Pete Hegseth's Pastor Agrees That Christians Can Pray for God to Destroy 'Enemy' James Talarico 'by Any Means Necessary'

Pastor Brooks Potteiger nodded along with a Christian nationalist podcaster who said Texas' Democratic Senate nominee is a "public enemy" who deserves God's judgment, not forgiveness

NEED TO KNOW

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s family pastor agreed with a Christian nationalist podcaster’s hope that God stops Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico “by any means necessary”
• Hegseth has described his pastor, Brooks Potteiger, as “a mentor of mine, of my wife and I, of our family” and previously invited him to preach at a Pentagon event
• In response to Potteiger’s interview on the Reformation Red Pill podcast, Talarico wrote, “Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills. You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you”
• Potteiger has since argued that he wished for conversion, not literal death, for Talarico

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mentor and family pastor made headlines for appearing on a Christian nationalist podcast where the host said he prays "that God kills" Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, even if only spiritually.

Brooks Potteiger leads the Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship church outside of Nashville, an evangelical church that Hegseth started attending around 2021 and one that is part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a denomination co-founded by self-proclaimed Christian nationalist Doug Wilson.

Hegseth has described Potteiger as “a mentor of mine, of my wife and I, of our family” and invited him to preach at a Pentagon event titled “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service” last year.

During an episode of the Reformation Red Pill podcast released on March 16, host Joshua Haymes discussed Talarico with Potteiger, during which the men referred to the Senate candidate as a "demon," "wolf" and "snake."

Haymes, a former pastoral intern at Potteiger's church, said, “First and foremost, we pray that a man like this would be cut to the heart." He then argued that Talarico is in a category of "public enemies" that Christians are "not called to love."

"This is where you have imprecatory psalms," Haymes continued, referencing Old Testament verses that call for God to curse or punish enemies, as Potteiger nodded along. "The psalmist is not shy. God, destroy them. Make them as dung on the ground."

“I pray that God kills him," added Haymes. “Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ."

“Right, we want him crucified with Christ,” Potteiger replied. “I want him to be, I think Saul of Tarsus. Talarico of Tarsus.” (Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul the Apostle, appears in the Bible as a Jewish Pharisee who underwent a spiritual transformation to Christianity after being blinded for three days.)

“We want death and new life, right?” Haymes said. “And if it would not be within God’s will to do, stop him by any means necessary, oh God.”

Potteiger responded with an “mhmm” as the show wrapped up.

Responding to the men's conversation, which accused the Senate candidate of deceptively leading Christians away from God, Talarico wrote on X, “Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills. You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me.”

In a statement to PEOPLE about the comments made by Hegseth's pastor, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said, "the Fake News Media, and sometimes anti-Christian media, are deliberately twisting the words of Pastor Potteiger in order to attack him and Secretary Hegseth while advancing a partisan narrative.”

Talarico, a Texas state representative and a devout Presbyterian seminarian who frequently invokes his faith on the campaign trail, secured the Democratic nomination for the Texas Senate race earlier this month with a victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. He will face either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose Republican primary required a runoff election that is scheduled for May.  

“Whoever this guy is, he’s no ‘pastor’ or ‘spiritual advisor.’ He’s sick,” Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, wrote in response to Potteiger's comments.

Hegseth also appeared on Haymes' podcast at least four times before joining President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Haymes’ most recent video as of Wednesday, March 25, is responding to a segment by white supremacist Nick Fuentes about whether Christian men should marry formerly promiscuous women.

Potteiger responded to outrage and media coverage of his remarks in multiple social media posts on Tuesday, March 24. He argued that he wished not death but conversion for Talarico, as Saul of Tarsus found when he became Paul the Apostle in Christian tradition.

“Talarico joyfully advocates for the right for babies to be murdered in the womb. He also knowingly twists the Scriptures to suggest God supports the murder of babies. This is impressively horrifying,” Potteiger wrote. “God in His wisdom has given us imprecatory psalms where He calls for His people to ask that He’d bring low and frustrate the plans of evildoers. Yes, He even says so in capital terms.”

“As a Christian, when I pray imprecatory psalms about those who celebrate baby murder, I am not, from my heart, praying for their death. I’m praying for their conversion,” the pastor added, claiming that was what he meant by “crucified with Christ.”

Hegseth once told Haymes he credits Potteiger’s church with giving him and his family “a whole view of the world that has changed the way we think.”

After inviting Potteiger to preach at the Pentagon within months of assuming his role, Hegseth brought Pastor Doug Wilson — the Christian nationalist co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches — to lead prayer at the nation’s military headquarters in February.

Wilson told The Wall Street Journal last fall that he envisions a Christian republic United States where abortion, same-sex relationships, LGBTQ+ pride displays, non-Christians holding political office, and women’s right to vote would be banned.

“Secretary Hegseth, along with millions of Americans, is a proud Christian and was glad to welcome Pastor Wilson to the Pentagon yesterday,” said a Pentagon spokesperson in a statement to The Washington Post in February.

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The attention on Hegseth’s family pastor and church comes as the defense secretary — and some U.S. military officers, according to reports — invoked Christianity as he leads the United States’ war with Iran. U.S. and Israeli strikes and military operations have killed more than 2,000 people in Iran and across the Middle East, including the country’s Shia Muslim religious and political leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“May Almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. And again to the American people, please pray for them every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,” Hegseth said at a press conference last week. “To the troops, keep going and Godspeed.”

Hegseth raised alarms last year when photos of his tattoos, which were decried as anti-Muslim, began circulating. One reads “kafir” in Arabic script, defined as “nonbeliever” or “infidel.” Another reads “Deus Vult,” Latin for “God wills it,” a phrase associated with the Christian crusaders of the Middle Ages who sought to capture the Holy Land from its Muslim rulers.

The latter tattoo got Hegseth pulled from National Guard duty protecting the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January 2021 after a fellow Guardsman alerted superior officers with his concerns following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

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