US man gifted drone to monitor movement of ‘Meitei Hindus’ Foreign agent or trouble-making evangelist ?

NEW DELHI, Dec 22
Daniel Stephen Courney, a 40-year-old controversial evangelist of US origin, emerged as a subject of public interest after a video of him distributing drones and bulletproof jackets among Kuki militants in Manipur surfaced online.
The video, which has been cited as proof to accuse him of inciting violence in ethnic violence-hit Manipur, was uploaded on his YouTube channel named “Fool for Christ” in March this year.
However, it was likely shot between August 16 and September 3, 2023, as India Today’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team has established by analysing photos and videos posted by Courney and his associate MS Kumar on YouTube and Facebook.
Apart from distributing relief materials to Kuki civilians, he also distributed socks, boots, two bulletproof vests, and a small drone to monitor the movement of the “enemy”, i.e., “Meitei Hindus”. Though there is nothing illegal about buying or gifting drones or bulletproof vests, such activities in an already strife-torn region by a foreign National with a claimed history in the US armed forces triggered concerns and veered too far from how religious preachers are expected to function.
Is he really interfering in the internal affairs of India and stoking communal disharmony on behalf of the US “deep State” as alleged by several people on social media ? To understand that, let’s first look at his activities.
In a video, Courney says he arrived in India in August 2009. Just a few days ago, he visited Thailand to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his marriage with his Indian wife, indicating he tied the knot within months of his arrival. He has six children – many named after religious figures of the Abrahamic religions.
His children are often seen with him – even during his trips to what he calls “war zones” like Naxal-affected areas in Chhattisgarh or violence-hit Manipur.
Another video shows him highlighting how India is the least evangelised country “covered in darkness” and seeking financial help from Christians around the world to convert more people, build hospitals, orphanages, and spread the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Though his religious activism is primarily focused on India and Nepal, he seems to be well-connected in missionary circles in many Nations of the Western world.
His street preaching methods are often intrusive, noisy, and trouble-making. Videos on his YouTube channel show him provoking people and law enforcement officials on the streets of Jerusalem, various cities in Israel, the UK, and the US. In India, he has been filmed asking people in public places to embrace Jesus and shun ways of sin in crowded areas of Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram, and others.
In his social media posts, he frequently claims to have faced assault, harassment, and attempts on his life. Sample a post: “Despite beatings with weapons, chains and jail cells in many lands, strangulation attempts, burnings with fire, bricks, rocks, beverages, and other missiles hurled at us, we will not stop preaching Christ publicly.”
In his own words, Courney – who claims to be a former medic in the US Army – believes in compelling “sinners” to choose the right path, the path of Jesus Christ.
His controversial ways of preaching have caused his fair share of trouble in the past. In 2021, he was arrested for violating a restraining order by filming the office of an abortion doctor in New Jersey, US. He was also accused of harassing people seeking reproductive healthcare and medical staff. In a video, he can be heard calling the abortion centre a “butcher house”. In 2022, he reached a settlement to pay USD 1,000 as a fine.
His name also came up in a similar case of harassment during an anti-abortion protest in New York City in 2016.
In India, his missionary outreach work has been focused on the tribal and inaccessible areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Manipur.

India Today