Experts say that the Christian nationalist rhetoric adds a dangerous dimension to the standoff between Texas and the Federal Government.

A trucker convoy of “patriots” is heading to the U.S. border with Mexico next week, as the standoff between Texas and the federal government intensifies.
The organizers of the “Take Our Border Back” convoy have called themselves “God’s army” and say they’re on a mission to stand up against the “globalists” who they claim are conspiring to keep U.S. borders open and destroy the country. 

“This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God,” one convoy organizer said on a recent planning call. “We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil,” said another. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. It is time for the remnant to rise.” (The remnant, from the Book of Revelation, are the ones who remain faithful to Jesus Christ in times of crisis).

Experts say that the Christian nationalist overtones in this rhetoric adds a dangerous dimension to an already fraught situation. 

“When people believe that they are working on behalf of God, they might be willing to resort to relatively extreme measures,” said Ruth Braunstein, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut and author of “Prophets and Patriots: Faith in Democracy Across the Political Divide.”  ”And so you have a politically volatile situation that could become much more so, in part because of this rhetoric.”

The organizers current plan is for the convoy to depart Virginia Beach on Monday and snake down through the southeast, stopping over in Jacksonville, Florida before making its way to several stops along the border. The convoy will then split up for separate rallies on Feb. 3, one near Eagle Pass, Texas, a second in Yuma, Arizona, and a third in San Ysidro, California. 

A group of six patriot-world influencers, including Kim Yeater, who runs a self-empowerment self-help group and an anti-voter fraud group, started organizing the convoy around a month ago. “God’s army is rising up,” she said on the planning call. “We all have been chosen for this time.” The convoy was originally intended to send a message to the Biden Administration: “Secure Our Borders.” Its website calls on “all active & retired law enforcement and military, veterans, mama bears, elected officials, business owners, ranchers, truckers, bikers, media and LAW ABIDING, freedom-loving Americans,” to join the cause. 

But recent events have significantly raised the stakes for the convoy. Two weeks ago the Texas National Guard seized control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas—an epicenter of unauthorized border crossings—and erected razor wire around it, effectively limiting Border Patrol’s access to the area. It was an act of aggression in a simmering dispute between Texas and the federal government over who has jurisdictional authority over the border. 

Days later, a migrant woman and two children drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass. The Biden Administration claimed that the Texas National Guard prevented Border Patrol from saving them, which Texas has denied. 

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government—not Texas—had authority over the border, and that Border Control could cut down the razor wire. Texas has since doubled down on erecting razor wire, and officials said that they plan to “hold the line.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter accusing the federal government of “breaking its compact between the United States and the States.” At least 16 Republican governors say they support him, as Biden faces calls from some Democrats to “federalize” the Texas national guard, which would remove it from Abbott’s command. 

Read More Here