Table of Contents
1. Prologue: The Sheriff, The Governor, and the Contradiction in a Carbon Copy
2. Section 2. The Iowa Microcosm: A Punitive Lawsuit and the Charge of "Thought Policing"
3. Section 3. The Doctrine of Dominion: The Theological Engine of the Pincer Movement
4. Section 4. The “How” — The Authoritarian Machinery of Project 2025
5. Section 5: The Alliance Forged—The Sinews of Money and Personnel
6. Section 6: The Electoral Battleground—A Three-Front War
7. Conclusion: The Unseen Conflict and the Imperative of Democratic Resilience

Section 1. Prologue: The Sheriff, The Governor, and the Contradiction in a Carbon Copy

Sheriff Dan Marx believed he was doing his job. As the elected lawman in a quiet Iowa county, that meant talking to his constituents—in this case, on Facebook. He never imagined that explaining his view of the U.S. Constitution would put him in the crosshairs of the state's most powerful political figures and unravel a national plot to dismantle American democracy.

The letter arrived on Sheriff Marx’s desk on a cold February morning in Winneshiek County, Iowa. It was formal, stamped with the state seal, and carried a tone of bureaucratic command. But it was a single, almost-missed detail that caught the Sheriff’s eye: a faint “cc:” notation at the bottom, addressed to the state's highest law enforcement officer: Attorney General Brenna Bird.

That carbon copy was the overlooked key in a locked door. When we turned it, a hidden architecture of power swung open—revealing the secret corridors and contradictions that shaped the campaign.

This investigation is the story of what lay beyond that door. It reveals how a single line of text on a forgotten letter became the key to exposing a direct contradiction in the official record, a political lawsuit, and the hidden machinery powering a national campaign to reshape America.

This investigation reveals a coordinated, two-pronged assault on American democracy, engineered in the shadows by a powerful alliance of religious zealots and political technocrats. We call it the Pincer Movement.

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We didn’t set out to find just one answer. We started with two separate questions:

1. The “Why”: What is the ideological engine behind the rise of Christian Nationalism in states like Iowa?

2. The “How”: Who is building the detailed, 920-page playbook known as Project 2025, designed to dismantle and seize control of the U.S. government?

What we found is that these efforts are not disconnected—they’re engineered to work in tandem. Some call it a machine. This report maps how that machine works. Because before you can defend democracy, you must understand what’s dismantling it.

The journey to this understanding has tested the limits of modern investigative work, demanding a "shield wall of evidence" to penetrate layers of deliberate obscurity and counter anticipated narratives from those whose operations we seek to illuminate.

A. What This Investigation Reveals

• The Structural Link: For the first time, this investigation documents a direct institutional line from the command structure of Project 2025 in Washington D.C. to its key operational partner in the heartland: Iowa's most influential Christian Nationalist group, The Family Leader. This structural link proves Iowa is a primary deployment site for the national conservative agenda, transforming the state into a live testbed for policies designed to reshape American democracy.

• The Iowa Microcosm: We expose how a coordinated pressure campaign against a local Iowa sheriff serves as a direct, real-world application of the national playbook, revealing a closely coordinated effort between the Governor's office and the Attorney General (See the primary source—Report AG Investigation of Sheriff Marx).

• The Legislative Assembly Line: We uncover the role of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL), as a "transmission belt," feeding model legislation aligned with Project 2025 directly to allied state legislators.

• The Complete Financial Architecture: We map the flow of "dark money" from its apex at Leonard Leo's $1.6B MarbleFreedom Trust (MT), through conduits like DonorsTrust (DT), to fund both the architects of Project 2025 and the on-the-ground "legal shock troops" enforcing the agenda at the state level.

The meta-journalistic challenge involves making the invisible visible—tracing flows of "dark money" through byzantine legal structures and connecting ideological pronouncements to legislative proposals and bureaucratic directives. This endeavor holds power accountable not merely for its actions, but for its architecture.

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While national strategy steers the movement, its sharpest edges emerge at the state level—often through quiet pressure, legal intimidation, and calculated bureaucratic disruption. Iowa became an early proving ground. There, a clash over constitutional authority, immigration enforcement, and political loyalty would expose how deeply the new doctrine had penetrated. The fault lines began not in Washington, but in a sheriff’s office in rural Winneshiek County.

Section 2. The Iowa Microcosm: A Punitive Lawsuit and the Charge of "Thought Policing"

Political earthquakes often begin with a subtle tremor. In Iowa, that tremor was a single line of text. A February 6, 2025, complaint from Governor Kim Reynolds to Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx contained a seemingly innocuous detail: "cc: Brenna Bird, Attorney General." This carbon copy notation became damning evidence when, months later, the Attorney General's office responded to our formal Open Records Request by claiming it had “no records” of communication with the Governor on the matter.

🔎 Key Finding: This was more than a clerical oversight—it reflects an inconsistency in the public record that raises reasonable questions about possible inter-agency alignment at the time the enforcement decision was made.

Despite an internal investigation finding Sheriff Marx in full compliance with state law, Attorney General Bird proceeded with a lawsuit that the Sheriff's defense attorneys aptly labeled “nothing more than thought policing.” The state’s case was not about what the Sheriff did, but what he said—an interpretation of his constitutional duties shared on Facebook.

This act of state pressure, however, did not intimidate; it ignited.

In response, the people of Winneshiek County unified, creating a shield wall of local solidarity against what they saw as government overreach. The mobilization was visible and defiant. Yard signs and t-shirts declaring “I stand with Dan” appeared across the county, produced by local businesses like Letterwërks Sign City . Realtor Brianna Bruening, typically apolitical, spearheaded a fundraising drive that quickly raised over $1,500, motivated by a sense that "nothing about it felt right.” Sheriff Marx’s motion to dismiss is scheduled for July 18, 2025.

Crucially, this support was not a partisan rally; it was a bipartisan coalition. Residents described Marx as “level-headed” and “common sense,” with one business owner noting, “It’s one thing that’s probably brought both sides together.” Liberals who disagreed with the Sheriff on other issues stood alongside his conservative supporters, united in defending democratic norms against authoritarian overreach. This unity was echoed in a petition framing the state's actions as:

"…a stark display of undemocratic control and vindictiveness."

The battle for Winneshiek County was never a simple story of Republican versus Democrat. It was a story of principle versus power. And this fight is not an isolated event. It is a flare, illuminating a much larger, national conflict.

A. The Canary in the Coal Mine: From Iowa to the Nation

The effort by Governor Reynolds and AG Bird, built on a documented contradiction and characterized by some as "thought policing," only deepened local resolve. But the events in Iowa, while deeply personal for the people of Winneshiek County, are much more than a local dispute.

This Iowa incident is the canary in the coal mine. It is a stark microcosm of the Pincer Movement's national strategy: legal weaponization, the enforcement of ideological conformity, and a coordinated assault to consolidate power. To understand the full scope of this movement, we must now turn to the national blueprints that fuel such actions.

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Section 3. The Doctrine of Dominion: The Theological Engine of the Pincer Movement

To understand the coordinated assault on American democracy, one must look beyond the political maneuvering and into the theological engine that powers it. The ultimate "Why" behind the lawsuits, the model bills, and the voter challenges is a radical and resurgent ideology that seeks not merely to influence the state, but to conquer it. This is the doctrine of Christian Nationalism, its political theory of Dominionism, and its strategic blueprint: the Seven Mountain Mandate (7MM).

A. The Seven Mountain Mandate: A Blueprint for Theocracy

The Seven Mountain Mandate is a theological doctrine asserting that Christians are divinely ordained to achieve "dominion" over seven key spheres of society: Government, Media, Arts and Entertainment, Education, Family, Business, and Religion.

While its modern form has spread like wildfire, its origins trace back to 1975, when two prominent evangelicals, Loren Cunningham (founder of Youth With A Mission) and Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), independently claimed to receive the same divine message outlining this strategy. After a period of relative dormancy, the doctrine was revived and popularized in the 2000s, becoming a central framework for the New Apostolic Reformation and, eventually, the broader Christian Nationalist movement.

This belief is now being pushed aggressively down to the local church level, targeting evangelical congregations receptive to its message. Adherents are taught that seizing control of these "mountains" is not a political choice, but a divine command—the fulfillment of God's will on Earth.

B. The Racial Architecture of Dominion

As our investigation has revealed, the version of "God's kingdom" envisioned by this movement is not inclusive. The evangelical groups seeking dominion over the government at the cost of democracy are largely white and conservative. These connections suggest a coordinated structure of influence—what some analysts call a “machine”—rather than isolated efforts.

Scholarly research confirms that modern White Christian Nationalism is inextricably linked to systemic racism. Its proponents are significantly more likely to deny the existence of anti-Black discrimination and oppose policies aimed at redressing racial inequality. Scholars describe the ideology as being deeply intertwined with white supremacy, promoting an agenda that primarily benefits white Americans, particularly white males, at the expense of everyone else.

🔎Key Finding: The pursuit of "dominion" is, in effect, a movement to preserve and expand a specific racial and cultural hierarchy. By defining "Christian" and "American" in narrow, exclusionary terms, the movement provides a theological justification for a political agenda that reinforces systemic racism. This is why our previous reporting correctly identified the movement as White Christian Nationalism.

C. Weaponizing Faith to Seize Power

The Seven Mountain Mandate provides the perfect vehicle for this agenda. It transforms a political quest for power into a holy war, mobilizing a base of believers who see their actions as righteous and divinely sanctioned.

This is the engine that drives the Pincer Movement.

• National strategy groups like Project 2025 and its affiliates design the policy weapons.

• Ideological factories like the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) create the model bills to take over the "mountain" of government.

• State-level organizations like The Family Leader in Iowa. TFL is the official Iowa affiliate of the Family Research Council (FRC), and the FRC is a formal member of the Project 2025 Advisory Board, ensuring these weapons are deployed on the ground.

• Recent polls show a dramatic rise in support for 7MM, with research from Denison University showing that belief in the Seven Mountain Mandate appears to have grown significantly in the past year. The theology has gained mainstream traction, with global news outlets documenting its growing political influence and explicit connections to electoral strategies.

Whether it is a lawsuit against a constitutionalist sheriff in Iowa or a mass voter challenge against a Black barbershop owner in Georgia, the underlying goal is the same: to conquer a "mountain" of society. Critics argue this interpretation of Christian doctrine is being used to justify political strategies that erode democratic institutions. This is the ultimate "Why" behind the battle for the nation's soul.

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Section 4. The “How” — The Authoritarian Machinery of Project 2025

The second arm of the pincer is Project 2025, a meticulously detailed, 920-page "Mandate for Leadership" developed by The Heritage Foundation and a coalition of over 100 conservative partner organizations. This is not merely a collection of policy suggestions—it represents a comprehensive operational blueprint for the radical restructuring of the American federal government.

The project's goal is to deconstruct the existing administrative state and consolidate power in the executive branch, transforming a nonpartisan civil service into a politically subservient workforce

A. The Federal Blueprint: Schedule F and the DOJ Overhaul

Project 2025’s strategy hinges on two transformative initiatives designed to seize control of the federal bureaucracy from within.

1. Schedule F: A Loyalty Test for the Civil Service

The plan calls for the immediate reintroduction and expansion of "Schedule F," a controversial job classification that would strip civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal employees in policy-related roles.

• Mechanism: It converts career officials into "at-will" employees who can be fired and replaced for purely political reasons, bypassing merit-based systems.

• Objective: To purge the government of perceived opponents and install loyalists who will carry out the administration's agenda without question, effectively ending the tradition of a nonpartisan civil service.

2. The DOJ as a Political Weapon

The blueprint outlines a "top-to-bottom overhaul" of the Department of Justice, transforming it from an independent law enforcement agency into a political instrument of the White House.

• Mechanism: The plan calls for expanding the number of political appointees within the DOJ and reassigning the prosecution of election-related offenses to ensure alignment with the President’s priorities.

• Objective: To weaponize the nation's top law enforcement body against political adversaries and ensure that legal decisions serve the administration's ideological goals.

🔎 Key Finding: These are not isolated reforms. They are the foundational pillars of a plan to centralize executive power and dismantle the institutional checks and balances that have defined American governance for generations. Visualize how this network operates.

B. The Architects and Financiers

This operation is not theoretical; it is led by seasoned political operatives and backed by a sophisticated financial network.

• The Operatives: The execution of the bureaucratic overhaul is led by figures like Russell Vought, a Project 2025 contributor and now a Trump administration official who is actively implementing the Project 2025 blueprint. He is part of a network of more than 50 high-level officials from the administration who are directly tied to the coalition groups.

• The Financiers: The entire strategy is supported by a robust financial architecture. Dark money conduits like the Marble Freedom Trust and DonorsTrust provide the financial backbone for both the policy-crafting arm and the ideological activist arm of the movement, ensuring the plan is well-resourced.

With the full backing of the Trump administration since January 2025, Project 2025's blueprint is now being executed with federal force. Yet its state-level strategy remains a critical front in this two-pronged assault. Statehouses are being systematically transformed into laboratories for the national agenda, serving to entrench policy and build momentum toward the critical 2026 midterm elections that could cement the movement's control.

The Heritage Foundation uses the NACL and their partners provide model legislation directly to state lawmakers, creating a pipeline from their policy shops to state legislative floors. This has resulted in:

• Politicizing Election Oversight: States like Georgia and Arizona have passed laws giving partisan officials greater authority over election certification, mirroring Project 2025's call for centralized control.

• Enacting Social Policy: States such as Florida and Tennessee have passed restrictive laws on abortion and gender-affirming care that are drawn directly from the Project 2025 playbook.

• Weakening Labor Protections: Multiple states have introduced legislation that intentionally conflicts with federal worker protection laws, aiming to weaken labor standards in line with Project 2025’s deregulatory agenda.

• State-Level "Schedule F": Some states have introduced legislation to make it easier to fire state employees and replace them with political loyalists, a direct echo of the federal plan.

This two-pronged assault—preparing a federal takeover while simultaneously embedding its policies at the state level—is the operational reality of the Pincer Movement. It is a coordinated, well-funded, and systematic effort to re-engineer American government from the top down and the bottom up.

C. Legislative Impact Analysis: The Project 2025 Assembly Line

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers' primary impact is measured by the proliferation of its model bills, which function as the legislative ammunition for the broader goals of Project 2025. As of 2025, the organization claims to have developed and passed at least 36 model laws for introduction in legislatures nationwide. Investigative reports have tracked at least 15 of these, primarily focused on restricting abortion and LGBTQ+ rights . NACL is not merely an allied organization; it is a fully integrated and chosen vehicle for Project 2025, serving as the "transmission belt" to convert high-level ideological ambitions into enforceable state law .

This "legislative assembly line" is designed for maximum efficiency, creating pre-written, legally vetted bills that state legislators can introduce with minimal effort. This strategy allows for the rapid, coordinated introduction of ideologically aligned legislation across dozens of states simultaneously, creating the illusion of widespread, organic grassroots movements when, in fact, the policies are centrally designed and distributed.

1. Case Study: Iowa—The NACL's Legislative Proving Ground

The state of Iowa serves as a clear and compelling case study of the NACL’s methodology in action. The organization's influence is evident in the passage of key legislation shaped by its model policies and advanced through its dedicated network of state legislators and local partners. Iowa is not merely a target; it is a proving ground where the NACL's legislative assembly line is tested and refined.

Key Finding: The "Pincer Movement" in Action
The advancement of Iowa's "Chaplain Bill" is a textbook example of the movement's strategy. The NACL provides the model policy and national framework, its local partner The Family Leader provides the political muscle and lobbying, and state legislators who are members of the NACL carry the bill across the finish line.

2. The Iowa Operatives: Confirmed NACL Leadership

The link between NACL's national strategy and Iowa's legislative outcomes is solidified by the direct involvement of key Iowa lawmakers in NACL's leadership. Research has confirmed the following individuals hold formal leadership roles within the organization:

The role of these legislators as state chairs is critical. They act as the designated point persons for NACL's operations in Iowa, responsible for distributing model legislation and coordinating efforts to introduce and pass it. Their involvement ensures that Project 2025's legislative priorities, as translated by NACL, are championed by influential figures on the ground.

3. A Coordinated, Multi-Front Assault

The NACL's campaign in Iowa extends far beyond a single issue. The organization wages a multi-front war using a diverse arsenal of legislative tools tailored for different ideological battlefields. This demonstrates a sophisticated strategy to reshape law and society on multiple fronts simultaneously.

• The "Given Name Act": This is a quintessential NACL model bill designed to restrict the use of chosen names and pronouns in schools without parental consent and mandate the "outing" of transgender students to their parents. Variants of this bill have been introduced in numerous states, including Iowa, often by legislators with confirmed ties to NACL.

• Regulating the Digital Sphere (HF 712): The campaign's reach extends into the digital world with Iowa's House File 712, a law regulating social media data collection for minors. Enacted in the 2023-2024 session, the bill prohibits tech companies from collecting a child's personal data without "verifiable parental consent" and empowers the Attorney General to enforce it with civil penalties. While focused on data privacy, its core framework—centering on parental rights and state-level enforcement—is a hallmark of the NACL's legislative methodology, showing how the same strategic template can be applied to different policy fronts.

Key Analytical Insight: The evidence reveals a highly coordinated campaign. The NACL acts as a critical legislative partner for the broader movement, creating model bills that directly align with the goals of Project 2025, providing distinct legislative templates for battles over religious expression in schools (the Chaplain Bill), gender identity (the Given Name Act), and parental rights in the digital world (HF 712). This multi-front assault, executed by a network of embedded lawmakers, is the core of the strategy to achieve the objectives laid out by Project 2025 from the state level up.

D. Politicization of the Department of Justice

Project 2025 outlines a "top-to-bottom overhaul" of the DOJ to align its operations with the President's agenda. Chapter 17 of the "Mandate," authored by Gene Hamilton, details plans to:

1. Conduct an immediate review of all major active FBI investigations and activities, terminating any deemed "unlawful or contrary to the national interest" or "Administration policies."

2. Expand political appointees in every DOJ office, especially the Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, to "promote the President's agenda."

3. Ensure litigation decisions are "consistent with the President's agenda."

4. Re-examine policies limiting White House contact with DOJ personnel.

5. Reassign prosecution of election-related offenses from the Civil Rights Division to the Criminal Division.

These proposals aim to transform the DOJ from an independent enforcer of the law into a political instrument of the executive. This tactic has been explicitly compared to those used in autocratizing nations like Hungary, Poland, and Turkey.

