Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to pray for America’s atonement and most also prayed for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Organizers of the event billed the gathering and next month’s presidential election as “a last stand moment” to save the nation from the forces of darkness. For hours, the gathered masses sang worship songs, waved flags symbolizing their belief that America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation, and prayed aloud for Jesus to intercede on behalf of Trump in November.
“If we don’t stand now,” said Grace Lin, who traveled from Los Angeles for the rally and came wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, “then the enemy will take over our country. If that happens, that’s the end.”
Lou Engle, the self-described prophet who organized the event, said God told him in a dream to call on a million women to march on Washington in order to restore God’s dominion over the nation. Engle is a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement of charismatic Christians who for years have portrayed U.S. politics as a spiritual clash between good and evil and Trump as a flawed leader anointed by God to redeem the nation.
“Listen to the cries of your people,” Engle shouted Saturday as thousands of followers lifted their hands to the sky. “Save us God!”
From a stage overlooking the Washington Monument, Engle and other speakers warned of a multitude of threats they say are facing America: crime, religious persecution, abortion, and the growing acceptance of LGBTQ people.
Thousands of women came wearing pink shirts emblazoned with the words “Don’t Mess With Our Kids” — the name and slogan of an anti-LGBTQ activist group that claims library books, public school teachers and pop culture are tricking children into changing genders.
Susan Marsh, who drove from Maryland, said she attended because she fears if Democrats maintain power, her 10-month old grandson will grow up in a nation where he’s pressured to identify as a girl. As she sang and prayed, Marsh waved a large Appeal to Heaven flag — a prominent symbol of the Christian movement to end the separation of church and state in America.
“So many people are hopeless right now,” Marsh said, choking up as she spoke to a reporter. “Our children are going through surgeries that are unnecessary because their hearts are broken and they think they’re not who they’re supposed to be.”
Maryn Freitag was part of a group of about 50 people who traveled from Minnesota. She said she came “to stand with the man who God has selected as the president.” She then gestured to her hat, which spelled out “Trump 2024” in shimmering rhinestones.
Freitag refused to contemplate what would happen if Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris: “I don’t even want to go there,” she said.
Sandi Woskie, another member of the Minnesota contingent, overheard the comment. She leaned in and said: “Think armageddon.”
“That’s right,” Freitag said. “If we don’t turn this nation back to the Lord, we’re on a fast slide into the abyss with no return.”
Matthew Taylor, a senior scholar at the nonprofit Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Maryland, said those comments are representative of a dangerous and increasingly widespread embrace of apocalyptic political messaging on the Christian right.
Taylor, who attended the march Saturday as part of his research, has spent years studying the New Apostolic Reformation and its unwavering support for Trump. He documented in his book, “The Violent Take it by Force,” how false claims about widespread election fraud by Engle and other Christian nationalist leaders helped fuel the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Taylor said he worries that the dire messaging — and the portrayal of Trump as God’s chosen candidate to defeat evil Democrats — could set the stage for more violence.
“This is about activating the most ardent Christian supporters of Donald Trump, putting them into an apocalyptic mindset that says this election is do or die for America,” Taylor said. “The danger is that these folks can easily be converted over into Capitol rioters if the right circumstances come about and if their leaders give them that guidance.”
Taylor — and many others in attendance — noted that the crowd was more racially and ethnically diverse than most conservative political rallies. Churches from across the country, including some majority Black denominations, chartered buses for the event. Organizers chose to hold the event on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, because it is a day to atone for sin.
LaTrece Curry, a Black mother who said she voted for former President Barack Obama in 2008, drove from Ohio with her husband and four children. She said her support for Trump — a twice-divorced billionaire who’s facing a range of criminal charges related to his business practices and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election — has led to divisions and arguments with her Black friends and family members. But she believes he’s the only candidate who will set America back on a moral course.
“I do think it is a last stand,” Curry said. “But God has given us so much time. Now judgment will come.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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