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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted Cabinet officials Tuesday for the first meeting of the Department of Justice’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force.
As CBN News reported, President Donald Trump launched the initiative through an executive order in February, and was fulfilling a promise made to millions of supporters. In that order, he promised to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government.
He appointed Bondi to lead the effort to halt “all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government” including at DOJ, IRS, and FBI.
Under the task force, Bondi will work to “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide,” Trump said in February.
Bondi conducted a news conference with various Cabinet members present to discuss how to move forward with the initiative.
“This task force will identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices or conduct across the government, seek input from the faith-based organizations and state governments to end Anti-Christian bias,” she said.
“As President Donald Trump has stated, the Biden administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” Bondi told a small group of reporters. “The president is right.”
Bondi was joined by some of those American Christians who were unfairly targeted by the Biden Administration for their religious beliefs, according to a Justice Department news release.
Michael Farris, First Amendment Litigator and Founding President of Patrick Henry College was present on the behalf of Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church, Gary Hamrick, to discuss how the church was investigated and charged by the IRS for alleged Johnson Amendment violations.
Dr. Scott Hicks, the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Liberty University, says the school was also singled out by the Biden Administration for fines due to the school’s Christian worldview.
Navy SEAL Phil Mendes described being relieved from duty under Biden for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine after the Department of Defense refused to honor his religious exemption request.
“As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” said Bondi. “Thanks to President Trump, we have ended those abuses, and we will continue to work closely with every member of this Task Force to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely.”
Bondi was joined Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and other senior agency officials.
Patel discussed the impact of a now rescinded anti-Catholic memo issued by FBI Richmond that called for agents to track interactions between so-called “radical-traditionalist Catholics” and white nationalist groups. The internal memo was published by whistleblower Kyle Seraphin on UncoverDC.com before it was pulled.
During yesterday’s news conference, Patel reiterated the FBI’s commitment to rooting out any anti-Christian bias that could be directing decisions or investigations.
Meanwhile, Rubio highlighted allegations of bias, including one instance where one family was referred to the IRS, threatened with prosecution, and investigated by Biden’s Inspector General for insisting they homeschool their son.
He also shared how State Department employees were stigmatized for opposing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds, including being called “murderers” and “troublemakers.”
Bondi used the meeting to highlight how the Trump administration has already taken steps to crack down on anti-Christian biases including dropping cases against three peaceful pro-lifers who had been accused of violating the FACE Act.
“The First Amendment isn’t just the line in the Constitution. It’s the cornerstone of our American memory,” Bondi said. “It guarantees every citizen the right to speak freely, worship freely, and live according to their conscience without government interference. Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism. It’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says all forms of bias against any religion must be stopped.
“Supporting the free expression of faith is not just a constitutional principle. It is something that all forms of civil government should be encouraging. At its core, the executive order we’re here to talk about today affirms a fundamental truth. Every individual has a freedom to choose their religious faith and once made, that choice should never be subject to discrimination or bias from our government,” he said.
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