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Stephanie McCrummen

@mccrummen.bsky.social

2.3K followers 790 following 47 posts

Staff Writer, The Atlantic. Formerly, The Washington Post. Originally, Alabama. Now, Flatiron. https://www.theatlantic.com/author/stephanie-mccrummen/

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jan 9

If you were wondering about that pine tree flag outside Speaker Johnson’s office, or why Elon Musk spoke at a church called LifeCenter, or why Tucker Carlson spoke of being mauled by demons: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Army of God Comes Out of the Shadows

Tens of millions of American Christians are embracing a charismatic movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, which seeks to destroy the secular state.

www.theatlantic.com

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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 3d

To get a sense of where things stand: Here's an exchange from earlier this year, in which a Baptist minister was told by a Texas Senator that she didn't understand the Gospel because she cited Baptists' historic support for church-state separations as one reason to oppose the Ten Commandments bill.

Testifying this month against bills that would put more Christianity in Texas public schools, the Rev. Jody Harrison invoked the violent persecution of her Baptist forefathers by fellow Christians in colonial America.

Harrison hoped the history lesson would remind Texas senators of Baptists’ strong support for church-state separations, and that weakening those protections would hurt people of all faiths.

Instead, she was rebuked.

“The Baptist doctrine is Christ-centered,” Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, responded sharply. “Its purpose is not to go around trying to defend this or that. It is to be a disciple and a witness for Christ. That includes the Ten Commandments. That’s prayer in schools. It is not a fight for separation between church and state.”

Harrison was not allowed to reply, but in an interview said she was stunned that a lawmaker would question a core part of her faith. The exchange, she said, perfectly encapsulated why she has fought to preserve church-state separations — the same religious protections that Campbell said are a distraction from bills that might bring school kids to Christ.

“It was a wake up call,” she said. “I don’t think people — even many churches — realize that this is going on right now, and that is alarming.”

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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 3d

🧵🧵 Texas Republicans have been increasingly open and aggressive about Christianizing America via schools - to, in the words of the state education board chair, center classrooms around "GOD, GOP & USA."

That fight just escalated, and you should pay attention - because your state could be next.

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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 3d

The first day of the 2025 legislative session also featured prominent pastors and lawmakers calling for spiritual warfare and, at one point, praying on the walls of the Capitol to ward off demonic spirits they believe control Austin.

Texas GOP chair claims church-state separation is a myth as lawmakers, pastors prep for “spiritual battle”

Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.

www.texastribune.org

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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 3d

Last month, two Republican State Board of Education members appointed David Barton, a Christian nationalist activist and widely debunked "amateur historian," as an expert advisor for the state's upcoming revision of curricula to focus on Texas and American history.

He Calls Church-State Separation a Myth. He’s Now Weighing In on Public School Curricula.

David Barton, far-right Christian activist and founder of Wallbuilders, has been appointed by Texas's board of education to advise on social studies instruction.

www.texasmonthly.com

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Lee Hedgepeth @leehedgepeth.bsky.social · 13d

Will Berry opposed the execution of Geoffrey West, the man who took his mother's life. Alabama suffocated him anyway. Read the full story here.

'We Pray He Gains Peace': Over Objection of Victim's Family, Alabama Executes Geoffrey Todd West

Will Berry opposed the execution of his mother's murderer. Alabama suffocated him anyway.

www.treadbylee.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Aug 24

Such a good story here from @rubycramer.bsky.social about an overwhelmed immigration lawyer working in Louisiana’s “Detention Alley.” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

A last lifeline in ‘detention alley’

Most of immigration lawyer Christopher Kinnison’s clients in rural Louisiana are detainees. Every week, more calls come in, and Kinnison hasn’t been able to process what his days at work are becoming.

www.washingtonpost.com

Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Aug 6

Sudan is a portent of a certain kind of world…. via @anneapplebaum.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Most Nihilistic Conflict on Earth

Sudan’s devastating civil war shows what will replace the liberal order: anarchy and greed.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Stephanie McCrummen

NBC News @nbcnews.com · Aug 1

A hunger strike at a South Florida immigration detention center state officials have named “Alligator Alcatraz” enters its tenth day, as detainees protest what they call inhumane and dangerous living conditions.

‘Alligator Alcatraz' detainees on hunger strike for 10th day, protesting conditions

One of the detainees, Pedro Hernández, was hospitalized during the strike but continued to refuse food, he said on Thursday.

nbcnews.to

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jul 26

Incredible story about Volkswagen, and modern day slavery in the Amazon via @terrencemccoy.bsky.social wapo.st/46sX08n

Volkswagen kept a dark secret in the Amazon. Then a priest made a call.

