Vance to attend town hall with evangelist who accused Harris of ‘witchcraft’
Lance Wallnau backed Trump election conspiracies ahead of January 6 and accused climate activists of being controlled by demons
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.JD Vance is being criticized for a planned town hall this weekend with Lance Wallnau, a pro-Trump evangelical leader who has backed election conspiracies and accused Kamala Harris of using witchcraft.
“This is Vance’s endorsement of one of the worst, most conspiratorial, Christian supremacist spectacles in the country,” Matthew D. Taylor, a scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, & Jewish Studies,” wrote on X on Thursday.
He warned the Monroeville, Pennsylvania, event would take on extra significance because it’s close to where Trump was nearly assassinated, a near-miss Trump’s more religious supporters take as divine intervention.
The Harris campaign, meanwhile, blasted Vance in a statement for appearing alongside a “conspiracy theorist” like Wallnau.
Speaking to an online talk show earlier this month, Wallnau said Kamala Harris’s debate performance was tied to witchcraft.
“She can look presidential,” Wallnau said. “That’s the seduction of what I would say is witchcraft. That’s the manipulation of imagery that creates an impression contrary to the truth, but it seduces you into seeing it. So that spirit, that occult spirit, I believe is operating on her and through her.”
The Independent has contacted Vance and Wallnau for comment.
As The Independent has reported, Wallnau is among a group of evangelical Christian leaders backing Trump as part of their goal of establishing what they call the New Apostolic Reformation, an American theocracy. As part of this campaign, Wallnau has popularized an idea known as the Seven Mountains mandate, which calls on Christians to secure positions of influence over politics, education, family, the arts, the media, business, and religion.
Vance’s town hall is a stop on a nationwide campaign of pro-Trump religious gatherings called the Courage Tour.
During a Wisconsin Courage Tour event, Wallnau doubled down on Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“January 6 was not an insurrection – it was an election fraud intervention!” he reportedly told the crowd.
The Texas-based religious leader has been an outspoken ally to Trump, using his widely watched media platforms to spread false claims about the 2020 presidential race and claim God had a plan to change the outcome of the election. He also appeared at Washington events in the run-up to January 6 and was at the infamous rally on January 6 itself from which the Capitol insurrection began.
Wallnau also wrote a 2016 book about Trump, God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J Trump and the American Unraveling, which helped solidify evangelical support for the Republican.
That relationship has continued to flourish. Exit polls in 2020 showed Trump had 75 percent support from white evangelicals.
Still, Harris has a projected five-point lead in Pennsylvania, according to the latest polls.
The Texas-based Wallnau has a history of outlandish remarks, including claiming climate activists were controlled by demons.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments