This interview was originally posted on NPR by Odette Yousef.
For some Christians in the U.S., the 2020 Covid lockdowns fueled the belief that they were being politically persecuted, prompting them to now resolve to “take back” America as the election nears.
YESHA RASCOE, HOST:
For many Americans, pandemic restrictions are a distant memory. But for some, those mandates affected them in ways that have hardened their faith and their politics. NPR’s domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef has this report on Americans still reeling more than three years since most states lifted restrictions.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SEAN FEUCHT: And here we are today, the army of God.
(CHEERING)
ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE: On a recent Saturday morning in front of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., hundreds of Christians were outside and amped up. They waved flags, among them, a white one with a green pine tree on it, the words appeal to heaven across the top. It’s come to be a symbol of Christian nationalism, and some carried it on January 6 when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Listen to the full interview on NPR.
