MacLellan also trotted out widely debunked conspiracies about the 2020 election. “The fact that we're still utilizing machines that are connected to the internet, it's going to happen,” he said in an interview. “The fact that they're using a different type of marker on ballots, it's going to happen. The fact that they're driven to do mail-in ballots, it's going to happen.”He then referenced the GOP’s current master plan to “stop the steal” during the midterms.MacLellan is one of many pastors across the United States who are seeking to revive the Black Robe Regiment movement and take advantage of the rise in support for Christian nationalism. But while MacLellan is working on his own to spread the message, others are coordinating to bring the movement to a national stage.The movement, imbued with support from far-right political activists like Michael Flynn, wants pastors to play a central role in not only preaching politics from the pulpit but also actively getting their congregations to rise up and claim election fraud by weaving myths about the American Revolution together with modern-day conspiracy theories and hard-line Christianity.
Cook’s organization is growing fast: An old website full of dead ends and missing content has been replaced by a slick new site with PayPal links and sign-up forms. Cook has already established outposts across the country that are making inroads into local and state government, and he has the backing of some of the most influential figures within the evangelical community, including longtime Trump adviser Paula White.And, with the backing of Flynn, who has attained a God-like status among huge swaths of the American right over the last couple of years, this iteration of the Black Robe Regiment could become much more real than its nonexistent ancestors. They could actually pose a significant threat to American democracy.For MacLellan, aligning with the Black Robe Regiment movement means he’s spiritually obligated to get his flock to believe someone is stealing elections.“The Black Robe Regiment, historically, were pastors that fought for the revolution, what it has become today is pastors who are willing to fight politically,” MacLellan said. “So we're not afraid to speak from the pulpit on a subject, especially when you get around to election times. And it's important because people need to be emboldened in what they believe to be true. and if you're not going to give them that encouragement, you get what you get.”“You cannot preach the Bible without the United States Constitution. Period.”
Members of these groups have already advocated for violence and took part in the Capitol Riot.
His personal Facebook page is full of memes targeting Jewish people. One recent post featured a parasite-like creature, emblazoned with the Star of David, suffocating the Statue of Liberty. Another makes reference to the “Synagogue of Satan.” When VICE News asked him about his antisemitism, he appeared unfazed. Judaism, he said, is an “Antichrist religion.” He also noted that the “whole concept of antisemitism is big now, especially with Kanye West making a statement.”Unlike others in the movement, who often couch anti-Jewish sentiments in dog whistles and euphemisms, MacLellan is unapologetic. But ultimately, the Black Robe Regiment movement wants to return the country to what they see as its founding Christian principles. Figures like Cook and Flynn want to use these pastors to further their belief that the United States should revert to a Christian nation, one where the only accepted religion is Christianity. “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God,” Flynn said during a previous stop on the ReAwaken America tour.“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.”
Another Black Robe Regiment group is based around the Patriot Church movement led by Peters, which includes QAnon-spouting Locke, who spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C., the night before the attack on the Capitol.“Within the next couple of years, we would like to see the Black Robe Regiment formed in all 50 states…consisting of at least two pastors within each political jurisdiction in America, who are asserting their influence within local government and also the influence of their flock.”
Also present was Lance Wallnau, a Texas-based evangelist and an influential figure in the dominionist New Apostolic Reformation movement, which calls for Christian control of virtually every aspect of culture and politics. He has a history of making outlandish claims, like calling President Joe Biden the “Antichrist” and spreading homophobic conspiracy theories—like his claim in 2017 that reformed prostitutes turned the owner of a gay bar straight by baking him an “anointed cake.”During the webinar, Wallnau said that pastors should be engaged in “spiritual warfare,” fighting back against perceived threats such as child grooming, critical race theory, and transgender rights. He described the Black Robe Regiment as a “populist movement of citizen saints… It’s the closest thing we have to revolutionary patriot intervention.”Wallnau has been stumping for the Trump-endorsed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, a major booster of Trump’s election conspiracies and promoter of Christian nationalist beliefs. The far-right pastor recently stoked controversy when he took part in a rally for Mastriano where he asked the audience to raise their right hands in unison, a gesture that some critics said resembled a Nazi salute.(Wallnau, White, Mannion, and Hemmila did not respond to multiple requests for comment from VICE News about their work with the Black Robe Regiment movement.)Even though the varying regiments enjoy different levels of support from their communities and congregations, their influence nationally, and locally, is growing.We’re going to start becoming visible.”
In Arizona, one of the few people who attended MacLellan’s service last Sunday is convinced that her pastor is telling her the truth about election fraud. “There’s gonna be fraud,” Freeland told VICE News. “They are already setting it up. The man—resident—in the White House is saying it’s taking days and weeks to count votes. This all started happening since 2016, massive mail-in ballots. That’s how they stole that. 2,000 Mules showed that out.” [2,000 Mules is a conspiracy film from far-right commentator Dinesh D’Souza that makes widely debunked claims about ballot mules altering the outcome of elections.]MacLellan makes no bones about the fact that his role, and the role of all Black Robe Regiment pastors, is to influence the government and be ready for battle. “The intent behind the Black Robe now is to fight through legislation to try and get things changed for our community so we can have a more conservative environment,” MacLellan told VICE News. “There is a very serious spiritual battle we have and we don't have any problem with saying we are fighting things we can't see.”Follow David Gilbert and Tess Owen on Twitter.“The intent behind the Black Robe now is to fight through legislation to try and get things changed for our community so we can have a more conservative environment.”