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 : Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God. Because of truth and the biblical worldview. The U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect the rights that our founders recognize come from God, our creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up each of you. And God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.

 : This is Jenna Ellis in the morning.

Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Tuesday, January 20th, and this may be a red letter day, potentially, just maybe the DOJ is getting ready to actually do something like, you know, that meme with its stick figure that's like poking the rock and it's like, come on, do something like. That's literally how everybody feels about, this Department of Justice, especially looking at Don Lemon and the other terrorists that stormed a church in Minneapolis, on Sunday. And now Harmeet Dillon, who is a deputy attorney general, is suggesting that Don Lemon has been put on notice, whatever that means, by the Justice Department after he joined the anti ice agitators. that's Fox News term for terrorists who stormed the church in St. Paul, during a service on Sunday. So, Hermet is the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General for civil rights. And so there is some, there are some responses suggesting, well, you know, is this just going to be kind of a civil rights violation and more in a civil sense, or is he actually going to be arrested, Criminal charges, some of that. But interestingly, you, know, there's a little bit more to this story. And our friend, Meg Basham with Daily Wire has, put out, you know, a couple of really good threads about, these particular agitators, suggesting that, you know, that these are people who've done this before. And, that this is a, ah, this is also a career activist, who disrupted the Minneapolis worship service. It was also someone who targeted Pete Hegseth DC Church. And so that is, ah, the headline actually from Daily Wired. Encourage you to go and read that piece. but what does this mean overall for, where we're at in 2026?

Ryan Helfenbein: This is an escalation from the left

let's welcome in Ryan Helfenbein, who is the Vice President of communications and the executive Director of Standing for. For Freedom Center. And Ryan, you know, I think. I hope that the DOJ is actually poised to make arrest, not just because, you know, nobody on our side really likes Don Lemon, but because this kind of behavior, is something that obviously is not protected constitutionally, regardless of what he says about the First Amendment. this is something that if the situation were reversed and this, you know, were. These were protesters, you know, let's say, going into the Capitol building, certainly there would be arrests. Right. So this is just asking for accountability. but from a Christian perspective on what this means for protesters, specifically targeting a church and suggesting that because the pastor has, some affiliation with the federal government, that this means that churches are fair game. I mean, I think that this is an escalation from the left that deserves a response from the right.

