WarRoom Battleground EP 950: Texas Ag Debate; Mistrial For Illegal Terrorists

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room — Battleground EP 950

Date: February 18, 2026
Episode Theme:
The episode centers on two major issues in Texas that are described by the hosts as emblematic of broader national and Western struggles: (1) the mistrial in a capital murder case involving Venezuelan gang members (Tren de Aragua); and (2) fierce debate over the influence of Sharia law, halal food, and Islamic communities in Texas, especially as it relates to an imminent ballot proposition and statewide Attorney General/Commissioner debates. These topics are discussed as part of a larger narrative about legal, cultural, and political threats to American and Western identity.

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Episode Overview

Stephen K. Bannon, joined by correspondents Ben Bergquam and Peter McElveen, covers the latest developments in what he frames as the “cultural and judicial warfront” in Texas. The first focus is on the failed prosecution of an alleged violent gang member, which segues into a discussion of immigration, law enforcement, and the alleged erosion of rule of law in urban America. The second focus is an extended conversation, including analysis of a recent Texas Agriculture Commission debate, about the perceived threat of Sharia law, the growth of Islamic communities, and the implications of the growing halal food industry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mistrial in Dallas Gang Murder Case

• Background:
  The episode opens with discussion about a Dallas County mistrial involving Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang accused of executing a fellow member in front of children (01:27–02:55).
• Concern over Rule of Law:
  Steve Bannon argues the justice system in major American cities is now "impossible to bring justice" for crimes involving illegal aliens or jihadists, especially if victims or jurors are conservatives (05:14–07:00).
  • Quote (Bannon, 06:57):
    "In these big cities... you're not going to get equal justice. If you're a conservative or MAGA, they're going to pursue you... But if you're an illegal alien or jihadist, it's impossible to get a jury to convict you, sir."
• Political Undercurrents:
  Ben Bergquam connects the deadlocked jury to a broader narrative that American institutions are being undermined by leftists, NGOs, and policies favoring illegal aliens over citizens. He likens it to "Red Dawn" but "we invited them into our country" (05:14–06:57).

2. Parallel with UK and Europe: Colonization/Integration Debate

• Comparison to the UK:
  Peter McElveen draws parallels with the UK's struggles—delays in the justice system, erosion of jury trials, governmental pressure on judges, and compensation for illegal immigrants (09:08–11:27).
  • Quote (McElveen, 09:08):
    "We have such a backlog, you're now within years for a case to come up... And because of that they've decided, well, we're just going to make the system less fair and remove your right to jury trial..."
• Immigration as "Colonization":
  The show features excerpts from a controversial interview with UK billionaire Jim Radcliffe, who claims, "the UK is being colonized... It's costing too much money" (12:59–14:10).
  • Quote (Radcliffe, 13:12):
    "The UK has been colonized by immigrants really, isn't it?... The population of the UK was 58 million in 2020. Now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."
• Reaction to 'Colonization' Arguments:
  McElveen (15:23–18:03) notes the backlash against Radcliffe for these remarks and emphasizes the cultural and religious transformation in the UK, particularly the rapid growth of Muslim communities, halal food businesses, and the decline of the church and national identity.

3. Echoes in Texas: The Sharia Law, Halal, and Cultural Debate

• Sharia Ballot Proposition:
  Bannon highlights that voters in Texas are now considering a proposition (Prop 10) to prohibit Sharia law in the state (11:27–12:59).
• Debate Over Islamic Influence:
  Panelists warn of what they call an “Islamic invasion,” likening it to what they see as unchecked spread in Europe, and tie these narratives to local issues in Texas cities like Plano and Frisco (38:13–42:58).
  • Quote (Sid Miller, 41:16):
    "America better wake up. We cannot allow Islam and Sharia law in our country. And we're allowing it every day to grow like a fungus..."
• Halal Food as a Cultural Wedge Issue:
  Extended discussion on whether halal food should be permitted or considered a problem in Texas—linking it to religious funding, school lunch programs, and alleged pressure on non-Muslim populations (39:03–49:09).
  • Quote (Peter McElveen, 45:43):
    "The halal food industry globally is $2.5 trillion... but the second thing is choice... in a Muslim area... the vast majority of takeaways, pizza outlets, chicken outlets, whatever they are, have that little halal sticker... all the meat... is halal. That is simply not the case with Judaism... With Islam, it's different."
  • Quote (Benji Gershon, 43:58):
    "They were spot on as far as Sharia law and the global... caliphate that, that they're trying to impose on us. And they're not, it's not conducive with Western values..."

