Repent Amarillo

{{cult}}
'''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 [http://www.biggrace.com/ 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]] &mdash; ranging from swingers clubs, to [[heavy metal]] bars, to even wildlife preserves (which they claimed were promoting "[[Paganism|nature worship]]").<ref>[https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/amarillos-army-of-god/ amarillo's army of god]</ref> 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 &mdash; 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.<ref>[https://thinkprogress.org/christian-hate-group-repent-amarillo-terrorizes-texas-town-harassing-gays-liberals-and-other-sinners-81f2f32881b1/ Repent Amarillo’ Terrorizes Texas Town]</ref> 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,<ref>[http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-05-06/pantex-fires-grisham-union-files-protest 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''.</ref> 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).<ref name=daws>[http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2016/12/12/santa-claus-exist-texas-pastor-heckles-children-parents-waiting-meet-santa-mall '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''.</ref> After hearing of attention that [[Terry Jones]] gained after announcing his [[Qur'an]] [[Book burning|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.<ref name=daws/> The group is also responsible for the  execution of [[Santa Claus]] by firing squad.<ref name=daws/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140604020143/http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/3964/santa_executed_by_repent_amarillo Santa Executed by Repent Amarillo] by Candace Chellew-Hodge (December 23, 2010) ''Religion Dispatches''.</ref>

==See also==
*[[American Taliban]]
*[[Repent America]]
*[[Westboro Baptist Church]]
*[[Christofascism]]

==External links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20100405045439/http://www.repentamarillo.com/ Official website (archived from April 5, 2010)]
<!--*[https://www.facebook.com/RepentAmarillo Facebook page]{{dead}}-->
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100529133950/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-TX/Amarillo-Citizens-Against-Repent-Amarillo/210413812023 Amarillo Citzens Against Repent Amarillo Facebook page]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrluY_VCDvM Repent Amarillo mentioned on "The Young Turks"]

==References==
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[[Category:Christianity]]
[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Cults]]
[[Category:Doxers]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Moral panics]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]
[[Category:Texas]]

Categories: Christianity, Christian fundamentalism, Conspiracy theorists, Cults, Doxers, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Moral panics, Purity culture, Texas