E. Key Personnel and Implementation

The execution of this bureaucratic overhaul is entrusted to a network of seasoned operatives. Russell Vought, former OMB Director under Trump and self-described "Christian Nation-ist," is a principal architect of Project 2025 and reportedly spearheaded its 180-day transition playbook. In dramatic Senate confirmation hearings in January 2025, Vought openly acknowledged his authorship of Project 2025's executive branch chapter, stating "Yes, sir" when directly questioned about his role.

Vought has been confirmed as OMB Director and is actively implementing what he describes as using OMB as a "command center" to "traumatize" federal workers. His vision includes what he calls an "institutional insurgency" designed to fundamentally alter the relationship between the executive branch and the federal bureaucracy.

Analysts at DeSmog have determined that 17 of Trump’s 24 cabinet-level appointees (approximately 71%) have ties to Project 2025-linked groups.

This ensures a pre-vetted cadre ready to implement the "Mandate." The Heritage Foundation itself has a long history of its alumni transitioning into influential government roles.

F. Global Democracy Warnings

Global democracy watchdogs like V-Dem Institute and Freedom House have issued stark warnings. V-Dem's 2025 report, released in March, notes that freedom of expression is deteriorating in 44 countries and explicitly states, "The USA now seems to be heading towards a transition away from democracy under President Trump." The report documents that 45 countries are actively autocratizing in 2024, compared to only 12 countries twenty years ago.

Freedom House's 2024 report highlights election manipulation as a key driver of global democratic decline. Project 2025's proposals align alarmingly with these documented hallmarks of autocratization.

G. The Synthesis: A Fully Integrated Political Machine

This framework—pitting state power against a theological imperative—defines the ideological arms of the conflict. In this sense, however, the pincer can be viewed in a second, operational way, as illustrated in the graphic below. This perspective reveals how the movement mobilizes its forces: a vertical assault combining top-down institutional power with bottom-up grassroots pressure.

1. The top-down arm consists of elite-driven strategies, where think tanks craft model legislation and federal agencies impose directives

2. Simultaneously, the bottom-up arm cultivates and unleashes grassroots energy, mobilizing local activists and church congregations to create the appearance of a popular uprising

3. It is this fusion of elite command and manufactured ground-level fervor that gives the Pincer Movement its formidable power.

The two models are not separate; they are fully integrated. The ideological pincer provides the fuel for the operational pincer. One cannot function without the other.

🔎 Key Finding: Theocratic ideology (the Cross) fuels the bottom-up mobilization of a highly organized grassroots movement. This movement, in turn, generates the political momentum necessary to support a top-down consolidation of institutional power (the Pillar). Together, they form a self-reinforcing structure of influence.

Table 4.4 below shows how the arms of each pincer model map directly onto one another. This graphic is clickable and links to a visualization of this system.

The events in Iowa are not isolated incidents but the ground-level execution of the Pincer Movement. This national strategy, orchestrated by partners of Project 2025, is fueled by a dark money network linked to Leonard Leo. This synergy of state-level action and centralized funding aims to systematically reshape American governance from the bottom up.

Section 5: The Alliance Forged—The Sinews of Money and Personnel

A political movement of this scale and sophistication cannot subsist on ideology alone. To translate its strategic goals into political reality, it requires a formidable infrastructure of money and dedicated personnel, working in concert.

Indeed, as our investigations have consistently revealed, the movement’s ideological underpinning draws heavily from Christian Nationalism—more specifically, what leading scholars such as Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead define as White Christian Nationalism. As detailed in our cornerstone series, beginning with The Cross and the Capitol, Part 1, this framework provides potent justification for the movement’s aims, often through interpretations of doctrine that directly challenge secular governance norms.

🌐 For a deeper understanding of this doctrine, explore our cornerstone series, beginning with: The Cross and the Capitol, Part 1: How Christian Nationalism's Pulpit-to-Policy Pipeline is Rewriting Iowa Law.

The Pincer Movement, as we've demonstrated, is driven by a vast, complex financial network and a disciplined personnel pipeline that together form the very sinews of this modern political machine. This national strategy, actively advanced by partners of Project 2025, is powered by a funding network frequently described as “dark money” by organizations such as OpenSecrets, ProPublica, and The Guardian—a complex web in which conservative activist Leonard Leo plays a pivotal role.

This synergy of centralized resources and state-level action is fundamentally aimed at reshaping American governance from the bottom up.

A. The Financial Architecture: A Dark Money Superhighway

The financial engine driving this movement is a network that watchdogs and investigative outlets—including The Guardian and The New Republic, CREW, and ProPublica— have described as “meticulously designed,” “carefully engineered,” and “intentionally opaque.” The effect is to obscure the financial origins of its vast political spending. Its singular purpose is to channel vast sums of money from a select group of billionaire donors to a wide array of front-line political organizations.

1. The Fountainhead: Marble Freedom Trust

At the very apex of this complex structure sits the Marble Freedom Trust (MFT). This political trust ascended to financial behemoth status after receiving a historic $1.6 billion contribution in 2021. Helmed by conservative legal activist Leonard Leo, MFT functions as the movement's primary financial wellspring.

2. The Intermediary Layer: A Multi-DAF Strategy of Obfuscation

The immense capital amassed by the Marble Freedom Trust is not deployed directly to front-line advocacy groups. Instead, it is routed through a sophisticated intermediary layer of donor-advised funds (DAFs). This multi-DAF strategy serves several critical functions: it adds layers of complexity that obscure the money's origin, it leverages the unique legal characteristics of different types of DAFs, and, most importantly, it exploits a key loophole in nonprofit law to shield the network's operational hubs from regulatory scrutiny. This deliberate strategy of financial obfuscation is central to the network's design and resilience.

The central and most significant finding of this investigation is the role of a mainstream, commercial DAF sponsor as the primary financial superhighway for Marble Freedom Trust's capital. The use of one of the largest and most recognized DAFs in the United States to move hundreds of millions of dollars to a key political entity represents a strategic masterstroke in the art of a financial structure that has the effect of obscuring the original source of funds from public view.

The financial pipeline is documented in a series of interlocking tax filings. The flow begins with Leonard Leo's Marble Freedom Trust, which made two colossal grants to DAFgiving360™ (formerly known as Schwab Charitable). For its fiscal year ending in April 2022, MFT granted $153.8 million to DAFgiving360™; the following year, it granted another $153.75 million. These two transactions established a direct financial channel of over $307 million from Leo's 501(c)(4) political group into a DAF account at DAFgiving360™.

The second leg of the journey reveals the ultimate purpose of this maneuver. Tax filings from The 85 Fund, another nonprofit at the heart of Leo's network, show it received over $282 million in grants from DAFgiving360™ in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. This sum accounted for nearly the entirety of The 85 Fund’s publicly documented revenue during that period, demonstrating that DAFgiving360™ was not merely one of many donors but was acting as a dedicated pass-through for a single, massive source of funds originating from MFT.

3. The Intermediary Layer: A Multi-DAF Strategy

From Marble Freedom Trust (MFT), capital does not flow to a single hub but is strategically injected into a sophisticated network of intermediary donor-advised funds (DAFs). This multi-DAF strategy provides operational resilience and adds layers of complexity that obscure the original source of funds.

While DonorsTrust (DT) has long been a key partner in this network, our investigation reveals that Schwab Charitable Fund, now known as DAFgiving360™, has emerged as the primary superhighway for MFT's financial resources in recent years. The most significant of these channels is the one that connects MFT's immense capital to key political entities via Schwab.

Our analysis of IRS Form 990 filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 reveals a staggering, multi-year pipeline: DAFgiving360™ directed over $282 million to The 85 Fund, another core entity in the Leo network. These grants were so large they accounted for 100% of The 85 Fund’s publicly documented revenue during that period. This demonstrates a deliberate and sustained strategy to use DAFgiving360™ as a primary instrument for high-volume, targeted political funding.

4. The Superhighway: DAFgiving360™'s Role as the Primary Conduit

The central and most significant finding of this investigation is the role of DAFgiving360 as the primary financial superhighway for Marble Freedom Trust's capital. The use of a mainstream, commercial DAF sponsor—one of the largest and most recognized in the United States—to move hundreds of millions of dollars to a key political entity entity represents a strategic masterstroke in the art of financial obfuscation, creating a labyrinthine structure designed to make the original source of funds nearly impossible to trace. It provides a veneer of legitimacy and leverages the scale of mainstream finance to camouflage highly partisan transactions.

The financial pipeline is documented in a series of interlocking tax filings. The flow begins with Leonard Leo's Marble Freedom Trust, which made two colossal grants to DAFgiving360™. For its fiscal year ending in April 2022, MFT granted $153.8 million to DAFgiving360™. The following year, ending April 2023, it granted another $153.75 million. These two transactions established a direct financial channel of over $307 million from Leo's 501(c)(4) political group into a DAF account at DAFgiving360™.

A forensic analysis of tax filings reveals the network's sophisticated dual-DAF strategy. The primary channel uses DAFgiving360™ (formerly Schwab Charitable) as a high-volume, mainstream conduit to funnel over $282 million from Marble Freedom Trust into The 85 Fund. This accounts for virtually all of The 85 Fund's revenue, legally positioning the DAF as a pass-through. The second, parallel channel uses the ideologically-aligned DonorsTrust as an internal clearinghouse, evidenced by a $71.1 million circular grant from The 85 Fund to DonorsTrust. This dual structure is a deliberate design: one channel for scale and legitimacy, the other for ideological purity and increased opacity, making the entire financial architecture resilient and exceptionally difficult to trace.

5. A Calculated Choice: Why DAFgiving360™?

The selection of DAFgiving360™ was not incidental; it was a calculated decision that leverages the scale and perceived neutrality of mainstream finance to camouflage highly partisan transactions. This choice provides distinct advantages over using more overtly political "dark money" vehicles.

• Anonymity in Plain Sight: By routing funds through DAFgiving360™—the second-largest DAF sponsor in the nation with over $22.6 billion in assets under management—the network achieves a form of "anonymity in plain sight." When The 85 Fund discloses its revenue source, it legally and accurately names "Schwab Charitable," a massive entity that made $7.7 billion in grants to over 1.3 million charities in 2024 alone. Within this colossal volume of transactions, a nine-figure grant to a single political nonprofit can appear unremarkable, effectively burying the true origin of the funds—Marble Freedom Trust—under the weight of legitimate, widespread philanthropy.

• The Veneer of Mainstream Legitimacy: Using a household name like Schwab provides a veneer of legitimacy that a more specialized, politically-aligned DAF like DonorsTrust cannot. This strategy was further enhanced by a recent, exclusive development: On June 18, 2024, Schwab Charitable officially rebranded as Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc., operating under the new name DAFgiving360™. This rebranding, intended to elevate the profile of DAFs, also serves to further neutralize the name of the intermediary, making it sound even more generic and less tied to a specific financial corporation. This allows the network to cloak its political spending in the language of mainstream, apolitical charitable giving.

6. The Ideological Clearinghouse: The Function of DonorsTrust

While DAFgiving360™ serves as the high-volume, mainstream superhighway, the Leo network employs a second, parallel DAF sponsor: DonorsTrust (DT). The role of DT is distinct and complementary. It functions as a specialized, ideologically aligned clearinghouse that adds layers of financial complexity, ensures ideological purity for the most controversial grants, and provides enhanced operational flexibility for the network. Unlike the commercially neutral DAFgiving360™, DonorsTrust was founded in 1999 with an explicit ideological mission. Its purpose is to serve as "the community foundation for the liberty movement" and to "safeguard the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". This mission has earned it the moniker "the dark-money ATM of the right".

DonorsTrust is deeply woven into the financial fabric of the Leo network, but the flow of money is notably more complex and circular than the linear pipeline through DAFgiving360™. This complexity appears to be a deliberate feature, not a flaw, of the network's design.

• MFT to DonorsTrust: In its first year of major grantmaking (fiscal year ending April 2021), Marble Freedom Trust transferred a significant $41.1 million to DonorsTrust, establishing it as a key recipient of MFT's initial capital deployment.

• DonorsTrust to The 85 Fund: Historically, DonorsTrust was a primary financial patron of The 85 Fund. Tax filings show that in 2018, more than 99% of the group's funding came from a single $7.8 million donation from DonorsTrust. In 2020, The 85 Fund received another $20 million from DonorsTrust.

• The 85 Fund to DonorsTrust: In a striking reversal of the historical flow, The 85 Fund's 2021 tax filing reveals a massive grant of $71.1 million to DonorsTrust.

This circular flow of capital—from MFT to DT, from DT to The 85 Fund, and from The 85 Fund back to DT—creates a financial web that is exceptionally difficult to untangle. It allows capital to be pooled, re-granted, and moved between different legal entities within the network, making it nearly impossible for an outside observer to trace the ultimate origin and final destination of any particular dollar. This complexity serves a clear strategic purpose: it frustrates forensic analysis, enhances anonymity, and provides the network's managers with significant operational flexibility to shift resources as needed.

The dual-DAF strategy, therefore, is highly sophisticated. DAFgiving360™ is used as a high-volume, seemingly neutral conduit for the primary funding of The 85 Fund. DonorsTrust, in contrast, serves as an internal, ideologically committed financial hub. It can handle grants for causes that might be too controversial even for an anonymous DAF at a commercial firm, it ensures absolute fidelity to conservative donor intent, and its participation in a circular flow of funds adds critical layers of obfuscation to the network's overall architecture.

7. The “Public Support” Loophole: The Mechanics of DAF-Enabled Anonymity

The intricate financial architecture involving DAFgiving360™ and DonorsTrust is not merely a matter of convenience or a simple preference for anonymity. It is a structural necessity, deliberately engineered to exploit a critical loophole in U.S. nonprofit law: the IRS "public support test.” "Understanding this mechanism is key to understanding why the intermediary DAF layer is the linchpin of the entire network.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, a 501(c)(3) organization like The 85 Fund must qualify as a "public charity" to receive the most favorable tax treatment, including the ability for its donors to receive maximum tax deductions for their contributions. To maintain this status, an organization must pass a "public support test," which requires it to receive a substantial portion of its financial support from the general public or governmental units, rather than from a very small number of private sources. If an organization receives the overwhelming majority of its funding from a single individual, family, or corporation, it risks being reclassified as a "private foundation,” which carries significant disadvantages.

As established previously, The 85 Fund received virtually 100% of its revenue over a two-year period from grants that originated with the Marble Freedom Trust. Had MFT granted the $282 million directly to The 85 Fund, the latter would have almost certainly failed the public support test and been forced to reclassify as a private foundation, severely curtailing its operational freedom and financial advantages.

This is where the DAF loophole becomes paramount. Current IRS regulations treat the DAF sponsoring organization—in this case, DAFgiving360™—as the legal source of a grant, not the underlying individual or entity who funded the DAF account. Because DAFgiving360™ is itself a massive public charity, its grant of $141.5 million to The 85 Fund is treated for tax purposes as a grant from the public, not from a single private donor. This legal fiction allows The 85 Fund to count the entire sum toward its "public support" calculation, thereby easily satisfying the test.

The use of DAFgiving360™ is therefore a calculated and essential strategy. It allows The 85 Fund to "masquerade as a public charity" while in reality being almost wholly dependent on a single funding stream controlled by one man, Leonard Leo. This structure represents a strategy that leverages existing charitable funds to politically active organizations. Donor-advised funds, created to simplify and encourage broad-based philanthropy, are being re-engineered into private pipelines. The Leo network has transformed a tool intended for the public good into an instrument of political obfuscation, isolating a massive funding stream while legally "laundering" its source for the purposes of the public support test. This strategy not only ensures the network's operational efficiency but also sets a dangerous and scalable precedent for how any mega-donor can use mainstream financial tools to exert anonymous, tax-advantaged political influence.

This mechanism creates a loophole where a very large sum of money, originating from a single private source, is legally transformed into support from the public. This allows an organization like The 85 Fund to easily satisfy the IRS public support test, which is a requirement for it to maintain its status as a public charity. This process effectively obscures the true, concentrated source of the funding.

8. The Operational Nexus: The 85 Fund’s Political Impact

The 85 Fund is not a passive recipient; it is an active and powerful agent in the campaign to reshape American law and politics. Fueled almost exclusively by the money funneled through DAFgiving360™, The 85 Fund executes the network's agenda by funding legal challenges, running public advocacy campaigns, and influencing election policy.

The impact of this $282 million infusion is clear and quantifiable. Operating under its alias, the Honest Elections Project (HEP), The 85 Fund has been a key player in high-stakes legal and political battles:

• Supreme Court Advocacy: The fund has been highly active in filing amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court. It was a key participant in Moore v. Harper, where it argued for an expansive version of the "independent state legislature" theory that would have curtailed judicial oversight of elections.

• State-Level Election Law Initiatives: The Honest Elections Project has aggressively pushed for stricter voting laws across the country. It has sent letters to election officials threatening lawsuits over "bloated" voter rolls and has been actively involved in litigation, filing an amicus brief in Pennsylvania urging the state's Supreme Court to enforce strict date requirements on mail-in ballots.

• Public Campaigns and Litigation: The fund runs public campaigns promoting narratives of election fraud and has been involved in litigation supporting state laws that restrict ballot access, limit mail-in voting, and challenge federal election oversight.

B. Strategic Integration: The Alliance in Action

The Marble Network's financial architecture extends beyond the primary channel of MFT, DAFgiving360™ (formerly Schwab Charitable), and The 85 Fund. It encompasses a broader ecosystem of affiliated nonprofits and, critically, a set of for-profit consulting firms controlled by Leonard Leo himself. An analysis of the financial flows within this wider ecosystem reveals a complex web of relationships characterized by circular funding patterns and significant potential conflicts of interest, which have drawn the scrutiny of law enforcement.

The network includes several other key nonprofit entities that function in concert with the primary players. The Concord Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization formerly known as the Judicial Crisis Network, is a major recipient of MFT funds, receiving a verified $55.5 million in fiscal year 2022. Another entity, the Rule of Law Trust (RLT), a 501(c)(4) with no public presence, received a staggering grant of $153 million from MFT in 2021. The leadership of these groups is deeply intertwined, with figures like Carrie Severino holding formal officer roles across multiple organizations, ensuring strategic alignment.

