The Texas Taliban

There’s been talk lately in Texas about seceding from the US. Even Republican Governor Rick Perry has broadly hinted that Texas should exercise its “tenth amendment” rights.

Well, here’s a website that makes me think it might be a good idea to let them do it: Repent Amarillo.

This is the Texas Taliban, similar in almost all respects to their Afghanistan soulmates, except that they pray to a different God.

And just to reinforce the point — the term “Army of God” is a rough translation of “Hezbollah.”

This is not a joke. They’re dead serious. The site is packed with militaristic imagery, and plays audio on some pages with martial music and the sound of gunshots. Their mission statement includes this list of heathen and/or demonic causes that they’ve marked for destruction:

Some of the possible missions that these two groups may be called upon to work will be some of the following:



1. Gay pride events.

2. Earth worship events such as “Earth Day”

3. Pro-abortion events or places such as Planned Parenthood

4. Breast cancer events such as “Race for the Cure” to illuminate the link between abortion and breast cancer.

5. Opening day of public schools to reach out to students.

6. Spring break events.

7. Demonically based concerts.

8. Halloween events.

9. Other events that may arise that the ministry feels called to confront. These large events may involve both the intercessory prayer AND the soldier groups. Some of the smaller events that can be accomplished in between the larger events may be:



1. Sexually oriented businesses such as pornography shops, strip joints, and XXX-rated theaters. 2. Idolatry locations such as palm readers, false religions, and witchcraft. Many of the smaller missions listed above may be just prayer oriented missions for tearing down demonic strongholds or they may involve more aggressive use of soldiers and prayer warriors. Some other missions occasionally employed may be “undercover operations” where the groups show up together but are not publicly visible together to effect the outcome of a public meeting such as city commissioners meetings, etc.

And they don’t just talk about this. They’ve posted a Google map (they call it the “Warfare Map”) with markers for the locations of their current targets, including Buddhist churches and Islamic mosques, and even an Episcopal church because they don’t hate gays. Here’s the description on their map for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church:

Referred to an OUTstanding Amarillo’s (Homosexual activists) website as a ‘gay friendly’ church. In other words, they do not tell homosexuals who attend this church that they must repent of the sin of homosexuality. This is a serious violation of scripture.

The Texas Observer has an account of Repent Amarillo’s relentless harassment of a private swinger’s club: He Who Casts the First Stone.

In June, when the building reopened, Repent Amarillo became an almost-constant presence, shouting through bullhorns, blasting Christian music, haranguing club members, following swingers in vehicles and sticking video cameras into people’s faces. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been called out twice. Police records show that nearby businesses have called frequently with noise complaints. Repent even showed up on occasion when the Route 66 building was rented out for non-swinger events. “They have been here every time we open our doors, regardless of what kind of functions we have, whether I’m down here doing maintenance, cleaning, whatever,” Mac says. “They don’t have a life. Well, I guess we are their lives. We’re their blood. At three or four in the morning, we’ll open the door, and there they are. They come waddling out of their vehicles with their cameras.” At first, the swinger community was mystified by the attention. On the 60-some hours of surveillance footage the Meads have, a swinger can be heard telling a Repent member that the swingers haven’t done anything to bother them.“You’re going to hell, and it bothers me,” Grisham responds. “What bothers me is you’re going to hell.” Perhaps the most insidious tactic Repent uses is trying to destroy the reputation of the swingers. In Amarillo, people can be ostracized over a whiff of impropriety. On one tape, Grisham directs followers to get the license-plate numbers in the Route 66 parking lot. “A new couple can be here three or four hours,” says Mac. “Whenever they leave, the Repent Amarillo group will call them by first and last name, know where they live, know where they work, just within a very few hours.”

It takes a lot these days for my jaw to drop, but this is seriously bad craziness.

(Hat tip: PZ Myers.)