Latest news with #ChristianNationalist
CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
MAGA-affiliated musician scheduled to play in 2 B.C. public parks despite pushback
City staff in West Kelowna and Abbotsford are reviewing safety, permitting and bylaw compliance after receiving multiple complaints about upcoming performances by U.S. Christian Nationalist performer and preacher Sean Feucht. The performances, scheduled to be held in West Kelowna's Memorial Park and Abbotsford's Mill Lake Park next month, are part of Feucht's third annual cross-Canada Let Us Worship tour. The tour is drawing criticism from some Canadians, as many of the public locations that are scheduled to host the free event are owned by governments and Crown corporations. "If somebody like this wants to perform, maybe they should do it at a church, not at a public space outdoors," said Kaz Zbanitajs, a resident of West Kelowna. "My tax dollars go towards this space, and I don't want a dime of it going towards supporting somebody who is divisive and who has some very controversial views." Several locations, including Parks Canada in Nova Scotia and the National Capital Commission in Quebec, have withdrawn permitting for the event, citing safety concerns. At least six of the worship events were cancelled, with some rescheduled on private property. Feucht, who has ties to the MAGA movement, unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Congress as a Republican in 2020 and has been a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump. He is known for worship services and protests of 2SLGBTQ+, abortion rights and COVID-19 mandates. "Here's the hard truth: If I had shown up with purple hair and a dress, claiming to be a woman, the government wouldn't have said a thing. But to publicly profess deeply held Christian beliefs is to be labelled an extremist and to have free worship events classified as 'public safety risks'," said Feucht in an emailed statement to CBC News. WATCH | Moncton, N.B., revokes permit for Sean Feucht concert: Safety concerns halt MAGA musician's Moncton concert 2 days ago The City of West Kelowna said it has received dozens of letters and calls on the upcoming performance and aims to address the safety concerns by working with the RCMP and asking the event organizer to meet the necessary security requirements. "We are limited in our ability to restrict access to public spaces, and we are taking this opportunity to review our booking procedures and explore additional policies for future facility rentals," said a spokesperson for the City of West Kelowna in an emailed statement. The city said private events held in its facilities do not reflect the views or values of the City of West Kelowna. In an emailed statement, the City of Abbotsford said its role in permitting community events is to ensure public safety and bylaw compliance, and it remains neutral and does not endorse any specific viewpoints or messages conveyed during events. West Kelowna resident Scott Gillespie, who penned one of the letters received by the City of West Kelowna, has asked the municipality to ensure there is space for a counter-demonstration. "The presence of a figure like Mr. Feucht — whose events have a documented history of inciting tension — poses a legitimate risk to the well-being of marginalized residents, especially LGBTQ2S+ individuals, and may compromise the sense of safety in public spaces." Despite the pushback regarding the Canadian legs of the Let Us Worship tour, Feucht said in a post on social media on Thursday that he is "not backing down." He is scheduled to play in West Kelowna on Aug. 23 and Abbotsford on August 24.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How a Christian Nationalist Group is Getting the Ten Commandments into Classrooms
School (in)Security is our biweekly briefing on the latest school safety news, vetted by Mark Keierleber. Subscribe here. As far-right political operative David Barton leads a Christian nationalist crusade, he's traveled to state capitols across the country this year to support dozens of bills requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. My latest story digs into a well-coordinated and deep-pocketed campaign to inject Protestant Christianity into public schools that could carry broader implications for students' First Amendment rights. Through a data analysis of 28 bills that have cropped up across 18 states this year, I show how Barton's role runs far deeper than just being their primary pitchman. The analysis reveals how the language, structure and requirements of these bills nationwide are inherently identical. Time and again, state legislation took language verbatim from a Barton-led lobbying blitz to reshape the nation's laws around claims — routinely debunked — about Christianity's role in the country's founding and its early public education system. Three new state laws in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas mandating Ten Commandments posters in public schools are designed to challenge a 1980 Supreme Court ruling against such government-required displays in classrooms. GOP state lawmakers embracing these laws have expressed support for eradicating the separation of church and state — a pursuit critics fear will coerce students and take away their own religious freedom. Click here to read the story In the news Updates to Trump's immigration crackdown: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released from custody a 6-year-old boy with leukemia more than a month after he and his