Ryan Helfenbein: I wholeheartedly agree with what you just said. Even on the tail end of that, it does deserve a response, from the right, and one that, again, would invoke the Constitution, civil law, would make sure that we are pursuing equal protection under the law. And I think one of the things you go back to the Biden administration, the Face act was used to put homeschoolers behind, bars, to put, you know, protesters, or even those who just pray, would dare pray, on the outside of an abortion clinic. The Face act was invoked as well as a Klan act was, utilized to, put women, old women over the age of 80, in prison, for extended sentencing. obviously, that does not seem like fair treatment. and so you actually have these paid agitators, young people, they're menacing, they're threatening. the idea is to get people to use physical violence against them, trying to stir that up within the folks in the church because they want to catch it on film. No one took debate, but certainly for those in that church, citizens, to then say, no, listen, we have the constitutional right, not to be interrupted. And then, by the way, this is not public property. It's private property. no one has any right to protest in a private house of worship any more than they have the right to protest in my living room or your living room. No one can invade your home and then say, well, I'm going to invoke the First Amendment. I have a freedom of speech, and I'm constitutionally protected. And this, by the way, Jenna, and many people have already acknowledged as much. For someone like Don Lemon, supposedly a veteran journalist, reporter, worked at CNN for over 17 years. I think he's disgraced. I think he's a hack. It's very revealing that he would not have some kind of working knowledge. Ah, at least with that, he's almost 60 years old. He's certainly not, a young person. does the fact that he would feign, ignorance there and then somehow say, no, no, no, I'm just here following this group when clearly they were meeting in the parking lot before. There's video footage even from Don Lemon that he posted online where he's identifying what the group is and what their plans are. And then I believe there's already documentation that earlier in the day, Don Lemon was interviewing Keith ellison. He's the 30th Attorney General of the state of Minnesota. He was interviewing him as well. And so the interesting thing, and I think a lot of people are kind of piecing this together, was this more than just this small group who is behind it, who paid for it. And I absolutely agree. This, Department of Justice, under the Trump administration must. Has to prosecute this under the law. Someone, and not just one individual, but I think many need to go to jail. And if that doesn't happen, I think all of your listeners would agree. I think you can kiss 2026 goodbye. this is the evangelicals, that are largely supportive of President Trump, wherever they are. I don't care if they're in blue states or red states. Overwhelmingly evangelicals have supported this president. And if this president cannot, under, under the Constitution and under the law, protect our houses of worship, I think 2026 will be a referendum on that failure.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And, I think that that perfectly describes kind of the, the general tone and just feeling of a lot of, of us who, and I would put myself even in that category of ones who've been, you know, really frustrated with the lackluster, you know, sort of response, to what was the Trump mandate in 2024? And especially when we've looked at how the Biden administration, you know, really targeted Christians in particular. I mean, not just Trump supporters, but pro life Christians, Christians who, you know, who were standing up for the truth and really made it seem like, you know, you can be an. Identify anything else you want to be and identify with in America except for a Christian. And the Trump administration has, you know, historically, definitely stood with religious freedom, stood with Christians, you know, that the faith Based coalition, all of that. But standing with, from a messaging standpoint is very different. you know, as you know, Ryan very well, very different than action, especially when the left is now intentionally targeting, not just, you know, with words and Rosie o', Donnell, you know, going on some podcast and, you know, yakin and shrieking and whatever. I mean, you know, nothing that we can just laugh at, but actually going in, disrupting a church service and something that easily could have escalated, but going into churches and, targeting them and targeting, the pastor. I mean, if this isn't just nipped in the bud by the DOJ and a very firm stance from President Trump that. That, you know, this country will not allow that. I mean, and I don't think that we can rely on Mayor Frey, you know, over. Or any of the Democrats over, in Minnesota. But if the Trump administration doesn't say, you know, we will not tolerate this, then likely there will be an escalation. I mean, that's just how it works. And I think you're right, with the overall outcome, unfortunately, of the midterms. And it's. It's frustrating to see that this is kind of where we're at.

Ryan Helfenbein: Mm, yes. And so we know step one is what has already been said, you know, by the assistant deputy, Attorney General, that this will be prosecuted under law. The Klan act has already been mentioned, that step one is to have the investigation, and then there should be prosecution, and then, ah, ultimately sentencing. but there is no doubt that the law was broken. People are guilty. We, have a sitting president who has had his mugshot taken, lest we forget. and we have a president who has been shot at, two attempted assassinations, lest we forget. And so we have to be reminded, like, the left is ravenous. they are out for blood, they are out for vengeance, they are out for death. and it has to be more than strongly worded letters. It has to be more than tweets. It has to be more than platitudes that are being given from a platform. there has to be some action and not just talk. And so I do believe, and I'm going to say this, I am, very hopeful and expectant, ah, that this will be prosecuted. I am hopeful and expectant that even Don Lemon will not be able to hide behind his own camera and say, no, no, no, I was there as a journalist. what network, Don? And, you know, go look that up. Where. What network does he work for? Where was his badge? no, he, he did not have the right to be on private property. And, let me just say this, Jenna, for all your listeners, even at a place like Liberty University, we are not A public university. We're a private university. No journalist can walk on private property without asking for permission. And so Don violated that. These are basic understandings of civil law, and he violated that. He can't hide behind it. So even he, should be prosecuted. and I hope that he is.

