Tarzan actor Joe Lara, his Christian diet guru wife Gwen Shamblin Lara and five other members of their controversial Remnant Fellowship Church may have been en route to a Florida MAGA rally when their small plane crashed, killing everyone on board.
There were seven people on Cessna C501 aircraft when it crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee, shortly after it took off from a nearby airport at about 11 AM on Saturday, May 29, as previously reported.
The Remnant Fellowship Church on Sunday night confirmed the deaths of Joe and Gwen Lara; Gwen's son-in-law Brandon Hannah; and church leaders David and Jennifer Martin and Jonathan and Jessica Walters.
The Plane Was Headed to Palm Beach
Rescue crews are in the process of retrieving the human remains and parts of the plane wreckage from the crash site. According to authorities, the plane was bound for Palm Beach International Airport.
Kimberly Fletcher, a Trump supporter who was scheduled to speak at a MAGA rally near Palm Beach on Sunday, revealed that one of the event's sponsors was on board the plane when it crashed. "I am heartbroken. I am in Florida at for an event I'm speaking at tomorrow. One of the sponsors was flying in on a private plane with some friends," Fletcher wrote in a Facebook post with a link to a news article about the plane crash.
"The plane went down and it looks there are no survivors. Please pray for them, their families and the church members where they pastor," she added. Fletcher did not specify which of the seven people helped sponsor the MAGA rally. However, according to Federal Election Commission data, Gwen Shamblin last year donated at least $3,000 to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and the Trump 2020 campaign.
"We The People: Patriot's Day" Rally
Fletcher was referring to the "We The People: Patriot's Day" rally, which was held at the Martin County Fairgrounds on Sunday. The event featured speeches from Trump ally Roger Stone, as well as appearances from pro-Trump millionaire Patrick Byrne, Dr. Simone Gold, the former president's hydroxychloroquine advocate who was among the mob of Trump supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and a virtual appearance from ex-Trump adviser General Flynn.
