A Texas man who made controversial remarks about a Ganesh Chaturthi procession in Dallas has been removed from his church following a wave of public outrage. Daniel Keene, who has faced intense backlash, said he would not apologise for his statements.
Keene’s now-deleted post read: “We have to cancel the H-1Bs. I want my kids to grow up in America. Not India.”
The post quickly went viral, triggering a storm online. Keene and his family soon faced serious consequences, including doxxing, threats, and what he claimed was an extortion attempt demanding $20,000 from someone claiming to represent “millions of Indian-Americans,” according to Newsweek.
His café, Boundaries Coffee, was hit with fake reviews, his gym cancelled his membership, and The Trails Church, where he was a member, confronted him over the remarks. After multiple meetings, Keene said the church asked him to leave when he refused to repent.
In a lengthy post on X, Keene claimed he faced over seven hours of questioning from church elders. He said they refused to accept character witnesses from his Indian friends or specify in writing what “sin” he had committed.
According to Keene, he was told his post amounted to a disciplinary matter and was asked to leave the church on September 24 after a two-hour meeting with seven elders and one staff member.
Keene stated he had wanted to remain a member, was willing to step down from leadership, and only wished to be “left alone.”
He said his evidence of anti-racist posts and offers of clarification were rejected, and elders implied he was “not a Christian anymore” because he would not confess to a sin he didn’t believe he had committed.
“I was hammered for hours,” Keene wrote. “They pressured me to apologise for my remarks about Indian immigration, but I won’t. That’s the policy position I stand behind.”
He added that while he was open to clarifying his intent or speaking with anyone offended, he would not retract his words.
Speaking to Newsweek, Keene said he did not regret what he posted.
“It’s not about skin colour or anything. It’s about what kind of country you want to leave your kids, and whether you have the right to object to policies that affect your children. That was my concern,” he said.
The Trails Church confirmed to Newsweek that it had met with Keene and his family “to discuss the gospel mandate to love our neighbours as Christ has loved his church” and asked them to consider whether they could “joyfully continue as members.”
The church added that it later received a request from the Keene family to remove their membership.
The controversy has since reignited debates around immigration, free speech, and community backlash, especially around the sensitive H-1B visa issue.