Poor laborers were lured to the automaker’s cattle ranch in the Amazon and promised a better life. Brazilian prosecutors say many were enslaved.

wapo.st

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Teo Armus @teoarmus.bsky.social · Jul 23

Julio González Jr. thought he was being deported back to Venezuela. Instead, the plane landed in El Salvador.

“The horror movie started there,” he said.

What the Venezuelans freed from CECOT experienced at the world’s largest prison, w/ Samantha Schmidt, Helena Carpio & @arelisrhdz.bsky.social

U.S. deportees, freed from Salvadoran prison, describe ‘horror movie’

Three Venezuelans, released last week from the Terrorism Confinement Center, said they were repeatedly beaten and denied access to lawyers.

www.washingtonpost.com

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Jul 23

Julio González Jr., released last week from the Terrorism Confinement Center, said he was beaten, robbed of thousands of dollars and denied a lawyer.

“I practically felt like an animal,” González told The Post.

U.S. deportee, freed from Salvadoran prison, describes ‘horror movie’

Julio González Jr., released last week from the Terrorism Confinement Center, said he was beaten, robbed of thousands of dollars and denied a lawyer.

www.washingtonpost.com

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ProPublica @propublica.org · Jul 18

NEW: Of the 230+ Venezuelans deported to El Salvador:
• Almost half had immigration cases that were not yet decided
• More than 60 had pending asylum claims, some just days away from final hearings

These men had followed U.S. immigration procedures. Then Trump changed the rules.

He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.

Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

www.propublica.org

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Mica Rosenberg @micarosenberg.bsky.social · Jul 18

Today we published our 2nd story in an investigation into the backgrounds of 230+ Venezuelan men Trump deported to El Salvador. We did a first ever case-by-case analysis and found half were in the middle of their immigration cases, including dozens seeking asylum. www.propublica.org/article/vene...

He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.

Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

www.propublica.org

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Shane Harris @shaneharris.bsky.social · Jul 17

New: How an adorable yellow lab got caught up in Trump's campaign of "Deep State" revenge. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

A Dog, a Spymaster, and Trump’s Thirst for ‘Deep State’ Revenge

The pettiness of the administration’s retribution campaign begins to bite.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jul 16

More and more, Trump is detaining children.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Message Is ‘We Can Take Your Children’

More systematically than in his first term, Trump is rolling back protections for undocumented minors.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jul 16

Trump is detaining children. And $45 billion for new detention facilities includes room for more.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Message Is ‘We Can Take Your Children’

More systematically than in his first term, Trump is rolling back protections for undocumented minors.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jul 16

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Message Is ‘We Can Take Your Children’

More systematically than in his first term, Trump is rolling back protections for undocumented minors.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jun 19

Such a good story via @gregjaffe.bsky.social -

Greg Jaffe @gregjaffe.bsky.social · Jun 16

Maj. Erica Vandal had spent her entire life in the Army as a military brat, a USMA cadet and an artillery officer. Her OERs described her as a “a superb officer.”

The Trump/Hegseth trans ban cast her out. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...

The Army Was the Only Life She Knew. Trump’s Trans Ban Cast Her Out.

www.nytimes.com

Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jun 17

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Minnesota Suspect’s Radical Spiritual World

Before Vance Boelter was accused of killing a Democratic state lawmaker, he had an active, even grandiose, religious life.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · Jun 17

The spiritual path of the Minnesota shooting suspect brought him in contact with the radical world of the New Apostolic Reformation, where leaders describe politicians as demon-infested, federal judges as opposing God, and the world as a spiritual battleground.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Minnesota Suspect’s Radical Spiritual World

Before Vance Boelter was accused of killing a Democratic state lawmaker, he had an active, even grandiose, religious life.

www.theatlantic.com

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Stephanie McCrummen @mccrummen.bsky.social · May 23

This movement in Brazil, a huge force in politics, has ties and parallels to the charismatic/NAR movement in the US: newrepublic.com/article/1530...

How a Demon-Slaying Pentecostal Billionaire Is Ushering in a Post-Catholic Brazil

Edir Macedo has a church, a bank, a TV channel, and a Moses complex. And with the election of Jair Bolsonaro, he has emerged as the country’s most controversial kingmaker.

newrepublic.com

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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · May 13

"fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit" is a phrase that makes me feel like maybe i've passed away and all the news i read is all just the final neurons in my brain racing around making haphazard connections in the moments before darkness

Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · May 13

As part of the red-carpet treatment, Saudi officials arranged for a fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit to accompany President Trump during his stay.

According to local reports, the unit was set up near the Saudi Royal Court.