Jenna Ellis: Every Christian should be outraged by this incident

As to the radical nature of these groups, there's obviously a bigger play, a bigger hand that, something that they're hoping to get. And I think that that morning, I think that what this group was hoping to see was violence. I think they were hoping to have the pastor throw a punch or somebody in the church to handle them physically. And by the way, let me just say, if they had handled them physically in order to forcefully remove them from that sanctuary, I think they were well within their rights to do so. If a security team wanted to do that, there was nothing wrong with that. However, they didn't do any of that. That's okay too. And I think that, the reaction that needs to be, had is happening right now, which is, which is basically pursuing justice under the law. And every Christian citizen in the United States is not a secondhand or second tier citizen. We're deserving of equal protection. our religious liberty is first among rights for a reason. You know this, I'm talking to a constitutional attorney. You know this better than anyone. and we need to recognize too that there are constraints on freedom of speech in so much as no one has the right just to enter into a private place of worship and do whatever they want. And I think we're all rightly outraged this morning. Every Christian should be outraged, should feel in some way insulted by this, but ultimately recognizing that they hate us because they hate our Lord and Savior. And I think we need to recognize that as well that Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble. but he also said, fear not, for I have overcome the world. And so we are more than conquerors. And we need to, we need to always remember that no matter what the season of life is.

Jenna Ellis: Amen. And you know, it really is a warning, I think, to, Christians in America to not just get complacent with the blessings of liberty that we have been afforded, for so long to, but always remain vigilant and remain, on guard because, you know, the enemy, as the Bible says, comes to kill, steal and destroy. And you know, this is just an example of breaching the walls of a church. but Ryan Helfenvine, my special guest this morning, he's going to join me, Continuing through the break. We're going to take a break here and be right back with more here on Jenna Ellis in the Morning.

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Ryan Helfenbein is the executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center

 : welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And I'm here with my special guest, Ryan Helfenbein, who's the vice president, President of Communications at Liberty University, also the executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center. You should be following, both of those. Ah, the executive, or I mean follow the executive director. Will do. Follow Ryan. follow Ryan. Helen, Vine. You should be following him on X and Instagram, especially those platforms, but also the Standing for Freedom Center. they put out a lot of really good content that is very, focused and based in a biblical worldview. And, you know, kind of short videos on how to think through things, almost, Ryan, dare I say in a, in a Charlie Kirk sort of fashion, I really like your, your video content there. And, I always, you know, watch those and think, wow, that, you know, that was framed really well. You do such a great job on those. And I always appreciate you joining because, you know, one of the things, that we're learning from this instance in, and this, I would frame it as a terrorist attack, on a church, in Seattle, St. Paul, is that separation of church and state, quote, unquote, really only runs, one direction. Because the left constantly invokes this kind of historical myth. M To exclude religious voices from public life, especially and intentionally, Christians. But when it suits their narrative, they have absolutely no problem inserting political actors and media figures like Don Lemon directly into church spaces or to push their ideological messaging. And that's not neutrality. That's selective enforcement. And so churches are treated now as fair game as long as they're politically useful.

 : And so it's not a matter of.

Jenna Ellis: Actually trying to separate church and state. It's. It's actually using churches to become ideological theater when they want to suggest that a church's worldview, which necessarily can and should include political and policy viewpoints on things, you know, like immigration, law enforcement, pro life, all of these things. then they're saying, well, you know, that's not okay and we will actually come and invade your spaces. And I think that Christians need to see this for what it is as not just, you know, against law enforcement, against a particular pastor, you know, any of this, but really it's targeting Christians specifically to say, hey, you can't be involved in the civil government sphere, otherwise we are going to come and attack you.

