Nazis Among Us
Several stories of American Neo-Nazis caught my attention this week.
1) The shooter who killed eight people Saturday at a shopping mall north of Dallas had Swastika, SS lightning bolts, and white power tattoos. His flak vest had a "RWDS" patch, which stands for "Right Wing Death Squad."
2) A J6 rioter sentenced to four years expressed his admiration for Hitler to an undercover FBI agent. He told the agent that Hitler was “one of the best people that’s ever been on this earth” and he “outlined a plan to enlist Christians to wipe out the country’s entire Jewish population.”
3) WaPo has an investigation into how difficult it is for police departments to find and get rid of neo-Nazi police officers. The most obvious reason is that American Nazis have civil liberty protections, such as freedom of speech and due process rights. But that's not the only reason. The essay points to additional factors, such as the role of police unions.
4) The "ReAwaken America Tour" is headed to the Trump National Doral resort in Miami and at least two neo-Nazis are featured speakers. Scott McKay claims Jews torture children and eat their hearts, and praises Hitler for "fighting the same people that we're trying to take down today.” Charlie Ward has also praised Hitler and claims viruses were created by Jews. They'll appear alongside Lara Trump, Eric Trump, and a number of pastors. Some popular speakers on the evangelical circuit are also listed as "featured tour speakers" alongside these neo-Nazis, such as Sean Feucht, Mike Lindell, Nick Vujicic, and Steve Strang.
Heartbreaking. For some, it may sound a bit crazy to be talking about a Nazi threat in 2023, but this isn't an imaginary problem. I hope all this Nazi news serves as a wake-up call. For those of us who are a conservative or evangelical American, or have friends, family, or neighbors in those communities, it's especially important to defend against and denounce the Nazis among us.
A Worthy Pulitzer
Caitlin Dickerson won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for her investigation into the Trump administration's child separation policy. I followed the policy closely as The Christian Post's politics editor at the time. I thought this was one of the most important pieces of journalism in 2022 and I hope the prize will encourage more people to read it.
Which Media is Trusted?
YouGov posted the results of a new poll on trust in media sources. The most trusted media source was The Weather Channel, followed by PBS, The BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. The least trusted media source was Infowars, followed by The Daily Caller, Breitbart News, Daily Kos and the now defunct BuzzFeed News.
Trump-Voting Pastor Explains Switch
Pastor Kevin Young described how he went from being a Trump supporter in 2016 to a Trump opponent in 2020. The turning point for Young was the death of George Floyd.
I have never watched something so egregious, so inhumane, so sinful in real time. I recognize now that this is because my blinders were on. I had built my wall so high as to be unable to see the world on the other side of it. My wall wasn’t protecting me, it was hiding me… insulating me… preventing me from seeing the reality of the oppressed and the marginalized.
