Repent Amarillo - Christian fundamentalist intimidation with a nuclear option

Posted April 2, 2010


March 6, 2010
Examiner.com
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Since the election of Barack Obama as president, radical fundamentalist Christian groups have sprung up like weeds in an ignored vacant lot. Militia groups have too, and more times than not they mesh together and become almost indistinguishable from another.



Fundamentalist Christianity is at the root of the most virulent and potentially violent groups forming and recruiting today.

Repent Amarillo is one such organization brought out of the shadows and into the news, mostly because of their outright harassment of Amarillo's citizenry. They are nothing more than wanna-be Brownshirts, out to enforce their code on the community they wish to subjugate.

Interestingly enough, the Repent Amarillo group identify themselves, as do other far right Christian militias in America, as the "Army of God." Even Hezbollah doesn't go that far, as Hezbollah translates "Party of God." Perhaps it's more apt to compare them to the Taliban. Hezbollah does build schools and hospitals, after all.

Sure, there will be people reading this who think it is foolhardy to compare an American fundamentalist group to barbaric enforcers of Stone Age mysticism. The differences are only in degree. If American society were comparable to Afghanistan or Gaza, we would see equal levels of depravity and terror.

Intimidation precedes terror, and authorities need to recognize that fact and take action against the unlawful intimidation being practiced by Repent Amarillo. Trouble is, police in Amarillo seem to be if not complicit, at the very least far too forgiving when it comes to the actions Repent Amarillo takes.

Repent Amarillo even has a "Target Map" highlighting businesses and organizations they wish to intimidate. Medical facilities they don't agree with, so-called "sex trade" businesses. places of "idol worship," even churches they deem to liberal - all are considered fair game in their imagined war.

Sure, they are calling for prayer and protest instead of bombs and bullets, but again, the intimidation has the same goal. They are harassing people even to the point of taking down license plates.

And now, reports are that the founder of Repent Amarillo is a high security guard for a facility holding nuclear weapons. That needs looking into, at the very least. If someone who sees themselves as a soldier of God has potential access to weapons of mass destruction, isn't that a problem?

The criteria for obtaining security clearances are many, and it's not out of line to call for a second look when a person holding one makes questionable associations.

Thankfully, many citizens in Amarillo are standing up to the two-bit would-be terrorists in their midst, and fighting against them. They deserve not only our thanks, but our help.