Ryan Helfenbein: Yeah, very well framed how you put that. And that is a part of their tactic. And a couple of years ago, a few Years ago, remember BLM, we were reminded of that by the way, St. Paul, Minneapolis, you know, that that was ground zero for where BLM started after the Floyd moment, and his obviously tragic death, from an overdose Fentanyl. And BLM went around the nation burning down many, of our public spaces, but they went into private businesses and even burned down a church. And we saw their, just their absolute vitriol for people of faith and Christians in particular. The whole goal, I believe with all of this, it is Marxist in nature, but it's to create two systems, rules, for thee, but not for me. And many of these agitators believe that they are under the COVID and the protection of their politicians. You mentioned, Mayor Fry and of course obviously Tim Walls, who was not seeking reelection, in Minnesota. And it was because of all of the fallout from the Somali and the mismanagement of over 8, $9 billion estimated in funds and taxpayer funds going towards all of these, programs. But they believe that they have the covering and the protection to do this. That's why they do it. And they believe that it will be consequence, free. They believe at the end of the day, even if they were to get their mug shot, I believe Megan Basham had mentioned one by name, William Kelly, who went to Christchurch in D.C. paid agitator. He, surprise, surprise. He's not from Minnesota, not from Minneapolis, St. Paul, and he went into that church, just, just a couple of days ago, in, in St. Paul. And he has been in other places. He's been arrested before. But they know, that they'll go into the penalty box. It's almost like ice hockey. I'll go into the penalty box for a little bit, but I'm going to be out skating again. And they know that. And that's not how the left prosecutes Christians who pray Outside of abortion clinics, they don't prosecute in such a way, that you're going to be booked, then you're going to get bail and then you're going to be at home that afternoon. No, they want to put you away for a very long time and they're going to use whatever means necessary they feel that they can and they will get away with, to put people away for a very long time. This two tier system of justice that kind of, you know. And then also I would just say this goes back to a book written years ago by Christopher Caldwell called the Age of entitlement. This two Americas mentality. some Americans are living under 1776 and others are living under 1964. And they believe that it is incumbent upon the government to provide them with everything they need for living. you know, housing, food, clothing. It's being demanded, while the other half of America goes to work and earns a living in order to pay for all of it. And we've lived under that shadow for such a long time. And that's why there's so much division today because it's been institutionalized in the way, that there is not in many cases equal protection under the law. And that's why justice has to be pursued in this instance.

Ryan Father says civil government should call for justice, not selective enforcement

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, so well said. And you know we, we also need to continue to call for justice. this is what a legitimate civil government should do. It shouldn't pick you know, winners and losers or targets of the, the government's power based on political party or based on whether or not the person is, is an opponent of the current administration or you know, any of those things that are, that do amount to lawfare. justice should be should be blind, it should be equal, and it should be enforced. And justice also shouldn't be not extended when a current administration might have, you know, perhaps other priorities or other things that it's, that it's doing and just saying, you know, well we're not going to focus on this. I mean that's literally the job of a legitimate civil government is to enact justice so that people can live peaceably, in our societies, if justice is not served and the civil rights civil government isn't doing its job of enforcing a moral and upright society. We see the chaos that we've seen frankly in blue states, like California, with you know, a lot of these, these shoplifters that just come in like we saw during the mostly peaceful protests. I mean we're all old enough to remember those. And I say that in air quotes from Don Lemon's former network of CNN. during, during 2020. you know, we see that there is lawlessness when the civil government doesn't, come in and do their job of promoting good and restraining evil and acting with the authority that God has provided to enact justice. And this also means in this context that we do have to frame and reframe separation of church and state correctly, because that actually the First Amendment restricts the government, not the church. And so if this pastor wants to be part of you know, the the, the government in terms of, you know, volunteer and you know, do all of these things, there's no restriction on, in his, in his other capacity of being part of a church. And the church has to stand up better and know what a legitimate government actually means, biblically, what that requires. So that then when there are instances like this, Ryan, then we, we know already what not only the policy and the law is, but also what it should be and how it can apply to these different situations. Because this isn't just a matter of, well, you know, we're standing up for this church because, you know, these were leftist protesters. I mean, imagine if, you know, a conservative podcaster walked into a church and stormed a church with a bunch of protesters to criticize progressive, you know, radical, you know, DEI or progressive racial theory or something like that. I mean, we shouldn't support our own side doing something that, that is wrong, just because we may agree with their posture of what they're protesting. And this is where I feel like our sides have become way too tribal in this where it seems like some on our side. And I would say this is kind of the woke right branch, almost seems to want selective enforcement when they prefer it. And that's a dangerous ground as well.

