In a groundbreaking episode of Washington Watch, host Tony Perkins dissects the recent federal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with insightful commentary and expert opinions. The SPLC, a nonprofit known for its fight against hate groups, is accused of manipulating racial tensions for profit. Join us as we dive into this controversial topic with Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, who shares her intense reaction, and Chris Gasek, who brings a historical perspective on the SPLC’s activities. Get ready for a deep dive into this unfolding legal case that could have widespread implications for nonprofits and their accountability.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
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According to the charges in the indictment, the SPLC is a nonprofit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred. As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.
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That was Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch yesterday evening announcing a federal indictment against the infamous Southern Poverty Law Center for criminal activity. Welcome to this Wednesday, April 22nd edition of Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, coming up, we’ll discuss the charges against this anti-Christian organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, when we’re joined by Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, a House Judiciary Committee member and a longtime litigator. Also, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas will join us to talk about today’s hearing on Capitol Hill with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including his response to the issue of the abortion drug Mifeprestone. All of that and more straight ahead. The Justice Department has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing the far-left nonprofit of funneling millions of dollars to fund the very organizations that they solicited donations to dismantle. The SPLC paid for hate. Joining us now to discuss this is Washington’s stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, what can you tell us about this? This is pretty big.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, Tony, big and kind of ironic, as you sort of hinted to. But I’ll give you some of the details here for our audience today. A federal grand jury in Alabama handed down this indictment. There’s 11 counts, which includes wire fraud and money laundering against the SPLC. Now, what happened here? Well, the indictment says that this far-left nonprofit actually made more than $3 million in payments to informants working at a variety of extremist groups. And when we say extremists, we mean extremists. We’re talking KKK and the like. Now, of course, the SPLC is saying they did nothing wrong. They’re saying the Trump administration is just picking on them here. I guess we’ll see how this all plays out. But I don’t have to tell you, Tony, that SPLC is no stranger to FRC. Of course, their hate map was part of what motivated an attack on FRC about 13 years ago.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, and it wasn’t just informants. In many of these cases, it was the leadership, and they were propping up these organizations, in fact, rebooting some of these white supremacist groups. I mean, in reality, Casey, this would be like the Family Research Council that asked our partners to support us in ending abortion, the Holocaust on the unborn, taking that money and giving it to Planned Parenthood, just so that we can have someone that to advocate against it. That’s what they were doing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And then when you get investigated, you just blame Trump.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that’s that’s very handy.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. Voters in Virginia narrowly approved the new Democratic drawn congressional map that could potentially change the landscape. However, just as we’re going on the air, a court has stepped in and pushed the pause button. Give us the latest.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. Breaking news here on Washington Watch. Of course, we know about the Virginia election results, which could result in four Republican-leading U.S. House seats going over to Democrats, taking a pretty purple state to making it a 10-to-1 congressional map in favor of Democrats. But as you mentioned, Ken Cuccinelli, who’s involved in this case, just tweeted out sharing that there is actually a court ruling that is not going to certify the election, but this is going to immediately be appealed. And I think it’s going to work its way through the courts very, very quickly. But there’s been different reactions to yesterday’s turnout. Mike Johnson was saying that there was really encouraging signs that Republicans turned out and lost very narrowly, actually, considering the narrative about Republicans this November. And we actually have a clip here of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
SPEAKER 08 :
Virginia is a deep blue state, but it was a heavily contested election in 51-49. I mean, you know, it’s a blatant abuse of power to disenfranchise millions of Virginia voters. And hopefully the Supreme Court of the state will not allow that to happen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now all eyes, Tony, are turning to Florida, where Republicans are scheduled to hold a special session to see if maybe they can get two or three more seats by redrawing their maps. And when you look at the national maps, California favoring Democrats, Texas picking up some Republican seats after this Virginia election, assuming the court doesn’t permanently stop it, and maybe it will, Democrats are probably up one seat in this national battle right now.
