The former leader of an evangelical voter outreach programme campaigning Donald Trump has been charged with possession of child pornography.

Jason Yates, 55, was CEO of evangelical grassroots nonprofit My Faith Votes, which claims to promote “traditional family values”. Prior to his arrest, he wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times, rallying against “sexually deviant” social messaging.

“This infernal programming is being downloaded into our children, and it becomes far easier when it finds no resistance in our public square - when it is allowed to fill the void left by the absence of our faith,” he wrote.

In July, an investigation was launched into him after a relative allegedly discovered a hard drive full of explicit images of children.

Yates stepped down from his role at the campaign group in August.

A My Faith Votes spokesperson told Religion News Service: “In early August 2024, the My Faith Votes board of directors separated Jason Yates from My Faith Votes and board member Chris Sadler assumed the position of Acting CEO.

“Over the last three months, Chris has been working with the dedicated My Faith Votes team to encourage millions of Christians to vote, pray and think biblically about this election in America.”

The My Faith Votes website states: “As a result of apathy at the voting booth and in public life, we’ve suffered devastating moral decay, declining religious freedom, immoral national debt, and the erosion of traditional values.”