Thousands of Christians recently signed onto a petition urging North Las Vegas officials to cancel plans to hold a "toxic" pro-Trump rally on public property.
Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing "Christian nationalism," released a petition earlier this month urging city officials against allowing the "Reawaken America Tour"—a conference featuring several high-profile conservative speakers including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump—from holding an event on a public ground. In addition, the tour has faced significant criticism over its embrace of right-wing conspiracy theories and Christian nationalism.
The tour is set to hold its next event at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas on August 25, according to Las Vegas-based news station KLAS-TV. Speakers are expected to include Infowars host Alex Jones and comedian Roseanne Barr among others. Organizers told the station that they expect 5,000 tickets to be sold.
Faithful America warned in its petition that the tour, which has held events across the United States in recent years, is "one of the worst examples of Christian nationalism today," condemning the event for "antisemitism and threat of political violence."
"Each ReAwaken America event is a toxic, two-day parade of pro-Trump preachers, MAGA celebrities, and QAnon conspiracy theorists mixing election denial, violent rhetoric, and deadly COVID-19 misinformation with baptisms and praise music—all in Jesus's name for audiences of thousands," the petition reads. "An event that promotes antisemitism, lies, and even outright political violence should never be welcome on public property. Let's speak out together now and ask North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown to revoke ReAwaken America's permits and decline to rent them public facilities."
The petition added that "toxic nationalism" has "no place in a publicly owned venue," further noting that the Constitution's First Amendment "does not protect the incitement of political violence" or "obligate taxpayers to platform hate speech like antisemitism."
As of Sunday morning, more than 16,000 people have signed onto the petition.
Reverend Nathan Empsall, the executive director of Faithful America, said in a statement to Newsweek that the tour has "hijacked" the "name of Jesus" for a "repugnant showcase of antisemitism, political violence, and reckless COVID-19 misinformation."
"By allowing the tour to take place on public grounds, the city of [North] Las Vegas is by default forging an official business real and legitimizing the hatred, violence and misinformation," he said.
Newsweek reached out to the City of North Las Vegas for comment via email.
In a statement reported by KLAS, city officials defended allowing the event to take place, writing that the event is a third-party rental for public space and that permits are "based on content-neutral and equal opportunity criteria."
"As long as permit criteria and requirements are met, the City of North Las Vegas does not discriminate against those wishing to lawfully assemble," the statement reads. "As a government agency, the City of North Las Vegas has an obligation to uphold the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and ensure that all citizens, popular or not, majority or minority, conventional or unconventional, have access to public spaces for public expression."
When reached by Newsweek, "Reawaken America Tour" founder Clay Clark wrote in a statement, "I am on a mission from God to expose & stop Klaus Schwab's Great Reset," referring to the chairman of the World Economic Forum.
The conferences have previously made headlines for its speakers' controversial remarks. In October, one speaker, Bo Polny, warned that the "angel of death" would be "coming for" several politicians, including President Joe Biden and Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. Meanwhile, concerns that the conference would draw white supremacists prompted a venue in Rochester, New York, to cancel the event last July.
Faithful America previously protested the "Reawaken America Tour" in Miami, putting up billboards quoting the Bible in opposition to the event.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the "Reawaken America Tour" as "a series of controversial far-right conferences" that features "prominent QAnon influencers, anti-vaxx activists, election fraud conspiracy theorists, Christian pastors, political candidates and elected officials."
Update 07/24/2023, 9:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Reverend Nathan Empsall.
Update 07/24/2023, 1:36 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Clay Clark.