SPEAKER 17 :
Very interesting. We’ll have to keep our eye on that. That’s going to be unfolding this week. Casey, thanks so much for the update.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks, Tony.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. I want to go back to our top story, a federal appeals court. Well, actually, there’s another case. I just want to mention this. This was out of Texas. It was the kind of the parallel case to Louisiana’s Ten Commandments. This actually happened after the program yesterday. But the Ten Commandments. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has given the green light to the Texas public schools to display the Ten Commandments. It was the companion case to the Louisiana Ten Commandments case, which they ruled on earlier. So good news for the state of Texas. The Ten Commandments ruled constitutional and go up into the classrooms. All right, I want to go back to the indictment announced yesterday evening against the Southern Poverty Law Center. Joining us now to discuss this is Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. She has 34 years of experience as a litigator. She represents Wyoming’s at-large district. And actually, I think we’re trying to connect with her on the House floor as the House is in voting. While we’re waiting for her, let me bring in Chris Gasek, senior fellow here at the Family Research Council, who has long been tracking the Southern Poverty Law Center. So, Chris, I want to get your initial reaction to this. We were talking yesterday about a press release that the Southern Poverty Law Center sent out trying to cushion the blow. This is quite significant, the criminal activity they were involved in.
SPEAKER 09 :
I mean, it definitely is. alarming when you read the indictment. Not only are there sort of a lot of embarrassing details and things that are going on that run against their narrative about who they are, but there are also things like opening false bank accounts and having the chief financial officer of the organization and another high-ranking employee opening these accounts, and then the accounts are used to funnel money to these various nefarious groups. And if I’m not mistaken, There was a million dollars that went to some neo-Nazi group.
SPEAKER 17 :
But it wasn’t somebody who was an informant. It was the people leading it. I mean, these were people that were leading the organization. So they were propping it up so that they could have a boogeyman so that they could go to donors about it. And many of these organizations have been dead. And they resurrected them with their funds. Chris, we’ve got Congresswoman Hageman on. I want to go to her. She’s calling in from the House floor as the House is working on votes this hour. Congresswoman Hageman, thanks so much for joining us here on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 29 :
It’s wonderful to be with you, especially on such an incredibly important topic.
SPEAKER 17 :
It is. I want to get your reaction to this indictment.
SPEAKER 29 :
I’m livid. There are very few things that make me really mad. This one makes me mad. What they have done to this country over the last 40 years, they have done such a lasting and horrific damage to race relations, to families, to, it is stunning to me, the fraud and the criminal activity here. And every one of them should be prosecuted and thrown in jail for life. In addition to which, what they have done to our country, just, they have torn us asunder. with false allegations of racism and hatred and danger. I’ve known for a long time that SPLC was a fraud, but I never had the understanding that they were the ones that were creating their own straw men so that they could knock them down. And the reason it was so obvious that they were a fraud is that I’ve never met anybody that ascribes to the kinds of thoughts and theories and philosophy that they claim that we all ascribe to. I’ve never met anybody who hates somebody because of the color of their skin. I’ve never met somebody or engaged with anyone who engages in that kind of abhorrent behavior. Well, it’s because they were the ones creating it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Right. I’m sure there’s somebody out there somewhere, but what they’ve done with this, Congresswoman, is that they’ve created it, as you’ve pointed out, but for the purpose of of attaching organizations like ours and like so many other Christian conservative organizations to those organizations. So my question for you, having worked as a litigator in this process, as more information becomes available, I think there’s more of a criminal conspiracy here than what is in this indictment. Could we see additional charges or activities coming against them?
SPEAKER 29 :
I absolutely believe so. The way that I have looked at this is I think this is kind of the bare bones to get it out there, but there will be additional charges because as you say, this is a broad, broad conspiracy and it was for purposes of racking up literally tens of millions of dollars. With one hoax, with just one hoax, they raised $65 million. So I’m looking at what can we do, what can Congress do to make this so absolutely costly that nobody will ever engage in this kind of behavior again. I mean, even if they have to forfeit all of their ill-gotten gains, which I would argue that since they’ve been doing this since the 1980s, all of the money that they have raised is fraudulent. But I think that we ought to look at it that they also owe the taxes because they were a nonprofit. What would the taxes have been on all of that money over the years that they have raised that? They should also have to back pay all those taxes. But in addition to which, I think that we ought to start considering things like treble taxes, that if you engage in this kind of behavior where you’re defrauding the federal government of tax revenue based upon a fraudulent conspiracy, then you not only have to pay back taxes, but you have to pay three times the amount of your taxes. I also would like to see changes to the laws surrounding piercing the corporate veil. For those folks engaged in this kind of behavior, they should not be able to say, well, it’s the corporation that did it. they should be personally, personally responsible and perhaps responsible for attorney’s fees.
SPEAKER 17 :
What about statute of limitations when this information comes out for its victims, the victims of this organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center, who have, you know, we’ve passed the, now that this information’s out, someone like the attack on the Family Research Council has passed the statute of limitations. Should that be something that should be considered?