family were sent to a rural Texas detention center. | Slate As the Department of Homeland Security conducts what it calls wellness checks on unaccompanied minors, the young people who migrated to the U.S. without their parents 'are just terrified.' | Bloomberg 'It looks barbaric': Video footage purportedly shows some two dozen children in federal immigration custody handcuffed and shackled in a Los Angeles parking garage. | Santa Cruz Sentinel The Department of Homeland Security is investigating surveillance camera footage purportedly showing federal immigration officers urinating on the grounds of a Pico Rivera, California, high school in broad daylight. | CBS News California sued the Trump administration after it withheld some $121 million in education funds for a program designed to help the children of migrant farmworkers catch up academically. | EdSource Undocumented children will be banned from enrolling in federally funded Head Start preschools, the Trump administration announced. | The Washington Post Legal pushback: Parents, Head Start providers challenge new rule barring undocumented families. | The 74 The executive director of Camp Mystic in Texas didn't begin evacuations for more than an hour after he received a severe flood warning from the National Weather Service. The ensuing tragedy killed 27 counselors and campers. | The Washington PostThe day after the Supreme Court allowed the Education Department's dismantling, Secretary Linda McMahon went ahead with plans to move key programs. | The 74 Now, with fewer staff, the Office for Civil Rights is pursuing a smaller caseload. During a three-month period between March and June, the agency dismissed 3,424 civil rights complaints. | Politico Get the most critical news and information about students' rights, safety and well-being delivered straight to your inbox. Massachusetts legislation seeks to ban anyone under the age of 18 from working in the state's seafood processing facilities after an investigation exposed the factories routinely employed migrant youth in unsafe conditions. | The Public's RadioAn end to a deadly trend: School shootings decreased 22% during the 2024-25 school year compared to a year earlier after reaching all-time highs for three years in a row. | K-12 DiveFlorida is the first state to require all high school student athletes to undergo electrocardiograms in a bid to detect heart conditions. | WUSF The Senate dropped rules from Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax-and-spending bill that would have prevented states from regulating artificial intelligence tools, including those used in schools. | The Verge Food stamps are another matter: The federal SNAP program will be cut by about a fifth over the next decade, taking away at least some nutrition benefits from at least 800,000 low-income children. | The 74 ICYMI @The74 Supreme Court to Address Legality of Barring Trans Athletes From School Sports Medicaid Cuts in Trump Tax Bill Spark Fears for Child Health, School Services Heinous, heartbreaking — and expensive. California schools face avalanche of sex abuse claims Emotional Support 74 editor Nicole Ridgway's dog Mika is cooler than your dog. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt's Latest Attempt to Praise Trump Blows Up in Her Face
MAGA supporters want the White House to know they are not happy with Donald Trump. In an attempt to fend off concerns that the president's support was slipping, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X Thursday that Trump's reputation was that of a 'rare promise keeper,' citing a report from the conservative Washington Examiner. But his base did not agree. 'Why is the Trump administration protecting pedophiles?' asked one user who self-identified as a Christian Nationalist. 'You say with a straight face after the lies about Epstein? Complete bogus,' responded the official account for the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. Against the expertise of individuals who had worked on the case for decades, Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in January that Jeffrey Epstein had maintained a 'client list,' supercharging ideas and theories about which high-powered individuals could have been involved in the pedophilic sex trafficker's crimes. The administration's language changed abruptly on Monday, when the Justice Department posted a memo announcing that no such 'incriminating client list' existed. That spurred accusations that at least one section of the government, either Bondi or the DOJ, had lied, and sparked anger amongst some members of Trump's base who had voted for him based on his repeated promises to unearth the details of the prolific pedophile ring. But Trump has seemingly lost his gusto to make the details public: on Tuesday, the president said it was 'unbelievable' that Americans were still talking about Epstein, and urged the public to move on, brushing off the case altogether. Trump's response only made QAnon—a large conspiracy network that so strongly believed Trump would uproot a global pedophile ring that they offered him messianic status—more irate. His comments also turned some of the president's most ardent and fanatical supporters against him, including Laura Loomer and Alex Jones. Conservative comedian Roseanne Barr—who twice supported Trump's political ambitions—asked the president via social media if there is 'a time to not care about child sex trafficking.' But Epstein wasn't the only source of frustration in Leavitt's replies. 'Yeah.. and gas is $2 a gallon. Stop gaslighting us!' wrote far-right political activist Lauren Witzke. 'He's sending more money to Ukraine and failing to provide justice to Epstein's victims, while continuing to simp for war criminal Netanyahu. This is not what I voted for,' wrote one user with a QAnon slogan in their bio.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Civil rights groups promise litigation in response to social studies standards
