James Lindsay—a prominent right-wing pundit known for spreading anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation on social media—has now alleged Pride celebrations serve as a conspiracy to incite conservative attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.
Lindsay suggested Pride events would be leveraged to launch "two attacks" on conservatives. The first, he claimed, involved persuading American brands such as Ford, Target and Bud Light to fully embrace Pride, thereby prompting conservatives to boycott and criticize these corporations.
Lindsay asserted such actions would harm conservative interests and impede their progress.
The second attack, according to Lindsay, focuses on targeting religious icons and children. Specifically referencing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a longstanding drag nun charity organization, Lindsay mistakenly portrayed them as a new entity and expressed concerns about their influence on younger generations.
His assertions overlooked the organization's history since the 1970s and its significant contributions to LGBTQ+ charities during the AIDS crisis.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
\u201cJames Lindsay claims that angry and desperate Christian conservatives are being provoked into carrying out anti LGBTQ attacks so that the government can label them as Christian nationalist domestic terrorists and justify shutting down churches.\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
Lindsay first claimed LGBTQ+ people are manipulating conservatives into boycotting "Americana brands":
“One of those will be to get our corporations that skew as American brands, Ford, Target, Bud Light, you know, Americana brands to take this up full blast so that conservatives will turn around and boycott and target these corporations as we should and almost as we must, so we cut off ourselves at our own knees.”
Then, referencing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, he claimed LGBTQ+ people have launched a full-scale assault on “religious icons" and "will go after children" to portray Christian institutions as "domestic terrorist hotbeds":
“It’s almost like they woke up a dragon and they’re gonna feed the dragon and get them to do something stupid that will then turn around and get used against them, whether it is to investigate churches, shut down churches, come down on conservative Christianity just from a political perspective so that they’re the ‘domestic terrorist hotbeds of the country."
Lindsay went on to suggest that these provocations would be used as an excuse to investigate and potentially suppress churches, labeling them as "breeding grounds for domestic terrorism."
He claimed that government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would crack down on churches, potentially leading to increased surveillance and the implementation of legislation similar to a "second Patriot Act."
While Lindsay attempted to frame his claims as a revelation of a conspiracy within the federal government, his assertions lack substantial evidence. Conservative opposition to Pride events has been evident since their inception, making his notion of a deliberate plan implausible.
Many have mocked and criticized Lindsay's statements.
\u201c@RightWingWatch The old \u201cthey made me do it\u201d defense\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch They have a persecution complex.\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch Which is stronger? Christian hate or Christian victimhood?\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch The contortions necessary to perform this maneuver are astonishing!\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch They can twist any narrative until they are the victims.\nSome narratives require 2 or 3 twists, but they do it every time.\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch I swear I\u2019ve heard the stereotypical abusive SO say something similar. \u201cwhy are you making me hurt you? Can\u2019t you see it\u2019s just as painful for me? Just fall in line so we can go back to normal.\u201d\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch Have they considered just not being domestic terrorists?\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
\u201c@RightWingWatch So it's the LGBTQs fault these guys are bigots?\u201d— Right Wing Watch (@Right Wing Watch) 1685988958
Lindsay is credited as one of the leading voices popularizing the term "groomer" as a pejorative directed at the LGBTQ+ community by members of the political right.
As a result, Lindsay is largely responsible for the ongoing "groomer" hysteria accusing LGBTQ+ people of building relationships, trust and emotional connections with children so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.
Last year, he was accused of hypocrisy after a photo resurfaced showing him with actress Nicki Clyne, who is best known as a member of NXIVM, the name commonly used to describe the sex cult headed by the imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere.
Lindsay's association with Clyne drew criticism because NXIVM leader Raniere and his co-defendants comprised an organized racketeering enterprise by recruiting others into NXIVM and a "secret society" called "DOS" in which women were branded, made to record false confessions, and provide nude photographs for blackmail.
Investigators found that NXIVM leadership—which included Raniere and his second-in-command, the actress Allison Mack, who married Clyne—received financial and personal benefits and committed crimes ranging from sex trafficking to forced labor and visa and wire fraud.