SPEAKER 29 :
I think that we need to look at it. I think we need to look at it. The fact is that the statute of limitations on things doesn’t necessarily start until you knew or should have known. So I would argue that I’m not sure that it has passed on. They were the ones concealing the information. They’re the ones with the unclean hands. Why should your cause of action against them be barred when they’re the ones that prevented you from knowing that they were fabricating their own claims of racism and smearing you in the process?
SPEAKER 17 :
You mentioned raising the money, the hoax of $65 million. I mean, we know from this indictment that they were behind Charlottesville. They helped bring that about. And they raised millions of dollars off that. A lot of that from corporate America. Many corporations gave into that effort as well based on this hoax.
SPEAKER 29 :
And I would blame some of those corporations as well, because I don’t think that they were doing the due diligence that they needed to, because you could tell that there were problems with SPLC. And I guess to assuage whatever guilt they had, they thought that that was the appropriate thing to do. What’s interesting, Tony, is that I’m seeing organizations out there still defending this group. And I’m going to tell you right now, the fact is that when all of this comes forward, Those companies and those individuals who are attempting to excuse this or downplay it or shove it under the rug, they are going to rue the day that they do that. Everybody should be running from FBLC right now and absolutely saying we want nothing to do with anybody who would create such horrific, horrific allegations out of whole cloth so that they could destroy conservative America.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, you need to share that with Chuck Schumer on the other side of the Capitol. Harry, we’re out of time. Thanks for joining us from the House floor. All right, folks, stick with us. We’re back with more after this.
SPEAKER 29 :
I think all people really need to have this type of education.
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Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course, period.
SPEAKER 33 :
I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
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God and Government is a video-driven, Bible-based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between biblical principles and American government. In this six-session video series, FRC President Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview.
SPEAKER 05 :
I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this.
SPEAKER 32 :
I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
SPEAKER 30 :
So I’m an attorney, and for me, it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to try to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
SPEAKER 28 :
Any pastor would benefit from taking this course. because we are dual citizens, right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we’re also citizens of this great land, and that comes with responsibility.
SPEAKER 33 :
Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you’re learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it’s also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this, so… I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it’s the videos, whether it’s doing it in person, bring your Bible study group through it, bring your homeschool group through it and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead.
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View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
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When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
SPEAKER 20 :
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal That they’re endowed by their Creator.
SPEAKER 21 :
With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
SPEAKER 16 :
Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
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This is Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins. Glad you’ve joined us on this Wednesday. The website tonyperkins.com. All right, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was back on Capitol Hill today where he faced questions from lawmakers, this time in the Senate. His appearance was before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. It was the last of seven hearings over the past week. The main topics in today’s hearing included vaccines, drug costs, and he was asked a question about the drug market. The abortion drug mefeprestone. Here’s a short clip of that opening exchange with the chairman of the committee, Senator Bill Cassidy.
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Secretary Kennedy, why has the department not acted with greater urgency on reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement?
SPEAKER 07 :
Senator Cassidy, I appreciate your comments. I unfortunately will not be able to talk about that.
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I thought that might be the answer, which is frustrating because this has been litigated for years. At some point, we’ll need to.
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So, an issue, if you’re… If you’ve not been listening to Washington Watch, we’ve talked about this a number of times. What is at issue is that during the Biden administration, in order to undermine the Dobbs decision, which sent the issue of abortion back to policymakers, the Biden administration changed the protocols of Mifeprestone, the main abortion drug, no longer requiring in-person medical consultation, no medical oversight. And, of course, they changed the Comstock law that allows abortion drugs to be sent through the mail, which is illegal. But now it’s still in place. The Trump administration hasn’t changed it. Every time we’re asked about it, you get that type of response. Joining us now to discuss this, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, who serves on the Senate committee. He is an OBGYN who has practiced medicine for more than 25 years and delivered more than 5,000 babies. Dr. Marshall, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, Tony, great to be with you. All right, did we learn anything today? Well, unfortunately not, Tony, and I share your frustration. I share your frustration, first of all, as a person who defends the sanctity of life, but also defends my profession that we should be held to a standard of care. This is a very dangerous drug. This methapristone is a very, very dangerous drug. And we’re allowing people who use it to practice below what I call the standard of care. You could basically compare this abortion drug to taking care of a person having a miscarriage, which I’ve taken care of. thousands of women, unfortunately, with miscarriages. And it would be below the standard of care when a woman calls in threatening to have a miscarriage for me not to see her, to put my hands on my patient, and to do an ultrasound. And here they are, the Biden administration is allowing this drug to be sold basically through a mail order, never seeing a doctor. Let me just finally just say that 1% of all pregnancies are an ectopic pregnancy. So 1% of these abortions they’re doing, it’s actually an ectopic pregnancy that they’re missing. And that could mean 5,000, 10,000 patients every year that are going to end up having an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition. So I couldn’t be more frustrated either.
