James MacDonald Claims He Beat up a 59-year-Old Woman Because He Had PTSD from Being Blogged About by Julie Roys. Seriously.

A judge has ruled that disgraced former Harvest Church pastor James MacDonald, who was arrested seven months ago and charged with felony battery and assault after attacking a 59-year-old woman in a road rage incident that put her in the hospital for 21 days, is eligible for a mental health diversion. An MHD is a program in California where residents suffering from mental health disorders and facing criminal charges may complete treatment to avoid jail time.

MacDonald, who is facing seven years in prison for the assault, earlier claimed that she was the aggressor, not him, but also that he ‘blacked out’ during their interaction and doesn’t remember much.

During his hearing, MacDonald’s attorney highlighted the testimony of two doctors who said he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2020 and 2023. They claim the PTSD he suffered from resulted from being written about and trolled by Julie Roys of the Roys Report, which then caused him to attack the other motorist in self-defense. According to testimony from clinical psychologist Dr Anderson, the doctor who diagnosed him:

“Once the woman in the car in front of him got out of the car and moved towards him in an angry and agitated state, the years of traumatic memories of being vilified by Julie Roys rushed back to him and triggered a flight or fight response. Feeling powerless and misunderstood and essentially trapped in his truck, he got out of the vehicle to fight back against his accuser.”

His lawyer explained it this way:

The anger manifestations that pastor McDonald showed on that particular day,  the anxiousness,  the anxiety,  the pits of anger,  all are consistent with her diagnosis of PTSD as well as supported by the previous diagnosis…

He was a 63-year-old man.  Has no record,  no criminal history…he’s had no instance of violence,  no instance of any type of criminal history,  no substance abuse,  no domestic violence,  nothing.

…He was the head of a pastor for a very,  very large congregation. Between 15,000 people a week would attend the congregation.  He was active on YouTube.  He had three or four million people watching his ministries. He’s established many non-profit organizations and charitable organizations in support of individuals who are victims of domestic violence as well as substance abuse.  

…So he’s basically done everything right.  He’s never been in any trouble at all….All of the things that I’m talking about before were taken away from him as a result of some underhanded dealing with other church members. As we’ve shown in our papers here,  there was some really bad reporting that went on as well as some internet trolling that went on which undermines his ministry,  not to mention his mental health. As a result of the lawsuits and the constant harassing that he gets from the internet, he developed the symptoms that we have seen here today.  

And it’s clear, given the fact that he has absolutely no history of violence,  no history of acting out,  no history of any type of substance abuse,  that this was, in fact,  aberrant behavior,  that this was, in fact,  somehow related to his PTSD symptoms.  So I think that we have established here, clearly through the psychological evaluation and Pastor McDonald’s history of nonviolence,  that this was aberrant conduct as a result of the PTSD.

In turn, the prosecutors asked the court to deny the defendant’s motion for mental health diversion, saying that while MacDonald was diagnosed by the defense expert with PTSD (and not their expert), they do not believe that it was a factor in the assault, sounding very skeptical that his PTSD was the result of trolling by his critics who were upset at MacDonald’s own behavior.

It is the People’s position that the crime committed was a willful and callous act that the defendant thought about just based off the facts and the defendants behavior in this crime.

The defendant bumped the victim’s car, the victim got out of her car to keep the defendant from leaving, The defendant got out of his truck (unintelligible) towards the victim, which they fell to the ground and the victim sustained significant injuries that she was in the hospital for 21 days for and is still receiving treatment for in the in the form of physical therapy treatment. And I believe she’s just recently been able to stop using a walker or cane to help her moving around the house.

The PTSD portion that the mental health expert opined is based off some reporting or trolling that happened toward the defendant online.

The defendant, to my knowledge does have a larger following. A lot of people know him, he is a pastor with the following. And with that, with the following, comes people expressing their opinions and the opinions given were on the defendants behavior, were on the defendants way of interacting with other members of his community, and many of them were negative towards the defendant based off of his behavior.

