Evangelical writer claims he was banned from Liberty University campus for criticizing Jerry Falwell Jr.

Evangelical pastor and author Jonathan Martin has claimed that he was removed from the campus of Liberty University on Monday night because he criticized the school's president, Jerry Falwell Jr.

Martin, who was attending a concert by the duo Johnnyswim on the Virginia campus that night, said that his removal came after he criticized Falwell on Twitter following the university president's interview with the conservative news organization Breitbart.

Falwell, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, stated in the interview that voters need to oust "fake Republicans" in order to allow the current administration to be successful.

In subsequent posts on Twitter, Martin expressed plans to stage a "peaceful action" to demonstrate that "this toxic hybrid of nationalism & religion from President Falwell does not reflect the student body or faculty as a whole."

According to The Chronicle on Higher Education, Martin's Twitter feed had indicated that he was planning to lead a prayer event in front of a campus library on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday night, Martin was reportedly confronted by police officers and was told that he would be arrested if the did not leave the campus.

He also posted a photo of citation indicating that he was removed from the campus by request, but it did not reveal who requested the removal.

The evangelical author said he believes that his removal from the campus stems from his strong criticism of Falwell's alignment with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

"Let's be clear: Steve Bannon is a brazen white supremacist & the high priest of a false religion. He blasphemes the Holy Spirit," Martin wrote in one of his tweets critical of Falwell and Bannon, who runs Breitbart.

Falwell has since issued a statement regarding the incident, saying the university has a "longstanding tradition of not allowing uninvited demonstrations or protests on campus."

He noted that the school often invites responsible speakers with opposing views, but it will not allow uninvited speakers.

Falwell argued that if the school had allowed uninvited guests to protest on campus, "the next group might be the KKK, the Nazis, white supremacists or Antifah."

In another tweet, Martin suggested that the incident demonstrated Falwell's lack of commitment to free speech.

"What does it mean for a college administration to be this afraid of free speech? What precisely is [Mr. Falwell] afraid of?" Martin tweeted.

A separate statement from Liberty University noted that Martin is not a student, faculty member or employee of the school.

"There are facility use protocols for those who are not members of the University community to schedule events on the campus. Those protocols take into account safety and security, as well as schedule conflicts and costs," the statement said, according to NPR.

On Wednesday, Falwell announced during the Convocation event for students that there will soon be new security measures in place on campus. He said that starting Nov. 9, students will have to walk through magnetometers, while non-students will have to go through a separate security check.

He noted that similar security measures will be in place for football games, adding that "we are really taking seriously your safety and security."