Travis Gettys reports, ‘Do whatever it takes!’ Bellowing right-wing pastors demand army of ‘angels’ to capture Arizona election win:

Hundreds of right-wing worshipers gathered at an Arizona megachurch to “take authority” over the state’s election.

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A coterie of right-wing activists, Christian nationalists and self-proclaimed “prophets” addressed the two-night closeout of the “Take Back America” tour at Dream City Church in Phoenix, where they prayed for God to send hordes of angels to deliver a “sweeping victory” in the state, according to Right Wing Watch.

“God we speak and declare over the United States of America, over this time that you have chosen of the midterm elections, in this time in our county, in this time in our nation,” bellowed Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha, as he spun around in a circle onstage. “Lord, as we turn, we see things shift, we see things turn to righteousness, we see things turn to justice, Lord, to truth, we see things turn back to a divine reset and a rebirthing of this nation once again.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another pastor called for action to prevent the election from being “stolen,” calling to mind efforts by groups such as Clean Elections USA, whose members photographed election workers and voters in Maricopa County and prompting a witness intimidation complaint by the secretary of state’s office to the Department of Justice.

“Lord, give us angelic hosts, many of them, to go to work for us — send Michael, if you have to — do whatever it takes to stop any cheating, any lying, anything that the enemy would do to steal this,” said Dutch Sheets, author and founder of his eponymous ministry.

This is part of a broader White Christian Nationalist movement seeking to complete their failed coup d’état on January 6, 2021. PBS’s Frontine recently reported on how QAnon conspiracy theorist, Coup Plotter and Putin pal Michael Flynn went from being an elite soldier overseas to waging a “spiritual war” in America. “In collaboration with the Associated Press, FRONTLINE examines how the retired three-star general has emerged as a leader in a far-right movement that puts its brand of Christianity at the center of American civic life & institutions and is attracting election deniers, conspiracists & extremists.” Michael Flynn’s Holy War:

UPDATE:

This White Christian Nationalist/Dominionist movement is a quasi-religious political cult with deep ties to the anti-Semitic QAnon conspiracy cult that traffics in Russian-stye disinformation and conspiracy theories. They were a heavy presence at the violent domestic terrorist attack against the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a failed coup d’état at the direction of Donald Trump, whom they view as a “vessel of God” to advance their goal of seizing control of American institutions. This cult is waging a civil war against all Americans who do not share their extremist cult beliefs, i.e., the vast majority of Americans.

If you elect Republicans, this is the dystopian end to American constitutional democracy that you are actually voting for. You will bear responsibility for ending the American experiment for a cult theocracy.

UPDATE: The Jewish Insider reports, Blake Masters’ campaign has had a far-right Christian nationalist on its payroll for months (excerpt):

In an email newsletter regularly sent to supporters of Blake Masters, the Republican Senate nominee in Arizona, one recurring feature highlights a “volunteer of the week” with a brief shoutout from the campaign as well as an accompanying photo.

Unlike others who have gotten the nod, the most recent honoree, identified as “CJ from the West Valley” in Tuesday’s newsletter, is pictured alongside Masters himself as the two flash dueling victory hand signs while smiling for the camera. “Thank you for all you do, CJ!” the newsletter exclaimed.

Left unmentioned, however, was that CJ, whose full name is CJ Trapeur, is actually on the campaign’s payroll. The newsletter also failed to note that Trapeur is, perhaps more notably, a well-connected far-right activist in Arizona who until recently served as chief operating officer of an extreme Christian nationalist group, called American Virtue, that has courted controversy in recent months.

Since December, Trapeur has received at least $5,250 from the Masters campaign, which has paid him for “consulting” services as well as “campaign staff salary fees,” according to filings from the Federal Election Commission. The most recent disbursement, late last month, was for $250, campaign finance records show.