The most legally and ethically fraught aspect of this ecosystem is the relationship between the network's tax-exempt nonprofits and the for-profit consulting firms controlled by Leonard Leo. Leo is the chairman of CRC Advisors and has been a partial owner of another firm, BH Group. Tax filings document a consistent and massive flow of money from the nonprofits Leo advises to the for-profit companies he runs. This pattern raises serious questions about whether the network's tax-exempt funds are being used for the private enrichment of its founder, a practice known as "private inurement," which is prohibited by nonprofit law. The scale of these payments is extraordinary:

• The 85 Fund has been the most significant source of revenue for Leo's firms. In 2021, it paid CRC Advisors $21.7 million for "public affairs consulting." In 2022, it paid another $21.36 million. The 85 Fund has also paid Leo's other firm, BH Group, nearly $3 million.

• The Concord Fund paid CRC Advisors nearly $8 million in one recent year and also paid BH Group $500,000.

• Rule of Law Trust has also directed millions to Leo's firms, including a $4.3 million reimbursement to BH Group in 2018.

This pattern of nonprofits paying tens of millions of dollars to companies owned by the very individual who controls the nonprofits' funding and strategy has reportedly triggered an investigation by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. The investigation is said to be examining whether these payments constitute excessive compensation and violate laws governing nonprofit conduct. While nonprofits are permitted to hire for-profit vendors, the sheer scale of these payments, the overlapping control structure, and the opaque nature of the services rendered create a powerful appearance of a conflict of interest.

The network appears to function as a self-enriching circular enterprise, where tax-exempt charitable donations are funneled through nonprofits and ultimately land in the coffers of private businesses controlled by the network's architect. This financial circularity is a defining characteristic of the network's design and represents its greatest legal and reputational vulnerability.

C. A System of Integrated Obfuscation

The intermediary layer of the Marble Network is not an afterthought; it is central to the entire operation's design and success. The strategic use of DAFgiving360™ (formerly Schwab Charitable) as a financial superhighway, alongside the specialized role of DonorsTrust, demonstrates a sophisticated, multi-layered strategy designed to achieve several goals simultaneously:

1. Anonymity: It legally severs the link between the primary funder (MFT) and the operational hub (The 85 Fund).

2. Legitimacy: It cloaks highly partisan political spending in the veneer of mainstream, apolitical charitable giving—a perception enhanced by the recent corporate rebranding.

3. Scale: It leverages the infrastructure of one of the nation's largest financial institutions to move hundreds of millions of dollars efficiently and discreetly.

4. Operational Flexibility: The circular flows and ideologically aligned channels provide the network with significant agility to shift resources and obscure trails.

This is not a series of independent transactions but a single, integrated system. The money trail, though deliberately obscured, reveals a clear path from a historic, tax-advantaged donation to direct action in the nation's courts and statehouses.

This self-reinforcing loop of money, people, and policy is the engine that drives the entire campaign. It enables a small group of strategists and funders to exert immense influence over the American political and legal landscape, ensuring that from the statehouse to the White House, their agenda is carried out by a loyal and well-resourced network of activists and policymakers.

This intricately woven financial and personnel network forms the backbone of the “Pincer Movement,” providing the resources and coordination necessary for its two arms to operate in tandem. Yet, the grand strategy for reshaping American governance hinges on one critical prerequisite: winning elections. To this end, the alliance deploys a sophisticated, multi-pronged electoral strategy.

Section 6: The Electoral Battleground—A Three-Front War

This intricately woven financial and personnel network forms the backbone of the “Pincer Movement,” providing the resources and coordination necessary for its two arms to operate in tandem. Yet, the grand strategy for reshaping American governance hinges on one critical prerequisite: winning elections. To this end, the alliance deploys a sophisticated, multi-pronged electoral strategy designed to mobilize its base, frame the political narrative, and challenge the electoral process itself.

This operation, which reporting from ProPublica based on internal documents has codenamed the “Ziklag” strategy, is built on three core pillars, each targeting a different aspect of the electoral process.

A. Pillar 1: "Steeplechase"—Mobilizing the Shadow Campaign

Christian Nationalist networks, particularly those aligned with the Seven Mountains Mandate, actively leverage religious institutions for get-out-the-vote operations . Organizations like Faith Wins explicitly aim to "maximize the Christian vote" by conducting voter registration drives within churches and training pastors for political action . This "shadow campaign" capitalizes on the tax-exempt status and community credibility of churches to bypass traditional campaign finance scrutiny, with sustained, year-round engagement planned to maintain voter activation for the midterms .

B. Pillar 2: "Watchtower"—Weaponizing Culture for Turnout

The alliance masterfully exploits divisive cultural battles to galvanize supporters and demonize adversaries. Legislation targeting transgender rights, for example, serves not only as a policy goal but as a potent messaging tool. These bills are amplified through faith-based and right-wing media, framing political contests as existential battles for the nation's soul and creating a sense of moral imperative among the base.

C. Pillar 3: "Checkmate"—Purging Voters & Challenging Results

This pillar represents the alliance's most direct assault on the electoral process. It involves documented strategies to fund and deploy tools for mass voter challenges, aiming to disenfranchise voters deemed ideologically undesirable .

Legal arms of the movement, like the Honest Elections Project (HEP), actively litigate against accessible voting methods and promote the controversial "independent state legislature theory," which seeks to give state legislatures nearly unchecked power over federal elections , .

The impact of this strategy is not theoretical. In Georgia, these tactics have put 6% of the state's 7 million voters at risk, resulting in 420,000 voter registration challenges. While half of these challenges were ultimately cleared, the process sowed chaos, delaying or disenfranchising tens of thousands of legitimate voters.

The Human Cost of "Operation Checkmate

James McWhorter, 55, an Atlanta barbershop owner and Gulf War veteran, was challenged by a stranger using a photo of his shop as "evidence" that he didn't live there. "I didn't know Gail Lee from a can of paint," he said. "Why would someone challenge my vote?"

Courtney Scott, an Atlanta-area voter, had her registration challenged over a minor clerical error. It took her over four hours at the polls to clear her name. “I couldn’t believe I could lose my voting rights that easily,” she said. “The burden of proof should be on them – but the burden was on me.”

D. The Specter of Violence: An Undercurrent of Intimidation

The "Checkmate" strategy is further bolstered by an ideological climate where political violence is increasingly seen as a legitimate tool. Recent data reveals a deeply concerning trend among Christian Nationalist adherents and sympathizers.

Conclusion: The Unseen Conflict and the Imperative of Democratic Resilience

The Pincer Movement is not a drill. It is an active, coordinated offensive to remake the American state. The evidence is definitive. The twin arms of this movement—Project 2025's plan for bureaucratic capture and Christian Nationalism's drive for theocratic control—are not merely parallel efforts but a coordinated offensive. They share personnel, are fueled by a common, opaque financial engine, and deploy complementary tactics, from legal weaponization in Iowa to the electoral manipulation strategies aimed at the national stage.

Let there be no ambiguity. The documented connections are not a coincidence. They are proof of a machine.

The implications are profound. The erosion of non-partisan civil service, the politicization of justice, the legislative codification of narrow theological doctrines, and the systematic challenging of electoral integrity—these are not disparate policy debates. They are integral components of a larger project to fundamentally alter the balance of power in the United States, diminish democratic accountability, and impose a singular ideological vision.

The global parallels are undeniable. The tactics employed—incremental legalism, the capture of state institutions, and the fusion of religious nationalism with political power—are hallmarks of democratic backsliding observed from Hungary to Brazil. The United States is not immune.

This investigation, by laying bare the evidence, serves as both an indictment and an urgent call to awareness. But awareness is not enough.

• Demand Transparency. Insist that your elected officials disclose their ties to these organizations.

• Support Independent Journalism. Your subscription directly funds the ongoing monitoring of these threats.

• Engage in Civic Education. Share this report, the interactive map, and the evidence locker.

• Defend the Electoral Process. Register to vote, verify your status, and support organizations that protect voting rights.

• Hold Power Accountable. The Pincer Movement thrives on division. We must counter it with unity and resolve.

A Call to Democratic Vigilance

This investigation, by laying bare the evidence and mapping the machine, serves as both an indictment and an urgent call to awareness. The "shield wall of evidence" meticulously assembled in our Sourcing Dossier and made accessible through our interactive analysis is offered not as a final word, but as a foundational resource for journalists, academics, policymakers, and citizens.

To defend democracy, we need informed, engaged citizens, a vigilant free press willing to undertake the arduous work of uncovering complex truths, and robust institutions capable of withstanding systemic pressure. The Pincer Movement is a test of that resilience. The work of understanding, exposing, and ultimately countering such systemic threats is the ongoing, essential work of Restoring Democracy's Promise.

The architecture of the Pincer Movement is vast, its funding is deep, and its ambition is absolute. But the blueprint for its opposition is not found in Washington think tanks; it is found on the main streets of towns like Decorah. The fight in Winneshiek County, our canary in the coal mine, proves that when citizens perceive a threat to the democratic norms that protect everyone, they can and will form a shield wall of solidarity. They prove that the most powerful defense against a coordinated assault on democracy is a coordinated, and equally resolute, defense of it.

Join The Investigation

This investigation was conducted under the editorial standards of Restoring Democracy’s Promise, applying engineering-level precision to progressive accountability journalism. All claims are substantiated by public records, FOIA disclosures, and other primary source materials. Every assertion has been independently verified and reviewed for factual accuracy and legal defensibility under the First Amendment and Iowa’s anti-SLAPP law. Primary documents are archived and accessible to paid subscribers through our Evidence Locker. This is journalism with receipts.

Previously, Part 1: Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline; Part 2: The WCN Legislative Agenda Takes Hold; Part 3: Christian Nationalist Infrastructure Exposed; Part 4: Shattering Iowa – The Human Cost of Christian Nationalism; Part 5 is below.

1. When We Stand Together

On a cold Monday morning in February, a visceral scene of democratic plea unfolded at the Iowa Capitol. As legislators prepared the final blow against Senate File 418, hundreds of ordinary citizens flooded the rotunda.

Independent accounts placed the crowd at upwards of 2,500—not lobbyists1, but parents holding pictures of their transgender children, faith leaders standing shoulder-to-shoulder, teachers, small business owners, and healthcare workers. Their chants echoed the state motto: "Our rights we prize, our liberties we will maintain".2

They lost. SF 418 passed, making Iowa the first state ever to legislatively erase existing civil rights for transgender people. A gutting defeat, seemingly preordained3.

Here's the chilling truth why: While that authentic community gathered in desperate hope, a hidden network of ultra-wealthy donors was already executing "Operation Watchtower”. Documents leaked from the secretive Ziklag Group confirm their cynical strategy: target and weaponize transgender rights as a wedge issue specifically designed to drive conservative turnout. Initial reports on "Operation Watchtower" focused on key swing states4. However,

This investigation concludes that successfully implementing such a playbook here was likely viewed as a strategic step toward establishing a national precedent, regardless of Iowa's initial primary targeting for immediate electoral gain.

A state like Iowa—with its current deeply conservative state government, veto-proof majorities, and a supportive governor—would represent an ideal proving ground to successfully implement such a playbook and set a national precedent. This wasn't about principle; it was a cold, calculated electoral ploy using human lives as pawns.

The erasure of transgender Iowans from our civil rights code wasn't incidental; it was the direct, intended outcome of that playbook written far from our state5.

For four parts, we've journeyed together down a difficult path. As your neighbor, I've laid out the evidence – tracing the "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline" fueled by White Christian Nationalism6, mapping influential networks like The Family Leader7, detailing specific laws rolling back rights, and confronting the very real human cost inflicted on our fellow Iowans.

But the most chilling revelation may be how calculated, how utterly manipulative, it all was. As we now know through documents leaked from the Ziklag Group, the assault on transgender Iowans wasn't merely a spontaneous eruption of local prejudice—it was a coldly engineered national strategy8. Their “Operation Watchtower” wasn't about deeply held beliefs; it was a cynical ploy designed specifically to exploit transgender lives as a wedge issue, rallying conservative voters—even those weary of Trump—by manufacturing outrage9. Iowa, it seems, was merely a proving ground, our neighbors used as unwilling test subjects. The erasure of fundamental rights from our civil code wasn't an unfortunate consequence; it was the explicit, intended outcome of a playbook written in distant boardrooms, callously indifferent to the Iowans whose lives would be shattered in the process10. This calculated strategy directly fueled the fear and legislative attacks detailed previously in Part 411.

And this coldly calculated plan required substantial resources to implement. Behind the operation stands an infrastructure of power and privilege. They have money, sourced from some of the wealthiest conservative Christian families in the nation12. They have organization, operating as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity despite engaging in activities tax experts believe test or violate the law13. They have a plan, aiming to "take dominion" over key sectors of society14.

We've seen how an ideology seeking to impose one specific religious worldview onto our state's laws has gained alarming traction. We've documented the harm: the fear instilled in LGBTQ+ families15, the chilling effect silencing educators16, the potential barriers to healthcare17, the deliberate erosion of systems designed to foster equity18. It's easy, perhaps, after examining all this, to feel discouraged.

But that is not the end of Iowa's story. It's not the end of our story.

Because alongside the rise of this exclusionary movement, something else is happening across our state. In community centers, courtrooms, school board meetings, and in quiet conversations between neighbors, Iowans are pushing back. They are organizing, resisting, and defending a different vision of Iowa – one rooted not in religious imposition or exclusion, but in the democratic values of equality, fairness, inclusion, and genuine religious freedom for everyone19.

This resistance isn't just reactive; it's constructive. It isn't just saying "no" to Christian nationalism; it's saying "yes" to an Iowa where difference is not just tolerated but celebrated, where faith inspires service rather than control, where democracy means every voice matters.

And this resistance is already winning battles that matter...

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2. The Battle on Three Fronts: Defense, Resilience, and Reclamation

The fight against the Christian nationalist agenda in Iowa is unfolding across three interconnected fronts: defending fundamental rights under immediate attack, building community resilience to withstand the pressure, and actively working to reclaim the state's democratic institutions and narrative.

Defending What's at Stake: The First Line of Resistance

The initial response to the Christian nationalist legislative agenda has been defensive—and necessarily so. When rights are under assault, the first priority must be protecting what remains.

In courtrooms across Iowa, legal defenders are mounting challenges to the most egregious attacks on civil liberties. The ACLU of Iowa, which has long stood as a bulwark against government overreach20, isn't backing down. Their history includes successful challenges to previous attempts to deny Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, culminating in Iowa Supreme Court decisions affirming coverage under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and later, the state constitution's equal protection clause when the legislature attempted to amend the ICRA21. While SF 418 aims to remove gender identity from the ICRA effective July 1, 202522, the ACLU's past victories demonstrate that legal avenues remain crucial. Similarly, their provision of "Know Your Rights" resources helps transgender Iowans navigate the complex legal landscape created by SF 418's impending civil rights rollback23.

Meanwhile, educators are finding creative ways to maintain inclusive learning environments despite new restrictions. When legislation like SF 496 created chilling effects around discussions of LGBTQ+ identities and banned certain books24, teacher networks reportedly formed to share resources on navigating these restrictions while still supporting all students25. One high school English teacher in eastern Iowa told me, "We're not going to abandon our students because of political pressure. We just have to be more strategic about the books we assign and how we discuss them.”26

Healthcare providers, too, are part of this defensive line. While "conscience" legislation like SF 220 and its companion HF 571 threatens access to care by allowing providers, institutions, and payors to refuse services based on moral or religious objections27, many medical professionals are reportedly creating referral networks to ensure patients can find affirming providers28. Major health systems like University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics29 and UCS Healthcare30 explicitly offer LGBTQ+-affirming services and referrals.

Perhaps most remarkably, we're seeing unexpected defenders emerge. The Iowa State Bar Association's decision to reaffirm its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion on March 5, 2025—even as the legislature worked to dismantle such programs and specifically targeted gender identity protections via SF 418—showed that professional organizations understand what's at stake31 Their statement explicitly opposed SF 418, grounding their position in constitutional equality and legal precedent32. And when the bipartisan anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) legislation (HF 472) passed unanimously in the House this year, protecting free speech and press freedoms from intimidation lawsuits, it demonstrated that foundational democratic values can still transcend partisan divides when properly framed33. This law was spurred partly by a lawsuit that nearly bankrupted a small-town newspaper, highlighting the need to protect public discourse.

Table 1: Key Legislative Battlegrounds and Resistance (Iowa, 2023-2025)

3. Building Resilience: Communities Creating Safety Nets

Defense alone is insufficient. As the Christian nationalist agenda advances, affected communities have developed remarkable resilience strategies to support one another and maintain their integrity despite hostile legislation.

Online support groups for LGBTQ+ youth have proliferated across Iowa, providing safe spaces for connection when physical spaces become threatening34. Organizations like Iowa Safe Schools have expanded their GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) networks, connecting isolated students with peers and supportive adults through programs designed to foster inclusive school environments across all 99 counties35. Executive director Becky Taylor explained,

Faith communities offering inclusive alternatives to Christian nationalism represent another form of resilience. Congregations across denominations—from Reform Jewish synagogues to Unitarian Universalist churches, from progressive Catholic parishes to affirming Protestant communities like those in the Quad Cities and Marion—are explicitly countering the narrative that religious faith must align with political exclusion37. Interfaith alliances, such as the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, emphasize that genuine religious freedom means all traditions are respected, not just one imposed on others, actively challenging Christian nationalist ideology through education and advocacy38.

Most powerfully, mutual aid networks have emerged to fill gaps when state support falls short. When transgender Iowans faced new barriers to healthcare access or potential loss of insurance coverage, community fundraising efforts sprang up, such as the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, designed specifically to cover costs associated with gender-affirming care39. When teachers found themselves unable to purchase certain books for their classrooms due to censorship pressures like those from SF 496, neighborhood book exchanges reportedly ensured young people could still access diverse literature40.

This resilience isn't just reactive—it's transformative. It demonstrates that even as formal institutions may become hostile, the spirit of community care that has long defined Iowa endures.

4. Taking the Offensive: Reclaiming Iowa's Democratic Promise

While defense protects what exists and resilience sustains communities through difficult times, the final phase of resistance is more ambitious: actively reclaiming Iowa's democratic institutions and cultural narrative.

