Washington, D.C
Thousands rally at Christian nationalist event in DC to ‘turn hearts back to God’
Tens of thousands of Christians poured onto the National Mall on Saturday to atone, pray and take a stand for America – which, in their vision, should be ruled by a Christian god.
Summoned to Washington DC by the multilevel marketing professional-turned-Christian “apostle” Jenny Donnelly and the anti-LGBTQ+ celebrity pastor Lou Engle, they streamed onto the lawn holding blue and pink banners emblazoned with the hashtag #DontMessWithOurKids – a nod to the myth that children are being indoctrinated into adopting gay and transgender identities.
It was no coincidence that the event was held on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur: evangelicals and charismatic Christians find spiritual meaning in Old Testament scripture, Jewish rituals and support for Israel – where they believe the end times prophecy will take place.
November’s presidential election hung heavy over the crowd, too. A promotional newsletter for the event called on “the Lord’s authority over the election process and our nation’s leadership”, and organizers handed out flyers promoting a pre-election prayer event hosted by the Donald Trump-aligned organization Turning Point USA Faith.
“I was here at January 6,” said Tami Barthen, an attendee who traveled from Pennsylvania to attend the rally, and who described her experience of Trump supporters carrying out a deadly attack on the US Capitol as profoundly spiritual. “It’s not Democrat versus Republican,” she said. “It’s good versus evil.”
It’s the first of a series of Christian nationalist gatherings in DC to rally believers to the Capitol ahead of the 2024 election.
Donnelly billed the event as a rallying call for mothers concerned about changing gender norms in the modern US and casting the gathering at the Capitol as an opportunity for women to stand their ground and play a pivotal role in changing the country’s cultural and political trajectory.
The rally is a collaboration organized by multiple far-right Christian leaders affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement on the political far right that seeks to establish long-term Christian dominion over government and society as well as get Trump a second presidency in November.
Matthew Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, said the effort was aimed at “creating a network – a mass of people – who see it as their spiritual mission to take over Washington DC”
Most prominent in the push to turn out women to the National Mall is Engle, a rightwing pastor and staunch opponent of LGBTQ+ rights and abortion, whose tutelage of anti-gay Ugandan pastors and coordination of mass prayer mobilizations has earned him international notoriety and celebrity.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which characterizes Engle as an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, notes that Engle has in the past compared the anti-LGBTQ+ push to the secessionist south during the American civil war, calling on opponents of gay rights to emulate the Confederate general Robert E Lee, who “was able to restrain Washington”.
Donnelly’s vision – of a crowd of moms descending on the Capitol in pink and blue – is her own. Engle, whose mass prayer rallies have drawn hundreds of thousands to DC in the past, offers a platform to turn people out.
“We are seeing a million women and their families coming together to see this great country turn their hearts back to God,” said Donnelly, on a 21 June podcast promoting the march. Donnelly, who lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family, described how during the Covid-19 lockdowns and Black Lives Matter protests – twin forces she says shut down her church – she was called by God to go deeper into the political realm.
“I said: ‘Lord, I’m just a mom of five, I have a great church – it’s not huge. I’ve done women’s retreats, I think I’ve been doing my part in the kingdom and I love Jesus so much, but I don’t even know where to begin, but would you put me in the fight?’” she said.
Donnelly has sought to pass along that message to other Christian women through an organization called Her Voice Movement Action, which organizes women into decentralized, independently-run “prayer hubs” – a source of spiritual community for women that also functions as a political mobilization tool.
“We’ve been praying for our nation for a couple years in small prayer hubs,” said Louette Madison, who traveled from Washington state to DC for the rally. Madison has teenagers in the public school system and described hoping for a day when prayer is embraced in schools, saying: “I think that the schools are kind of getting rid of the values, and also getting rid of the discipline, [and] when there’s no consequences, that can cause a lot more chaos in school.”
The decentralized organizing model carries echoes of Donnelly’s previous life: before reinventing herself as a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation, Donnelly earned millions through the multilevel marketing company AdvoCare, which collapsed after settling with the Federal Trade Commission for $150m in a lawsuit alleging the company was an illegal pyramid scheme.