4. Texas Agriculture Commission Debate Highlights

• Labor & Immigration:
  Candidates discuss the H2A visa program for migrant workers and the balance between technology and migration in agriculture. Both candidates favor expanding legal pathways but want stricter enforcement and systems to ensure migrants pay their way (35:23–38:48).
  • Quote (Sid Miller, 37:23):
    "No one wants to do that. So I'm going to continue working on that. We do need to fine tune that, and... the American taxpayer doesn't need to be paying for that."
• Religion and Governance:
  Both Sid Miller and Nate Sheets adamantly oppose Sharia law and halal food in public institutions, tying these issues to broader claims of Islamic expansion and loss of American values (39:03–41:01).
• Audience & Tone:
  The tone is urgent and combative; the audience response is described as enthusiastic and supportive when panelists emphasize the threat of cultural "takeovers."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Steve Bannon (00:36):
  "They are not coming. They are already here."

• Sid Miller (01:07, repeated at 31:00):
  "As Texas goes, so goes the nation. As the nation goes, so goes the world. Are you prepared to fight for this state? Are you prepared to fight for your country?"

• Ben Bergquam (06:57):
  "This is the death of America if we don't stop this... This is a suicide pact against this nation if we don't stop it."

• Peter McElveen (18:55):
  "We no longer know what it means to be British... We are seeing a massive change in our society... the leadership we seem to have is acquiescing and bowing the knee to Islam."

• Ben Bergquam (22:26):
  "Europe is gone. England is gone. For the most part, Europe is gone. But it's because of the death of the church. And the same thing is happening in America... unless we have a crusade 2.0. America is on the verge of that exact same thing if we don't wake up now."

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Important Timestamps

• 00:08–01:20: Bannon and Berkgam set the episode tone: imminent threat from 'Islamic jihadis,' Sharia law, and need to defend Texas
• 01:27–02:55: News report on Dallas mistrial in gang case
• 05:14–07:00: Bannon and Bergquam declare "death of equal justice" and link it to progressive policies
• 09:08–11:27: McElveen details UK legal, migration, and integration crisis
• 12:59–14:41: Jim Radcliffe comments about UK "being colonized"
• 18:03–22:26: McElveen and Berkgam discuss religious, cultural transformation and West's crisis
• 34:44–38:48: Texas Agriculture Commission debate highlights on migrant labor and immigration
• 39:03–42:58: Sharia law and halal food debate
• 45:43–49:09: Halal food industry discussion, UK parallels, and cultural impacts
• 49:39–51:06: Episode closes with gratitude and promotion of upcoming debates

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Episode Tone & Language

Throughout the episode, language was direct, combative, and urgent—a mix of warning and rallying cry for listeners. The tone is resolute and unambiguously opposed to perceived threats from immigration and Islamic cultural influence. Quotes are often polemical, painting the issues in dramatic, existential terms.

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Conclusion

EP 950 of Bannon's War Room paints Texas as the current front line in a broader struggle over national identity, judicial integrity, and religious-cultural influence. Through comparisons to the UK and a focus on court failures and Islamic community growth, Bannon and his guests frame the ongoing debates and ballot propositions as decisive for the future of both the state and the nation. The episode interweaves policy details, stark cultural warnings, and notable soundbites for an audience that sees America at a critical inflection point.

Transcript

[Ben Bergquam]

Foreign.

[Steve Bannon]

Islamic Jihadis are plotting against you. Why in the hell you think they're in Houston in the north of Dallas. They are working together to overthrow Western.

[News Reporter (Shannon Miller)]

Civilization, Sharia compounds which are areas governed by religious rules.

[Steve Bannon]

We know who you are, we know what you are, and we know what you're trying to accomplish. And it is not going to happen. In the jewel of the crown of the union of this republic, we purge.

[Ben Bergquam]

Any attempt to impose Sharia law in Texas.

[Steve Bannon]

They are not coming. They are already here.

[Sid Miller]

You are not here properly and you're going to leave.

[Steve Bannon]

On 3 March, Sharia law goes on the ballot in the state of Texas.

[Ben Bergquam]

The United States Constitution and Sharia are.

[Steve Bannon]

Fundamentally at odds with one another. We're going to tell them, take your Sharia law and shove it.

[News Reporter (Shannon Miller)]

Islam will never dominate the United States.

[Steve Bannon]

And by the grace of God, it will not dominate Texas.

[Sid Miller]

As Texas goes, so goes the nation. As the nation goes, so goes the world. Are you prepared to fight for this state? Are you prepared to fight for your country?

[Steve Bannon]

War Room Texas. Your host, Stephen K. Bannon starts right now.

