Dem Iowa House candidate claimed public displays of Christianity felt 'very threatening'

In a recently resurfaced speech given in 2023, A Democrat Iowa Senator and current candidate for US House of Representatives was heard saying that public displays of Christianity felt "very threatening," and linking such public displays to political violence.

In the 2023 speech at a Methodist church, Sarah Trone Garriott, who is running for Iowa’s Third Congressional District, said, "We have seen some pretty uncomfortable ways that faith and political power have collided. You know, seeing the flag and the cross conflated. We have seen religious actors supporting specific political candidates, even when those candidates might not seem to match the values of that professed religious faith. There is this very strong allegiance to specific candidates, and makes us wonder what on earth is going on."

"We have seen religion and political violence showing up more and more in our public spaces. It's something that is just very in our faces and something that we're very concerned about, and something that feels very threatening right now at this time," Garriot, a Lutheran minister, said. 

As she spoke, she showed images of a protest sign with the phrase "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible," and a cross with the American flag colors on it, a flag that stated "Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president, and a photo of a man holding a bible outside the Capitol on January 6. 

"This is not a Christian nation. It’s a nation for all of us," Garriott said. "Spaces and proceedings need to be for all people, and we need to work on reminding folks of that."

Per Fox News, as a lawmaker, Garriott has said that she has intentionally sought out opening prayers that are not from the "White American Christian variety," and has been an opponent of Christian nationalism. 

In her speech, she also said of legislation to protect women’s spaces, "It’s really couched in the language of there’s a threat against women and White men are responsible to protect women from threats." 

Garriott is running to defeat Republican Rep Zach Nunn in the midterms. Nunn told Fox News, "I was raised around Iowans who go to church every week and show up for their neighbors. Sarah Trone Garriott can't walk into a church without delivering a lecture about how their faith is threatening and their schools are racist." He added, "She's made it clear that the values Iowa families live by every single day are the ones she's running against."