From Peru to Portland
Years before Donnelly flew the #DontMessWithOurKids flag, a movement under the same name took hold in Peru, promoted by Christian Rosas, a conservative Christian political strategist and consultant in the mining industry. The evangelical “No te metas con mis hijos” – “don’t mess with my kids” – coalition, which opposed LGBTQ+ inclusion and abortion, earned followers in 2016 during a wave of conservative backlash against governmental efforts to introduce themes of gender equality and LGBTQ+ inclusion in the school system.
When the government issued lockdown orders to slow the spread of Covid-19, it issued travel restrictions by gender, allowing women and men to leave the house on different days of the week and affirming that trans people’s gender identities would be respected in enforcing the rule. Rosas took issue with the trans-inclusive policy, claiming that police officers were obligated to enforce the rule based on travelers’ identification cards, not their gender identities.
During the lockdown orders, the Peruvian investigative reporting outlet OjoPúblico reported on 18 incidents of humiliating and abusive arrests of trans women by the police.
What started as street protests has turned into an electoral strategy to elect ultra-conservative allies of the Christian right into office in Peru. These lawmakers have passed a slew of socially conservative laws, including one this year that classifies transgender identities as mental illnesses.
Donnelly has taken up the mantle of this movement among Christian moms in the US, drawing directly from Rosas’s vision in Peru and consulting him on strategy.
“We challenged the law, why? Because the law was unjust. We challenged the curriculum. Why? Because the curriculum was unjust,” said Rosas on a podcast interview with Donnelly on 6 November 2023. “TV, news [outlets], they mocked us every day, they mocked us, they ridiculed us, saying: ‘Look at them, they’re radical, religious, whatever,’ but they saw that we are not retreating.”
Don’t Mess With Our Kids and No te metas con mis hijos have both attempted to cast their organizations as grassroots mobilizations. In a 2017 interview with Vice News, a spokesperson for the group spoke on the condition of anonymity, claiming to speak for “the collective”.
Donnelly’s Her Voice Movement adopts a similar approach. In a recording of a Zoom call in August – which journalist Dominick Bonny obtained and shared with the Guardian – Her Voice Movement spokesperson Naomi Van Wyk said the group had teamed up with Moms for Liberty to launch a multi-state campaign called March for Kids, but cautioned members to keep the association private.
“The parent company is Moms for Liberty, but they don’t wanna be recognized. They really want this movement to be grassroots, and to make a public statement that there are hundreds and thousands of people across the country that are coming together under one umbrella,” said Van Wyk.
Elizabeth Salazar Vega, a reporter covering gender and politics in Peru, said she was not surprised that the push had taken hold in the US – or that it had found expression just weeks before a presidential election.
“This is the ideal scenario to bind these voices together, that could normally appear siloed in civil society,” Salazar Vega told the Guardian in Spanish. “I don’t think it would be impossible for this to escalate rapidly in the United States.”
Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist pastor who has organized “Kingdom to the Capitol” protests in swing states, is planning a similar march in DC later this month.
Closing time! One last call for decking the hall and wrapping up your holiday cheer.
Celebrate Hanukkah with menorah lightings in Clarendon and National Landing and Kwanzaa at the Anacostia Community Museum and The Kennedy Center.
Though decorations are already deeply discounted, it’s your last weekend to check out plenty of Christmas classics, too.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is all about catching up. Get extra sleep, exchange those not-quite-right gifts and check out some cool stuff you may have missed in the holiday hustle.
For one, it’s the finale weekend for the Washington Ballet’s “The Nutcracker.” We’re sorry to report that Tommy and Aimee Cho will not be on stage.
4 things to know about the weekend
See these holiday displays before they’re gone
Free pick
Holiday Walk of Lights at Neabsco Regional Park
Through Fri., Woodbridge
🔗 Details
Stroll the boardwalk covered with lights, enjoying characters and a holiday market. It’s free to visit. It’s friendly to pets, strollers and wheelchairs.