[News Reporter (Shannon Miller)]

Judge declared a mistrial in a first of its kind case in Dallas County. It was a capital murder trial involving a violent Venezuelan gang. Jurors said they were deadlocked. NBC 5 Shannon Miller joins us live with the very latest. Shannon? Well, Merritt, this was the second and final time that the jury could not come to a unanimous decision in this case of Carlos Zambrano Boulevard. Take a listen here as the judge read that decision shortly before 4 this.

[Steve Bannon]

Afternoon and the director reflect that the jury has been deliberating three full days on this matter.

[Peter McElveen]

That being the case, the court will.

[Steve Bannon]

Declare a mistrial in this case.

[News Reporter (Shannon Miller)]

Now this is the first case involving Trin de Aragua to be prosecuted by the Dallas County DA's office early Friday afternoon. The jury told the judge they were deadlocked then in their decision and the judge told them to go back and deliberate and try to come to a unanimous decision. Farmers Branch police say Bolivar is one of four suspects responsible for kidnapping Nizuli Petit, his daughter and nephew from a Dallas apartment complex in August 2020 after Petit, a TDA member, failed to turn over cash to members of the as part of the complex nationwide ATM theft operation. Detectives say Petit was later shot and killed in Farmer's Branch. His body left in the roadway off Valley View Lane.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, welcome. It's Tuesday 17th February in the year of alert 2026. Welcome to Warren, Texas. We are just a program announcement. The attorney general's debate is going to follow the show Grace and Mo. We're going to be streaming it live from Texas with many of the kind of MAGA folks fighting for the attorney general, Chip Roy, Aaron Wright and others. So you're not going to want to miss this. Attorney generals actually from all over the country have been here for this since it's so important what the Texas AG does. BEN BERKWAM this is stories exploded all over Dallas, Fort Worth, throughout the state and now the country. I want people to understand something. President Trump as commander in chief, has designated Trend Aragua, and particularly on the Colorado branch, but also the South Texas branch as essentially enemy combatants. This is where he brought out the Alien and Sedition act to send him home. This while we've been at the Supreme Court here in the state of Texas and a jury twice and this was where they took the guy who was a gang member and they took a couple of his, I guess, kids and nephews and they executed him in front of the children. And they couldn't be this guy could not be found guilty of a capital crime. I'm not even sure the other four are going to actually go to trial. This shows you I keep telling people you're in a different America now. Don't think you're watching Perry Mason or, you know, Judd for the defense or anything like you're in a different America. It is impossible to bring justice now in our courts of law in cities like Minneapolis, in cities like Chicago, in cities like New York City and now in cities like Dallas, Texas. Ben, you've been at the forefront of this. You've been deployed for four years in the Darien Gap and in Mexico, on the border, saw the invasion, warned of the invasion. You're one of the best voices. Real America's voice was the leader and actually getting down and dirty about this invasion. Now you've shifted. You're the guy there at these at the insurgents, these neo Marxists. You're seeing it and people think our courts can do it. You think that just federal judges against Trump. It's so much deeper than that. BEN BERKWAM.

[Ben Bergquam]

Yeah, Steve well, first off, there's three parts to this. First is you no longer have equal protection under the law in these Democrat cities. You've experienced that in Washington, D.C. we saw that with the J6ers. That's across the board if you're conservative in America. But now you have this next level of this where you have the radical leftists who have mobilized this attack against ice, against anything that has to do with Illegal aliens to, to coerce people in these communities, these, these jurors in these communities to not side against a murderer who murdered somebody in front of children. Think about how, how cold blooded this is. He murdered, they murdered this guy. Now whether or not this guy was a gang member, a TDA as well, a terrorist as well, the, the, what they did, they murdered this guy in front of children. And for him to be able to walk on this or these guys to be able to walk on this, this is the death of America if we don't stop this. And it goes right back to everything we saw. The NGA NGOs training illegal aliens on a game, our system, how they got the illegal aliens into this country and what they're doing now in the cities across America to teach people how to undermine ice. Basically anything that has to do with illegal aliens, they side with the illegal aliens over American citizens or anyone that gets in the way. The other side of this is the TDA themselves. We have invited this in. This is like the movie Red dawn. But instead of them parachuting into our country, we invited them into our country and they have spread out across this nation. Some of them operating within our own government. We have politicians that are operating against our country. This is a suicide pact against this nation if we don't stop it. And it's this election, it's that critical, this election, that we turn this around.

[Steve Bannon]

Ben, your first point was amazingly perceptive. I want to go back to that. In these big cities, whether it's New York City, Whether it's Washington D.C. chicago, Dallas, you're not going to get equal justice. If you're a conservative of maga, they're going to pursue you, they're going to use lawfare, they're going to imprison you. This is why they went after President Trump in Fulton county and in Washington D.C. just non stop. But if you're an illegal alien or jihadist, it's impossible to get a jury to convict you, sir.