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Two civil rights groups have now promised 'action' after lawmakers did not act on the new social studies standards, meaning they will eventually be implemented. The two groups include Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law. Oklahoma families, not politicians or public schools, should decide if, when, and how children engage with religion. If implemented, these new social studies standards will violate students' and families' religious freedom by promoting Christianity and advancing Christian Nationalist disinformation. Not on our watch. We are preparing to take the steps necessary to protect the religious freedom of all Oklahoma public school students and prevent these standards from undermining public education in Oklahoma. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law They were also a part of a lawsuit which eventually led to a temporary halt to Supt. Walter's Bible buying for Oklahoma classrooms. Senate and House republicans are asked why they didn't act on school standards It was in March when the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education from purchasing Bibles and Bible-based lessons for Oklahoma schools. The court barred OSDE from issuing any new requests for the purchase of Bibles. The ruling also places a temporary hold on a request for proposals seeking a supplier for Bible-based curriculum. The ruling came after the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the state agency that oversees RFPs, asked the court to issue a stay because of the concerns about ongoing lawsuits and the possibility of new legal challenges. There is no litigation filed just yet regarding the standards, but the two groups said it is more than likely would come when the standards go into effect. The standards won't officially be applied to schools until the 2026/2027 school year. Contracts to find textbook suppliers begin later this year and last until next year. Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to push for some accountability when it comes to Supt. Walters and him using tax dollars for legal fees/legal counsel. 'He's communicating to the Republican caucuses that's making them feel comfortable about these standards, because our continued concern about those standards at their age is inappropriate, politically charged. And there are so many religious undertones,' said Rep. Cyndi Munson. News 4 reached out to OSDE for a response to the potential for this litigation, but didn't hear back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Joe Biden accused of editing himself into family Easter photo
Former President Joe Biden has been accused of digitally editing himself into a photo of the Biden family taken outside his Delaware home by a group of online sleuths. 'We wish everyone celebrating today a peaceful and joyful Easter', the 82-year-old wrote above a jovial photo of his wife, children, their spouses, and his grandchildren, in an image he posted to X on Easter Sunday. Even Willow Biden, his adopted gray shorthair tabby cat, made an appearance for the shot. In the photo, Biden is seen smiling and sitting at the top of a staircase in his porch, dressed in a navy suit, with a diagonally striped blue tie and white shirt. However, the 46th president has since received a barrage of hatred from trolls, accusing him of photoshopping himself into the image. Several users highlighted that Biden looked out of place, dressed to stand on the podium of a presidential campaign, rather than in a more relaxed attire suitable for Easter at home. 'This looks photoshopped!', Conservative activist Brigitte Gabriel wrote below the post. Matt Williams, a man who identifies himself as a Christian Nationalist, asked Elon Musk 's generative AI chatbot to verify the image: '@grok is Joe Biden photoshopped into this picture?' Multiple users then focused on the placement of the former president's left hand, claiming it was unusual in appearance. 'WHOSE HAND IS THIS,' wrote a user who goes by @ThePoliticalPom. Yet another striking element of the photo was the absence of Biden's son, Hunter Biden. 'If - and I stress the word 'if' - this photo is real, where is Hunter? He wasn't invited to Easter?' podcaster and right-wing influencer Eric Matheny wrote on X. Biden's second child has been embroiled in various scandals over the years. In June 2024, he was convicted on three felony gun charges. In December 2024, just before Trump took office, Biden issued a 'full and unconditional' pardon for his son, 55, citing that his charges were politically motivated and sought to bruise the Biden family name. Janice Hough, a 'proud Dem for life', took the opposite stance on Biden's image, stating: 'I miss this man in the White House.' This past week, Biden took to the podium to deliver his first speech since leaving office at a conference in Chicago. He said that Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) counterpart, Elon Musk, had "taken a hatchet" to the Social Security system, and that the new administration had caused a 'breathtaking' amount of damage and destruction to America.
