Last week, far-right Christian nationalist pastor and Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith appeared on the "Save Heritage Indiana" podcast, where he declared that non-Christian elected officials have no right to "force [their] values" on the people because this is a Christian nation.
Save Heritage Indiana is a hardline anti-immigration organization that was created to "save Indiana’s heritage by reversing mass migration" because "the world we grew up in is being destroyed" by immigrants. During the podcast, one of the co-hosts asked Beckwith his thoughts on how to prevent people like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Zohran Mamdani—who the host said "don't represent American values"—from being elected to office.
"We are a Christian nation, but we are increasingly becoming a non-Christian people," Beckwith replied. "So a Christian government, a Christian value system, the Judeo-Christian ethic, the Decalogue, Leviticus 19; Blackstone's common law was taken right from scripture [and] our Founders took right from that to create the system of governance. It's all based in the Judeo-Christian ethic."
The Founders did nothing of the sort, nevertheless Beckwith continued.
"While someone like an Ilhan Omar is welcome to be here legally, that does not mean she has a right to change the foundations of this nation," Beckwith said. "The Supreme Court just ruled in the Kennedy case that long-standing historical tradition is the constitutional precedent. So what's the long-standing historical tradition in America? It's Christian values. It was not rooted in Islam, it was not rooted in socialism, Marxism, it was rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics and capitalism. So when a socialist/Marxist like Mandami tries to force his values onto New York, I would say, 'No, you're not welcome to do that because the long-standing historical tradition is constitutional. What you're bringing is something new. You're trying to remove the foundations.'"
