Mark Burns, an unabashed Christian nationalist Trump-loving pastor who was among the far-right activists who worked tirelessly to keep former President Donald Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election, spoke at the most recent ReAwaken America event last weekend where he announced that he is launching his own Christian military academy.
Burns, who was busted for falsifying his military and academic record during his failed congressional bid in 2016, is a regular at the ReAwaken America events, which are little more than a traveling cavalcade of outlandish conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric mixed with aggressive Christian nationalism and nonstop Trump worship. Fittingly, members of the Trump family and his inner circle have become regular participants in these events, with both Eric Trump and his wife Lara speaking at the most recent one, which was once again held at a Florida property owned by former President Donald Trump.
As usual, most of Burns' remarks at the event centered around heaping praise on Trump and leading the audience in chants in support of Trump.
"We're getting this world ready for the return of Donald J. Trump," Burns bellowed. "Donald Trump is ready to come back, but he needs to make sure that he's got warriors ready to stand with him. We don't care about those indictments! We don't care about those arrests! We can take those to the gates of Hell!"
As he was finishing his remarks, Burns announced that he will be opening the Burns Christian Military Academy in 2024 "to save our children from the evil public school system."
On his Facebook page, Burns provided a bit more detail regarding the mission and purpose of this new military academy:
In response to the growing influence of the 'woke' agenda in American public schools, I am proud to announce the upcoming establishment of BURNS MILITARY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY in Easley, SC, slated for the 2024-25 academic year. Our mission is to provide an affordable, pro-American education with a strong emphasis on biblical teachings, and to create an environment where children can learn and grow without the need for discipline or court-ordered attendance. This school is not designed for children who have discipline issues. Our goal is to keep our rates extremely low at $200 per month per student.
Our school aims to instill good morals and a love for our country in our students while ensuring that they are not exposed to LGBTQ, CRT, or 'woke' teachings. We believe that our children are more than capable of making their own decisions and that they deserve a safe and nurturing environment to thrive in.
We plan to have our students wear a military-inspired uniform, akin to those worn by cadets at WestPoint and VMI.
The prospect of someone like Burns opening and operating a military academy to indoctrinate students is a bit alarming given Burns' history of using violent rhetoric especially against LGBTQ-supporting parents and teachers, having once declared that the LGBTQ agenda represents “a national security threat” and therefore anyone who promotes it is guilty of treason and should be executed.