SPEAKER 17 :
Dr. Marshall, can you list other drugs for me that have the potency and the potential to take a life as mifeprestone does that is sent through the mail without any medical oversight?
SPEAKER 10 :
No, I cannot. I can’t even begin to think of one. And at this drug, it was being prescribed for any other reason without seeing the patient, without doing a sonogram. It would be below the standard of care. I can’t think of anything like that. And not to mention, this is a category X drug. So if you give it later in the pregnancy… 12, 14 weeks, it’s not going to cause the abortions all the time either. So here you are given a category X drug that causes cardiac anomalies, other lethal anomalies to the baby as well. So it is just wrong, wrong and wrong. It’s wrong at the spiritual level. It’s wrong at the physician and the medical level as well.
SPEAKER 17 :
Now, there appears to be some evidence that these drugs, in some cases, are coming in from overseas. They’re coming from outside the country.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, which of course they are, right? So China is going to undermine us at every chance that they can. So the potency of the drug may be stronger or weaker. So if it’s weaker, it may not cause the abortion. If it’s too strong, it could cause a uterine rupture where the uterus, think of the uterus as a big muscle. And if you give it too much of a drug, maybe it causes a rupture with it as well. They use this methapressin in combination with other drugs that cause contractions as well so of course we’re concerned about it maybe that’s why we’re seeing such a high incidence of hemorrhage of infection of sepsis from people that are actually taking this drug as well maybe that’s one of the better explanations well it now accounts for upwards of 70 percent of all abortions in uh in in the country
SPEAKER 17 :
So I guess the bottom line for us, the takeaway, is the only reason this drug is being treated differently is because it’s related to abortion, and abortion, in the minds of many, is a political issue. Yeah, I think it is that simple, Tony.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I can’t say thank you enough for staying at this, for bringing it to our attention, making it a priority as well. But the Biden administration, because of the abortion issue, was able to get this done. And so far, the Trump administration has not undone it. We continue to have conversations with Dr. McCary at FDA, as well as
SPEAKER 17 :
secretary kennedy at hhs and and i hope your listeners continue to put pressure on the white house too to uh to do something about the situation here yeah and folks you can text life to six seven seven four two that’s life to six seven seven four two and add your voice to this uh senator we just we have about a minute and a half left overview of the the rest of the committee hearing how do you think it went and how would you grade the secretary kennedy’s leadership at this point
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, so I think it was much less contentious than the last one, but very disappointed in my colleagues across the aisle that they basically took medical data and manipulated it in different ways. I’m very proud of Secretary Kennedy’s focus on making America healthy again. Their nutrition guidelines are much better as well, trying to address the chronic disease epidemic. So I think we’ve set the table. Hope we will reap the benefit of his efforts for years to come.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I would agree. I like a lot of the direction that he is going, exposing a lot of things we’re concerned about. But I remain concerned about the issue of the sanctity of human life. And I want to thank you, Dr. Marshall, for continuing to be an advocate there in the Senate for the unborn, both from a standpoint of a human rights aspect, but also the understanding of the spiritual implications of this issue. We appreciate you greatly. Thanks, Tony. I’m honored to do it. All right. Have a great day. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. And so, folks, this really is something we need to be praying about. And it’s not an issue that I’m going to move off of until we get it right. It is that important to our nation that we choose life. All right. Don’t go away. More at Washington Watch coming up after the break.
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Proverbs 22, 6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
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For God is the love of the world, that he is only God’s Son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3, 16.
SPEAKER 01 :
For know that my Redeemer lives. Job 19, 25.
SPEAKER 25 :
God raised Jesus from the dead because it was impossible for death to teach. Hold on him. Acts 2, 24.
SPEAKER 18 :
Join Family Research Council in standing on the Word. Visit FRC.org slash Bible for free resources to help your family follow the way. Jesus, the risen Savior of the world.