This begins with voter education and mobilization. Groups focused on nonpartisan voter engagement are working to ensure that the Christian nationalist agenda—and legislators who advance it—face accountability at the ballot box41. Their efforts to register new voters, particularly among young Iowans and underrepresented communities, aim to build electoral power that better reflects the state's diverse population42. Providing clear, accessible information on voting procedures and deadlines is a key component of this work.

Strategic messaging efforts are countering the divisive "us vs. them" framework promoted by Christian nationalist groups43. By emphasizing shared Iowa values—fairness, neighborliness, practical problem-solving—these campaigns work to bridge divides and remind Iowans of their common ground44. Their approach recognizes what the Ziklag strategists understood: framing matters profoundly45.

Coalition-building efforts bring together unlikely allies united by concern about theocratic governance. Business leaders worried about economic competitiveness join with civil liberties advocates alarmed by rural Iowans concerned about hospital closures find common cause with urban advocates for healthcare access46. Parents committed to quality education collaborate across political differences to resist censorship and maintain inclusive schools47.

Perhaps most importantly, this offensive phase is advancing an alternative vision of Iowa's future—one founded on democratic pluralism rather than religious nationalism. This vision holds that Iowa's strength has always come from balancing respect for tradition with openness to change, from valuing community while protecting individual rights, from honoring faith traditions while maintaining secular governance.

This positive vision isn't theoretical—it's embodied in concrete policy alternatives. Community schools that serve as neighborhood hubs48. Healthcare solutions that expand access rather than restricting it49. Civil rights protections that encompass all Iowans, aiming for restoration and expansion50. Economic development strategies that benefit rural and urban communities alike, such as state-supported rural growth initiatives51.

When Iowans organize around this inclusive vision, they're not merely opposing Christian nationalism—they're making it irrelevant by offering something better. Crucial to the success of this reclamation is the broadening of the coalition beyond predictable lines…

5. The Unexpected Allies: Breaking the Partisan Frame

One of the most powerful developments in the resistance against Christian nationalism in Iowa has been the emergence of allies from unexpected quarters—voices that defy simplistic partisan categorization and demonstrate that opposition to theocratic governance transcends traditional political divides. This broadening coalition is essential for reclaiming a narrative centered on shared democratic values rather than narrow ideological litmus tests.

Among the most potent are conservative and evangelical Christians who reject the fusion of their faith with nationalist politics. Former Pastor Dan Berry exemplifies this stance. "We just need to be better at loving people and giving them hope.”52 His church has become a sanctuary for believers seeking a faith expression that emphasizes compassion over control53. Their voices challenge the Christian nationalist claim to represent the authentic Christian perspective.

Connie Ryan, Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa noted,

Rev. Betsey Monnot, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa noted, “Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is unthinkable to remove civil rights and legal protections from people that we love.”55

Business leaders have also proven crucial allies, recognizing that the Christian nationalist agenda threatens Iowa's economic future. The Iowa Chamber Alliance and other business groups have expressed concerns that discriminatory legislation, such as the proposed expansion of religious exemptions (SF 220/HF 571), makes it harder to attract and retain talent, particularly among younger professionals56. While specific company plans remain unconfirmed, the legislative climate raises concerns about Iowa's competitiveness, echoing national trends where anti-LGBTQ+ laws impact business decisions and talent migration57. These economic arguments reach Iowans who might not be moved by appeals to abstract rights.

Veterans have emerged as vocal defenders of religious freedom in its authentic form, arguing against the imposition of a single religious viewpoint. "I served two tours of duty in Germany. I've toured concentration camps. I learned a few things," explained a disabled combat veteran. "I am the epitome of Patriot. You are trying to dehumanize my family and friends.58" Their perspective carries significant moral weight, grounding the defense of pluralism in patriotism and constitutional duty.

Most surprisingly, some traditional Republican voters have drawn lines at Christian nationalism's authoritarian tendencies. Emily L. spoke out against stripping civil rights on behalf of her trans daughter, "service, social justice, dignity and worth of each person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence…..I hope that you will carefully consider the far reaching negative impacts of HSB 242 on the already incredibly marginalized transgender community which includes my child."59 These voices highlight that opposition is not solely a partisan issue but can also stem from core conservative principles like limited government and individual liberty.

These unexpected allies complicate the narrative that resistance to Christian nationalism is simply a "liberal" position. They demonstrate that concern about theocratic governance is fundamentally about protecting American constitutional principles—principles that many conservatives value deeply.

6. Why This Fight is Your Fight

Maybe you feel distant from these specific legislative battles. Maybe you aren't LGBTQ+, or directly affected by DEI bans, or worried about accessing specific healthcare. Why should this deeply concern you?

Because this isn't just about specific policies. It's about the kind of state we want to live in. It's about fundamental principles:

• Equality: Do we believe all Iowans deserve the same rights and protections, regardless of their identity, their faith, or who they love? Or do we accept a hierarchy where some are more protected than others, as exemplified by the repeal of gender identity protections in SF 41860.

• Fairness: Do we believe laws should be based on evidence, reason, and the well-being of all constituents, or dictated by the religious doctrines of one group, as potentially enabled by broad conscience clauses like SF 220/HF 57161.

• Democracy: Do we believe in representative government that is accountable to the people, respects minority rights, and operates transparently? Or do we accept a system increasingly influenced by secretive networks like the Ziklag Group62, ideological pressure from groups like The Family Leader63, and authoritarian impulses that disregard public opposition, such as the passage of SF 418 despite significant protests64.

• Community: Do we want an Iowa that embraces diversity and welcomes newcomers, fostering the vibrant exchange of ideas that drives innovation and strengthens our communities? Or do we retreat into suspicion and exclusion, creating a climate that makes it harder to retain talent and potentially drives families away.

The White Christian Nationalist agenda, as implemented through Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse pipeline65, directly challenges each of these principles. It seeks to replace pluralism with privilege, democratic accountability with ideological purity. Defending the rights of the most vulnerable among us isn't just an act of solidarity; it's an act of defending the democratic foundation that protects us all.

Consider this: Today, the target is transgender Iowans66. This is already the second group targeted after immigrants. Tomorrow, it could be another religious minority, another vulnerable group, or even practices and beliefs you personally hold dear but that don't align with the dominant ideology. The machinery of exclusion, once built and legitimized, rarely limits itself to a single target. The arguments used to justify removing civil rights protections for one group can be readily adapted for others.

History teaches us that the erosion of democracy rarely happens all at once. It occurs incrementally, with each small compromise making the next one easier to accept67. By the time the danger becomes obvious to everyone, the mechanisms of resistance have often been weakened beyond repair. The redefinition of "equal" in SF 418 to explicitly allow separate accommodations68 is a stark example of chipping away at established legal understanding.

That's why this moment requires all of us—regardless of our political affiliation, religious belief, or personal identity. The future of Iowa's democratic character depends not on any single election or piece of legislation, but on whether ordinary Iowans recognize what's at stake and find the courage to stand for something better.

7. A Way Forward: Your Role in Reclaiming Our Iowa

The forces driving the Christian nationalist agenda are organized, well-funded, and deeply committed69. The path ahead isn't easy. But despair is a luxury we can't afford, and inaction is complicity.

The good news is, you have power. We have power, especially when we act together. If you are concerned by the trends detailed in this series, here's how you can be part of reclaiming an inclusive, democratic Iowa:

1. Stay Vigilant & Informed: Don't look away. Follow local news, track legislation (tools like FastDemocracy.com), support independent journalism (like this platform, Restoring Democracy’s Promise), and understand who is funding the political messages you see70 Be aware of the national networks influencing state policy.

2. Speak Up, Speak Out: Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors. Share accurate information. Challenge the "us vs. them" narratives often employed71. Write letters to the editor. Engage respectfully but firmly in community discussions online and offline.

3. Contact Your Lawmakers: Your state legislators work for you. Call them. Email them. Attend their local forums. Let them know – clearly and repeatedly – that you oppose discriminatory legislation and expect them to uphold the rights of all Iowans and the separation of church and state72. Ask them directly about their connections to groups like The Family Leader (Note: The Family Leader was given the opportunity to respond to the issues raised throughout this investigation but provided no comment73). Find your legislator here: Find Your Legislator.

4. Support the Defenders: The organizations on the front lines need resources. Consider donating time or money to groups like the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, One Iowa, ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, Iowa Safe Schools, or others working to protect civil rights and democratic values in our state.

5. Show Up Locally: Pay attention to your local school board, city council, and county supervisor races. These are key battlegrounds where WCN-aligned groups often focus their efforts74. Attend meetings. Run for office yourself. Local action matters profoundly.

6. VOTE. In Every Election: Primaries, generals, local, state, federal. Research candidates thoroughly. Understand who they align with and what values truly guide their decisions. Your vote is your voice, amplified. Encourage everyone you know who values democracy and equality to register and vote. Find Iowa voter information here, Voters | Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate75.

7. Build Bridges: Look for opportunities to connect across differences. Form coalitions based on shared values rather than identical beliefs76. This work is about addition, not subtraction—bringing more people into the movement for a democratic, inclusive Iowa.

The fight for an inclusive, democratic Iowa is ongoing. It requires our attention, our courage, and our active participation. The pipeline we've examined can be challenged, its influence can be diminished, but only if we, the people of Iowa, stand together – across faiths, backgrounds, and political differences – to defend the principles of equality, justice, and representative democracy for all.

8. Two Possible Iowas: A Choice Before Us

As we conclude this journey together, the evidence points toward two divergent paths for our state—two possible Iowas that could emerge from this pivotal moment.

In one Iowa, the Christian nationalist agenda continues unchallenged. Civil rights protections erode further, leaving more vulnerable Iowans unprotected from discrimination, as SF 418 sets a precedent for removing established rights77. Healthcare becomes increasingly inaccessible as providers can refuse care based on personal beliefs without consequence, should measures like SF 220/HF 571 become law and broadly applied78. Education narrows, with fewer perspectives represented due to censorship laws like SF 496, and more young people feeling unwelcome or unsafe in their schools79. Democracy itself weakens as power concentrates among those aligned with a specific religious ideology, fueled by opaque funding networks80 and influential lobby groups81, while dissenting voices find themselves marginalized. The vibrant, diverse communities that have enriched our state wither as people who feel unwelcome seek homes elsewhere, impacting Iowa's economic vitality and social fabric82.

But there is another Iowa possible—one where people of all faiths and none, of all backgrounds and identities, work together to revitalize our democratic traditions. In this Iowa, civil rights expand rather than contract, recognizing the dignity of every person, fulfilling the calls for restoration and expansion83.

Healthcare is accessible to all who need it, guided by science and compassion rather than ideology84. Education flourishes, preparing young people to thrive in a complex, diverse world by resisting censorship and embracing inclusive curricula85. Democracy strengthens through increased participation86, transparency, and genuine representation. Communities grow more vibrant as people feel welcome to contribute their unique gifts and perspectives, supported by inclusive economic development87.

The path we take isn't predetermined. It depends on the choices we make—as individuals and as communities—in the days and years ahead. It depends on whether enough Iowans recognize what's at stake and find the courage to stand for an inclusive democracy rather than an exclusive theocracy.

I believe in that second Iowa. I believe in our capacity to build it together, drawing on the best of our traditions—like our historical commitment to expanding rights88—while embracing the promise of a more just future. And I believe that when the history of this moment is written, it will show that ordinary Iowans from all walks of life chose to stand on the side of freedom, equality, and genuine democracy.

That's the Iowa worth fighting for. That's the Iowa that can still be ours.

Will you help build it?

Thank you for following this investigation. The work of defending democracy belongs to all of us. Please share this series if you found it valuable, and consider supporting independent local journalism.

Sources & Further Reading

Previously, Part 1: Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline ; Part 2: The WCN Legislative Agenda Takes Hold; Part 3: Christian Nationalist Infrastructure Exposed; Part 4 is below; Part 5 Finale: Our Iowa – Reclaiming Democracy from the Christian Nationalist Grip

1. Introduction: The Price Paid by Iowans

Sarah Martinez sits in her rural Iowa kitchen, tears streaming down her face as she describes driving three hours to find healthcare after her local provider cited “moral objections.” Across the state in Cedar Rapids, high school teacher James Wilson self-censors his history lessons, fearful of losing his license under new legislation targeting “divisive concepts.” In Sioux City, Alex Chen, a transgender Iowan of 15 years, faces the stark reality that on July 1, 2025, their basic civil rights protections will vanish.

These are not isolated incidents; these individual struggles represent the devastating human toll of an orchestrated campaign to reshape Iowa through Christian Nationalist ideology. They are the direct result of the network and agenda meticulously detailed in the first three parts of this series.

In "The Cross and the Capitol," we mapped the "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline" operating in Iowa. We defined White Christian Nationalism (WCN) – an ideology fusing a specific, conservative Christian identity with American civic life – and traced its influence through coordinating bodies like The Family Leader (TFL)1, allied groups such as VALOR Iowa and Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values (IBBV)2, activating hubs like Eternity Church3, and extremist ground troops like Moms for Liberty (M4L)4 and Turning Point USA (TPUSA)5. We followed the dark money trails leading back to secretive national funders like the Ziklag Group6 and highlighted the critical role of legal powerhouses like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)7. Part 3 detailed the sophisticated playbook these interconnected entities use, while Part 2 documented the concrete legislative output—bills rolling back civil rights, dismantling diversity initiatives, censoring education, and imposing a narrow religious worldview onto healthcare.

The speed and coordination behind this legislative push, often defying broad public opposition and expert warnings, underscore the alarming effectiveness of the network. But laws passed in Des Moines don't remain abstract legislative text. They ripple outwards, fundamentally altering the lived realities of Iowans in Newton, Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Decorah, and countless communities in between. Policy translates into barriers encountered, opportunities denied, fears realized, doors opened, or doors slammed shut.

Now, we must shift our focus from the architects, funders, and mechanics of this agenda to its most critical, yet often least discussed, dimension: the human cost. What happens to our neighbors, our colleagues, our families – fellow Iowans – when a political ideology prioritizing religious dogma, social control, and an exclusionary definition of "true American" becomes state policy?

The consequences, as we will explore through the lens of healthcare access, educational integrity, fundamental civil rights, and the specific vulnerabilities faced by immigrant communities, are not theoretical. They are measured in tangible harm, diminished opportunity, eroded trust, and a pervasive climate of fear deliberately cultivated by this movement.

Perhaps nowhere is the human impact of Christian Nationalist policy more immediate – and potentially life-threatening – than in healthcare, where “conscience” is being weaponized to deny essential services.

2. Healthcare Held Hostage: When "Conscience" Becomes a Weapon

The Legislative Weapon (SF 220 / HF 571)

A central front in the WCN campaign to reshape Iowa involves embedding religious objections into the secular sphere of healthcare through expansive "conscience" protections for providers. Proposed legislation, notably Senate File 220 and its companion House File 571, styled as the "Medical Ethics Defense Act," seeks to grant broad immunity to medical practitioners, institutions, and even payors who refuse to participate in healthcare services based on conscience8. HF 571 passed the Iowa House on March 26, 2025, by a vote of 64-32 and, as of mid April 2025, was pending in the Senate, attached to SF 2209.

An examination of the bills' text reveals potentially far-reaching consequences. The definition of "conscience" extends beyond specific religious tenets to encompass "the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles held by a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payor."10 For institutions, it includes published guidelines, mission statements, and policies. This broad definition shields refusals based on potentially subjective institutional "ethics" or "morals."

The scope of "participation" is exceptionally wide, including not just care provision but "testing; diagnosis; record making; referral; prescribing, dispensing, or administering any drug, medication, or device; provide counseling for, advise with regard to..." 11. The explicit inclusion of "referral" is critical—providers can legally refuse to even refer patients elsewhere.

Compounding this barrier, the legislation lacks any requirement for providers to disclose why care is being refused or that the refusal is conscience-based, nor does it compel referral12. This opacity allows potential discrimination to be masked, leaving patients confused, delayed, and harmed without recourse. Simultaneously, the bills offer robust protection against "discrimination" for those exercising conscience rights, shielding them from adverse actions like penalties or disciplinary action for refusals based on conscience13.

Human Impact Scenarios (Narrative)

Imagine the chilling reality. Picture a transgender young adult in rural Appanoose County, miles from affirming care14, making an appointment only to face a curt refusal cloaked in "conscience" from the only accessible physician. With no obligation to refer, the provider offers no alternatives. Their journey hits dead end.

Consider a sexual assault survivor needing emergency contraception. Could a pharmacist cite "moral objections," refuse the time-sensitive medication without explanation or referral, forcing a traumatic delay? This law would allow it.

Conflicting Narratives

Proponents, like the Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC), frame these bills as vital religious freedom protections, citing polling and existing abortion conscience laws15. However, critics, including national bodies like the American Medical Association (AMA) (whose guidelines generally recommend referral even when objecting)16 and likely state groups like One Iowa17, warn it weaponizes "religious liberty" to discriminate. The broad "conscience" definition, critics argue, allows personal biases to justify denying care.

Targeting Vulnerable Groups (WCN Link)

This push directly reflects WCN tenets: Privileging Specific Beliefs and Targeting "Out-Groups"18. The potential denial of gender-affirming care aligns with intense anti-LGBTQ+ animus promoted by groups like The Family Leader19. In a state already restricting youth care20, these bills threaten adults, creating a "hostile healthcare environment"21.

The stakes are life-and-death: Trevor Project data shows affirming care dramatically reduces suicide risk22. Yet, in Iowa, 42% of trans/nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide last year, and 13% attempted it. Furthermore, 69% of Iowa's trans/nonbinary youth considered leaving the state due to politics/laws23. Denying care has potentially lethal consequences.

Expanding Harm (Potential Scope)

The vague language threatens broad discrimination. Could fertility treatments for same-sex couples, PrEP prescriptions, end-of-life counseling, or specific vaccines face "moral" objections? The scope is vast24.

Recent studies reveal the stark reality of healthcare discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals nationally—28% reported negative experiences, and 16% avoided care due to anticipated discrimination25. Another study confirms LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely to have negative healthcare experiences26.

Rural Disparities Amplified

In rural Iowa, where healthcare is scarce (44th in physicians/capita, 33/99 counties lack OBGYNs, 60% rural hospitals lose money, 8% decline in rural primary care providers)27, one refusal can mean no access28. This worsens health disparities, turning a provider's right to refuse into a community's denial of care.