Winter Lights Festival at Seneca Creek State Park
Through New Year’s Eve, Gaithersburg
🔗 Details
Drive past hundreds of illuminated displays and trees on this 3.5-mile path. Tickets must be purchased in advance and cost $15 to $25 per vehicle.
Free pick
Seasons Greenings
Through Jan. 5, U.S. Botanic Garden
🔗 Details
The Conservatory and Garden have transformed into the ultimate holiday wonderland with botanical wreaths and décor, thousands of poinsettias and iconic D.C. landmarks made from plants.
Tingle Bells: An ASMR-Inspired Holiday Special
Through Jan. 5, ARTECHOUSE DC in Southwest, $17+
🔗 Details
The holidays can be a bit much sometimes with all of the hustle and bustle. Take some time to soothe your mind by visiting Artechouse’s Holiday Special: Tingle Bells. The ASMR-inspired experience soothes your senses with calming soundscapes and captivating visuals.
The newest addition to the multi-sensory experience is the Spectacular Factory, where you’ll feel like you landed in a dream in a holiday gift factory that came to life.
Can’t-miss museum exhibits
Free pick
“OSGEMEOS: Endless Story”
Through August, Hirshhorn Museum
Colorful and whimsical, this exhibit of twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo’s art takes over a full floor of the Hirshhorn with an incredible amount of work from paintings and sketches to larger-than-life sculptures. Make sure to grab timed tickets and stop by the Basquiat × Banksy exhibit, too.
Free pick
“Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment”
Through Jan. 19, the National Gallery of Art in D.C.
🔗 Details
Don’t miss the only U.S. stop for this exhibit on the origins of the impressionist art movement. It’s filled with heavy hitters like Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet, plus lesser-known artists. Stop by to warm up after a morning ice skating in the Sculpture Garden!
JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience
Through March 2025, Capital Jewish Museum, $10 (for non-members and those over 12 years old)
🔗 Details
In this new exhibit, you can explore 100 years of Jewish cartoons, comics, and graphic novels at the Capital Jewish Museum. Learn about the Jewish origins of iconic comic book superheroes from the 1930s through the 1960s.
A comic experience isn’t complete without reading a comic or two! After you’re done taking it all in, hang out in the reading room and enjoy comics, graphic novels, creator biographies, and works represented in the galleries.
Free pick
In Slavery’s Wake
Through June 8, 2025, National Museum of African American History and Culture, free (timed passes required for museum)
🔗 Details
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is opening its newest exhibit called “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World.” The multi-lingual experience is the museum’s first international traveling exhibition and will explore how racial slavery, colonialism and Black freedom-making influence the world.
The exhibit will be split into six sections on Concourse Level C and features 100 objects, 250 images, and 10 multi-media interactives and films.
The Future Scene: New Year’s Eve with the family
Free pick
Noon Yards Eve
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., The Yards Park
🔗 Details
A balloon drop at noon? We’re in! Let the little ones get in on the New Year’s Eve fun early with carnival games, a magic show, bounce houses and more. Take a selfie under the 13-foot illuminated Swinging Bells on The Yards’ Sun Deck, too.
First Night Alexandria
Starts at 2 p.m., $10-$22 to enter festival
🔗 Details
The longstanding family-friendly festival will celebrate its 30th year with music, arts and community at the center of Historic Old Town Alexandria. The festival will begin with performances for children and a day party for all ages.
The first round of fireworks is set to go off at 6 p.m. over the waterfront.
If you’re not ready for bed yet, explore Old Town for live music, comedy and more on 12 stages inside churches, stores and more until another round of fireworks at midnight.
Tickets for the festival range from $10 to $22 with free admission to children ages two and under.
Visit Alexandria has a list of great places for spotting fireworks even if you don’t go to the festival.
New Year’s Eve dance parties through the decades
Dance New Year’s Eve away with cover bands and DJs playing the greatest hits from their favorite eras.
Go old school cool with Peaches O’Dell and her 11-piece, big band orchestra at Black Cat’s New Year’s Eve Swing Ball. At The Anthem, Sammy Rae & The Friends blend indie rock band, jazz, soul and funk.
Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA at The Atlantis delivers a one-of-a-kind ’70s vibe while The Fillmore Silver Spring has a Black Sabbath cover band.
All about the ’80s? You’ll want to see The Legwarmers at the State Theatre in Falls Church, The Reagan Years at The Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg or the Ultimate 80’s NYE Dance Party with DJ D at Jammin Java in Vienna.
Show off your ’90s and Y2K fashion for White Ford Bronco at The Lincoln Theatre or Uncle Jesse, a ‘90s and early aughts cover band at Farm Brew Live in Manassas.
Love T.K.O., the Howard Theatre’s party with Mariah The Scientist, channels all eras of R&B.
If you’ve ever worn ripped tights as a fashion statement, maybe Indie Sleaze New Year’s Eve with Melina and Dahger at Songbyrd is your vibe.
Concerts this weekend
The Shirks, 8 p.m. Friday, Black Cat, $20
D.C. band plays classic, ‘70s-style punk rock – short and fast. Opener Baby Alcatraz and the Aurelions offer early rock & roll inspired instrumentals. Details.
“Salad Days” 10th Anniversary Party, 8 p.m. Saturday, Black Cat, $20
This celebration of the seminal documentary about D.C.’s punk scene features performances by D.C. supergroup Hammered Hulls, featuring Alec MacKaye and Mary Timony, and Birthday Girl DC – a terrific teen indie rock trio of D.C. alternative rock progeny with a bright future. Details.
More things to do in D.C.
Kwanzaa programs at Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum: Events daily, Dec. 26-31, Southeast D.C., free
DowntownDC Holiday Skate Spectacular: Through Jan. 4, National Building Museum (401 F Street NW), free
Sculpture Garden Ice Rink: Daily, National Gallery of Art, $12 ($6 for skate rentals)
National Christmas Tree: Through Jan. 1, The Ellipse at President’s Park, free
Light Yards: Through Jan. 1, The Yards Park, free
Hot To Go – A Chappell Roan party: Fri., 9 p.m., 9:30 Club, $22
Best of DC Comedy Showcase: Fri. and Sat., DC Improv, $22+
The Legacy of the Dibinga Sisters and OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center (Kwanzaa celebration): Fri., The Kennedy Center, free
Seasons Greenings: Through Jan. 5, U.S. Botanic Garden, free
& Juliet: Through Jan. 5, The Kennedy Center, $45-$239
Life of Pi: Through Jan. 5, The Kennedy Center, $49-$179
Things to do in Maryland
Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights: Through Jan. 1, 9900 Stoneybrook Dr, Kensington, free
Disco Biscuits: Fri. and Sat., Fillmore Silver Spring, $60+
Winter Wonderland Extravaganza on the Farm: Sat., Charity’s Hope Family Farm in LaPlata, $7.18
Things to do in Virginia
Silent Disco! at Punch Bowl Social Arlington: Sat., 4238 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, $10+
Winter Walk of Lights: Nov. 8 to Jan. 5, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, $18-$22
Aurora’s Winter Circus Adventure: Through Dec. 29, Dulles Town Center, $35+ (adult)/$28+ (child)
Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.
Washington, D.C
Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D.: December updates from Eastern North Carolina and Washington, D.C. — Neuse News
WASHINGTON – D.C. police are asking for the public’s help identifying a man accused of committing fraud and theft at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown.
The incident occurred on Sunday, November 24, around 3 p.m. at the luxury hotel located on the 2800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect arriving at the hotel in a Porsche SUV. He was seen wearing dark pants and a puffy winter coat, carrying a backpack. The man entered the hotel and was observed speaking with an employee at the front desk.
According to police, the suspect then dined at the hotel’s restaurant, ordering various items and charging them to a room number he was not registered to.
Following his meal, he proceeded to the hotel gym for a workout before leaving the premises and driving away in the Porsche.
Detectives are urging anyone who recognizes the suspect to contact them. A reward of $1,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.
Attempts to reach the Four Seasons Hotel management for comment were unsuccessful, as they declined to discuss the incident.
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