MET ONE nATIONALIST...:

[W]hite Christian nationalism continues to play a central role in perpetuating Donald Trump's stolen election lie, so understanding its continued threat and its sometimes peculiar symbols is crucial. One such symbol, the blowing of shofars as a gesture of pro-Trump Christian triumphalism, is a troubling example of how many in the movement have arrogated Jewish ritual as a weapon for their nationalistic ends.

White Christian nationalism was the most visible religious affiliation on display in the January 6 riots. Participants marched with signs proclaiming "Trump is President, Christ is King," one held a Bible in the air while a mob overran police to charge into the Capitol building, and another shouted, "Here we are in the name of Jesus!" Even the so-called QAnon shaman prayed in Jesus' name in the ransacked Senate chamber.

There was also the incongruous sight of Israeli flags, a sign of how potent Christian Zionism is among many Trump supporters--even as one rioter wore a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt and another, currently under criminal indictment, is a Hitler admirer who federal prosecutors say "took the time to make what is likely a Nazi gesture towards the Capitol after violently assaulting and confronting law enforcement."

And then there were the shofars. In covering Christian nationalism and Messianic Judaism for nearly two decades, I have seen the increasing use of shofars at church services, prayer rallies and political events. But shofars' deployment in the service of the January 6 rioters marked a new and bizarre twist in this phenomenon--one that centers Donald Trump as a salvific figure in an ultimate victory over liberal democracy.

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