Some apparent death wishes from Christian extremists against Texas Democrat James Talarico have vaulted the Senate candidate into rare air.
Talarico, a progressive state lawmaker known for preaching at Presbyterian churches, rebuked the comments, made by two pastors with ties to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The incident brings to mind other white faith leaders who have faced violent fury from white people while advocating for civil and human rights, such as the Rev. Will Campbell and Freedom Rider James Zwerg.
HuffPost reported on the remarks made on a recent podcast by the extremist pastors, Brooks Potteiger and Joshua Haymes:
After referring to the Texas Democrat as ‘a wolf,’ a ‘demon,’ and ‘a snake,’ the two talked about what they hope becomes of Talarico.
‘First and foremost, we pray that a man like this would be cut to the heart,’ Haymes said. He said he puts Talarico in the category of ‘public enemies,’ or those you ‘are not called to love.’
‘This is where you have imprecatory psalms. This is where you pray strongly,’ he said. ‘The psalmist is not shy. God, destroy them. Make them as dung on the ground.’
But wait, there’s more:
‘I pray that God kills him,’ Haymes continued. ‘Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ.’
Potteiger concurred. ‘Right, right,’ he said. ‘We want him crucified with Christ.’