Eroding Trust

These laws fundamentally shred patient-provider trust, shifting from patient-centered care to provider-centric beliefs29. The WCN network's push embeds religious restrictions in secular healthcare, forcing vulnerable Iowans to bear the devastating cost.

While healthcare restrictions create immediate barriers, the transformation of Iowa's educational landscape threatens to shape – and limit – opportunities for generations to come.

3. The Shrinking Classroom: Ideological Battles Hurting Iowa's Students

The WCN agenda's assault extends forcefully into Iowa's schools and universities, creating a climate of fear and limiting opportunity.

Dismantling DEI (SF 2435)

The passage of SF 2435 mandated the dismantling of DEI offices at Iowa's public universities30. This wasn't bureaucratic shuffling; it eliminated vital support systems. The University of Iowa (UI) closed its Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity (AOD, 11 FTEs removed)31. Iowa State University (ISU) shuttered its DEI office and LGBTQ+ Student Success Center32. UNI eliminated its Chief Diversity Officer and DEI office33.

Students lamented the loss: Elle Wilmoth (UI) called AOD a crucial "source of resources... to help streamline where you actually need to go.34" Richelle Fenteng (UI) described the affiliated Iowa Edge program as her "main resource... to make friends," vital as a minority student35. An ISU mock funeral mourned the LGBTQ+ Center36. These closures signaled diversity isn't a priority, hindering recruitment and retention37, despite research linking DEI to student success38. The attack even extended to pressuring private colleges (like Drake) via threats to Iowa Tuition Grant eligibility (HSB 60), aiming to impose conformity statewide39.

Curriculum Control and Classroom Fear

Vague laws targeting "divisive concepts" (like SF 335 proposals)40 and restricting sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) instruction (like SF 496)41 create a chilling effect42. Fear of penalties (SF 335 proposed license revocation)43 and harassment campaigns amplified by groups like Moms For Liberty (M4L)44 leads to teacher self-censorship on topics like slavery, racism, or LGBTQ+ identity45.

The Waterloo African American Read-In cancellation, citing DEI fears over the book "All Because You Matter," exemplifies this chilling reality, forcing Nikole Hannah-Jones to host a community alternative46. Teachers report self-censoring even basic historical facts, fearing retribution. In one stark example from Texas, entire chapters addressing diversity were physically removed from textbooks47. This sanitization leaves all students ill-equipped to understand our nation's complex past and present.

The scale of educational censorship is staggering. PEN America documented over 10,046 book bans nationally in 2023-2024, with 36% featuring characters of color and 29% including LGBTQ+ themes. The American Library Association48 confirms coordinated movements drive these attempts.

Mandated Ideology & Information Control

The agenda also mandates specific viewpoints. HF 391 (passed the House in April 2025) requires schools show fetal development videos (potentially the anti-abortion "Baby Olivia" video) starting in 5th grade49. Simultaneously, HF 521 sought to remove obscenity exemptions for libraries, facilitating book bans like those triggered by SF 496 (Urbandale removed nearly 400 books, many with LGBTQ+/racial themes)50. This isn't about age-appropriateness; it's controlling the narrative and imposing a conservative Christian worldview51.

Harming All Students

This censored, whitewashed education leaves all Iowa students less prepared for a diverse world. The WCN war on "woke indoctrination," fueled by activist groups like M4L and TPUSA52, ultimately disadvantages Iowa's youth.

As devastating as the impacts on healthcare and education have been, the most fundamental attack on human dignity comes through the systematic erosion of civil rights protections.

4. Invisible and Unprotected: The Deep Scars of Erasing Gender Identity (SF 418)

No act crystallizes the human cost more starkly than Senate File 418, signed February 202553. By making Iowa the first state to repeal existing gender identity from its Civil Rights Act54 the legislature, driven by the WCN network55, sent a devastating message: transgender Iowans are not worthy of equal protection under state law.

This legislative erasure mirrors the WCN tenet of enforcing a rigid, religious gender binary56. SF 418 explicitly defines "sex" by biology at birth, rejecting gender identity57. It removed "gender identity" from the Iowa Civil Rights Act (protections since 2007)58, eliminated the process for amending birth certificates59, and added "separate accommodations are not inherently unequal" language60.

• Increased Vulnerability to Discrimination
  Stripping state protections leaves trans Iowans exposed. As the ACLU of Iowa stated, it removes a "lifeline for people in areas as broad as housing, workplace fairness, credit, public accommodations, and education"61. Federal protections are incomplete and harder to pursue62. The law signals state-sanctioned discrimination is permissible63.

• Devastating Psychological Toll
  The message is brutal: You are invalid. Research confirms affirmation is vital for trans mental health amid high rates of stigma and suicidality64. SF 418 exacerbates minority stress. Iowa's Trevor Project data is alarming: 42% of trans/nonbinary youth considered suicide last year; 13% attempted65. A staggering 69% considered leaving Iowa due to politics66.

• Testimony captured the anguish:

  • “This bill legalizes discrimination," said a faith leader67.

  • “My trans granddaughter is terrified, as are the whole family, that this hateful and prejudicial bill will erode the rights and protections that we have come to know and love in Iowa," shared a parent68.

  • Victor Robbins testified erasure leads to "rapid decline in mental health and in many cases, suicide."69

• Compounding Practical Barriers
  Inability to update birth certificates7071 creates cascading ID issues impacting employment, travel, healthcare access, insurance, and safe use of facilities, fostering constant fear of outing or harassment72. Commenters feared eviction or job loss73.

• Cultivating a Climate of Fear
  SF 418 fosters pervasive fear about safety and belonging74, amplified by dehumanizing rhetoric from proponents like Rep. Steven Holt from Denison, Iowa75. The state itself becomes a threat76.

• Authoritarian Imposition
  Passing SF 418 rapidly despite overwhelming public testimony and protests77 demonstrates the WCN network's willingness to disregard democratic input and inflict harm to enforce ideology.

5. Targeting Newcomers: The Immigrant Community in the Crosshairs

While LGBTQ+ rights and DEI initiatives have faced direct legislative attacks, the exclusionary ideology driving this agenda also casts a long shadow over immigrant communities. The worldview underpinning White Christian Nationalism frequently casts immigrants, particularly those who are undocumented or from non-European backgrounds, as another "out-group" threatening their vision of a homogeneous, Christian nation. The rhetoric employed—emphasizing strict "rule of law" for some while seeking exemptions for others, casting newcomers as burdens, and promoting cultural assimilation over pluralism—creates a hostile environment with tangible human costs for Iowa's immigrant communities and their families.

It's crucial to remember the scale: an estimated 28,000 Iowans live in mixed-status families, including approximately 20,000 Iowan children who are U.S. citizens but have family members lacking lawful presence in the country78. These families are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities, yet they live under a unique cloud of vulnerability exacerbated by the current political climate. The threat of enforcement increases children's risk of mental health problems and psychological distress, impacting not just "them" but all Iowa families connected to these children79.

• Compounded Barriers:

  While not always the direct legislative target, immigrant families often face compounded barriers created by the WCN agenda. Expansive healthcare "conscience" clauses (SF 220/HF 571) could disproportionately harm immigrants facing language barriers or lacking insurance, especially if providers refuse care or translation assistance without referral80. The dismantling of university DEI offices (SF 2435) might remove support systems vital for immigrant students navigating complex academic and social environments. Educational censorship efforts (HF 521, SF 496 impacts) risk erasing immigrant histories and perspectives from the classroom, hindering belonging for students and understanding for their peers.

• Climate of Fear & Eroding Trust:

  The harsh rhetoric surrounding targeted groups like LGBTQ+ individuals sends a chilling message to all marginalized communities, including immigrants. When the state government actively strips rights from one group, it signals that others could be next. This erodes trust in institutions and can deter immigrants from accessing essential services, reporting crimes, or participating fully in civic life for fear of negative repercussions or entanglement with enforcement81.

• Illustrative Tactics (Drawing Parallels):

  While specific federal tactics (like the reported DOGE task force aiming to administratively cancel SSNs82) are not current Iowa state law, they illustrate the mindset of leveraging administrative systems for exclusion when ideology demands it. The potential for using cross-agency data sharing (DHS, SSA, IRS, HHS)83 to bypass due process and inflict "financial death"84 highlights how systems can be weaponized against vulnerable populations. Though state and federal laws differ, the approach resonates with the broader WCN goal of targeting "out-groups"85.

The human cost for immigrant Iowans in this climate is measured in heightened anxiety, barriers to essential services, fear for family members, and the feeling of being unwelcome or unsafe in their own communities. They, too, bear the burden when an exclusionary ideology captures state power.

6. Fracturing Iowa: The Collective Cost of Imposed Ideology

The harms ripple outwards, damaging Iowa's social fabric, economy, and democracy itself.

Erosion of Trust & Community

Targeting communities poisons civic discourse and erodes trust in institutions86. Iowa's reputation for pragmatism is undermined by legislation perceived as hateful and divisive.

Economic Self-Sabotage

Intolerance fuels "brain drain" and deters investment87. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws (SF 418) and DEI attacks (SF 2435) create a hostile environment, hindering talent recruitment, especially in vital sectors like healthcare and research88. This risks economic boycotts, similar to those seen in Indiana and North Carolina after discriminatory laws were passed89. While Iowa previously benefited economically from LGBTQ+ inclusion90, these laws reverse progress. Even some businesses recognize the threat, contrasting the Iowa State Bar Association's reaffirmation of DEI91. With only 67 workers per 100 open jobs92, unwelcoming policies actively sabotage Iowa's needed growth.

Undermining Democratic Values

The reliance on dark money (Ziklag)93, the blatant disregard for public dissent (SF 418 protests)94, the use of state power used to strip minority rights95, the attempts to control information in education96, and the installation of ideological allies challenge core democratic principles. Accountability, pluralism, minority rights, and the fundamental promise of equal protection are all under assault.

The human cost is measured not only in direct suffering but also in broader damage to Iowa's reputation, economy, and democratic soul – a steep price for allowing extremism to capture state power.

7. Conclusion: Counting the Cost, Finding the Resolve

The evidence paints a grim picture. The "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline," fueled by White Christian Nationalism, delivers legislation inflicting profound harm. Denied healthcare, censored classrooms, stripped civil rights, and pervasive fear – these are the devastating human consequences unfolding across Iowa. The heartbreaking mental health statistics97, chilling self-censorship98, and stark legal erasure99 stand as testament to this agenda's steep human cost.

As this investigation has revealed, the human cost extends far beyond legislative text:

• Denied healthcare and eroded doctor-patient trust

• Censored classrooms and diminished educational opportunities

• Systematic erasure of civil rights protections

• A pervasive climate of fear and uncertainty for targeted groups and allies

This reality fundamentally challenges Iowa's identity and undermines the very foundations of Democracy's Promise100—the promise of equal rights, opportunity, and belonging for all.

Yet, despair is not the answer. Resistance is blossoming. Targeted Iowans and their allies refuse to be silenced. They organize, testify, advocate, and build community101. Educators, healthcare providers, faith leaders, students, and business owners are speaking out, demanding accountability102. They fight for an Iowa embodying liberty, justice, and inclusion for all.

In Part 5, we spotlight this crucial resistance: the organizations, strategies, legal battles, and determined spirit working to counter the pipeline, defend democracy, protect rights, and build a more hopeful future for the heartland.

The human stories are central. Please SHARE this investigation to raise awareness. SUBSCRIBE to support this work and read about the fight back in Part 5.

Works Cited / Footnotes

Previously, Part 1: Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline ; Part 2: The WCN Legislative Agenda Takes Hold). Part 3 is below and updated with new pictures.

Introduction: Extremism Inc. – Iowa Division

Extremism isn't just “out there” – it's actively rewriting Iowa law. The relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ Iowans detailed in Part 2, the systemic dismantling of diversity efforts, the attempts to control our schools – these are not isolated incidents. They are the calculated output of a coordinated network linked to nationally designated extremist and hate groups, funded by secretive ideologues, operating right here in our state.

This isn't grassroots democracy. It's a sophisticated, top-down infrastructure designed to impose a narrow, exclusionary White Christian Nationalist (WCN) agenda, often overriding public will and democratic accountability. As your neighbor investigating these forces, I believe pulling back the curtain on this shadow network is essential.

Part 3 provides the receipts. We map the architecture of influence connecting the central command posts, the activist ground troops, the local hubs, the dark money flows, and the legal powerhouses orchestrating this transformation of Iowa law. Let's expose the network.

I. The Central Node & The "Kingmaker": The Family Leader (TFL)

At the epicenter of Iowa's conservative Christian political apparatus sits The Family Leader (TFL). Led by Bob Vander Plaats – universally recognized as the GOP "kingmaker" whose caucus endorsement holds immense weight1. TFL masks potent political machinery behind the veneer of ministry (“God-honoring public policy”)2. The Family Leader is the state affiliate of the Family Research Council, a known hate group3.

Now teasing at an attempted governor run4, Vander Plaats demurred and announced a final decision would be made in the fall.

• Ruthless Political Power: TFL isn't afraid to wield its influence. Its 2010 campaign, spearheaded through its precursor entity Iowans for Freedom PAC5, successfully ousted three sitting Iowa Supreme Court justices for ruling in favor of marriage equality6. (Note: This TFL-associated group from the 2010/2012 judicial campaigns should not be confused with the separate, currently active organization using the name 'Iowans for Freedom' focused primarily on health/medical freedom issues.)

  This aggressive, externally funded campaign (receiving major support from groups like the National Organization for Marriage and American Family Association)7 was a brutal demonstration of political force, establishing a chilling precedent: deviate from TFL's agenda, even on the bench, and face targeted political annihilation. The tactics honed during the IFF campaigns likely became integrated into TFL's ongoing playbook8. Their lobbyists later championed SF 418, stripping transgender Iowans of civil rights9.

• Ideology & Toxic Affiliation: TFL's mission demands opposing abortion and LGBTQ+ rights10. Critically, TFL is the Iowa affiliate of the Family Research Council (FRC)11. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates the FRC an anti-LGBT hate group, citing its history of peddling dangerous lies aimed at dehumanizing LGBTQ+ people12. This isn't mere association. It's a direct ideological pipeline connecting Iowa's premier Christian conservative group to nationally recognized hate. TFL is also listed as the state affiliate for Focus on the Family13, a part of the FRC.

• Mechanisms of Influence: TFL operates through Vander Plaats' high-stakes endorsements14, direct lobbying15, mobilizing voters via its Church Ambassador Network (linking “700+ pastors” directly to government officials)16, issuing voter guides17, and hosting must-attend political events for national figures18. Their close relationship with and validation by state power is unambiguous. Governor Kim Reynolds herself has offered effusive public praise, featured directly on The Family Leader's website homepage:

  “I’ve personally witnessed the impact of The FAMiLY Leader’s model in Iowa. Elections are impacted, best policies are enacted, and officials are blessed and encouraged when the Church is authentically engaged. I cheer on this proven model, and I hope it is embraced and enacted in every state.”

  Kim Reynolds, Iowa Governor19

  This explicit gubernatorial endorsement underscores the significant access and legitimacy TFL commands within conservative political ecosystem.

• Financial Structure: TFL strategically utilizes a multi-entity structure – a 501(c)(3) Foundation (TFLF), a 501(c)(4) Inc. (TFL Inc.), and the state-registered The Family Leader PAC (ID 9715)20 (often referred to informally as the “Iowa Family PAC”), chaired by TFL Vice President Chuck Hurley21, which operates under state campaign finance laws. This common structure allows for tax-deductible donations to the Foundation while enabling more direct political action through the Inc. and PAC arms.

  • The Family Leader Foundation (c3): Focused on education and outreach, the Foundation reported significant revenue of $5,030,119 and expenses of $4,282,626 in FYE 202422, Its funding relies heavily on tax-deductible contributions, including identified past grants from conservative sources like The Servant Foundation and Mercer Family Foundation23. While permitted limited lobbying, its 501(c)(3) status strictly prohibits direct political campaign intervention and compensation for such activities.

  • The Family Leader Inc. (c4): Handling more direct lobbying and advocacy, the Inc. entity reported 1.15M in revenue for FY 202424. Crucially, this 501(c)(4) arm is the primary source of compensation for top leadership engaged in political and lobbying activities. For FY 2024, Bob Vander Plaats received $257,852 and Vice President Chuck Hurley received $109,300 in total compensation from TFL Inc.25 Identified grants received include funds from Susan B. Anthony List (100k in 2108), and Family Policy Alliance ($70,000 in 2014)26.

  • The Family Leader PAC (ID 9715): This state-registered PAC makes direct financial contributions to endorsed candidates aligning with TFL's values. Its funding and expenditures are disclosed via the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB)27. For example, a 2024 filing showed the PAC held roughly $17,700 cash on hand, and made contributions to state legislative leadership committees.

  • Last cycle, the “king-maker” backed DeSantis, along with several other Iowa politicians, including the governor. In return, the DeSantis’ PAC donated to the Iowa legislators who endorsed him28.

• Ambition & Contested Expansion: This financial capacity fuels ambitious physical expansion. In late 2022, TFLF proposed a large new headquarters/event center on rezoned farmland in northeast Polk County29. This plan directly clashed with the county's comprehensive plan (preserving farmland/limiting sprawl), leading planning staff and the zoning commission to recommend denial. However, demonstrating potential political influence, the Polk County Board of Supervisors overruled these recommendations 3-2.

  The controversial approval prompted a lawsuit from 1000 Friends of Iowa and local landowners challenging the re-zoning's legality. The case reached the Iowa Supreme Court, which remanded it back for further proceedings in April 2025, highlighting significant local opposition and the legal complexities surrounding TFL's expansion plans30. This dispute showcases the organization's scale and resources, alongside its sometimes contentious efforts to establish a major physical footprint conflicting with local planning principles.

TFL acts as Iowa's WCN command center, setting priorities and leveraging its considerable power – financial, political, and now potentially physical – to impose its narrow, often SPLC-linked, interpretation of "values" onto state law.

