With the verdict in South Korea looming, supporters of Dr. Hak Ja Han, the Mother of Peace and leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, assembled across America to voice their support. In New York City, supporters gathered outside the Manhattan Center concert venue near the historic New Yorker Hotel, both owned by the Unification Church, to pray and express support. The crowd of roughly 70 people carried placards with the faces of Dr. Hak Ja Han and her late husband, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, saying, “She is Innocent!” and “Please Release the Mother of Peace!”

Rev. Edner Pierre-Louis of Manhattan Family Church stated: “She has been unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for over one year, the court in Korea is about to set a sentence on her, and we are here to declare that she is innocent and that she had nothing to do with these charges they have brought on her.”

Dr. Hak Ja Han is charged with bribery and inappropriately exercising influence in South Korea’s politics in ways forbidden for religious leaders. Han’s supporters and defense team maintain her innocence, pointing out that the prosecution’s case largely relies on the testimony of a former church official who was himself arrested for misconduct with government officials, who then agreed to testify against Mrs. Moon. Dr. Hak Ja Han maintains she was unaware of and uninvolved with the actions for which he was charged and now says were done on her command.

Rev. Desmond Green stated that the Korean religious leader led an effort to “bring back morality and dignity to the family that was lost.” He went on: “Had it not been for Mother Moon’s effort along with her husband, this country would have waned a long time ago. I think America owes a debt of gratitude to Mother Moon.”

Over a thousand supporters gathered in Las Vegas, where Rev. Joshua Holmes of Los Angeles Family Church led a prayer, stating: “No matter what they may decide in the next few hours, it does not change that reality, that she has given everything for this world, expecting nothing in return!… We are gathering together because we stand with her, beloved God our Heavenly Parent! We are standing together because this trial was never a trial on True Mother! It was a trial of our own faith!”

The Center for Political Innovation has been supporting Dr. Hak Ja Han and the Family Federation in light of the prosecution in South Korea and the church’s legal dissolution in Japan last year. CPI founder and director Caleb Maupin has described Dr. Hak Ja Han as a pioneer for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula and an important friend of Pyongyang, who played a key role in setting the stage for the historic talks between the White House and Kim Jong Un during Trump’s first term. The Center for Political Innovation joins the chorus of voices opposing the prosecution and calling for Dr. Hak Ja Han’s release so she can continue to play a vital role as a bringer of reconciliation in Korea and elsewhere.