Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Christian nationalism has landed at the Pentagon—and they’re not even hiding it anymore. Just look at this photo.

That’s Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist thought leader and influential pastor to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Here they were pictured together at a recent prayer event at the Pentagon, and it’s a moment that for Mother Jones’ Kiera Butler illustrates just how integrated Christian nationalists have become in our federal government.

Butler has reported for years on the strong ties between Wilson and his web of Christian nationalist influencers– dubbed the “TheoBros.” (Including, yes Vice President JD Vance.)

But there’s another connection Wilson has with the current mainstream political moment. On January 18, former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles for covering a protest that disrupted services at Cities Church in St. Paul. The arrest drew widespread attention because of how Lemon’s First Amendment rights were violated; journalism groups, including the National Association of Black Journalists, condemned the act.

What never appeared in the flurry of coverage—until Butler wrote about it— was the link between Cities Church and a Christian nationalist movement that has gained increasing clout with strong connections to the Trump administration. Cities Church was founded in part by a pastor named Joe Rigney, a close associate of Doug Wilson, whose Christian nationalist fiefdom centered in Moscow, Idaho, has gained a national following—and is looked to as an example of what a Christian nationalist society could look like.

Read more of our coverage on Christian nationalist ties to the Trump administration at MotherJones.com.