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II. Ground Forces: Weaponizing "Parental Rights" & Campus Culture Wars

The network deploys dedicated ground troops to fight culture war battles in local communities:

• Moms for Liberty (M4L): Cloaked in "parental rights" rhetoric, M4L is a key operational arm. The SPLC designated M4L an anti-government extremist group, citing its tactics of harassing educators, pushing racist dog whistles, demanding book bans targeting LGBTQ+ and diverse stories, and spreading conspiracies31. M4L chapters in Iowa actively combat "woke indoctrination," pushing for book removals32 and showing links to WCN hubs like Eternity Church via shared activism (e.g., Sean Cully candidacy support)33. They bring national extremist strategies to Iowa school boards.

  
  “We’ve got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law. Student, parents, teachers, school staff … We want to know! We pledge anonymity if you want.”
  — Tweeted by Moms for Liberty NH on November 12, 2021, regarding the law banning the teaching of CRT and retweeted by national Moms for Liberty.34

  M4L chapters in Iowa wage war on "woke indoctrination," with direct ties documented between local chapters and WCN hubs like Eternity Church. They bring national extremist tactics to local Iowa school boards.

• TPUSA activates conservative youth on Iowa college campuses (ISU, UI)35. Founder Charlie Kirk openly preaches Christian Nationalism ("spiritual warfare")36. TPUSA maintains controversial "Watchlists," attacks DEI programs, and hosts provocative events37. TPUSA functions as an ideological pipeline, normalizing extremism for younger generations38. Controversially, TPUSA are now working to on building ties at an even younger age. There are several “activism hubs” and some official school sanctioned chapters associated with public high schools. Some examples are chapters in Johnston and Indianola High Schools.39

  

• VALOR Iowa: Functioning as a focused lobbying entity, VALOR Iowa leverages Tamara Scott (RNC National Committeewoman, CWA State Director) and John Strathman (also Iowa Right to Life lobbyist)40. Despite lacking public financial records, its lobbying targets gender identity, life issues, election integrity, and anti-DEI. VALOR Iowa consistently aligns with TFL, co-sponsoring events like the Prayer Rally for Life41, acting as a specialized voice reinforcing network priorities.

• Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values (IBBV): Led by Pastor Brad Cranston (also Awake America Ministries)42, IBBV mobilizes conservative Baptists for political action based on "Biblical values". Also lacking public financial records, IBBV, via Cranston, lobbies consistently alongside TFL on gender/sexuality and religious conscience issues. Cranston's endorsements and event co-sponsorship confirm close TFL coordination43.

These groups form the network's essential infantry and advocacy arms, translating the WCN agenda into localized fights and statehouse pressure.

III. The Local Hub: Eternity Church

As exposed in Part 1, Pastor Jesse Newman's Eternity Church in Clive operates as a critical network node. Newman's public embrace of Christian Nationalism44 makes his church a potent center for: Mobilization, Platforming (DeSantis, Nunn/Gehlbach), Connecting Networks (M4L, TPUSA figures), and Ideological Dissemination ("spiritual warfare")45. Eternity exemplifies religious institutions weaponized for partisan political mobilization, solidified by Newman's direct political donations46.

IV. Institutional Players & Complex Alignments: The Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC)

The conservative advocacy landscape includes powerful institutions whose relationship with the TFL/WCN network is nuanced. The Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC), the official public policy arm of Iowa's Catholic bishops47, wields significant influence.

Convergence: The ICC actively lobbies and aligns with TFL and allies on specific issues like opposing abortion and supporting 'medical conscience' legislation48. They collaborate publicly, co-sponsoring the Iowa Prayer Rally for Life49.

Significant Divergence: However, the ICC's advocacy is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, leading to stances often contrasting with TFL/WCN priorities. The ICC supports economic justice (minimum wage, progressive taxes), workers' rights, immigration reform, environmental protection, and opposes the death penalty 50.

Distinct Role: While a powerful ally on some issues, the ICC operates independently, guided by a broader theological framework. Its financial structure appears embedded within the dioceses, limiting transparency compared to standalone non-profits. Its selective collaboration highlights the complex dynamics within Iowa's faith-based political sphere.

V. Following the Dark Money: Funders & Legal Enforcers

This operation runs on significant, often untraceable, funding.

• National Dark Money (Ziklag Group / USATransform): Exposed by ProPublica51 and detailed in reports52, Ziklag (legally USATransform, a 501c353) is a secretive cabal of ultra-wealthy Christian donors (founder Ken Eldred; Green, Uihlein families suspected54) bankrolling a theocratic "Seven Mountains" dominion agenda55 linked to the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). With revenues near $10M (FYE22) and projected budgets exceeding $12M56, Ziklag funds key players like ADF, TPUSA (via TP Action), Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), First Liberty Institute, and Lance Wallnau Ministries57.

  • "Checkmate": Funding voter purge efforts using software like EagleAI, aiming to challenge 1 million registrations in swing states58. Their multi-million-dollar operation ($12M planned spend in 2024) funds key Iowa players like ADF and TPUSA59 and supports potentially illegal voter purge efforts.60

    “Multiple nonpartisan legal experts consulted by ProPublica expressed significant concerns that Ziklag’s overtly political and election-focused activities may violate the strict prohibitions against campaign intervention applicable to 501(c)(3) charities”61—ProPublica Investigation

  • Steeplechase62. Mobilizing voters via churches, coordinating with TPUSA Faith and Faith & Freedom Coalition.

  • Watchtower63. This operation is aimed at galvanizing voters around issues of "parental rights" and opposition to transgender rights and policies supporting health care for trans people. One of Ziklag’s spiritual advisers outlined a plan to "deliver swing states" by using an anti-transgender message to motivate conservative voters who are exhausted with Trump.

    Ziklag's extreme secrecy deliberately shields billionaire ideologues aiming to reshape American democracy, raising profound legal and ethical alarms about its potential violation of 501(c)(3) restrictions on political intervention.

• Legal Muscle (ADF): Alliance Defending Freedom64 is the network's tax-exempt legal attack dog. They represented Governor Reynolds pro bono (saving taxpayers money while pushing ideology) in the fight to reinstate Iowa's fetal heartbeat abortion ban65.

• ADF crafts model legislation and wins Supreme Court cases 66(Dobbs, 303 Creative) that create the legal foundation for state-level assaults on LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedom, directly impacting laws like SF 418. Funded by groups like Ziklag67, ADF provides the crucial legal firepower to enact and defend the WCN agenda in court.

• Local Funding: TFL's multi-million dollar budgets68 confirm significant backing, though donors are obscured. Lobbying disclosures confirm TFL and ADF activity69. Verifiable public records show direct donations connecting some network figures to aligned politicians 70.

• Candidate Control & Pipeline: Leveraging kingmaker endorsements (Vander Plaats)71, supported by direct contributions from the Family Leader PAC to aligned figures, such as a $250 donation to Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver's committee in early 202472, moving candidates through a local-to-state pipeline, as evident in State Rep. Dan Gehlbach moving from school board to state legislature73. The network also extends direct financial support to legislators championing its agenda. For instance, campaign finance records show House Judiciary Chairman, State Representative Steven Holt (R), known for introducing controversial legislation aligned with WCN priorities, received multiple $1,000 contributions from The Family Leader PAC (ID 9715), including donations documented during the critical pre-election periods in both October 2022 and October 202474.

  Representative Skyler Wheeler (R) from Sioux County, Chairman of the House Education committee, member of the Judiciary committee and sitting on several newly formed school review committees received a donation of $500 from the Family Leader PAC (ID 9715) during the same pre-election period75.

  This financial backing directly supports lawmakers advancing the network's agenda. As House Judiciary Chair, Holt has championed some of Iowa's most divisive legislation aligned with WCN priorities. Notably, this includes SF 418, the bill stripping gender identity from state civil rights law, and controversial immigration enforcement measures that critics estimate put 28,000 residents, and up to 21,000 resident children at risk of family separation in Iowa alone76. The TFL PAC's repeated investment in Holt demonstrates tangible support for legislators enacting these specific, often harmful, policies.

This combination of dark national money and local influence creates a well-resourced machine.

VI. The Playbook: Tactics of Coordinated Control

This network executes a sophisticated playbook across Iowa:

• Weaponized Messaging: Relentlessly repeating loaded terms ("woke," "parental rights," "groomer," "religious freedom," "activist judges") to frame debates and demonize opponents.

• Strategic Shift & Targeting: Demonstrating adaptability, the network has intensified its focus on anti-LGBTQ+ issues, particularly targeting transgender individuals, as a potent mobilization tool, sometimes pivoting from previous focal points77.

• Insider Lobbying & Access: Using established relationships (TFL, ADF), coordinated messaging, and employing lobbyists, including former state legislators like Chuck Hurley and Danny Carroll78, grants crucial insider access to push specific bills like SF 418 and DEI bans. Often coordinating efforts with additional allied groups like VALOR Iowa and IBBV79. Gov. Reynolds' praise for TFL exemplifies this access80.

• Targeted Voter Mobilization: Activating sympathetic voters via church networks (TFL's CAN)81, voter guides and toolkits82, and high-profile events83.

• Voter Suppression Links:

  The Conservative Partnership Institute(CPI) is a main recipient of Ziklag Group’s grant money. This group, houses Cleta Mitchell's "Election Integrity Network”, which is a voter Suppression effort84.

• Candidate Control: Kingmaker endorsements (Vander Plaats) and candidate cultivation to enforce ideological loyalty.

• Institutional Capture: Coordinated attacks on schools (M4L), universities (TPUSA), courts (TFL 2010), and civil rights laws.

• Strategic Litigation: Using ADF's legal might (often pro bono) to enforce WCN policy wins.

  

Conclusion: An Architecture of Power Undermining Iowa Democracy

The legislative outcomes detailed in Part 2 are no accident. They are the calculated results produced by this powerful, interconnected WCN infrastructure – linking secretive national billionaires (Ziklag), elite legal strategists (ADF), state command posts (TFL), extremist ground troops (M4L, TPUSA), specialized lobbying allies (VALOR Iowa, IBBV), and activating religious hubs (Eternity Church). This network operates with alarming effectiveness, often circumventing transparency and accountability. The scale and success of their legislative push is not lost on the network itself. In a recent podcast85, The Family Leader leadership boasted about their increasing impact stating that over half of their bills are still alive through 2nd funnel for the first time ever,

This self-assessment underscores the tangible success achieved through the coordinated strategies mapped in this investigation – a success measured in laws that reshape Iowa according to their specific ideology. While institutional players like the ICC collaborate selectively, the core WCN network drives a narrower, often harsher agenda.

This network poses a clear and present danger to democratic governance in Iowa. It systematically elevates ideology over public will, weaponizes religion for political gain, relies on unaccountable dark money, and ruthlessly targets the rights of vulnerable minorities. The SPLC's formal designation of key network affiliates (FRC as "hate," M4L as "extremist") is not hyperbole. It's a critical alarm bell about the dangerous, anti-democratic forces actively reshaping our state.

Mapping this network architecture is essential. But the names, structures, and funding flows only reveal the machine. What is the human price of its operation?

In Part 4, we confront the human cost, hearing directly from Iowans impacted by the policies driven down the Church-to-Statehouse pipeline.

This investigation is reader-supported. If you believe exposing these forces is vital for Iowa's future, please SHARE this article widely and SUBSCRIBE.

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Footnotes

(Previously: The Cross and the Capitol, Part 1: Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline | Part 3 Now Available: The Cross and the Capitol, Part 3: Mapping the Network – Iowa's Christian Nationalist Infrastructure Exposed)

Introduction: The Blueprint Becomes Law

Part 1 clearly hit a raw nerve. The large reaction confirmed what our investigation suspected: something fundamental is shifting in Iowa's political landscape. You felt it. We mapped the architecture of a formidable "Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline," arguing it's powered by White Christian Nationalism (WCN) – an ideology relentlessly working to fuse a specific, conservative brand of Christianity with American identity and raw state power.

But ideology isn't abstract. Its real teeth are felt when it's etched into law. The true test of this pipeline's power isn't just rhetoric; it's the legislative reality unfolding under the Capitol dome, impacting lives daily. While mundane legislative machinery churned out other deals, the real action – the ideologically driven edge – was elsewhere. This installment moves from the WCN blueprint to the legislative battleground, dissecting the specific bills – rammed through, pending, or facing fierce debate – that expose the agenda in action.

Let's be clear. This isn't business-as-usual conservatism. Our digging, backed by legislative records and source analysis, reveals a coordinated program. It targets healthcare access, fundamental civil rights, what gets taught (and who teaches it), and the state's very definition of who belongs. We'll break down these initiatives, verify their status, expose their mechanics, and connect the dots directly back to core WCN tenets. What emerges is a disturbing pattern: religious dogma muscle-testing its way past democratic norms and established rights.

1. Legislating "Conscience": The Medical Ethics Defense Act (SF 220 / HF 571)

One of the most significant battlegrounds is healthcare – the space where vulnerability meets expertise. Here, the proposed Medical Ethics Defense Act, formally Senate File 220 (SF 220) and House File 571 (HF 571)1, aims to erect broad legal shields allowing medical providers, institutions, and even insurers to refuse participation in, or payment for, healthcare services that clash with their "conscience."2

• Status & Backing: This legislation is not hypothetical. It's an active threat. As of early April 2025, both bills remained on the Senate calendar3, with HF 571 having already cleared the Iowa House on March 30, 20254. Powerful religious lobbies, notably the Iowa Catholic Conference, have championed the bills vigorously, framing them as crucial for protecting moral integrity.5

• Theological Cover & The Dangerous Loophole: Proponents wrap the bill in the language of religious freedom, arguing no one should be forced to violate deeply held beliefs6. But the bill's actual language goes much further. "Conscience" is defined so broadly it extends beyond religious tenets to vague "ethical or moral principles," even an institution's bylaws7. Advocacy groups like One Iowa consistently argue against such measures, characterizing them as creating a new "avenue to discriminate,"8 particularly against LGBTQ+ Iowans seeking gender-affirming care or individuals needing reproductive health services9. The most glaring danger lies in what isn't in the bill: no requirement for providers to disclose when they refuse care based on conscience10. This lack of transparency, critics fear, weaponizes "conscience" against vulnerable patients, especially in rural areas with limited options.

• Constitutional Friction: While federal law offers limited conscience protections11, Iowa's proposal is far more expansive and opaque. It bumps hard against the principle, underscored by organizations like the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), that one person's exercise of religious freedom should not harm others12. Allowing religiously motivated denials of standard care without clear notice risks violating the Establishment Clause's prohibition on government endorsement of religion within the healthcare sphere13.

• The WCN Connection—This bill is a clear fit for the WCN playbook:

  • Privileging Specific Beliefs: Elevates subjective religious/moral objections over professional standards and patient needs.

  • Targeting "Out-Groups": Creates mechanisms to deny care disproportionately affecting groups often stigmatized by WCN ideology.

  • Eroding Secular Standards: Undermines the principle of equal access to care based on medical necessity, not provider dogma.

The persistent push for SF 220/HF 571 signals a determined effort to embed a specific, religiously derived moral code into Iowa's healthcare system, potentially at great cost to patients.

2. Redefining Identity, Rolling Back Rights: Senate File 418 (Gender Identity & Civil Rights)

Perhaps no legislation passed in recent memory so starkly embodies the WCN agenda's real-world impact as Senate File 418 (SF 418). Signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds on February 28, 2025 (effective July 1, 2025)14. This law is nothing less than a state-sponsored attack on the legal existence and fundamental rights of transgender and nonbinary Iowans. It is theology ruthlessly translated into discriminatory law.

• The Law's Cruel Precision: SF 418 fundamentally alters Iowa Code, defining "sex" exclusively by biology "observed or clinically verified" at birth and legally conflating this with "gender”. Its most destructive provision excises "gender identity" from the Iowa Civil Rights Act 15, ripping away protections against discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public life that had been Iowa law for nearly two decades 16. Iowa became the first state to legislatively repeal such established protections17. The bill also restricts K-6 discussion of gender identity and includes the chilling phrase "separate accommodations are not inherently unequal,"18 echoing historical segregation.

• Doctrine into Law: The law's rigid binary definition directly imports a specific, conservative Christian interpretation of Genesis 1:27 ("male and female he created them"), a viewpoint preached by figures like Pastor Jesse Newman. Groups like The Family Leader backed the bill 19, framing it as protecting "women and girls"20 – a smokescreen, opponents argue, for targeting a vulnerable minority based on religious objections. This definition effectively designates transgender and nonbinary Iowans as an "out-group."

• Human Devastation & Constitutional Challenge: The consequences are immediate and devastating. During hearings and in public comments, parents and youth expressed profound fear and heartbreak.
  

  "Vote no on SF 418. I am the parent of a trans child in Iowa. Changing the Iowa Civil Rights to exclude transgender people is tantamount to legalized discrimination." - Parent Testimony via Public Comments, Iowa Legislature21

  
  Another parent implored legislators, "Protecting my child is paramount... HF 583 [companion bill to SF 418] is not about fairness or justice. It’s about exclusion and harm."22 Speaking directly to the sense of erasure, Kayde Martin, a transgender youth testifying on his 18th birthday, said "Today I speak not just for myself, but for many transgender youths in Iowa... I stand before you fighting for the same basic civil rights that every Iowan deserves." 23
  

  This state-sanctioned erasure lands on a community already facing significant mental health challenges. Data show that in Iowa24:
  

  • 34% of LGBTQ+ young people in Iowa seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 42% of transgender and nonbinary young people.

  • 64% of LGBTQ+ young people in Iowa reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and 47% experienced symptoms of depression.
    

• SF 418 creates a direct clash with federal Equal Protection principles and Title VII interpretations (Bostock).25
  

• Democracy Ignored: Crucially, this bill became law despite overwhelming public testimony opposing it26 and visible protests.27 During public comment periods, citizens explicitly raised concerns about religious ideology driving the bill. One concerned voter stated a desire to avoid living in a theocracy. A parent expressed that faith was being "weaponized" against certain people28. This disregard for public input underscores a key feature of the WCN project: the imposition of its agenda, regardless of democratic opposition.
  

• The WCN Connection—SF 418 is a prime exhibit:

  • Enforcing Religious Doctrine: Writes a specific theological view of gender into state law.

  • Targeting the "Other": Identifies and strips rights from a specific group deemed outside the norm.

  • Authoritarian Imposition: Overrides democratic will and established rights to enforce ideology.
    

