Attorney General Pam Bondi opened up the first meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias on Tuesday by hearing stories about how the Justice Department was weaponized by the Biden administration to go after Christians.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February directing Bondi to convene a task force composed of top Trump admin officials with the goal of securing religious liberty. During the inaugural meeting, those in attendance shared examples of how the Biden administration “weaponized” government to go after Christian colleges and federal employees who refused the COVID vaccine for religious reasons.
“As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” Bondi said. “Thanks to President Trump, we have ended those abuses, and we will continue to work closely with every member of this Task Force to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely.”
In her opening remarks, Bondi added that protecting the First Amendment would be a high priority for the administration.
“The First Amendment isn’t just a line in the Constitution, it’s the cornerstone of our American liberty. It guarantees every citizen the right to speak freely, worship freely, and live according to their conscience without government interference,” she said. “Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism, it’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”
🚨 BREAKING: First Meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. pic.twitter.com/PRlqJO48MD
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) April 22, 2025
Other admin officials who attended the meeting included FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
During the meeting, the task force heard from lawyer Michael Farris, who is represented the Cornerstone Church as it was under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an alleged Johnson Amendment violation. The Johnson Amendment is a decades old provision in federal law that allows pastors to be prosecuted for making political statements from the pulpit.
The panel also heard from Phil Mendes, a Navy Seal who was relieved of duty by the Department of Defense after it denied his request for a religious exemption to the COVID vaccine.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to reverse many of the actions taken by the Biden administration, including the aggressive prosecutions of peaceful Christian pro-life protesters outside of abortion facilities. Multiple pro-lifers were sent to federal prison for their participation in peaceful protests after trials that were covered extensively by The Daily Wire.
“Those convicted included a Catholic priest and 75-year-old grandmother, as well as an 87-year-old woman and a father of 11 children who were arrested 18 months after praying and singing hymns outside an abortion facility in Tennessee as a part of a politically motivated prosecution campaign by the Biden Administration,” Trump wrote in his executive order creating the task force earlier this month.
Trump pardoned those pro-lifers his first week in office, calling it a “great honor” to sign the pardons.
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[[{“value”:”
Attorney General Pam Bondi opened up the first meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias on Tuesday by hearing stories about how the Justice Department was weaponized by the Biden administration to go after Christians.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February directing Bondi to convene a task force composed of top Trump admin officials with the goal of securing religious liberty. During the inaugural meeting, those in attendance shared examples of how the Biden administration “weaponized” government to go after Christian colleges and federal employees who refused the COVID vaccine for religious reasons.
“As shown by our victims’ stories today, Biden’s Department of Justice abused and targeted peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses,” Bondi said. “Thanks to President Trump, we have ended those abuses, and we will continue to work closely with every member of this Task Force to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely.”
In her opening remarks, Bondi added that protecting the First Amendment would be a high priority for the administration.
“The First Amendment isn’t just a line in the Constitution, it’s the cornerstone of our American liberty. It guarantees every citizen the right to speak freely, worship freely, and live according to their conscience without government interference,” she said. “Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism, it’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”
🚨 BREAKING: First Meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. pic.twitter.com/PRlqJO48MD
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) April 22, 2025
Other admin officials who attended the meeting included FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
During the meeting, the task force heard from lawyer Michael Farris, who is represented the Cornerstone Church as it was under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an alleged Johnson Amendment violation. The Johnson Amendment is a decades old provision in federal law that allows pastors to be prosecuted for making political statements from the pulpit.
The panel also heard from Phil Mendes, a Navy Seal who was relieved of duty by the Department of Defense after it denied his request for a religious exemption to the COVID vaccine.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to reverse many of the actions taken by the Biden administration, including the aggressive prosecutions of peaceful Christian pro-life protesters outside of abortion facilities. Multiple pro-lifers were sent to federal prison for their participation in peaceful protests after trials that were covered extensively by The Daily Wire.
“Those convicted included a Catholic priest and 75-year-old grandmother, as well as an 87-year-old woman and a father of 11 children who were arrested 18 months after praying and singing hymns outside an abortion facility in Tennessee as a part of a politically motivated prosecution campaign by the Biden Administration,” Trump wrote in his executive order creating the task force earlier this month.
Trump pardoned those pro-lifers his first week in office, calling it a “great honor” to sign the pardons.
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