North Carolina religious leader's assault and kidnapping case heads to retrial
Brooke Covington, head of the Word of Faith Fellowship, will face a new assault and kidnapping trial in Buncombe County after a 2017 mistrial.
A retrial has been set for Brooke Covington, the leader of the secretive Word of Faith Fellowship, on charges of second-degree kidnapping and simple assault. Her initial 2017 trial collapsed after a juror brought personal research into deliberations, resulting in a mistrial. Subsequent setbacks—including the COVID-19 pandemic, the removal attempt of the original prosecutor, attorney suspensions, and the appointment of a new prosecutor in a different jurisdiction—have delayed the case for more than nine years.
The new hearing will commence Monday in Buncombe County, where prosecutors claim Covington held down and beat teenager Matthew Fenner during a “blasting” ritual in 2010. Covington maintains she did not commit the alleged abuse. The case revives broader allegations of systemic abuse within the Word of Faith group, which has faced extensive investigative reporting.
Why it matters
The trial revives scrutiny of alleged abuse by a secretive religious group and tests legal accountability after years of procedural delays.
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