SF 418 stands as a grim landmark – demonstrating the WCN pipeline's capacity to turn religious belief into state-enforced discrimination29.

3. Dismantling Diversity: The Systemic Attack on DEI (SF 2435, SF 335, SF 507, HF 855, HF 856)

The WCN network's influence extends to reshaping Iowa's public institutions through a coordinated assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This multi-pronged attack reflects a core WCN strategy: challenging pluralism and reinforcing traditional social hierarchies.

• The Legislative Onslaught:

  • Universities Gutted (SF 2435): Enacted May 9, 202430, this law effectively defunded DEI offices at Iowa's public universities31, forcing disruptive cuts.

  • House Follows Suit (HF 856): Furthering this effort, the Iowa House passed HF 856 with amendments on March 18, 202532, which similarly prohibits funding for DEI offices and staff at public universities and community colleges. The bill initially sought to extend this to private colleges via tuition grant restrictions, though that provision was later amended out in the Senate33.

  • K-12 & Colleges Targeted (SF 335): Proposed February 202534, aims to ban DEI programs, staff, and instruction on topics deemed controversial (sexual orientation, CRT)35.

  • Local Governments Next (SSB 1150 / SF 507): Introduced early 202536, seeks a comprehensive ban on DEI in cities and counties37.

• Ideological Drivers & The "Seven Mountains": This campaign is fueled by the WCN narrative framing DEI as "woke indoctrination"38. Groups like Moms for Liberty39 and Turning Point USA40 relentlessly push this message. Commenter Evelyn Nikkel (PELLA PAC) exemplified this rhetoric, stating that adding protections for gender identity/sexual orientation in 2007 "loosed DEI indoctrination," linking it to various social ills41. Representative Steven Holt, arguing for HF 856, explicitly stated this view, asserting that DEI programs indoctrinate "young people to see everything through the prism of race," which he described as "incredibly destructive."42 This aligns with the broader WCN goal (often linked to the "Seven Mountains Mandate"43) of achieving dominance in cultural spheres like education.

• Chilling Effects & Practical Impacts: The impact goes beyond budgets. Dismantling DEI removes support for marginalized students and employees44. Academics and free speech advocates warn these laws create a "chilling effect" on academic freedom, discouraging open discussion of inequality45.

  "The elimination of DEI programs will significantly impact our ability to recruit and retain diverse talent.46" —Teresa Marshall, UI Faculty Senate President

  This reflects an authoritarian desire to control institutional narratives47.

• The WCN Connection:

  • Challenging Pluralism: A direct assault on efforts to create more inclusive public institutions.

  • Maintaining Hierarchies: Works to preserve existing social structures by removing equity initiatives.

  • Controlling Institutions: Imposes ideological conformity on universities, schools, and local government.

  • Utilizing "Woke" Narrative: Employs standard WCN rhetoric to attack DEI.

The systematic war on DEI demonstrates a strategic effort to remake Iowa's public sphere according to WCN dictates48.

4. Controlling the Classroom: Curriculum Mandates and Censorship (HF 391, HF 521)

The WCN agenda reaches directly into Iowa's classrooms and libraries, attempting to control what children learn and what information they can access – a long-term strategy to shape future generations.

• Mandating Doctrine (HF 391): Proposed February 202549, would force schools to teach specific content on fetal development, including showing a high-definition ultrasound video50. This isn't neutral biology. It's inserting a specific pro-life viewpoint central to WCN theology, raising clear Establishment Clause red flags.
  

• Unleashing Censorship (HF 521): Also proposed early 202551, seeks to remove obscenity exemptions for libraries and schools52. This could open the floodgates for challenges targeting books on LGBTQ+ issues, racial justice, or sexuality – topics often targeted by WCN-aligned groups. Librarians warn it undermines intellectual freedom53. This bill did not clear the 2nd funnel, so it's dead for at least this year.
  

• The WCN Connection: Education is a key front in the WCN culture war.
  

  • Codifying Specific Religious Beliefs: HF 391 mandates curriculum reflecting conservative Christian views on life.

  • Controlling Education & Enabling Censorship: Both bills aim to restrict exposure to diverse perspectives. HF 521 provides the tool for censorship.
    

These legislative maneuvers reveal a clear intent to use state authority to control knowledge and enforce ideological boundaries in Iowa's educational institutions.

5. Inserting Religion: The School Chaplain Bill (HF 884)

Perhaps one of the most direct attempts to embed religious influence within public schools is House File 884 (HF 884), the controversial "Chaplain Bill.”54 Passed by the House and awaiting a final Senate vote (as of early April 2025), it perfectly illustrates the WCN objective of breaching church-state separation.

• What It Does & The Qualification Loophole: HF 884 authorizes districts to use chaplains for student support. Critically, the House version explicitly prohibits requiring state certification (BOEE) for these chaplains. This deliberate circumvention of professional standards is a major red flag55.
  

• The Senate 'Fix' & the NSCA Connection: A proposed Senate amendment requires certification from a "nationally recognized school chaplain credentialing organization.” Investigation reveals the primary such body is the National School Chaplain Association (NSCA), a Christian advocacy group actively promoting these bills with explicitly Christian-centric training56. The “fix” risks merely channeling placement through a specific religious group.
  

• Constitutional Peril & WCN Alignment: Opponents forcefully argue HF 884 violates the Establishment Clause57.

As Americans United for Separation of Church and State warned regarding a predecessor bill, “[HF 884] will undoubtedly violate the religious freedom of students who have the right to attend school free from religious coercion and to feel welcome in the school regardless of their religious beliefs”. This aligns directly with WCN goals: blurring church-state lines and inserting religious personnel into secular institutions.

• Impact on Vulnerable Students & Texas Parallels: The lack of required training poses significant risks. State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott representing Senate District 14 is an ordained minister. This provides a distinct vantage point that others may not have. She opposes the school chaplain bill on several grounds. She emphasized that specific training needed. Licensure or certification is not required in the legislation59. She also identified the NSCA, named in the bill, as the only organization meeting the ammendment’s language and opposes the state’s involvement in religious matters.

  “This is an advocacy group associated with Oral Roberts University with the mission of putting evangelical christian chaplains in public schools….Because that’s what HF884 is really all about, using our public schools to evangelize and convert children to a particular religion—and letting out of state groups cash in while they do it.”—State Senator Sarah Trone Garriot60

• Most Texas school districts rejected hiring chaplains because of these concerns, despite the state implementing a similar law in 202361.

• Nikolas Nartowicz with Americans United for Separation of Church and State warned regarding a predecessor bill, “[HF 884] will undoubtedly violate the religious freedom of students who have the right to attend school free from religious coercion and to feel welcome in the school regardless of their religious beliefs”62.
  

HF 884 is not merely about support staff. It's a maneuver to inject specific religious perspectives into public education, bypassing professional standards and risking constitutional violations.

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6. The Network's Architecture: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) & The Coordinated Push

While local Iowa groups like The Family Leader are visible drivers, this legislative agenda is significantly amplified by powerful national organizations, most notably the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)63.

• ADF's Strategic Role: ADF's fingerprints are often visible. They've litigated in Iowa on abortion64 and gender issues65. Their national positions provide the template and legal arguments for bills like SF 220/HF 571, SF 418, and education mandates. Connections to groups like ALEC66, whose model policy likely influenced Iowa's university DEI ban, point to a coordinated national-state strategy.

• Providing Legal & Rhetorical Cover: ADF excels at providing model legislation and arguments framed as "religious freedom," lending a veneer of constitutional legitimacy to policies rooted in WCN ideology. They are a critical part of the national infrastructure enabling these state-level pushes.
  

7. Connecting the Dots: A Coherent Agenda, Not Isolated Bills

Viewed together, these legislative actions – restricting healthcare based on religious belief (SF 220/HF 571), rolling back LGBTQ+ civil rights (SF 418), systematically dismantling DEI (SF 2435, SF 335, SF 507, HF 856), and controlling educational content (HF 437, SF 519)67. In addition, influencing youth public health based on moral objections (SF 304/HF 384)68, inserting religious personnel into schools (HF 884), and promoting specific religious texts in public schools (SF 510/HF 845)69 – form a coherent pattern. They are not disparate issues but interconnected parts of a broader legislative program fueled by White Christian Nationalism. This program seeks to:

• Codify Specific Religious Beliefs: Embed conservative Christian views on gender, sexuality, life, and morality into state law.

• Marginalize "Out-Groups": Reduce the rights, visibility, and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals and potentially other minority groups.

• Control Institutions: Assert ideological control over public institutions like universities, schools, and potentially healthcare systems.

• Challenge Pluralism: Push back against diversity and multiculturalism in favor of a more homogeneous, Christian-centric public square.
  

The Authoritarian Echo

This legislative pattern also echoes the authoritarian tendencies inherent in WCN, discussed in Part 1. The attempts to control information, define identity by decree, limit bodily autonomy, install religious figures while bypassing professional standards, and roll back established rights demonstrate a willingness to use state power to enforce ideological conformity and social control. It reflects a movement less interested in democratic debate and compromise, and more focused on imposing its vision, viewing dissenters as threats.

The speed and breadth of these pushes, often despite significant public opposition70, speak to the effectiveness and influence of the network driving them. The arguments used – appeals to "religious freedom," "parental rights," fighting "woke indoctrination," protecting "women and girls" – are standard talking points within the national WCN movement.

8. Conclusion: A Pattern Confirmed, A Future Contested

The pattern is confirmed. The evidence laid bare. The specific bills dissected here reveal a coherent, multi-front assault designed to embed the core tenets of White Christian Nationalism into the legal and institutional fabric of Iowa. This legislative program systematically marginalizes vulnerable communities, codifies narrow religious doctrines, dismantles inclusive structures, and seeks to control knowledge – all while cloaked in familiar political rhetoric. The determination shown, often overriding public dissent, exposes the network's effectiveness and its chilling disregard for democratic processes.

This trajectory carries a deeply authoritarian undertone, challenging the very foundations of a pluralistic society. The human toll – measured in stripped rights, potential denial of care, diminished educational opportunities, threats to church-state separation, and pervasive fear – is not abstract. It is real and growing in Iowa.

The laws are changing Iowa, piece by painful piece. But how exactly does the network orchestrating this transformation operate? Who holds the purse strings? Who pulls the levers of power behind the scenes? Understanding the legislative output is critical, but it's only step one. Discuss these findings. Confront your representatives. Demand accountability. The fight for an inclusive, democratic Iowa requires informed and active citizens. Stay vigilant.

In Part 3, we trace the money and map the power brokers, diving deep into the infrastructure of influence powering Iowa's Church-to-Statehouse pipeline.

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9. Footnotes

UPDATE: Part 2 of the series, The Cross and the Capitol, Part 2, is here; Part 3— Mapping the Network – Iowa's Christian Nationalist Infrastructure Exposed; Part 4 — Shattering Iowa – The Human Cost of Christian Nationalism; Part 5 Finale—Our Iowa – Reclaiming Democracy from the Christian Nationalist Grip

How Iowa Became Ground Zero for a National Movement to Reshape Democracy

The heated debate over library books at the school board meeting. The starkly political sermons echoing from Sunday pulpits. The hardening lines in local social media groups. Something feels different in Iowa lately. Maybe you've noticed it too—a shift in the tone from Des Moines, a deepening divide in community debates, and a new boldness in certain church messages that sound less like scripture and more like political strategy.

As your neighbor and fellow Iowan, I’ve felt it too. These changes spurred me to investigate the links between Sunday sermons and Statehouse votes. This series isn’t just about reporting events; it’s about decoding the network beneath them. By connecting publicly available data—legislative votes, campaign finance disclosures, organizational reports, and rhetorical patterns—it paints a clearer picture of an influence that often operates just below the surface of daily headlines.

What I’ve uncovered over months of research goes beyond partisan disagreement, revealing patterns I call the “Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline.”—where a specific political ideology, White Christian Nationalism, is being actively funneled into the laws that govern all of us. This isn’t about attacking anyone’s personal faith. It’s about understanding how a political movement, cloaked in religious language, is reshaping Iowa’s foundational values: fairness, equality, and even democracy itself.

Across this five-part series, I’ll piece together evidence from legislative records, campaign finance data, organizational networks, and the public rhetoric of key players to reveal how this pipeline operates, who’s building it, and what it means for Iowa’s future.

Defining the Threat: What is White Christian Nationalism?

To understand the pipeline, we first need to understand the fuel. White Christian Nationalism (WCN), as defined by scholars like Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead, goes beyond religious belief. It is a potent cultural framework that fuses a particular Christian identity with American identity and civic life.

While the idea of a “Christian nation” has roots in American history, modern White Christian Nationalism is a distinct political ideology. It seeks to wield political power to enforce a specific set of religious beliefs. At its core is the contested – Contested belief that the United States was established as a Christian nation, a claim many historians challenge.

Researchers and watchdog groups have identified several key tenets of WCN:

• Fusing Identities: Merging a narrowly defined, conservative Christian identity with the definition of what it means to be a “true” American.

• "Christian Nation" Mandate: Advocating for the U.S. to be governed by specific Christian values, with laws reflecting this mandate—a view that conflicts with the Constitution’s secular framework. Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee warns that WCN "uses the language of religious freedom to advocate for religious privilege."

• Privileging Christianity & Hierarchy: Seeking to ensure its interpretation of Christianity holds a dominant position, often reinforcing social hierarchies based on religion, race, and traditional gender roles.

• Exclusionary Worldview: Establishing clear boundaries – an "in-group" of perceived "true" (conservative, White) Americans and Christians, versus "out-groups" comprising non-Christians, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and those with differing political views.

• Dominionism and Divine Mandate: Influential factions within the movement, guided by ideas like the Seven Mountain Mandate, believe Christians have a divine calling to "take dominion" over all areas of society, from government to education.

It's critical to distinguish this political ideology from personal faith. While many adherents are deeply religious, White Christian Nationalism is not simply about faith— it is a political movement. Its aim is to translate one narrow interpretation of Christianity into law and policy, often at the expense of others' rights and the foundational principle of separating church and state.

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The Authoritarian Connection

Beyond specific policies, scholars increasingly identify authoritarian tendencies intertwined with the ideology of White Christian Nationalism (WCN). This isn't simply about conservatism—it touches upon the very health of democratic norms and institutions. Experts on authoritarianism offer chilling warnings that strongly echo WCN's characteristics.

Recent American politics provides stark examples of the intersection between WCN and authoritarianism. The January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol featured elements associated with White Christian Nationalism, such as the use of Christian symbols alongside nationalist imagery. Christian symbols—wooden crosses, “Jesus Saves” signs—were carried alongside nationalist and white supremacist imagery, including Confederate flags and makeshift gallows. While many secular observers found this juxtaposition baffling, scholars like Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry identified it as a manifestation of White Christian Nationalism: an ideology capable of motivating anti-democratic, authoritarian, and even violent actions. That day revealed the troubling potential of WCN to inspire the rejection of legitimate election results and the use of violence to achieve political goals.

Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, in her book Strongmen, explains how authoritarian leaders often rise by promising to restore a mythical, "purer" past. In doing so, they target democratic institutions and norms as obstacles to their vision of national rebirth. This narrative aligns closely with WCN’s framing of America’s decline from a perceived Christian golden age and its adversarial stance toward secular governance.

This “us vs. them” rhetoric—this promise to restore a lost “purity”—has begun to feel disturbingly familiar here in Iowa.

Similarly, historian Timothy Snyder, in On Tyranny, warns against the patterns that lead to the erosion of democracies. “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom,” he writes—a warning that resonates deeply in the context of WCN. This ideology frequently elevates specific religious interpretations over established science (e.g., on gender identity) or historical truth (e.g., on the nation’s founding). WCN’s tendency to frame policies as divinely mandated rather than rooted in democratic consensus places it squarely in Snyder’s “danger zones.” He also cautions, “Be wary of paramilitaries,” a warning that becomes chillingly relevant when considering the overlap between WCN adherents and support for extra-governmental actions.

When facts are dismissed, and entire groups are targeted as enemies, the freedom of all is ultimately at risk.

Scholars have identified several anti-democratic patterns within WCN that align with authoritarian tendencies:

1. Imposition over Persuasion: Rather than persuading fellow citizens through democratic debate, WCN often seeks to impose its vision of a “Christian Nation” through political power. Compromise is viewed as betrayal, and dissent is treated as illegitimate.

2. "Othering" and Exclusion: WCN defines stark “in-groups” (white, conservative Christians) and “out-groups” (religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, progressives, etc.). This division justifies discrimination and erodes the pluralism essential to a functioning democracy. The rhetoric against LGBTQ+ Iowans or immigrants, for example, portrays them as threats to traditional “Iowa values,” creating a scapegoat dynamic that echoes classic authoritarian tactics.

3. Challenging Democratic Processes & Norms: Adherents of WCN exhibit significant distrust in democratic institutions, skepticism of election integrity (especially when results are unfavorable), and a willingness to support leaders who flout democratic norms. Alarmingly, a 2024 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) report found that Christian Nationalism adherents were nearly three times more likely than other Americans (31% vs 11%) to agree that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” This embrace of potential violence represents a dangerous departure from democratic principles and threatens civic stability.

The tendency toward violence statistically linked to this ideology isn't just a number. It’s a warning. It signals a chilling departure from the peaceful, democratic engagement most Iowans expect and deserve.

This isn’t a debate about cultural preference. It’s a profound challenge to democratic governance itself. When a movement prioritizes ideological purity over legal and democratic processes, demonizes vast swathes of the citizenry as “outsiders,” claims divine sanction for its political agenda, and cultivates a base more willing to embrace political violence, it threatens the very foundations of a diverse, peaceful, and free society.

Iowa: Fertile Ground for the Pipeline

Why is this ideology finding such purchase specifically in Iowa? Several factors converge to create the perfect conditions:

• Demographics: Iowa’s population is approximately 89.6% White and 78% Christian. This demographic makeup provides fertile ground where WCN messaging can resonate more deeply with a majority population.

• Political Landscape: The state’s pronounced shift toward Republican control in both the legislature and the governor’s office has created an environment where policies aligned with the WCN agenda face fewer obstacles. Ideas once relegated to the political fringe now find champions in positions of power.

• Activated Networks: As we'll explore, well-funded and highly organized groups have effectively mobilized this demographic base, transforming latent sympathies into direct political action.

