Church for 'praying patriots' baptizes Proud Boys into Christian nationalism: report

A Southern California congregation calling itself “Ekklesia; The Unwoke Church” is led by Pastor Hansel Orzame, a self-identified Christian Nationalist.

Twice a month, Orzame's followers, who he calls "Praying Patriots" meet in a rented space. As Vice News reports, during a Sunday this month, the congregation baptized a member named Andrew, who owns a Telegram profile featuring a Proud Boys insignia.

“Christ had the biggest cojones. Being men of Christ is being real men. So let’s be real men," Andrew said, adding that "true masculinity" is found in Christ.

Speaking to his followers about a documentary chronicling the rise of Christian nationalism, Orzame appeared to identify with the term "just want to go back to the way it was, Christian values and Christian ethics."

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“We don’t want to jail Muslims, we don’t want to jail Atheists. But we want the Christian standard back. Secular government introduces paganism. It’s just a stopgap for paganism," he added.

According to Vice's Tess Owen, Orzame's links to the Proud Boys shows how the group is trying to blend Christian themes into its activism. The watchdog group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which tracks extremism and unrest worldwide, found that Proud Boys have been increasingly appearing in public alongside Christian nationalist and conservative groups since Jan. 6.

"Orzame has claimed he previously worked as a producer in the adult film industry, and even appeared briefly as a talking head in a documentary about the dangers of porn that was bankrolled by a fundamentalist Christian organization. VICE was unable to independently verify his stint in the adult film industry," VICEe's report stated.

Orzame denies being a Proud Boy, but he doesn't hide his fondness for the group. "He routinely promotes Proud Boy content on his social media pages, including videos by Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes and fundraisers to help Proud Boys facing charges related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6," VICE reported.