Conservative think tank linked to 'shadowy' group pushing 'extreme Christian nationalism'
For many years, the Claremont Institute had a reputation for being a conventional conversative think tank.
Claremont was founded in 1979 by students of the late Harry V. Jaffa, who had been a speechwriter for the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona). The Claremont of the 1980s and 1990s was right-of-center but not far-right.
In recent years, however, Claremont has taken a decidedly MAGA turn that many critics, including Never Trump conservatives, have described as radical and extreme.
READ MORE: How MAGA zealotry overtook a conservative think tank: report
The Guardian's Jason Wilson, in an article published on March 11, examines Claremont's ties to the far-right Christian nationalist group, the Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR).
Wilson describes SACR as a "shadowy" group and "an exclusive, men-only fraternal order which aims to replace the U.S. government with an authoritarian 'aligned regime,' and which experts say is rooted in extreme Christian nationalism and religious autocracy."
"The revelations emerge from documents gathered in public records requests, including e-mails between several senior members of SACR: Claremont President Ryan P. Williams; its director of state coalitions and Boise State University professor Scott Yenor; and others, including former soap manufacturer and would-be 'warlord' Charles Haywood," Wilson explains. "The trove also contains an 'internal' SACR 'mission statement'” with a far more radical edge than the public 'vision' now recorded on the organization's website."
The "mission statement," according to Wilson, calls for a "renewed American regime" that will recruit a "brotherhood" and "understand the nature of authority and its legitimate forceful exercise."
READ MORE: These MAGA Republicans long for a 'Red Caesar' to 'impose a dictatorship' on America
"The document does not indicate that such 'renewal' will take place through participation in electoral contests, and nor does it make mention of the U.S. Constitution," Wilson notes. "Along with the financial links between the SACR and Claremont — the Guardian previously reported Claremont’s $26,248 donation to SACR in 2020 — the documents raise questions as to what extent SACR is an initiative of the Claremont Institute, and to what extent its participants have abandoned liberal, secular or democratic politics."
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project on Hate and Extremism, warns that the "mission statement" raises troubling questions about SACR.
Beirich told The Guardian, "Their planned regime is obviously far from a multiracial democracy. The documents appear to be describing a religious autocracy."
Read the Guardian's full report at this link.
