Ziklag (nonprofit)
Ziklag is a Christian nonprofit organization named after the biblical city of Ziklag. Its membership is exclusively for individuals with a net worth over $25 million as well as faith-based interests. The organization's goal is to "take dominion over the Seven Mountains" of society.[1]
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History
[edit]Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ken Eldred created Ziklag after the 2016 election of Donald Trump to the presidency. It was registered in 2018 as a 501(c)(3) organization named USATransform.[1][2] Until December 2022 its CEO was Rebecca Hagelin; she was replaced by interim CEO Julie Nimmons.[3][1]
Ziklag's revenue in 2022 was $12 million.[1]
Members
[edit]The organization's membership is exclusively for individuals with a net worth of over $25 million as well as faith-based interests. It appears to have over 125 members.[1][4][5][6]
Lance Wallnau, a self-described Christian nationalist, is an advisor to and a force behind Ziklag.[1] Wallnau is a prominent figure of the New Apostolic Reformation, of which he says he is an apostle.[7]
Activities
[edit]In 2021, Ziklag began working with the Alliance Defending Freedom to "to take down the education system as we know it today". Ziklag's educational project is headed by Peter Bohlinger.[4][8]
In an internal newsletter, Ziklag claimed that it had played a "hugely significant role" in getting Amy Coney Barrett onto the Supreme Court in 2020.[1] It believes in the Seven Mountain Mandate, and its actions in 2024 are divided into three projects labeled Checkmate (scrutinize the electoral process), Steeplechase (promoting voting at churches), and Watchtower (parental rights movement).[1][4]
Ziklag has supported Cleta Mitchell and the Conservative Partnership Institute led by Mark Meadows, who work on what they call "election integrity projects", and planned to support Mitchell's EagleAI election software project in the 2024 presidential election.[1] Mitchell participated in the January 2021 Trump–Raffensperger phone call that attempted to change the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. She has since recruited election deniers for the 2024 presidential election.[9] The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law has called EagleAI "a vehicle to disenfranchise voters and spread disinformation."[10]
Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk spoke to a gathering of Ziklag members in late 2023. He named some of those he believes are funding the destruction of the nation, including MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; investor and liberal philanthropist George Soros; and the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Kirk said: "why are secular people giving more generously than Christians? It would be a tragedy if people who hate life, hate our country, hate beauty and hate God wanted it more than us."[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Andy Kroll; Nick Surgey (13 July 2024). "Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country". ProPublica. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
EagleAI
- ^ "Usatransform - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica". ProPublica. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Usatransform, 2022 Full Filing". ProPublica. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Inside the Secret Right-Wing Plan to "Take Down the Education System…". Documented. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "The Ziklag Group: Membership Criteria". Archived from the original on 16 May 2023.
potential members must meet the following criteria: Committed to Christ; Concern for culture evidenced by donations to faith-based and/or political efforts to renew our nation; Demonstrated success in business with significant financial means, defined as a net worth of at least $25 million; Humble in spirit
- ^ Fang, Lee (23 May 2020). "Inside the Influential Evangelical Group Mobilizing to Reelect Trump". The Intercept. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Hardy, Elle (August 23, 2022). "The Right-Wing Christian Sect Plotting a Political Takeover". The New Republic.
- ^ Emma Brown; Peter Jamison (29 August 2023). "The Christian home-schooler who made 'parental rights' a GOP rallying cry". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Berzon, Alexandra (May 30, 2022). "Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ Clapman, Alice; Garber, Andrew (September 5, 2023). "A New Antidemocracy Tool". Brennan Center for Justice.