He spent decades bringing the religious right to power. Now he's marching to undo it.
January 25, 2026
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2:10Now PlayingHe spent decades bringing the religious right to power. Now he's marching to undo it.
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as posted by the channelHe spent decades bringing the religious right to power. Now he's marching to undo it.
"Being here, in solidarity, is part of the repair work in my own soul," says Rev. Rob Schenck, an Evangelical minister who spent decades helping build America's Religious Right—commingling church and state to advance conservative causes like the anti-abortion movement.
Now, he says he must confront the damage he helped cause, including what he believes was his role in delivering "the entities that are now inflicting all of this suffering on so many people." One example: Schenck's organization, Faith and Action in the Nation's Capital, created "Operation Higher Court," which trained wealthy couples as "stealth missionaries" to befriend Supreme Court justices to preserve, in his words, a Christian nation.
"So now I have to do the work of repair," he told Mother Jones digital producer Sam Van Pykeren in the icy streets of Minneapolis on Friday during the city's "Day of Truth and Freedom"—a citywide strike and march in which clergy played a prominent role.
"These folks are showing more grace in accepting me than I would have ever extended to them," Schenck says, flanked by organizers shouting, "Whose streets? Our streets!"The next day, after learning of federal agents shooting and killing Alex Pretti, Schenck extended his stay in the city. More from his journey, and the clergy's fight against ICE, coming soon.
"This is redemption," he told Sam. "This is redemption."
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