Many of us cherish an Iowa built on community, pragmatism, and mutual respect. But these converging factors have created an environment where an ideology seeking religious and cultural dominance can flourish—shaping policy in ways that demand our close attention.

Case Study: Eternity Church – The Pipeline in Action

To understand how the Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline operates in practice, let’s examine the case of Eternity Church in Urbandale—a megachurch and highly visible example of this network's influence. My previous reporting first flagged Eternity's political entanglement, but further investigation reveals it as a near-perfect model of the WCN influence strategy.

Pastor Jesse Newman doesn’t just preach scripture. He openly identifies as a Christian nationalist. His rhetoric, delivered from the pulpit and amplified across social media, frequently echoes the movement’s most extreme positions. Newman has publicly urged his congregation to “have more babies” to “outbreed the unbelievers”—a pro-natalist call rooted in the desire for demographic dominance. His sermons and online posts often target LGBTQ+ individuals, DEI initiatives, and political opponents, casting civic disagreements as spiritual warfare.

This goes beyond ordinary political disagreement. It’s language intended to polarize and dehumanize. It casts fellow Iowans not as partners in a shared society but as adversaries in a spiritual battle.

This is far more than local organizing; it’s a deliberate, well-resourced strategy to elevate particular voices while marginalizing others, eroding the fundamental idea that all Iowans deserve an equal say in our democracy.

What makes Eternity Church especially significant is not just its rhetoric but the mechanisms of influence it deploys. It provides a clear demonstration of how religious authority, political access, and financial backing connect to form a powerful circuit of influence:

• The Political Stage: Eternity Church doesn’t shy away from overt political involvement. It famously hosted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch, blurring the lines between a tax-exempt religious institution and a partisan rally ground. By positioning itself as a physical nexus for political activity, the church exemplifies how the pipeline operates in practice.

• Amplification Network: Pastor Newman uses his platform to elevate national WCN figures like Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, bringing their often divisive messages directly to his large Iowa audience. This feeds the ideological stream, ensuring that national WCN rhetoric finds a receptive local base.

• Access, Endorsement, and Financial Corroboration: Newman maintains documented relationships with specific Iowa politicians, providing them with a platform and the implicit endorsement of his religious authority – a phenomenon I call the "religious authority amplification loop." Crucially, this isn't just about photo ops or shared stages. Financial records confirm the alignment.

• Crucially, my independent research into Pastor Jesse Newman's political donations, conducted prior to consulting publicly available campaign finance records, is directly and unequivocally corroborated by data from OpenSecrets.org. These financial contributions mirror the public-facing relationships, creating a tangible link in the pipeline. Adding another layer, Nunn and Gehlbach are reportedly close personal friends, further reinforcing this political and ideological network.

• Organizational Hub: Eternity Church is also affiliated with groups like Moms for Liberty and Turning point USA, serving as a local meeting point and recruitment ground for national organizations pushing the WCN agenda in schools and communities. This demonstrates how local nodes connect to broader networks, facilitating the spread of ideology.

Eternity Church serves as a case study in how a religious platform can be leveraged to achieve direct political mobilization, amplify messaging, broker access, and provide financial support for aligned politicians. These components are critical to the Church-to-Statehouse Pipeline and exemplify how this coordinated system operates in Iowa and beyond.

The Bigger Picture: A Coordinated Network

Eternity Church, while significant, is not an isolated case. It’s a highly visible node within a much larger, interconnected, and increasingly influential network across Iowa, working to channel WCN ideology into state policy.

At the center of this network is The Family Leader (TFL), led by Bob Vander Plaats. Frequently referred to as an Iowa GOP “kingmaker,” Vander Plaats exerts considerable influence. Operating under the mission to “inspire Christ-like leadership... in government” and promote a “gospel-centered approach to governance,” TFL serves as a powerful hub for advancing WCN ideology.

A cornerstone of TFL’s strategy is the "Church Ambassador Network," which is explicitly designed "to connect pastors directly with government leaders." This initiative institutionalizes the pulpit-to-policy pipeline, aiming to "bring God's Word into the Capitol." Through this network, TFL mobilizes its extensive church base to lobby for legislation aligned with its specific interpretation of “biblical values.”

Affiliated with the national Family Research Council (designated an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center), TFL is a major player in lobbying efforts in Des Moines. Its advocacy often translates into anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion policies, with its fingerprints on key legislative battles, from judicial retention elections to recent changes in civil rights laws.

TFL's influence is amplified through partnerships with over 1,850 churches across Iowa. The Church Ambassador Network, explicitly designed "to connect pastors directly with government leaders," acts as a mechanism to institutionalize the pipeline, connecting pastors with lawmakers to influence policy directly.

Public lobbying records confirm TFL's systematic engagement via multiple registered lobbyists (Ryan Benn, Danny Carroll, Chuck Hurley, Josiah Oleson) on controversial legislation like HF419 (targeting transgender Iowans), anti-DEI measures, and other social policy bills. These lobbying efforts are carried out through both The Family Leader and The Family Leader Foundation, a tax-exempt charity, effectively leveraging both entities to push its agenda.

TFL isn’t the only organization employing these pipeline strategies. Several key groups and allies are operating in tandem:

Moms for Liberty: Local chapters of this group (designated an extremist group by the SPLC) focus on influencing school boards, advocating for book bans, and opposing inclusive curricula.

Turning Point USA: This organization activates conservative students on college campuses and increasingly in public secondary schools, often amplifying WCN themes and fueling grassroots energy.

Other Allied Groups & Churches: Lobbying records reveal coordinated efforts with organizations such as VALOR Iowa, Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values, and the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, which frequently align with TFL on the same legislative efforts. Additional networks, such as the Engage Network focused on church planting, also contribute to the broader WCN landscape across Iowa.

This is not a loose collection of like-minded individuals. It is a well-organized and coordinated network that aligns messaging, mobilizes voters, directs resources, and applies sustained pressure on lawmakers. The result is a demonstrable success in transforming ideology into law through the established Church-to-Statehouse pipeline.

What's Next?

The influence is undeniable. The network is active. And the consequences are already being written into Iowa law, shaping everything from healthcare access and educational content to the fundamental civil rights of our neighbors. This pipeline isn’t just carrying prayers to Des Moines—it’s delivering a specific, exclusionary political agenda with deeply troubling authoritarian undertones.

In Part 2 of The Cross and the Capitol, we will pull back the curtain on the specific legislation passed and proposed right here in Des Moines. We’ll break down the text of these laws, explore the debates surrounding them, and reveal how the goals of the Christian nationalist network are being translated into policies that affect all Iowans.

This investigation is essential for understanding the forces reshaping our state. Engaging with these issues is critical as we navigate the path ahead. If you believe this work is important, please share it with your fellow Iowans to help spread awareness.

What has been your experience with these changes in Iowa? Share your thoughts and join the conversation as we continue to explore this issue in the next parts of this series. Part 2 is available here.

This investigation is vital for understanding the forces reshaping our state. If you believe this work is important, please share it with fellow Iowans. Subscribe to receive the next parts directly.

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Update 2: All source material provided by anonymous source.

See Update 1 below.

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Update 2. All source material provided by an anonymous source.

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As death threats and SWATting attempts on opponents pile up, Mr. Trump is piling up endorsements on the East Coast. Everyone is looking to New Hampshire. Nikki Haley is doing stronger than expected, but there will be no surprise in the end. The stage last night in New Hampshire shows almost all of the state's (and S…

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Today we will start a new series, which will continue periodically through the November elections.

We have all witnessed the relatively quick transformation of a political party from the ultra-conservative GOP, to a complete takeover by the white nationalist focused MAGA GOP. Anyone who doesn't fall in line with the MAGA philosophy is primaried, or in some cases even ejected from the party or their positions completely. This group no longer functions as a political party dedicated toward advancing certain ideals, or a party with a clearly defined policy agenda. There are no moderating voices remaining and no room for dissent.

No, the MAGA agenda, from the head of the cult himself, is about the complete roll-back of modern progress. Some wish to go backwards to the day when white men have all the privileges and get a solid head start in life. This is MAGA. This is also known as reactionary politics. It's the attempt to turn the progress backwards. Think of the America when women weren’t allowed to vote, blacks were completely segregated and discrimination was not only allowed but encouraged. The goal is the taking away of individual rights.

This had already been demonstrated by the test labs for fascism, best known as Iowa and Florida. It’s no accident that these two states have been on the cutting edge of the attempt to roll back progress.

These two states have followed the same path away from democracy and towards fascism. These states are test labs for fascism. They are practicing and noting which ways work best to roll back our rights incrementally with the least notice. But there are many other states catching up.

As The Guardian reported, The risk of a coup in the next US election is greater now than it ever was under Trump This article is more than 2 years old, Laurence H Tribe. The next US civil war is already here – we just refuse to see it, and Why US far-right groups are shifting their focus to local communities

And This plan has been discussed and named the “bloodless coup.” The goal is the end of democracy. This would be done through a combination of getting in local political positions first, for example schoolboards. Then they would work up through state level elected positions where they can position themselves to ratify the state presidential electoral college votes. Representative Gehlbach is an example of this in our state, though I don’t pretend to know his future votes. Another target is to get on local election boards, and volunteer to intimidate voters at their polling places. It could happen right in front of us before many even realize it occurred. The process has already begun with only a few of the examples noted below.

• The Supreme Court has already been captured.

• The right to make choices for our own families about books.

• The right to reproductive freedom

• The diminished ability of our families to get a good education.

• Education with increasing focus on unquestioning patriotism, with classroom agendas beginning to be set by politicians instead of professional teachers.

• The rollback of rights for LGBTQ Iowans and elsewhere.

State GOP leaders have shown by their past actions. They will continue to diminish rights of all Iowans as long as possible, until someone stops them. It’s no accident that the governor endorsed DeSantis.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian and expert in both fascism and authoritarianism has observed that DeSantis is every bit, or more, dangerous than Trump with his authoritarian goals. Nikki Haley was a part of the MAGA administration. Don’t fall for her act. She is Trumpism with a smile. Here’s one of Ms. Ben-Ghiat's recent statements.

2024 could be our last chance to change the MAGA GOP's intended trajectory away from democracy and toward fascism. We need maximum voter participation. We need to set ideology aside, for now, and form a voting coalition of voters who understand that America’s existence is in danger. Stamping out this cancer, now known as MAGA, is more important than anything else to the future of the America we know.

The MAGA cult’s overuse of patriotic themes, flags, and use of patriotic sounding words belie the true facts of what is really going on. The selling of state secrets perhaps? Election fraud? These are all unresolved questions about the person who will be asking once again for our vote. But they’re beyond merely unresolved questions. They’re now indictments.

We simply can’t afford the incredible risk of losing the America we know. We need everyone who has any doubts about future dictator Trump to band together in a voting block. We need to maximize anti-MAGA voting power and make it next to impossible to claim the vote is invalid.

If you care about the America we know and love, please join me. I will be a part of this movement and anything I can do to crush this MAGA cancer completely.

We will continue to discuss the latest developments in the upcoming primary season, and carefully track the future of this anti-democratic movement. It will take all of us working together. This is a call to action to all of us who love America and are the true patriots trying to save it from the grip of authoritarianism.

With this all considered together, we could consider this year the possible year of the death of America as we know it. Already plans are coming to light of a repeat attempt from 2020. There are some already beginning to “set the stage,” with a false narrative that the vote is insecure and shouldn't be trusted.

We need to see this for what it is—a refined, repeat attempt of the 2021 coup. This will take into account and modify the mistakes that caused them to fail last time. Think of January 6, 2021 as the test run for this year. Trump will not go back to following the election rules after what we collectively have already let him get away with. There were no consequences. What will stop him from trying this again?

We have had years to study, observe and by now there should be nobody who claims to be surprised when later this year the 91 times indicted, counter-revolutionary, admitted serial sex offender, ex-president Trump refuses again to concede, no matter what the final vote tally shows.

We should all be ready for this, and plan for contingencies. But the most important thing to realize is we are not powerless to stop it. Time is critical. The focus should be on coalition building. Setting our differences aside, and voting anti-MAGA all the way down the ticket. This dangerous man is long overdue to be completely stopped. The only power he has is the power we give him. After 2024 that could all change, and it may be up to us no longer. We are all needed to fight for democracy.

Here are a few highlights from the past week.

Republicans Against Trump

“Fundamentally a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it. Even if it ends in electing a democrat?" Yes, we all need to work together. Democrats, Independents, moderate Republicans, never Trumpers. Anyone that is worried, concerned or disappointed at the prospect of an end to America as we know it. We should all be voting for Biden. Why? Because the future of America is more important than anything else. For Republicans, this even means electing a democrat. To consolidate power, we all would need to vote for Biden, no matter what. Biden at least continues to promise to listen to and represent ALL voters, not just democrats. And any protest vote for a 3rd party candidate should be seen as an intentional ruse to weaken Biden’s vote total just enough for Trump to win. The Trump campaign will throw everything at us, including lies. We must see through this, and look hard to find the truth. In the online age, the truth is very elusive and intentionally obfuscated. But it’s still there. We need to bring it back to front and center to begin righting this ship.

Lincoln Project

There's no room for error on this one. No way we can be too cautious. This is a real possibility. Please vote for democrats, i…

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UPDATE 1: I'm still waiting for someone to explain why the opposing side of this story makes sense for any human. We had an overwhelming majority of the state GOP legislature approve this, making it into law.

This story is from The Guardian in December 2021, but it turned out that what we have seen happening in the 3 years since has borne out to be very similar to what The Guardian described back at the time. They seemed to predict the future.

We have seen openly white supremacists, bigots, other blatantly extreme extremists, and extremists aligned with national PACs, applying to get onto many of the local area school boards. Their plan is to start at the ground level in local politics as mainstream conservatives. Then work up into the higher state positions from there. As The Guardian also explains, this is a plan for a “bloodless” civil war, where the planners are actively trying to take over and rule the functions of government and voting from the ground up within the MAGA (racist) framework.

Two areas deemed to be most important appear to be voting and education. The extremist positions espoused by TPUSA, Moms 4 Liberty, and others are all remarkably similar. And the main component that ties them all together? They are trying to control the class material and agenda. They want to cut racism, sexism, gender-affirming treatment of any kind, and other things they object to right out of our history. They have managed to get part of this goal started through the governor backed legislation that has already been enacted by the state GOP. Some of these are HF 68, SF 538 SF 482, These far-right extremists are themselves the one with the agendas which they project elsewhere.

They want teachers to praise the USA only for the good it’s done, and leave out anything bad. This is obviously trying to erase history in the minds of our youth. Wait, are these far-right groups trying to indoctrinate our students? And it's a curtailment of free speech in the classroom. Please ask yourself why anyone would want us to deny parts of our history to the next generation? Also ask why the state GOP would pass a bill that curtails the classroom free speech of those who know the most about education — the teachers themselves?

We have some ugliness, and have made some very bad mistakes at times in our past history. Nothing will change this. Native Americans were here before us and they were subjugated, slaughtered, had genocide committed against them, and the ones remaining finally put on small strips of land that are still present to this day.

We have a history of racism, slavery, and anti-immigrant bias. We still have components of this that have never been reconciled. We have institutional racism remaining. Why would we tell our children this is not true? Just look at one organization, the CBP Union for example. A read of one or two of their own X posts are great for examples of institutional racism. https://twitter.com/BPUnion.

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We have to own up to our past. We have to understand fully what happened with slavery, Native Americans, and past human rights abuse, so nothing similar will ever repeat itself again. This is one of the great reasons to study (real) history.

If we go down the road that these far-right groups, TPUSA, Moms 4 Liberty, and others want us to, over the next generations our knowledge of slavery and the truth about our own country’s past could greatly diminish. This would allow all the past mistakes and human rights abuses to easily repeat themselves. This bigotry also includes misogyny. If anyone can tell me why this is the best move, please comment below. We are among the leaders on this issue now, thanks to Governor Reynolds.

We have already seen this happening at some schools in Iowa. Others have tried and failed. But this is why it is so important to look at everything about a candidate. Especially their past actions, past bills sponsored, and past voting record. Whatever the candidate talks about on a stump speech, face to face with voters and asking for votes before an election, their words should match their prior deeds. I am finding several times this is not what is happening in local elections. This also end up applying to the general elections this November.

Prediction. The extremist candidate will “slide in,” or pivot to the center to appear moderate, simply to get your vote for the next election. Then once they’re in the new position, they can start to enact the radical components of their agenda. For example, book banning. Yes, thanks to Governor Reynolds and GOP legislators, this is now a law, but likely will be overturned in court.

This is essentially lying by omission. And the GOP has come to the unavoidable truth. Because of demographics and many other trends, the GOP thinks they are unable to win by being honest. Now that they’re not trying to use honesty and convince voters of their position, their thoughts of getting enough votes becomes less important, and thoughts of autocracy creep in.

We have extremists speaking out at board meetings, and some sitting on the boards, who have been trying, and will continue to try to get books banned no matter what the state law says. Who we trust with our vote makes a big difference at all levels of the government.

Otherwise, please join me in doing everything we can to get national PACS, national alt-right movements, extremists, and all far-right organizations away from our elections. As far as possible. And also away from our school boards, schools, governments, and elections. This is my goal.

They should know, before even applying as candidates, that they will have no chance to win in Iowa. Because here, we are on to them and know what they are trying to do. This knowledge alone is half of the battle, as they hide amongst us as moderates. I and others are trying to keep track of the extremist groups’ activities in the state and which of them are aligned with our governor or other public figures.

In Iowa, I hope we want our children to learn real history as it happened. We want our children to be well educated and not learn myths and fairy tales. And we want strong public schools. Public schools have been a cornerstone of this country since its beginning.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/us-far-right-groups-local-impacts

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This is a lesser known group. They tend to fly under the radar, or maybe just to me. But they do have chapters in West Des Moines, Waukee, and likely other metro area schools.

Parents Defending Education is a 501c3 non-profit. Their purpose claims to be fighting indoctrination in our classrooms. But if you look at their long description, it’s clear t…

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But they have followed the general right-wing MAGA trend toward an even more extreme form of Nationalism. Most recently they have begun to emphasize Christian Nationalism amo…

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https://databases.desmoinesregister.com/database-books-removed-from-libraries-in-iowa-school-districts/

These are the results of the Reynold’s book censureship and banning.

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