Ryan Helfenbein: Yeah, I would absolutely warn anyone from this idea of. And I would say, there are pockets, there are aspects of folks on the so called right or woke right, that are behaving and acting and thinking philosophically about all of this in the same way that the left is. But not at scale. Scale, I would say not in any way, the same size and the same organizing and the same money behind it. It's not that. But there are people who do not understand the law. And you know, it's fascinating. You go back to our founding and the Christian founding that we had. We had blue laws in this country. We had, you know, that governed the Sabbath and Sabbath keeping, you Know, we had blasphemy laws that existed all the way up. Some of them weren't fully removed until the late 70s, 80s, but the majority of the existence of our country, we have, gone back to our constitution and we've invoked the name of God, but which God? And that's often the question, which God? And we know that if you go back to the founders and you go back to the state constitutions, many of them had a declaration of faith in God. and then even some of them in the preamble have, invoked the name of the triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And it's very clear in our tradition that this was a Christian nation. we often hear the boogeyman term Christian nationalism. And, you ask anybody what they think that means, and you'll get a different definition. But for the first 80 years of this country, you know, it was basically, our capitol building in D.C. housed worship, worship services on Sunday morning, Christian worship services. there was not a particular denomination at the top. There was no state denomination from the federal level, but certainly Virginia and Rhode island and NewSong Hampshire. All of them had churches that were influential at the state level. America has never been particular to one denomination. And that's what really religious liberty has all been about. there was a plurality all the way going back to the beginning. You were free to pursue and worship God how you saw fit. and so many Christians have an amnesia. Or rather, some of them, they've forgotten it in our cultural memory and our legal memory. Others never learned it, Jenna. They never been taught. They've been propagated a different myth under secularism, that somehow the United States was formed in the 1950s after all these various Warren Court decisions that came from the 50s and 60s and all these various reforms in legal theory. And, that's certainly not the case. And we have to remember that. And I think the best ideals and principles of freedom going all the way back to the founding, is to understand that this is religious liberty for all. It applies to everyone, but it must be respected. and the left certainly does not respect, these institutions. Their hallowed grounds are the courthouses, and they don't always act like it. But the courthouses and the state houses, those are their hallowed grounds. And ironically enough, that's public property. They could not do the kind of demonstration they did on Sunday morning at the city's church in St. Paul, Minnesota. They could not do that at a courthouse. They wouldn't even dare try it. And that's public ground, meaning it belongs to every citizen. and so it is clear they do not respect our houses of worship. We need to get back to a place in America where every citizen does respect houses of worship, whether it be a, ah, Whether it be a church or a synagogue or whatever, we need to get back to that as a country.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. So well said.

How would you encourage pastors during this time? How should pastors encourage pastors

And you know, how would you encourage pastors during this time? Because, you know, I know that, there are a lot of pastors in America that genuinely just want to focus on discipling their flock, being, you know, the peacemakers. And they don't necessarily have the same kind of, you know, fight fire with fire kind of attitude that may, you know, be a little bit necessary in this kind of, ah, particular climate. I'm reminded of, that old Mel Gibson movie the Patriot, about the Revolutionary War. And there's, there's a character in there who's one of the, the Baptist ministers who says, you know, when they're. They're trying to get all of the militia, to go and, you know, fight the Red Coats and everything, fight for freedom. And, and he picks up a rifle and they go, you know, minister. And he said, well, you know, sometimes you gotta, And I'm paraphrasing, but he says something like, you know, sometimes as a minister, you know, you gotta, pick up a stick and go out and beat off the wolves. And I'm thinking, yeah, you know, and it's like that's. That's kind of maybe what. Where we're at today. And pastors need to have a little bit more mentality of not just letting the wolves come in, and hurt the sheep.