SPEAKER 16 :
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
SPEAKER 20 :
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal That they’re endowed by their Creator.
SPEAKER 21 :
With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
SPEAKER 16 :
Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America.
SPEAKER 24 :
May God bless America.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Great to have you along. The website is tonyperkins.com. But a better, better place to go is the App Store and get the Stand Firm app. That way you’ll have access to Washington Watch no matter where you go. You’ll have access to the Washington Stand, which is our news and commentary from a biblical perspective. and you’ll have my daily devotional stand on the Word. Plus, you’ll have so much more, all kinds of resources to help you not only be an informed citizen, but an engaged citizen. So go to the App Store and get the Stand Firm app or text APP, that’s APP to 67742, APP to 67742, and I’ll send you a link so that you can make your smartphone even smarter. Earlier today, I joined Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Chris Smith, and former Congressman Frank Wolf, along with Leo Torrell from the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill, as I spoke in an event hosted by the International Committee on Nigeria and the Endowment for the Middle East Truth. Now, during this event, It was highlighted how the crisis in Nigeria remains one of the world’s most overlooked humanitarian and religious freedom emergencies. It is the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. Joining me now to discuss this is Ariel Del Turco, director of our Center for Religious Liberty here at the Family Research Council, who was at the event today but recently was in Nigeria herself. Ariel, welcome back to Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right. So I want to start with this. You were recently in Nigeria. And one thing that was pointed out today in this forum was that despite the redesignation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern at the end of last year, the Nigerian government hasn’t changed anything. Things are still the same on the ground.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that’s so true. So I was recently in Joss, Nigeria, and the village that I visited, Barkanladi, was just attacked two days ago. Gunmen came into a village and opened fire and four people died and more people suffered casualties from that. So these attacks are extremely frequent. We heard from people on the ground that they have not subsided. So the CPC designation was a great step. We had been calling for that for years since President Biden undid it, but it’s really just the beginning.
SPEAKER 17 :
So what’s needed? What is needed there on the ground? Obviously, America can’t be everywhere. I mean, we can’t be the world’s policemen or mom and dad straightening things out. But I mean, this is a deadly place. And people need to understand Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. And a destabilized Nigeria has the potential to destabilize the entire continent. So what can we do? What is needed there on the ground?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I am so thankful for President Trump’s focus on Nigeria. I think he really has a heart for what’s going on there and for the people there. Ideally, I would like to see him continue to focus on Nigeria as an issue and really lean on and put pressure on the leadership in Abuja and on the Nigerian president to do something. We heard often in Nigeria when we were there that the president is extremely apathetic. He was described multiple times as simply just happy to be there and in office. And because the ruling party is not losing elections because of the violence that is happening, they really have no internal motivation to address it. It’s not their voters who are dying. It’s a terrible thing to say, but they just have no internal motivation. So the U.S. has an opportunity to be that external motivation and that external pressure to address the violence.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, there is external pressure coming from elsewhere that is really from the Middle East that in some ways is funneling money and weapons to the Islamic extremists there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and that’s something President Trump is so privy to. Another issue that President Trump is really focused on is how China is taking advantage of the mining situation. The total insecurity in that country has really provided opportunities for China to extract gems and other metals from Nigeria and really profit off of the insecurity and the suffering of the people there.
SPEAKER 17 :
So they’re taking advantage of the destabilized country.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER 17 :
So talk for a moment, Ariel, about the strength, viability of the church there in Nigeria, because the population is almost 50-50. It’s almost split between Muslim, Christian. Talk about the spiritual strength and viability of the church.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, that was very interesting. We did see a lot of churches there. Joss, the area where I visited, is primarily Christian, even though it’s suffering all of these attacks routinely. But the church was extremely strong. You’d be driving down a highway and the area is so poor. They don’t have a lot of ads advertising anything, but the ads that they do have are for churches and for events that churches are hosting. People are extremely devout. They have a deep faith there and they have to. One woman whose home that I visited when I was there, her village routinely faces attacks. So she basically hides in beds and locks her door when they come to look for people to kidnap and hold for ransom. the Fulani herdsman, and she basically lays in bed and just prays. And she just has this innate trust that she has been through so much, she said, she doesn’t think God will let anything else happen to her. And so far that’s been true. While other people flee, she stays there and she prays. So the faith of these people is really hard to imagine.
