Conservative activists, led by Elon Musk and podcaster Ben Shapiro, are pushing to pardon former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin. Revising negative narratives — regardless of the truth — has become a runaway train in President Donald…
Trump administration busy institutionalizing January 6 falsehoods
Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won the 2020 election and his supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are “patriots.” Now he’s institutionalizing these falsehoods. Trump is busily rewriting history and using the power of the…
Here’s why ‘pro-family’ groups are on board with Trump’s first days in office
“Pro-family” groups are praising President Donald Trump for issuing executive orders that support their conservative agenda: Recognizing only “two sexes: male and female” Terminating DEI programs in the federal government Withdrawing from international organizations that allegedly threaten U.S. sovereignty (the…
Is this what you voted for?
On Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of the paramilitary members who had been convicted of (or who had pled guilty to) seditious conspiracy for their part in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S….
Most Americans oppose Trump’s pardon of January 6 criminals
President Donald Trump’s blanket pardons handed out on “day one” of his presidency to those convicted of crimes on January 6 are vastly unpopular with the American people. Even through Trump continues to spread the lie that the 2020 presidential…
A peaceful January 6 offers little reassurance about our democracy
On Sept. 11, 2024, two months prior to the 2024 election, the Secretary of Homeland Security designated Jan. 6, 2025, as a “National Special Security Event.” The press release announcing this decision explained this designation had been made based on recommendations from…
Trump’s false narrative on January 6 is gaining traction
Four years after the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol, the Republican narrative that what happened was peaceful and legitimate appears to be gaining some ground. Not only because Donald Trump — widely credited as the instigator of…
January 6 anniversary vigil calls for Christians to remember and respond
An interfaith prayer vigil lamenting and commemorating the January 6 insurrection called Americans across the religious spectrum to resist the attacks on democracy and social justice anticipated during the second Donald Trump presidency. The fourth annual “Faith in Democracy” vigil…
Rep. Barry Loudermilk pushes democracy to the brink
A Republican-controlled subcommittee of the U.S. House Oversight Committee has unleashed an attack on the peaceful transfer of power in federal government. Led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R.-Ga., this subcommittee conducted its own investigation of the January 6 insurrection at…
How Christian extremists are co-opting the book of Esther
I first became aware of far-right Christians co-opting the Book of Esther for political ends when I heard the extremist group Moms for Liberty use Esther 4:14 as its slogan. Since then, the phrase “for such a time as this”…
Abortion, immigration and January 6: Christians from both sides react to VP debate
While Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate between Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was a notably civil and issue-focused affair, Christian supporters rallied online for their preferred candidates and, more often, attacked the opposing candidate. The debate…
Anthea Butler explains the Catholic version of Christian nationalism
While much of the discussion about Christian nationalism focuses on white evangelical Christians, there’s a parallel and equally dangerous movement in Catholicism, Anthea Butler told a group of journalists and scholars Sept. 10. Butler, professor of American social thought at…