Yesterday, 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives Freethought Caucus sent a letter (full text) to House Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Chaplain questioning why California-based pastor Jack Hibbs was invited to deliver an opening prayer in the House of Representatives. The letter reads in part:
The undersigned members write to express our concerns about Speaker Johnson’s sponsorship of Pastor Jack Hibbs as the Guest Chaplain of the House of Representatives. Pastor Hibbs is a radical Christian Nationalist who helped fuel the January 6th insurrection and has a long record of spewing hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community. He should never have been granted the right to deliver the House’s opening prayer on January 30, 2024.
In the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol, Hibbs echoed Donald Trump’s election fraud lies and inflamed his followers by preaching that January 6th would go down in history alongside the War of Independence and the War of 1812. By preaching that God had anointed the Trump administration and could still intercede to save Trump’s presidency on January 6th, Hibbs advanced a religious permission structure that led to violence by those who believed any means were justified to carry out what they viewed as God’s plan....
