The correct answer to this open question is the following.
We are talking about journalist Dennis Covington, who wrote the book called "Salvation on Sand Mountain." In the book, he refers to the 1992 case of Glenn Summerford, accused of attacking his wife using a snake. He was a famous preacher that had many followers that attended his sermons and rites. Covington said that the social backgrounds of the members of the snake-handling churches such as the one led by Summerford were rural people that believed that nothing could happen to them because they had the holy spirit in them, so they were protected. These people were obsessed and had blind faith, the product of their ignorance.
