Pete Hegseth’s Pastor Says He Wants James Talarico To Die
A pastor tied closely to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth endorsed a podcast segment wishing death on a Democratic Senate candidate, and the real accountability question is how the Pentagon treats extremist-adjacent rhetoric inside its orbit.
Mar 24, 2026
Sources
Summary
HuffPost reports that Brooks Potteiger, the pastor from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s home church, agreed on a podcast with statements about praying for Texas Democrat James Talarico to die. The story frames it as religiously motivated extremist rhetoric but leaves key questions unanswered about what Hegseth, the Defense Department, and the church will say or do in response. It matters because normalized “spiritualized” calls for violence corrode civic trust and can create real-world risk when linked to senior government circles.
Reality Check
The most stabilizing fact is that the podcast speaker tried to frame “God kills him” as spiritual conversion (“death and new life”), but the segment also uses dehumanizing labels (“demon,” “snake”), explicitly talks about enemies you “are not called to love,” and adds “stop him by any means necessary,” which is the kind of language that can be read as permission—by listeners, not just by the speakers.
This is less about parsing theology than about public responsibility: when people closely connected to senior officials participate in or validate rhetoric that fantasizes about an opponent’s death, the relevant public question is what boundaries (if any) the official and the institution will draw, and whether they will clearly disavow it.
Media
Detail
The podcast “Reformation Red Pill,” hosted by Joshua Haymes (a former intern at Potteiger’s church), discussed Talarico as a “public enemy” and used imprecatory-psalm language about destruction and judgment.
Haymes said “I pray that God kills him,” then qualified it as “killing his heart” and raising him to new life; he also added “stop him by any means necessary” if conversion is not God’s will.
Potteiger agreed in the moment (“Right, right”) and added “We want him crucified with Christ,” aligning himself with the thrust of the exchange.
HuffPost says requests for comment were not immediately returned from the Defense Department, Talarico’s campaign, or Potteiger’s church (Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship).
The article states Hegseth has appeared on multiple episodes of the podcast and has reportedly endorsed the show on several occasions.
HuffPost reports Hegseth previously brought Potteiger to the Pentagon to lead a prayer service and expressed interest in making it recurring.
The article describes Potteiger’s church as part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches and summarizes the network’s stated positions on male-only leadership, homosexuality, and women in combat roles.
Talarico is described as a Democrat running for U.S. Senate who emphasizes a progressive politics rooted in Christian faith and has criticized the religious right’s approach to Christianity.
Missing context: no direct quote or on-the-record response from Hegseth, the Pentagon, Potteiger, the church, or the podcast addressing whether this rhetoric is condemned, disavowed, or considered acceptable.
Missing context: no reporting on whether Talarico received threats, whether law enforcement or platform moderation is involved, or whether any security precautions changed after the episode.