will not surrender my Christian convictions. And I will not stop speaking up for persecuted Christians.”
New Zealand Police confirmed Mr Tamaki had been charged under the Human Rights Act, which requires consent from the Solicitor-General to prosecute.
After Mr Tamaki made his video in June, Hindu groups demanded the police lay charges, and a coalition of ethnic and religious minority groups issued an “election ultimatum” to New Zealand’s political parties demanding new policies on “hate” and “social cohesion”.
Header image: Left, right, Mr Tamaki being charged (X).
