Dede Laugesen Warns of Rising Persecution, Jihad, and Political Violence in America

On a recent program with Frank Gaffney, Dede Laugesen, president and CEO of Save the Persecuted Christians, reflected on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks and warned about the continuing persecution of Christians by jihadist movements around the world.

Laugesen cited the estimated 388 million Christians currently facing high levels of persecution and discrimination worldwide and argued that Americans need a clearer understanding of the ideological forces driving much of that violence. She and Gaffney also discussed the growing public debate over Sharia and its relationship to constitutional freedoms in the United States.

The conversation then turned to a disturbing incident Laugesen and her family witnessed at an “ICE Out” student walkout in Denver. According to Laugesen, adult political activists at the event helped turn a student protest into a violent confrontation with journalists covering it. Frozen water bottles and other objects were thrown, several people were assaulted, and three were sent to the hospital. Laugesen’s own son, who was filming the event, was knocked to the ground and kicked.

Laugesen compared the scene to the early stages of Mao Zedong’s Red Guards during China’s Cultural Revolution, when young people were mobilized against perceived political enemies. She warned that the combination of ideological radicalization, political intimidation, and hostility toward Christians and traditional institutions should not be ignored.

Gaffney concluded by stressing that the response to such threats must remain peaceful and lawful while defending the constitutional freedoms on which Americans—including Christians of every denomination—depend.

The full transcript of their conversation appears below.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT:

Frank Gaffney: [00:00:00] Welcome back, and a very special welcome to our next guest, a woman I have had the privilege of working closely with for many years, who is now the president and CEO of a wonderful organization on whose board I serve: Save the Persecuted Christians.

If you have been watching the show, you know her as a woman with whom we have co-hosted some important segments about the persecution of Christians. Well, persecution of Christians is what the jihadists, in particular, have in mind and are carrying out worldwide.

When, on 9/11, whose anniversary was marked yesterday as we are speaking, they attacked this country in New York, Washington, and, as it happens, Shanksville, they [00:01:00] did so as an act of Sharia supremacism to inflict harm on us—yes, demoralizing damage and destruction on a massive scale—but ultimately for the purpose of conquest.

Some say, “Well, this is all about religion or religious war.” I would say no. This is about jihad. This is about Sharia supremacism. This is about conquest of our country as the last impediment, really, to the global conquest they strive for.

Yes, there is a veneer of pietistic practice associated with Sharia. Do not get me wrong. But it is fundamentally about power.

Dede Laugesen has been closely monitoring and trying to counter this wherever she can, notably [00:02:00] and very remarkably in Nigeria. But I wanted Dede to make sure that we take stock of what happened not just 25 years ago, but yesterday in the commemoration of that horrific set of attacks, which reinforced some of the same crazy nonsense that was, I believe, a direct result of George W. Bush being subjected to an influence operation by the Muslim Brotherhood, which induced him to say, “Islam is a religion of peace. Jihad is about personal struggle, not holy war. Those people who hijacked those planes are trying to hijack a great Abrahamic faith.”

Level-set us, Dede Laugesen, on the truth that we have to be clear about in order to defeat all of this and save our country.

Dede Laugesen: Yesterday, Frank, I was so offended and scandalized when I saw AOC and Mayor [00:03:00] Mamdani sitting on the sidelines, giggling away while the names of the victims were being read aloud.

Frank, this is the disgusting nature of the Democratic, jihadist, and Marxist arm of their wing right now that is gaining power in America across the board. They are lifting up candidates for public office at the local level, the state level, and the federal level.

Now, Frank, some 65,000 acts of terror have taken place since 9/11, and 98 percent of them are because of jihadists. Frank, 388 million Christians are suffering around the world right now as we speak, and at least 80 percent—probably more—of the violence being meted out to Christians is from these jihadists. They seek to conquer.

Frank Gaffney: And these are worldwide numbers you are using, right?

Dede Laugesen: Worldwide numbers. There are at least 65,000 [00:04:00] acts of terror against the West, against Christians, against all of us, Frank. They are coming to conquer the world, and they have no intention of stopping.

