Federal Authorities Raid Kingdom of God Global Church and Arrest Leaders in Nationwide Forced-Labor Investigation

In a coordinated operation Wednesday, August 27, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and partner agencies executed search warrants and arrested two top officials of the Kingdom of God Global Church (KOGGC) as part of a sweeping forced-labor and money-laundering conspiracy investigation.

Early Wednesday morning, FBI agents joined local law enforcement at a property owned by KOGGC in north Houston, searching the site in connection with a multi-state grand jury indictment unsealed in Michigan. Across the country, 53-year-old church founder David E. Taylor was taken into custody in Durham, North Carolina, and 56-year-old executive director Michelle Brannon was arrested in Tampa, Florida.

According to the Justice Department, Taylor and Brannon are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor, multiple counts of forced labor, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege the duo ran a nationwide network of call centers and ministry facilities in Michigan, Florida, Missouri, and Texas that coerced individuals-dubbed “armor bearers”-into unpaid labor under threat of physical and psychological punishment.

Court documents describe a pattern of abuse in which victims were forced to meet unattainable daily and monthly donation quotas, subjected to sleep deprivation, food restrictions, public humiliation, and threats of “divine judgment” if they failed to comply. Some victims were required to transport women to Taylor’s residences and ensure those women took emergency contraceptives, according to the indictment.

Since 2014, the operation is alleged to have funneled approximately $50 million in donations to the church, money prosecutors say was used to purchase luxury properties, vehicles, boats, jet skis, and ATVs for the defendants’ personal benefit. If convicted, Taylor and Brannon face up to 20 years in prison for each forced-labor count and up to 20 years for the money-laundering conspiracy.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division emphasized, “Combating human trafficking is a top priority for the Department of Justice. We are committed to relentlessly pursuing and ending this scourge and obtaining justice for the victims”. Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, added, “The FBI will use every lawful tool against human traffickers and seek justice for their victims”.