This Trump-backed Senate hopeful attended 'cult-like' church known for 'extremist views'

12 July 2024

In Nevada's 2024 U.S. Senate race, Donald Trump-supported Republican Sam Brown has been trying to paint himself a moderate in the hope of winning over independents and undecided voters. But Nevada Democrats and supporters of incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) have been hammering Brown on the abortion issue, pointing out his connection to far-right anti-abortion activists.

Brown, describing himself as "personally pro-life," has said that he opposes a national abortion ban and believes that abortion should be left up to the states.

But the Daily Beast's Kate Briquelet, in an article published on July 12, details Brown's connection to evangelical Christian fundamentalist churches known for their "extremist views and controversial practices."

"Brown and his wife, Amy, are members of Calvary Chapel Reno Sparks, helmed by a pastor who pushes his flock to take their 'biblical values to the ballot box' and who's labeled 'transgenderism' a Marxist plot by elites aiming to control people," Briquelet reports. "This ideology is coming…. from Satan,' lead pastor Phil McKay said on his podcast earlier this year."

Briquelet notes that Brown chaired the Nevada Faith and Freedom Coalition and, in 2022, voiced his support for Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.

Before Sam Brown and his wife moved to Nevada, Briquelet reports, they attended a controversial Dallas megachurch — the Watermark Community Church — that has "faced accusations of being a cult."

"The church made headlines in 2006, when a man and woman accused of having an extramarital affair sued it for revealing the romance to others as part of its disciplinary process," Briquelet points out. "Members must sign papers submitting 'themselves to the care and correction' of elders and 'may not resign' to avoid such measures, the church's site says…. Ex-members have also come forward anonymously to the blog No Eden Elsewhere in recent years to claim the church exercised inordinate control over their lives, having them sign membership covenants and disclose their financial information and 'sins' and family secrets."

The Daily Beast reporter adds, "One woman compared the house of worship’s practices to Scientology. According to the website, members who didn't share enough stories of struggle were accused of holding back and not being 'authentic.'"

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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