SPEAKER 17 :
We just have about 45 seconds left, Arielle. But the local communities pretty much rely on the national government for defense and protection of their communities, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, absolutely. And they have to take orders directly from Abuja, so all the way up the chain of command. It’s like a local police office in Minneapolis having to take orders directly from President Trump. They just don’t even have the capacity to do that. So real problems in the security structure in Nigeria. And I think that’s something the government could address, and I hope the U.S. government is advising them on.
SPEAKER 17 :
It’s so important to have that decentralized law enforcement and protection. Arielle, thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 17 :
Always good to see you. All right, folks, don’t go away because we’ve got a lot more Washington Watch straight ahead. But do put Nigeria on your prayer list. We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER 01 :
For I know that my Redeemer lives. Job 19, 25.
SPEAKER 25 :
God raised Jesus from the dead because it was impossible for death to teach hold on him. Acts 2, 24.
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Join Family Research Council in standing on the Word. Visit frc.org slash Bible for free resources to help your family follow the way. Jesus, the risen Savior of the world.
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The United States Capitol, an iconic symbol of the American Republic. But few know that this building at the heart of our nation’s government was once something more, the largest church building in America. Since its inception and for decades following, several rooms throughout the Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers, were used to host church services weekly. These services were filled with individuals from all levels of government. The attendance was so pervasive that often it was standing room only. Quote, going to the Capitol on Sundays was then one of the most common things in Washington. Margaret Bayard Smith. This practice was not merely accepted, but encouraged. Quote, I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall. President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our capital was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
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One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith. One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 06 :
I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall. President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our capital was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 17 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. Good to have you along with us. All right, our word for today comes from Joshua chapter 17. Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell on that land. And it happened when the children of Israel grew strong that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. Manasseh failed to do what God had clearly told them to do, drive out the inhabitants. The result was they sowed the seeds of their own destruction, which came generations later. By the way, the consequences of compromise on explicit instructions from God the results don’t come right away. In some cases, it’s generations later. Just because the bottom doesn’t fall out immediately because of the poor choices we make doesn’t mean it won’t. We must not mistake the mercy of God, giving us time to repent with indifference. As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3, he says, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The key is obedience. For more on our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. All right, for the past couple of months, we’ve been telling you about a new initiative here at the Family Research Council, the PrayVote Stand Chapter Initiative. Now, we launched this just a couple of months ago, and it equips believers to engage locally. prayerfully and biblically. It’s much different. It’s anchored in churches. Our goal over the next 10 years is one chapter in every county in America. And we believe that this can alter the spiritual climate of a community and can literally change the nation. Joining me now to talk more about this is Brent Kylan. He is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives here at the Family Research Council, and he joins me in studio. Brent, thanks for joining us. Good to be back, Tony. Appreciate it. All right. One of the reasons I want to provide an update today is because last week we delivered, one of our chapters delivered petitions down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, my home city, regarding Pastor Luke Ash. This is something we’ve been working on for quite some time. So bring our viewers and listeners up to speed on this, and then we’re going to we’re gonna bring in our chapter leader down in Baton Rouge.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. Like you said, they delivered those petitions last week. And just to recap the Pastor Ash story, this happened a few months back. You talked about it a lot here on Washington Watch, Washington Stand. We covered this a lot. And Pastor Ash, he was a bivocational pastor and he worked, he had a job at the local library there. And he was asked to use personal pronouns for an individual that I identified as transgender that he did not agree with. They violated his Christian teaching. He did not think this was scientifically or biologically accurate. And he was somebody, he treated everybody with great respect. He tried to do a really good job, but they said, you either have to, we’re going to force you to say something you don’t believe in, or you’re going to lose your job. And that’s what they did. They fired him. And Tony, just a really chilling story, because this had nothing to do with the job that he was hired to do, doing a great job, nothing to do with how he was treating people. It was just the fact that his moral conviction said, you can’t say that. And he stood up for that.
