Sean Rossman

USA TODAY

An Alaskan street preacher, driven by a philosophical beef with Santa Claus, invaded a Christmas village in Texas and tried to dash the holiday whimsy of children waiting to see old Saint Nick.

"There is no such thing as Santa Claus," David Grisham told the line of children at the Westgate Mall in Amarillo on Saturday afternoon. "Santa Claus does not exist. The Christmas season is about Jesus."

The 56-year-old said he went to the mall to preach the real Biblical meaning behind Christmas and expose Santa Claus as a falsehood. He also shouted there is no flying reindeer or workshop of elves making presents in the North Pole. Rather, he told the children, parents buy all their gifts at the mall.

His aversion to Kriss Kringle isn't new. Grisham and a group executed a Santa figurine by firing squad in 2010 after finding him guilty of various crimes against God.

"The man you're going to see today is just a man in a suit dressed up like Santa," Grisham clamored as a young girl stared on, "but Santa does not exist."

Grisham also called on parents to stop lying about Santa Claus before he was confronted by a group of angry fathers. Video of the encounter shows a group of men surround Grisham before the camera turns off. Grisham said he decided to walk away.

"It had escalated," he said, "and I didn't want there to be any more possibility of violence."

Westgate general manager Brian Giffin said Grisham left before security could get to him. He said Grisham's behavior would have qualified as disorderly conduct, which isn't permitted in the mall.

Grisham said he posted a 3-minute video of the encounter on Facebook in order to inspire others to make similar mall visits. He said he's received dozens of death threats since the video went public and hundreds of other threats of violence.

Despite the reaction, Grisham said it's a "very real possibility" he'll do it again, but not at Westgate Mall.

Grisham said he made the video while visiting family in Amarillo, where he used to run a ministry called Repent Amarillo. Grisham said he's not an official pastor, although he said he's twice served as an associate pastor. Instead, de does his preaching on the street with his wife. The couple preaches at football games, strip clubs, bars and Mardi Gras celebrations. They've also taken their word to the United States Supreme Court and attended both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

As for Grisham's 10 grandchildren, he says none of them believe in Santa.