This seems to be a recurring theme, and the school board anti-trans bathroom garbage and Black history book bans, is also tied up with pandemic misinformation, and it’s connected to the election disinformation and people involved in January 6th stuff. It all seems to be part of the same political movement in opposition to public health.
Reveal: In God We Vote – A small-town pastor blurs the line between church and state. It’s all part of a growing ideology that believes Christians should control society. October 12, 2024 Najib Aminy: More and more of those sermons were about the pandemic. Lockdowns had a long ripple effect across the country, including here in Lancaster County. Houses of worship were not immune. Closed doors met fewer donations and broken connections with the faith, which left some churches in a critical state. In those early weeks, Don held services outside in the church parking lot, but eventually he moved indoors sooner than most. But kept the livestream on for those not ready to come inside. And so Tim intrigued by what he saw at his local government meetings, started listening to Don’s livestream. Tim Runkle: I work at home. I’m doing my normal work answering emails. I’m just letting it run in the background. It was very pivoted towards Covid conspiracies.
In the podcast they say that the pandemic sparked some of this likely because: “Closed doors met fewer donations and broken connections with the faith, which left some churches in a critical state.” Some churches. How strong could your faith be, how strong is a community really, if it can’t withstand a crisis or a couple of months of reduced gathering sizes in an emergency? And it sounds like remote option live streaming sermons actually made this NAR church more popular, actually.
Christian Nationalists Dream of Taking Over America. This Movement Is Actually Doing It. The New Apostolic Reformation is “the greatest threat to US democracy you’ve never heard of.” By Kiera Butler; Photography by Caroline Gutman November+December 2024 Issue NAR influence in Lancaster churches began appearing in the early 2000s, but the Covid culture wars accelerated its spread. Six years ago, when Rebecca Branle, the owner of a local bike shop and mother of three, moved to Ephrata, she knew her family might stand out because they didn’t attend church. “We weren’t religious like everyone else, but I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she recalls. But in 2020, the pandemic hit, and once-negligible differences became “flash points.” After Branle posted a rainbow flag and a Black Lives Matter sign on her property, someone shot a bullet through the barn window, and in another incident, someone left a single slab of granite outside; “Look Behind You” was written on it in permanent marker, accompanied by a smiley face with the eyes crossed out. In smaller print appeared “Gays will burn in hell” and “You can repent.” She was scared for her family’s safety, but also confused: “Especially this community of people who say they’re so religious, suddenly this kind of talk is okay with them?”
Some people are being led to think the awful is justified. It’s not uncommon for perpetrators to see themselves as not the bad guys or having been justified somehow, at least at the time.
Reveal: In God We Vote – A small-town pastor blurs the line between church and state. It’s all part of a growing ideology that believes Christians should control society. October 12, 2024 Najib Aminy: This was in the wake of the Parkland High School mass shooting in Florida in 2018. Ash spent a lot of time as an activist for many causes, environmental issues, social justice, LGBTQ rights. He was always out protesting, but one day Ash wanted to show up to the ReAwaken Tour, an event that former national security adviser Michael Flynn had organized, that has strong ties to Christian nationalism. He asked his dad for permission to go. Mark said yes and went with his son. Mark Clatterbuck: I don’t know if anyone stood up there and then sat back down without making some sort of hostile, dehumanizing comment about trans youth. Najib Aminy: It’s probably worth sharing here that Ash transitioned when he was in high school, and part of the reason why Ash wanted to attend that ReAwaken Tour was to make a point, a silent act of protest. Mark Clatterbuck: So General Michael Flynn was there, and next thing I know, Ash is over talking with Michael Flynn and- Najib Aminy: I’m sorry, what? Mark Clatterbuck: Ash is talking to General Michael Flynn at the ReAwaken America rally in Lancaster County, and afterwards I’m like, “Ash, what was that about?” He’s like, “I don’t know. I thought, hey, it’d be cool to talk to him and just see what he’s about.” And I think Flynn thought, “What a great photo op.” He’s this young man, crew-cut hair. He’s an ultramarathon runner, ideal military candidate and grabs this kid and has him in his arm and gives him a handshake, having no idea that Ash is the person that he’s been blasting and dehumanizing. But for Ash, it’s like he came back. He’s like, “Michael Flynn had no idea who I am,” and that was the point. “I’m not a monster. I am who I look like I am to you. You shook my hand as a young, vibrant, bright-eyed, articulate, bold kid who wants to make this country a better place and a more livable place.”
Mike Flynn also peddles anti-vax and pandemic denial conspiracy theories. And was recently at the Rod of Iron rally at a gun warehouse in northeastern Pennsylvania with Ivan Raiklin who’s openly talked about having county officials deputize anti-vaxxers for swatting raids, and who is now telling people to go to Harrisburg to convince PA state lawmakers to change Pennsylvania’s electoral votes to Trump if Harris wins in Pennsylvania. Cancer patients have been harassed in public by politically motivated perpetrators, and letters have been published in newspapers suggesting harassment of people who wear N95s in public, and Alex Jones tells his audience that doctors are deliberately killing people with vaccines. It’s wise to consider that many unaware and innocent people might wind up targeted because of wild propaganda.
My letter to reps:
I saw a video taken at a Rod of Iron rally in the Poconos where Ivan Raiklin seemed to be instructing people there that if Harris wins Pennsylvania they should proceed to Harrisburg to convince state lawmakers to change PA’s electoral votes to Trump. Considering the incident at the Michigan state house and then the insurrection on January 6th, where many people, some misguided and confused, were led to inappropriate and even illegal actions, and some committed violence, it would be prudent to at least prepare, and let the public know that there are plans in place to prevent harm and protect public safety. A talk show Ivan Raiklin goes on is Alex Jones who has been telling people hospitals are poisoning people on purpose and that diseases aren’t real. This is fringe, but it doesn’t take a lot of people to do real harm. There are people threatening FEMA employees and meteorologists during a disaster emergency. A cancer patient was harassed as “liberal” for wearing a mask in North Carolina. What is being done to deter would-be perpetrators throwing away their own lives to high crimes or immoral acts? People in positions of leadership should go public to say at a minimum something like: Listen, take the temperature down, love thy neighbor, and don’t throw your life away because you’ve been ramped up to violence against innocent people by people with media platforms seeking power, or pardons, or selling event tickets, books, and subscriptions, and not necessarily disseminating accurate information. And if you intend to do nothing, then at least speak up and let the public know we’re on our own – it’s not like that will be surprising to those of us with “underlying conditions”.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose the contents of my letter for your own letters to reps.