SPEAKER 17 :
And as I recall, it wasn’t that he didn’t say it is he said he couldn’t say it. So it was a hypothetical situation that was presented to him that he said, you know, I can’t use that if I have to. And for that reason, he was terminated.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. And he said, I just can’t lie. I just can’t. And so they terminated him over that. FRC Action launched a petition at that time to support him. It received over 26,000 signatures. And I just want to say, I’m sure there’s a lot of people listening to this that signed that. I want to say thank you for doing that. I know you had a lot of personal conversations with Pastor Ash. I did. That show of support means the world. when you’re going through a situation like that. So he appreciated it. And then we had our local PrayVote Stand chapter that just last week also delivered those to the library where Pastor Ash had worked.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, with that, I want to bring in the leader of that chapter to tell us about last week’s delivery. Joining us now is Jason Selman. He’s the chapter leader for the East Baton Rouge Parish PrayVote Stand chapter. Jason, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Thanks for having me, Tony. Good to see you.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, so you and members of the chapter delivered the petitions supporting Pastor Ash last week. Walk us through how that went.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, so last week… This wasn’t the first time I had shown up. I had went the month prior because I wanted to just build a little bit of relationship with them, let them know what we were intending to do so they weren’t caught off guard by any means. So they were prepared for us to be there. It wasn’t initially well received, but when we showed up for the board meeting this past week, there was a little more risk. They were a little more receptive. Uh, but, and I was asked if I could have a public comment. Uh, I was refused that opportunity to do so because I wanted to share briefly. Um, but there were some board members that were receptive. Um, but, uh, everything was kind of kept, um, very, um, just low key and they didn’t want any pictures. So we weren’t able to obtain a picture inside the room actually handing them off, but they were received. They’re very aware of what we desire and that is a change in the policy. So the message was very clear.
SPEAKER 17 :
And this issue is even percolated up to the state legislature. So the legislature is even working on some things related to this. Jason, while we have you, you just launched the Pray, Vote, Stand chapter there in Baton Rouge recently. And one of the first things you started with was the God and Government course. Share a little bit with our viewers and listeners, you know, why you started the Pray, Vote, Stand chapter and how that initial launch went.
SPEAKER 12 :
The initial launch was amazing. We had 55 people the first night. It was very exciting. A lot of just enthusiasm in the room. And people are starting to understand the importance of being engaged in our culture and what is going on around us. And even for me, God and Government was a very eye-opening course. And it’s very helpful in making us realize that Government starts first in the home and how it shows a biblical perspective on everything I think the greatest tool the FRC uses is the Bible because it applies to everything in life and that Course helps people to understand the role that is necessary for us to engage in in our culture today and it is brought forth a lot of excitement and we had a very good attendance throughout the whole entire course and people really uh praised the course and were very thankful for the knowledge uh that it gave them and also inspiring them to want to serve more in their community uh jason selman one final question for you and that is what would you say to other churches uh across the country that
SPEAKER 17 :
About hosting and being a part of a Pray, Vote, Stand chapter, why would they want to consider this, what it might do for them in terms of engaging their local community?
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, a lot of Christians would say, we want to see something change. Something has to change. And Pray, Vote, Stand is a way of engaging. starting that change in your community or your city or your county, your state, because I believe, Tony, your vision is beautiful and wanting to see this come across because it’s going to be one county at a time all throughout the country. And it could really produce a great move of the Holy Spirit in our country. But it’s going to happen one person at a time as the God and government course goes back to the individual, the family, the church government, and then lastly, civil government. But it offers all the tools that is needed. Everything that you need, FRC provides, pray, vote, stand with the teaching, the leadership, and the guidance that is necessary to help produce a program and a system that is going to glorify and honor God and unify churches. Because I believe that is one of the greatest aspects of it, is bringing churches together to move forward the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, we appreciate your leadership there in East Baton Rouge Parish, the county equivalent in Louisiana. And we’re grateful for your leadership there, Jason. Appreciate it, Tony. Good to be with you. All right. Thank you. So, Brent, share just a little bit more about how folks can find out more. The goal is one chapter in every county. You can have more, but the goal is at least one anchored in a church, 3,144 counties in America. How can people find out more?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. So you can go online, frc.org slash chapters. You can also text in for more information on that. Just text chapters to 67742. We would love to get in touch with you. And Jason laid it out really well, how their chapter is up and going. And we’re telling people there’s really four simple things, kind of four simple pillars, if you will, of a chapter. Unite. Pray, discern, engage. So unite, bring a group of people together. The course is a great way to do that. Pray, start there and then discern what does God want? What does he have for you? What are the needs in your county? Things like that. And then find maybe one thing to focus on initially and engage in a practical way there locally.
