A church in the United States has faced criticism after hosting an unorthodox raffle with a lethal prize.

Grace Baptist Church, upstate in New York, is offering an assault rifle or a flamethrower to winners taking part in their fundraiser.

Flamethrowers are illegal in New York state, except in very specific circumstances.

The raffle – scheduled for July – is not the first time the church has gained notoriety – in fact, it’s become renowned for giving away assault weapons to attendees.

They have given away guns in 2014, 2017 and – during a Black Lives Matter protest – in 2020.

When questioned about the decision prior to his first giveaway, Pastor Koletas said the United States was “built with the King James Bible and a gun”.

Pastor Koletas has often been criticised for his far-right views. In his book, he likened Women’s History Month to “man-hating and God-hating month” and Black History Month to “communism and Marxism month”.

Many people were also outraged by his decision to leave pork outside the church, forcing congregants to touch it before they entered in order to “weed out” those of a Jewish or Muslim faith, Medium.com reports.

Premier has reached out to Grace Baptist Church for comment. We are waiting for a response.