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Mel Trotter CEO apologizes for Facebook post

Posted at 6:26 PM, Apr 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-11 18:26:42-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mel Trotter’s CEO has issued an apology for a Facebook post he made on his personal page following President Donald Trump’s visit to Grand Rapids.

The post, which has since been deleted, said there were “red hats and white men as far as the eye can see.” It went on to claim people said rude things to Mel Trotter staff and shouted racial slurs at people trying to come to the shelter.

On Thursday, Mel Trotter CEO Dennis Van Kampen apologized for “painting the crowd with a broad brush.”

His full statement can be read here:

“The comments I made on my personal Facebook page on March 28 were in response to events witnessed that day by our Mel Trotter Ministries staff outside our facility. As an organization dedicated to helping homeless and disadvantaged individuals and families, we were all saddened by these events. It was not my intention to make a political statement. I unfairly painted the crowd with a broad brush, and I apologize.

When the responses to my Facebook post started to involve the work of Mel Trotter Ministries, I chose to take down my post to stop that from escalating.

Our staff and leadership remain focused on demonstrating the compassion of Jesus Christ to our neighbors experiencing homelessness in our community – just as we have been doing for more than a century.”