SPEAKER 17 :
And what, you know, some would say, well, we’ve got a chapter of this, we’ve got a chapter of that. The one thing that makes this different is its biblical foundation. This is not a partisan political organization. It’s not aligned with one party. It’s not advocating for one party. It is advocating for biblical truth. And community service, it’s pray, vote, stand. So it’s not just focused on elections. As you said, pick a project. It could be a local school. It could be one of the things that we’re partnering with a number of organizations, Evangelism Explosion. Maybe you want to teach, you know, train your church how to be a better evangelist. Maybe you want to join like LifeWise, which is a release time program in schools, adopt a school. So there’s so many different options. But it’s about being engaged. Laurie, let’s bring in Tim Echols. He’s the director of the Prevost Stan Chapter Initiative here at the Family Research Council. And I think he may have an update for us on the latest number of chapters that have been joining. Tim, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Tony, you said that the Stand Firm app will make the phone smarter, and our chapters will make our battle buddies out there smarter. We’re going to raise the political IQ for folks all over the country because they are our battle buddies. And this story from Jason today is incredible, and I hope they’re not done yet. I hope they’re not done until that parish starts. changes this policy. So more pressure may be needed going forward, Tony. But we’re up to 46 chapters, just approved four more today. Our goal was to have 50 by June 30th. And I’m praying that we’re actually going to hit 50 by the end of April. We’ll see.
SPEAKER 17 :
Well, let’s talk about that. We were in Midland, Texas last week. for an event in which we were promoting the chapter initiative, and you signed up some new chapters there. You’ve got some, I believe, that have come in from California. So give us the latest on our new additions to the Pray, Vote, Stand chapter family.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, we’ve got a Northern California chapter that’s come in, and California is a tough place to work. Loudoun County, Tennessee, of course, Midland County in Texas, where we were at, and then in Jefferson County, West Virginia. So congratulations to these four chapters and coming on board today. Tony, I’m so proud of these leaders out there. This is what’s been so encouraging to me that There’s some people out there, they’ve been listening to you for 10 years. They are participating with our Stand on the Word program, and they really rely on the information from FRC. And now we’ve got a chance to bring even more into the fold and have more battle buddies, so to speak, and then to be ready to discern, as Brent said, so that when action is needed, we’ve got folks that can go out and do something.
SPEAKER 17 :
You know, Tim, I didn’t say this in the introduction, but we talked last time you were on, we talked about this. You were the founder of Teen Pack. You, for decades, worked across America helping teens in a kind of a Christian boys state initiative. I used to host you when I was in the legislature in Louisiana. How do you see this in terms of equipping believers to engage in the right way in such a way, and I know you did this with the Teen Pack, to be resourceful, responsible, and respectful citizens that built relationships?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, Tony, we don’t want our people yelling at anybody. We want respect. We want them shaking hands with people, building a relationship, having a breakfast with a legislator when there’s nothing to persuade them about so that when something does come up, you’ve built the foundation of a relationship. You’ve gotten to know them personally. You’ve asked them about prayer requests in their life, in their family, and you’ve been praying for them. That’s the approach we’re taking. We’re not taking any kind of radical approach to any of this. We’re not sicking anybody on officials. We are teaching them to honor those in authority, to pray for them, to be respectful.
SPEAKER 17 :
Brent, you know, a lot of people think of election cycle to election cycle. We’re looking here generational. We’re looking at laying a solid foundation that will carry us into the future. Talk about – we’ve got about a minute – just a little bit over a minute left. Talk about the – the God and government course and how that lays the foundation for that type of engagement.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. And I thought Jason laid that out so well, but this really, like you said, it lays the foundation. It talks about God’s role in government. What does the Bible say about it? And really anything else that you want to do as a chapter, you can use that at the starting point. If you go to the website and our chapters website, frc.org slash chapters, if you’re not sure where you want to start, what projects to take on. We have a whole library of options, resources. You can do prayer breakfast. It can be election education. It can do prayer walks, things like that. But that God and government course, it can bring a people, group of people together. And then just a great starting point.
SPEAKER 17 :
And it’s not just for one single church. You can bring churches together as Jason alluded to in the community. Brent, thank you. Tim, I’m going to give you the last word. I don’t want you to be lonely out there. How can people contact you about starting a chapter?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I’d love for you to text chapters to 67742 or just email me, teckels at frc.org. I will help you think through reaching your pastor, everything you need to do in order to have a chapter.
SPEAKER 17 :
All right, Tim Eccles, Brent Kylan, thanks for joining me. And folks, thank you for joining us as well. And pray about maybe starting one of those chapters. Whatever you do, pray, vote, and then keep standing.
SPEAKER 26 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family, and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