The People believe the crime was a willful and thought-out crime that the defendant committed.

Prosecutors also pointed out that MacDonald has attended treatment several times in the past, and that these were treatments were “unsuccessful,” making him an exceedingly poor candidate for a diversion program,

As to the treatment plan and whether the defendant would be willing or able or amenable to any sort of treatment plan in this case, the mental health expert for evaluation mentioned that the defendant had been in treatment prior, multiple times, and had been unsuccessful. The people think that’s very indicative of the defendants amenability to treatment in this case.

…He’s already been unsuccessful on treatment multiple times. And if the defendant has had three years since his diagnosis or previous diagnosis in 2020, now we’re in 2023, obviously, whatever he was doing in between that time hasn’t affected him in a good, in a positive way, or helped his mental health diagnosis in a positive way as we are now here on this crime, and his behavior in this crime was very egregious.

Ultimately, the judge was satisfied that MacDonald is eligible for mental health diversion and set a court date for February 28, 2024, to determine whether or not it is the best course of action. If it’s determined that it is, all charges are dismissed and the records sealed, though MacDonald will likely still be subject to a civil suit for the battery.

Macdonald’s was officially terminated by the elder board of Harvest Bible Church in November of 2019 following a messy, public separation filled with lawsuits and name-calling. The elder board previously declared the money-grubbing guzzler to be so not above reproach, that they raked him over the coals sixty ways to Sunday, explaining in the following open letter all the ways MacDonald failed to be qualified for the pastorate.

1. Above Reproach (Titus 1:6)–“To be above reproach is to have a reputation for being blameless and honorable.” The accusations against James are of great quantity and continue to be brought forward. His character should have been such that this magnitude of accusations would not have been believable. But sadly, James’ reputation does not defend his character. Instead, his reputation affirms many of the accusations against him as plausible.
2. Respectable (1 Timothy 3:2)–The antithesis of being respectable is to be disruptive. We found that James had a pattern of being disruptive in public and private settings at the expense of other people’s well-being.
3. Upright (Titus 1:8)–We found that James failed to meet the standard of dealing with others fairly and honorably. At times, he misrepresented gifts paid for by the church as gifts from him personally.
4. Not Arrogant or Violent (Titus 1:7)–James’ behavior and language indicated that he thought of himself more highly than he should as evidenced by his pattern of insulting, belittling and verbally bullying others.
5. Not Quick-Tempered or Quarrelsome (Titus 1:7; 1 Timothy 3:3)–We found James had a pattern of quickly becoming angry, manifesting itself in unmerited force and frequency. James’ behavior was of that of a combative person who insisted on his own ways and failed to cultivate peace.
6. Not Domineering (1 Peter 5:3)–We found that James had a pattern of improperly exercising his positional and spiritual authority over others to his own advantage.
7. Not Greedy for Gain or A Lover of Money (Titus 1:7; 1 Timothy 3:3)–We found that James made repeated efforts to profit himself beyond what was honorable. There was a pattern of extravagant spending utilizing church resources resulting in personal benefit.
8. Disciplined (Titus 1:8)–James failed to keep his emotions under control. The failure is not in the dynamic range of his personality, but in the lack of self-discipline, which an Elder should display in a bridled tongue and sound speech.
9. Self-Controlled and Sober-Minded (Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2)–We found that James had a pattern of acting on sudden impulses with insufficient deference to wise but differing views. In some of the most crucial moments where James needed to be calm and cautiously wise, he was hasty and reckless.
   
   MacDonald was living the high life prior to being ousted, giving Brian and Bobbie Houston of Hillsong a run for their money. MacDonald was likely rolling around naked each night in his Scrooge McDuckian Money Bin, reveling in the filthy lucre he was amassing and spending as if it were candy.
   Since leaving Harvest, MacDonald has been keeping busy as an itinerant preacher, running his Home Church Network, and appearing on TBN with Kirk Cameron.

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