America has been asleep at the wheel. We have been fed lies, and our leaders have fed us lies and shut our mouths down. We are condemned for speaking about the dangers of Islam because we might be called Islamophobic, and many people shrink back and will not speak, as you have faithfully done since that day.

Frank, you were the first to be canceled, and you are still canceled because you have spoken truth since 9/11. That truth is finally coming to the forefront through the RNC and others, where we are seeing it happen today.

Frank Gaffney: I hope so. Thank you. I am not sure that is entirely true, but I certainly know that we have been suppressed. [00:05:00]

Dede Laugesen: Very much.

Frank Gaffney: Lots of us. The claim is invariably that this is somehow racist, hateful, bigoted, or Islamophobic. Nothing could be further from the truth. We love this country, and we want to make sure it is not destroyed by people who hate it. It is that simple.

Dede, let me just add that what you said is so important. I think the convention that was conducted here in Dallas—I was there for both days—the first day was a washout as far as I was concerned. But on the second day, we had Senator Ted Cruz, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan Mike Rogers, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, among others, finally breaking through and speaking about Sharia, speaking about the threat it poses to our country, and the need to ban it in America.

This is the purpose, of course, of a program [00:06:00] that you have been very helpful with from its inception, BanSharia.com. We have enormous resources there, folks, including nine really powerful videos that I commend to you.

Just go to that homepage, click the Videos pull-down menu, then Micro-Documentaries, and watch them. They are only 90 seconds to two minutes long. Share them. Bring them to the attention, particularly, of people in these next six weeks who are seeking your vote.

Tell them, first of all, we need to know where you stand on Sharia. Will you faithfully take the oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, or will you try to accommodate Sharia, which will destroy that Constitution?

Second, will you stand for freedom over slavery? It is a stark contrast between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

We have a minute before we have to take a break.

Dede Laugesen: It is so important that we get this right, Frank, because the jihadists [00:07:00] and Marxists are more than willing to introduce slavery back into the United States. It is rampant across Africa right now and the Middle East.

We really need to get this right in this election. We need to press for patriotic leaders for America. Remember that just because you come to America does not mean you are here to support America. You may indeed be here to destroy it.

Frank Gaffney: Yes. And if you are here to destroy it, you should be removed. Needless to say, that is not on.

Dede Laugesen is with us for another block. We will be right back with more. We are going to talk about some personal experience she and her family had with what she calls the Red Guard in America, in Colorado, but perhaps coming to a theater near you.

Stay tuned. We will be right back.

We are [00:08:00] back with my friend Dede Laugesen, the president and CEO of a terrific organization. I urge you to support it at SaveThePersecutedChristians.org.

Save the Persecuted Christians is exactly the mission of the organization and one she is championing brilliantly.

Dede, there is some persecution taking place, it turns out, in your own state of Colorado. You, your husband, and one of your many sons were present for a demonstration, I guess it was billed as. Tell us about it. Who was behind it, and what happened, including to you and your family?

Dede Laugesen: Frank, on the Friday before Labor Day, students all across Colorado from a reported 200 schools walked [00:09:00] out at about noon for an ICE Out walkout. Many of them gathered—hundreds of them gathered.

Frank Gaffney: That would be Immigration and Customs Enforcement—ICE—you are talking about.

Dede Laugesen: ICE Out. They are fighting Trump’s policies to remove those who are here in America illegally, which, of course, I support.

We went up to see what the students were doing, why they were walking out, and what they know about immigration and who is coming to America. We showed up at the park.

Frank Gaffney: And where exactly was this?

Dede Laugesen: The Alma-Lincoln Park in Denver.

All these students—hundreds of students—showed up. We were told the organizing group was the Colorado Youth Coalition, which is associated with the Denver Communists, the Democratic Socialists of America, and the Democrats. They were all there with their booths handing out material. [00:10:00]

Freedom Road was there, Frank. We know them from Trevor Loudon, who has reported to us that they were involved with the CCP and meddling with our elections.

There was lots of that. So Malak Kiros, who is now the DSA candidate for Congress, beat Diana DeGette, who was a longtime incumbent. It was a shock primary result. Now the DSA is coming into Denver.

