The same day as the inaugural meeting of the anti-Christian bias task force, Collins sent an email to all VA employees, asking them to anonymously report any offenses. Workers should speak up, he wrote, about any policies “hostile to Christian views” or any punishments for displaying Christian symbols. Collins’ email—like Trump’s executive order creating the anti-bias task force—mentions only Christianity, not other faiths.

On Tuesday (April 22), the new Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias in the federal government met for the first time. Behind closed doors, attendees shared stories of alleged harm caused by the “anti-Christian sentiment” of the Biden administration.

President Trump created the new interagency task force in February via executive order. U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi, who heads the group, said in opening remarks Tuesday that members will address the previous administration’s “egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.”

After Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke briefly about the task force, media members were sent out of the room. During a closed-door session, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, the task force heard from senior Cabinet officials and several “peaceful Christian Americans who were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration for their religious beliefs.”

Attorney General: First Amendment Is ‘Cornerstone’ of American Liberty

In Pam Bondi’s opening remarks, the AG listed some examples of alleged abuses. She said Biden’s DOJ targeted pro-life Christians by arresting peaceful protesters, “the FBI spied on traditional Catholics in their parishes, President Biden declared Easter Sunday to be Transgender Day of Visibility, [and] vandalism against churches was eight times higher in 2023 than it was in 2018.”

Bondi also touted the new administration’s swift moves to end anti-Christian abuse. After Trump’s second inauguration, the DOJ dropped three cases against pro-life advocates and “redefined the FACE Act to ensure that abuse would not continue,” the AG said. The DOJ also recently convicted an Arizona man for plotting to bomb Christian churches.

The goal of the task force is to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights, said Bondi, who called that amendment “the cornerstone of our American liberty.” She added, “Protecting Christians from bias is not favoritism. It’s upholding the rule of law and fulfilling the constitutional promise.”

Before dismissing reporters, Deputy AG Blanche said every American “has the freedom to choose their religious faith, and once made, that choice should never be subject to discrimination or bias from our government.” He cited “troubling signs” from the past few years, with Democratic “policies that frankly strip people of their unalienable rights.”

America’s government is a “constitutional republic, not a pure democracy,” Blanche emphasized. “This distinction matters because in a republic, individual rights are protected even when unpopular.” Institutions and the media “misrepresent our founding principles,” said the deputy AG.

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