Ryan Helfenbein: You know, it's so funny. You, you recall that's one of my favorite movies, but Muhlenberg, that. That is actually, that character was inspired by Muhlenberg, in the black robe regiment. And these were pastors who put on the revolutionary garb. And apparently, as the story goes, and I'm not going to get it right there, many historians who know the story better, but he preached a sermon, and at the end of the sermon he pulled off his priestly robe or his black, robe with his frock, and underneath it was a revolutionary uniform. And he was just inspiring his people to take up arms in his congregation. And he wanted to lead by example that, yes, you can do this, and it is a good and godly pursuit. There is such a thing as just war. And we know that too. I Think the question you asked is so critical. How should pastors, I even think of Christian leaders? You know, if you're in your church and you lead a Bible study or you're a pastor in your church, or you're a youth pastor and you're around young people, I think what we need. Christians, have been rightly taught that ultimately our kingdom is not of this world. We have no lasting kingdom. We know that and we know that, we do not meet violence with violence. we know that. We know that we must turn the other cheek. We know that there is going to be persecution and trials. We know all of that. What I would want Christians to understand, especially pastors in particular, is that we do have a nation, that was founded by Christians and we are a nation of laws. And we are not in first century Rome. And the answer to every time that persecution comes is not to roll over and die. we are not, in a place where we have an occupying force living in America that is a pagan government, that is overruling our laws. And the only thing we have are just these religious councils where we have disputes. We are not living in first century Judea. we are not living at the time in which Paul wrote the epistles. And I say all that to say that is the word of God and it applies universally to Christians everywhere. But we do need to recognize that the very thing that that is written, like in Romans chapter 13 about, you know, the government is ordained by God and as a deacon of God's justice, what, to promote the good and to punish evil. This is a Romans 13 situation where the right kind of government, and I mean that in terms of righteousness, rightly ordered, that recognizes good and recognizes evil, punishes evil and promotes good. That's exactly what we need in this instance. And so, we do not just accept what took place. We do not accept injustice. We accept it in terms of God's overall will and purpose for our lives. Somebody may punch me in the face today. Now, am I going to hit that person back? maybe, maybe not. It depends on the situation. Probably not. Jenna, that person was to come after my wife, would I, would I hit that? Oh, absolutely. You better believe I would. Because that's my responsibility is to protect and defend others. But in the ultimate sense, I pursue justice. In the ultimate sense, the best way to handle that situation as a Christian, is to, get the authorities involved and to make sure that that person, faces just consequences. And I think that's where we sit today. I think Christians need to understand that while we face persecution, we do not live in a war torn third world. Sometimes I know it's very dystopian what we see on tv, but there are measures, there are ways, to exhaust, our legal system in order to make sure that this injustice is remedied. And that's what we need right now as smart Christians who don't just roll over every time, they face confrontation and every time an agitator, gets in their face.

Jenna Ellis: So, so well said.

Ryan: I think this is an opportunity for the church to stand firm

Well, we got to leave it here. Ryan Health and Vine. I so appreciate your wise words and you know, admonitions and encouragement as well, you know, to the church to be the church, to stand up firmly, you know, even in the midst of, you know, a lot of these really interesting times, I'll, I'll put it that way. But I think this is an opportunity, where the church can stand, firm, promote ultimately the truth of the gospel of Christ, but also our engagement and our rightful engagement in a legitimate civil government. so Ryan, you can follow him, on X. You can also follow Liberty University and the Standing for Freedom Center. And we'll be right back.

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 : Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

Marching for Life is scheduled for Friday in Washington

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, this past Sunday was the Sanctity for Human Life Sunday, which of course began when churches decided to really engage the issue of life in the wake of the terrible decision of Roe vs. Wade, which thankfully was overturned, recently by the Dobbs decision by the U.S. supreme Court. But there's still so much work to be done on the issue of life and thousands and even hopefully millions are going to be m marching this weekend and throughout the week in you know, various events from coast to coast. Marching for Life. And ah, one who has been very heavily involved in the fight for life is Father Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life and he joins me this morning. So what the landscape coming up this week, for Marching for Life and pro, life policy.