[T]hat Masters has continued to keep Trapeur on his campaign payroll, however, has largely eluded scrutiny, even as he has sought to distance himself from more prominent far-right figures who have gravitated to his campaign. Some of the payments were first uncovered in a little-noticed social media post from AZ Right Wing Watch, an anonymous Twitter account, shortly after American Virtue hosteda July launch event in Tampa at which Trapeur delivered opening remarks.

In an email to Jewish Insider on Friday, Trapeur claimed that he left American Virtue “right after the event in July” and no longer works as COO, saying “it just wasn’t for me.”

Until recently, the group had been known as the American Populist Union, which drew national scrutiny for having planned an April event in Tempe that fell on the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birthday. In a statement to The Washington Post before the gathering, Trapeur insisted that the scheduling was simply a coincidence. “The 20th was simply due to venue pricing and availability,” he claimed at the time.

But the event was apparently too toxic even for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who had recently faced backlash for addressing a white nationalist conference in Orlando, Fla. While he had been listed as a “featured guest” at the “American Populist Social,” which he promoted on social media, a campaign consultant later said the congressman would not be attending.

[T]he American Populist Union, which launched in May 2021, has been described by the Anti-Defamation League as “a Groyper-esque group that champions anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments and regards the modern GOP as a corrupt, globalist conservative establishment.”

The Groyper movement, which maintains a robust presence in Arizona, is a fringe coalition of white nationalists whose most prominent leaders include the Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Last year, during the inaugural conference of the American Populist Union in Tampa, attendees were heard chanting “Nick! Nick! Nick!” when Fuentes was mentioned from the stage, according to a report at the time of the event.

Trapeur, for his part, is a follower of Fuentes on Gab, the right-wing social media platform viewed as a haven for antisemites and founded by Andrew Torba, an outspoken Christian nationalist who endorsed Masters’ campaign this summer. Masters, who is not on Gab, disavowed the endorsement and claimed he had never heard of Torba, even as an audio recording later obtained by JI revealed that they had once spoken.

[L]ast year, however, Trapeur was pictured with two leaders of Arizona’s Groyper movement, including Kyle Clifton, who has promoted antisemitic images, and Greyson Arnold, a Nazi sympathizer who once described Hitler as “a complicated historical figure which many people misunderstand.” The photo was taken when the American Populist Union conducted an interview with Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican who has frequently espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.

In March, Trapeur and Clifton were listed as attendees of a white nationalist retreat called 76Fest, which one far-right influencer has described as “Hitler Youth, without the Hitler.” [I thought that was Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA?]

Trapeur does not appear to have used such rhetoric in his publicly available speeches and social media remarks, even as he has deployed at least one Nazi analogy. In a recent Twitter post, the young GOP activist denounced President Joe Biden as “pedohitler,” echoing comments in which Masters called Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black female Supreme Court justice, a “pedophile apologist.” [QAnon conspiracy theories about pedophiles.]

American Virtue describes itself as “the hub of all right-wing ideas online and in person.” According to its website, the organization’s nonprofit status is currently pending as it “seeks to educate and mobilize the next generation of conservative leaders, operators and activists,” including with live events as well as a series of YouTube videos that claim “Christopher Columbus was NOT a murderer” [he most certainy was] and call for “abolishing the FBI,” among other things. 

Elsewhere, the group has called for the deportation of “all illegal immigrants” as well as an “immigration moratorium,” said that “American civilization is built on Christian moral foundations” and claimed that “marriage is between a man and a woman.” It has also celebrated Viktor Orban, the Hungarian strongman who is widely admired among conservative nationalists, as well as Pat Buchanan, Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy.

Like Masters, American Virtue has also stressed an isolationist foreign policy approach that is skeptical of most foreign aid.

Late last year, Masters reportedly spoke at a local event co-hosted by the American Populist Union.

The Masters campaign did not address American Virtue or Trapeur’s involvement with the group, when questioned about it by JI.

[By] any reasonable measure, however, Trapeur — who recently turned 18, according to an Instagram post he shared on Thursday — has positioned himself as an emerging public figure in recent years, as he has sought to reshape the Republican Party for a younger cohort of reactionary conservative activists like Masters.




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