Conspiracy theorist and former Christian leader Dinesh D’Souza has failed to halt a defamation lawsuit brought against him and others behind the popular election denial film 2000 Mules and defend his widely debunked movie’s supposed evidence in a courtroom.
During the 1980s, Colorado Springs was jokingly called the “evangelical Vatican” due to the prevalence of Christian megachurches, parachurches, ministries, and nonprofits. The influence of evangelical Christianity in Colorado Springs peaked in the 90s with the passage of Amendment 2, which banned local municipalities from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances to protect LGBTQ people. While the overt influence of groups like Focus on the Family on local and state politics has waned, the congregations in Academy School District 20 represent a sizable voting block. Messages from the Advocates for D20 Kids Discord server show that conservative candidates Derrick Wilburn and Amy Shandy were actively courting local churches for support in their campaigns.
Andrew Wommack wasn’t kidding back in 2021 when he called his followers to “take over” Woodland Park, the mountain town of 8,000 west of Colorado Springs that’s home to his ministry and Charis Bible College.
This weekend, approximately 3,500 people attended the Truth and Liberty Coalition’s annual conference in Woodland Park, about 15 miles from Colorado Springs, where speakers laid out a theocratic vision for the future of American politics. Bringing together faith leaders, authors, politicians — U.S. Representatives Doug Lamborn and Lauren Boebert, Colorado Rep. Mark Baisley, Arkansas Sen. Jason Rapert — and activists, this year’s Truth and Liberty conference was a showcase of conservative grievances, with reactionary politics and Christian fundamentalism on full display.