Frank Pavone : Well, hi Jenna. Thanks. It is an exciting week. You know, many people think about, the March for Life as a single event. It is the largest annual pro Life event. This Friday in Washington. The second largest event on the west coast happens the next day in San Francisco, the Walk for Life West Coast. But these are not just two events put on by two different organizations. There are clusters of events. There are literally dozens of events taking place in the next few days in Washington sponsored by dozens of groups. And likewise out on the west coast, there will be multiple events this weekend. So I want to invite our listeners to tune in and connect as well as they can to these events. I'll personally be organizing and leading six, different events. Four in Washington, two in San Francisco. And people can go to prolifemarch.org to see what these events are. The Thursday, of course is the 22nd, the actual anniversary of Roe. So we're going to have a national protest in the morning against Planned Parenthood, a prayerful protest at the Planned Parenthood on fourth street in Washington. Then at noon we'll be at the Supreme Court, the location of that disastrous Roe decision. And we'll be memorializing the victims of Roe. We'll have some members of Congress, pro life leaders, we'll be laying flowers, on the sidewalk there. The next morning, the big national prayer service. I'm really excited about this one, and we can talk about it in more detail, but we're going to honor Charlie Kirk's memory, presented Award posthumously to him. I had been arranging for him to come in person to the. To the event, but we'll have some leaders from Turning Point there. we will have, a, commemoration of our nation's 250th birthday. Because it's the Declaration of Independence that says we have a right to life and that government exists to secure that right. We'll have Lyche Ariza, one of the actors from the Chosen that series that many watch. so the prayer service at Constitution hall will take place Friday morning before the march. At the conclusion of the march, we have the Silent no More campaign at the Supreme Court. This is a gathering right there on the sidewalk. The marchers will be going right by it. So I invite them to stop and listen to the testimonies of those who've had abortions. And they'll be not only revealing the damage abortion does, they'll be talking about how Jesus healed them and brought them to peace. then we'll, be in San Francisco the next day, and we'll do very similar events with a Planned Parenthood protest and a silent no more gathering just before the big Walk for Life. So, Jenna, it's an exciting week. It's a.

Frank Pavone : It's a moment for the pro life movement to really manifest itself as the loving, prayerful, peaceful movement that it is continuing to grow, always moving forward and never deterred.

Jenna Ellis: And I love it. And I love how, you know, keeping, the momentum advancing forward, for life and for protections for life is, you know, always, constantly at the fore. And, you know, it may seem to some like, you know, this is, this is a fight that we didn't really anticipate because, you know, actually having Roe versus Wade overturned was such a monumental victory that, you know, for my entire lifetime, that was the goal. And, you know, now the fight is at the state level. where. Where do we sit kind of in that posture? I mean, maybe kind of just a quick update on. On the states that you're focusing on to either, put in more protections, you know, even stronger protections for life, or, you know, fighting some bad legislation as well.

Frank Pavone : Yes, well, we have, a divided picture. Some states have become more pro abortion, and as we've discussed many times, you know, these constitutional amendments were put in over the last few years allowing unlimited abortion. Other states have increased the protections for the unborn, over a dozen of them, from the moment of conception. And others, like Florida, we moved all the way to, protection starting at about six weeks. so we're looking at, continued progress in that way. Many states are introducing pro life legislation, but we have a number of states who in 2026 will have these ballot measure fights. And Virginia is one of the most egregious. Their newly elected Democrat majority, got, going right away, was their first item, let's put unlimited abortion into the Constitution. So we'll be fighting in Virginia. We're looking at other states too, including Idaho that may, may have one of these, destructive amendments. So we'll be keeping the audience posted on that. But there's also some interesting federal legislation too, because you know, when Roe was reversed, it didn't take away responsibility from our federal lawmakers to protect the unborn. So there's a bill for example, about pregnant students and the rights that they have, to be given proper information on campus about alternatives to abortion and to be free from coercion in that regard. So we're getting behind a lot of those, those pro life bills that are being introduced in the, in the U.S. congress. and of course looking at the funding issue, of course, which is always a big battle, we don't want our taxpayer dollars used for abortion. And funding battles will continue this year, as has already been in the news.

