Former Anchorage Baptist Temple leader Jerry Prevo says he tested negative for COVID-19 after attending White House event

Jerry Prevo, the longtime leader of the Anchorage Baptist Temple and current acting president of Liberty University, said he has tested negative for COVID-19 after attending a ceremony last weekend at the White House announcing nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At least eight people who were at the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event tested positive during the last week, including President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. President Trump has been hospitalized since announcing he has COVID-19.

Prevo said on Twitter that he and his wife were tested and received the negative test result on Friday.

Prevo is seen in photos from the event in a crowd of more than 100 attendees, all seated closely together. Nearly everyone in the crowd, including Prevo, is maskless. Prevo sat a row behind University of Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, who has since tested positive for COVID-19.

Prevo, an influential evangelical in Alaska for decades, led Anchorage Baptist Temple for 47 years before retiring in 2019. Earlier this year, he became acting president at Liberty University in Virginia after the abrupt departure of former president Jerry Falwell Jr.

Liberty University hasn’t made a statement about Prevo’s presence at the Rose Garden event or his test result. The campus has a mask wearing mandate in place for all students attending classes.