Members of the pro-Trump Rod of Iron Ministries church were seen on video burning LGBTQ+ Pride flags at a recent bonfire.
“VIDEO THREAD: Tonight the inferno of a bonfire illuminated the faces of Trump supporters and their red ball caps in Northern Pennsylvania as they sang ‘God Bless America.’ Inside the fire, a pansexual pride flag burned, described moments earlier as witchery,” Ford Fischer, a video journalist and editor-in-chief of News2Share wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In several other posts on X, Fischer shared additional videos from the Rod of Iron Ministries festival over the weekend including one showing a member of the church holding a “pansexual” flag and saying, “We’re gonna toss that into the bonfire tonight.”
Newsweek reached out to the Rod of Iron Ministries via its website for further comment.
Another post from Fischer said, “Pastor Sean Moon of Rod of Iron Ministries prayed as the bonfire with the pansexual Pride flag burned behind him, leading his group in describing a battle against ‘political satanism’ which he describes as abortion, ‘sexual deviancy,’ and destruction of traditional family.”
“This morning at the Rod of Iron Ministries’ annual festival in Northern Pennsylvania, a Japanese Choir performed. They held Trump 2024 flags and wore ‘Trump 2024: I’ll be back’ red ball caps as they sang,” Fischer wrote in another post. “The crowd excitedly praised them, one even pointing a rifle into the air.”
The videos come amid ongoing opposition to the LGBTQ+ community and those who oppose their views and sexual preferences as part of what they term a “culture war.” In April, Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch faced a widespread boycott, mainly from conservatives, after the beer company partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender activist and influencer.
Similarly, many conservatives have called for bans on gender-affirming care for minors and some sports have also announced plans to prohibit transgender women from competing in female categories.
In late September, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) announced that it was cancelling a session focusing on gender studies from its upcoming conference over concerns that it could lead to harm against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Sean Moon, the leader of the Rod of Iron Ministries’ church, has been a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump and previously praised the January 6 riots at the Capitol. However, during an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Moon said that he and his followers were “peacefully singing,” at the Capitol on January 6.
“For us, it was just exercising our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble,” Moon previously told the magazine.