Frank Gaffney: Coming into Congress.

Dede Laugesen: Into Congress in many different states. We have it up in Michigan as well.

Malak Kiros is there. There are hundreds of young people. They are telling us on camera that they do not like America, that they think socialism is probably the answer for America.

Then we had a counterprotester go through the park carrying a sign saying, “I heart ICE.” This counterprotester [00:11:00] had his face masked. He was dressed as you might imagine an Antifa member would dress, and I thought, “This is a plant.”

He went through the crowd. He whipped up the crowd. They all chased him. They ripped up his sign and abused him some.

From there, we saw that the adult communist ideologues in the crowd began pointing to the journalists who were there asking students questions and, might I add, being very respectful of the kids.

The adults were surrounding them and calling them Nazis and fascists and part of the Gestapo, and questioning why they were filming children.

Suddenly, you had the children picking up frozen water bottles and throwing them at the journalists, picking up fruit from the table—apples and oranges—and throwing it.

Then they were leaving the park in droves to go and attack the cameramen and journalists who were there.

There were five assaults. Three people were sent to [00:12:00] the hospital. My own husband was one of them. Water bottles were thrown at him.

My son, who was carrying a camera, was knocked to the ground, into the fetal position, and they were kicking him around the head and stomach.

There has already been an arrest. They have talked to the Department of Homeland Security.

But, Frank, what I saw in that Denver park was America’s Red Guard being born. I am not saying this facetiously. This was serious.

Frank Gaffney: Make clear the reference there, Dede. This is hugely important.

Dede Laugesen: In 1966, Mao Zedong used the youth in China to crush classes. They would have these struggle sessions out in the streets. They would drag teachers, journalists, professors, and doctors out and put them up on stands and publicly ridicule them.

Frank Gaffney: Dunce hats and things on them.

Dede Laugesen: Dunce hats and signs on them, beating them and [00:13:00] even executing them, Frank. Children were executing adults.

That is what I saw in the park on Friday in Denver: adult communists telling students who the enemy was, and the students, in a mob frenzy, could not have cared less whether it was true. They were attacking the adults who had been pointed out to them.

It was crazy, and it was violent.

The Denver Public Schools security force was there in force but doing nothing. Denver police seemed completely incapable. When SWAT showed up, they stood on the other side of the recreation center, out of view of whatever was happening in the park.

There was no real response from the police at all.

In the reporting afterward, the media called all of the reporters “counterprotesters,” [00:14:00] like the first guy who came through, who we now know is a well-known Antifa agitator.

Frank Gaffney: You know that for sure?

Dede Laugesen: Yes, we know that.

Frank Gaffney: So an operation, in other words.

Dede, tell us, are your family members okay despite all this?

Dede Laugesen: Yes. My son is okay. He had his GoPro stolen, but he was able to protect the rest of his equipment. He is physically okay, but really shaken up.

It was quite something. The reason they were there is because it was First Friday in Denver. For First Friday, for three years now, a Christian-owned coffee shop nearby in the Denver Art District has been harassed by the trans communists.

Every First Friday, they come and stand outside Jamie’s Drip Cafe, where they sell coffee that says “Stand Your Ground.” It truly is an incredible Christian coffee shop [00:15:00] in this Denver Art District that is being harassed by these same groups—the Denver Communists and the trans communists.

They all come out, beat their drums, and harass the owner of this coffee shop. They have been doing it for three years, Frank. It is bad in Denver.

Frank Gaffney: Ladies and gentlemen, what you are hearing is a taste of what is to come unless we stop it.

Stopping it entails, obviously, peaceful and legal means, but preventing this jihadism and the Marxist enabling of and complicity with it from becoming an even greater threat to our freedoms.

BanSharia.com is where you can find more information about all of this, as well as through the great work of Dede Laugesen and Save the Persecuted Christians.

Thank you, my dear. Come back to us with updates on all of this soon.

I hope the rest of you will join us again next time. Until then, go forth and multiply.

The post Dede Laugesen Warns of Rising Persecution, Jihad, and Political Violence in America appeared first on Save the Persecuted Christians.

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