Centre County, PA – In nearby Centre County, a man is in jail after allegedly stalking a pastor and threatening him with two firearms, in hopes that the pastor’s daughter would marry him if the church was shut down.
72-year-old John Hamilton from Mill Hall reportedly showed up at a church in Spring Township on Dec. 12, dressed in camouflage and holding two firearms.
Police say Hamilton threatened to kill the pastor, but police were called and he was taken into custody without incident.
Hamilton had reportedly been stalking the pastor and his family for multiple days beforehand, watching the church from the nearby woods.
When interviewed, Hamilton professed his love for the pastor’s daughter and said the threats were because he believed the woman would marry him if her father, the pastor, was not in the way.
Hamilton is now lodged in the Centre County Prison, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 22.
