Louisiana televangelist seeks $54 million for private jet so he can avoid 'demons' who infest commercial flights

A Louisiana televangelist is asking his followers to help him raise tens of millions of dollars so he can buy a new private jet.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Pastor Jesse Duplantis, who two years ago made headlines by claiming that aborted babies would all be resurrected and sent to Heaven via the Rapture, is asking people to donate money to help him secure a private jet that he says will be used to spread God's word more efficiently than by taking commercial flights.

"I really believe that if the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn't be riding a donkey," Duplantis said in a video promoting fundraising for the jet. "He'd be in an airplane flying all over the world."

The Times-Picayune notes that Duplantis has been complaining about the burdens of relying on commercial airlines for years now, and in 2015 he even said commercial flights were infested by "a bunch of demons" who were hindering his work of spreading the Gospel.

The jet that Duplantis has his eyes on is the Dassault Falcon 7X, a three-engine jet that has an estimated net worth of $54 million.

"I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7X," he told his followers in a fundraising pitch. "Pray about becoming a partner to it."