Jenna Ellis: Amazing. And you know, how can people who are listening, I mean, I know this is such an issue that is close to the hearts of so many, who regularly listen here and are part of our AFA family. And you know, life is, is, is the most sacred of all rights because without it, obviously we can't exercise any of our other rights. And in 2026, with all of the other news going on and all of that, if this is the one issue that people really want to focus on, how would you encourage them to get involved? Because sometimes that seems a little overwhelming. It's like, okay, you know, we can, we obviously can pray and we do as Christians, but actually taking the step to, to be engaged at a, at a policy level, can seem a little bit daunting. how do you encourage, people to get involved?

Frank Pavone : Well, I encourage them to connect with, with a pro life group that can alert them when, for example, a call should be made to their representative in Congress. We've got an effort like that. It's@stopabortion now.org where people will get a little alert and say, hey, there's a piece of legislation. Just give a quick call. We even give them the wording, suggested wording to use. So they don't have to be an expert on that, you know, on that bill or on the issue. They just have to have the willingness to communicate with you know, the lawmakers who after all work for them and not the other way around. So getting, getting involved in that way, staying connected with pro life groups that you know, have broadcast and publications again, which we have so much of that ourselves as you know, staying involved in the political fight. we have the midterms and you know, a person dedicated to protect, protecting the unborn, is going to, you know, pay attention to the pro life credentials of candidates and mobilize voters to elect the right people in the midterms. we have a C4 group called ProLifeVote, uh.com and you know, these are some of the ways. And finally, you know, many of our listeners of course are very active in their churches, and across the body of Christ. We have resources for churches at ProLife Church and I'd invite people who want to be involved in the pro life movement. Take resources to your pastors, suggest ideas for what the church can do to proclaim that beautiful pro life message to the congregation.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. And you know this is, I think in the face of what's going on in Minneapolis, this is a reminder to pastors that the response should be to get even more engaged in policy issues, and, and especially electing the right candidates that will actually stand firmly, not just, just speaking, and not just in talk, but in action. I mean there's there have been so many, unfortunately even Republicans, Frank, that you know, have gone to Washington or you know, are in ah, state level positions that are kind of all talk on pro life but no action when it really matters. and, and I think that can be frustrating as well. And we need to vet candidates really thoroughly. Look at their record, and you know, have they actually done what they have said they're going to do or do the campaign promises kind of end, you know, day one when they take office?

Frank Pavone : Well, to the point that you're making, I always say, you know, don't ask a candidate are you pro life? And don't put much weight on it. If they say they're pro life, that's an adjective.

Jenna: Let's focus on concrete actions instead of adjectives

ask them, evaluate, instead of evaluatively ask them descriptively, what will you do? What will you commit to do to advance the protection of the unborn? And that's got to be the focus. You know, we get into all kinds of debates. Oh, is this person Pro Life. Are they Pro Life enough? Never mind about the adjectives. Let's focus on the concrete actions.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. So well said. Well, where can people follow? You get your great resources in just the last, minute or so that we have. Yes.

Frank Pavone : Well, thank you, Jenna, again for the events of this week. Please everyone go toprolife march.org and see what you can participate in or follow along with on social media. I'm at Fr. Frank Pavone and you'll be getting live updates about this week's events. and then of course, our main website is Pro Life Central.org Pro Life Central. You'll see all the different branches of our ministry. And thanks Jen. It's going to be an exciting week for this movement.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. Thank you so much. Keep us updated. And, Godspeed. Our prayers are with you. We support you and, be safe everywhere that you travel. That's all the time that we have for this morning. And as always, you can reach me and my team, Jenna fr.net. Sam.