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Repent Amarillo
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Repent Amarillo (a.k.a. the "Texas Taliban") is a fundamentalist Christian group based in Amarillo, Texas run by "Pastor" David Grisham (a former security guard at a nuclear weapons facility called Pantex); it's also affiliated with another fundamentalist group known as Raven Ministries International (a.k.a., "Raven Amarillo"). The group gained some media attention in 2010 for its "spiritual warfare map" on its website, which included a list of businesses the group had "targeted" for evangelism — ranging from swingers clubs, to heavy metal bars, to even wildlife preserves (which they claimed were promoting "nature worship").[1] Taking a cue from the Jack Chick playbook, the group's mission in life seems to be to warn the infidels of the evils of Halloween, rock music, Satanism, gay marriage, evolution, Spring Break, nonmarital sex, and pretty much anything that's ever been mentioned in a Chick Tract.
David Grisham and his minions would allegedly use Mafia-like tactics against businesses' patrons in order to intimidate the "immoral" establishments (such as swinger's clubs) into shutting down. The group would allegedly photograph the license plates of patrons' vehicles, and use this to track down their contact information — they would then post the names and addresses on his group's website and Facebook pages. The group would allegedly even stalk the patrons by following them home and phoning their workplaces attempting to get them fired.[2] The group seems to have toned down a little after its activities began to be captured on camera, and their website is now offline. David Grisham was fired from his job at Pantex,[3] allegedly after his group's activities were brought to light. The group still remains active, but under a lower profile.
The group gained notoriety for various other antics as well — such as its "boycott" of Houston after the city elected an openly gay mayor (which we're all sure was a huge disappointment to Houstonians everywhere).[4] After hearing of attention that Terry Jones gained after announcing his Qur'an burning plans, Grisham attempted to imitate his success by burning a Qur'an on a BBQ grill in a public park — though a bystander stole the Qur'an before David could set it on fire.[4] The group is also responsible for the execution of Santa Claus by firing squad.[4][5]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Official website (archived from April 5, 2010)
- Amarillo Citzens Against Repent Amarillo Facebook page
- Repent Amarillo mentioned on "The Young Turks"
References[edit]
- ↑ amarillo's army of god
- ↑ Repent Amarillo’ Terrorizes Texas Town
- ↑ Pantex fires Grisham; union files protest by Karen Smith Welch (Posted July 27, 2016 02:14 am; Updated May 6, 2011 12:13 am) Amarillo Globe-News.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Santa Claus does not exist!': Texas pastor heckles children, parents waiting to meet Santa at mall by Caleb Daws (December 12, 2016) The Dallas Morning News.
- ↑ Santa Executed by Repent Amarillo by Candace Chellew-Hodge (December 23, 2010) Religion Dispatches.