[Ben Bergquam]

That's right. Yeah, you actually, you have special privilege in America today. If you're a jihadist or an illegal alien, think about that. An American citizen. If you're conservative or just any American citizen, think about all of the American citizen angel families that have been murdered by illegal aliens who are swept under the rug and, and the illegal aliens are uplifted, they're protected by these sanctuary jurisdictions, these people that have traded America for foreign enemy combatants in their communities they are protected. We are not.

[Steve Bannon]

Peter McElveen, I want to bring you in. I'VE got you here for something directly dealing with England, but is what's happening in Texas. But I want your comments on this because Marco Rubio gave a speech the other day, is being hailed and Hillary Clinton sent me out and said, yeah, we got to control our borders, we have to figure out about immigration. And I said, hey, that speech Rubio gave, which had a lot of great elements to it, was a good speech 15 years ago, but today it's, you know, the colonization and what you're seeing here in places like Dallas, right, In places like Texas, you know, Colony Ridge and these things. And what we're seeing here with the Islamic invasion is so far past that you gotta talk about in continental Europe today, re migration. But when you see something that's supposed to be the backbone of English common law, trial by jury, and now, you know, you've got these corrupt prosecutors, you got these corrupt judges, but now, knowing you can't get a fair trial in one of these big cities, what does that tell me about how has London been a forerunner of that?

[Peter McElveen]

Well, we have this huge debate at the moment, trial by jury. And the Labour government, the far left, Keir Starmer, has tried to say he's going to remove that because our legal system has utterly collapsed. We have such a backlog, you're now within years for a case to come up. And because that they've decided, well, we're just going to make the system less fair and remove your right to jury trial, which is not across the board, but still you remove that right. And we have certainly seen pressure put on judges over the COVID tyranny in terms of free speech, those two big areas, we have seen huge political pressure put on judges where they have ruled simply according to what the government wants. So finding those who didn't go along with the COVID tyranny procedure. And also on the free speech issue, on concern of immigration, that's now branded as far right extremist terrorist. I think far right terrorism is the term which is now used to describe those who have a concern of immigration. And therefore there is pressure, using the political language, put on judges to rule in favor of what the government wants. And yet on the other side, you've got legal push to actually hold those who have broken into the country illegally, the 50,000 or so who have come over. In fact, there was a story just two days ago that 200 million has been given to, sorry, £5,000. So seven and a half thousand dollars has been given per person to 50 illegal immigrants because they had their phones taken off them when they arrived. So they arrive illegally. The police remove their phones, they go to European Court of Human Rights and they are told, actually, Britain is breaking your human rights. After you legally came into the country, you must be given $7,500 in apology from the government. That is how screwed up our judges are in terms of pressure from the UK government and pressure still from European Union through the European Court of Human Rights, even though we have left that jurisdiction.

[Steve Bannon]

By the way, this whole being part of the un, Ben, as you know, Oscar Blue Ramirez would tell us every day, being part of the UN's Compact on Migration is one of the reasons we got 25 million illegal alien invaders in the country. Okay, here's what I want to do. One of the most powerful things. And Peter, you were so great in coming over him first of coming on November and warning us about it. And you're going to stick around. We're going to play a highlight reel after the bottom of the hour break of the Agricultural Commission debate from the other night. We've got the ag debate live. We're gonna stream that live right at the end of War Room Texas. Cause Peter warned us about halal food. So that became a question in the ag. And Peter's gonna stick around. The other thing you did is in warning us and us getting organized is we gave permission, structure, we gave space for average Texans to be able to talk about this issue of Sharia law that's on the ballot. Today's first day of early voting. It's Prop 10. To prohibit Sharia law in Texas is the proposition. The wealthiest man in England, right? Owner of one of the legendary soccer clubs, football clubs, as they call them. The wealthiest guy in England who really came up, just taught himself chemistry, taught himself finance. This guy's worth, I think £30 billion or something. I want to show you his interview. He is being virtually run out of the country for the following interview. And this interview applies directly to the situation in the state of Texas. Let's go and play it.

[Jim Radcliffe]

If you really want to deal with the major issues of immigration, with people opting to take benefits rather than working for a living, if you want to deal with that, then you're going to have to do some things which are unpopular and show some courage.

[Steve Bannon]

And has this government done that?

[Jim Radcliffe]

No, I think they. I don't know whether. I don't know whether it's just the apparatus that hasn't allowed Kier to do it or he's maybe too nice. He's a nice. I mean, I know Kier, he's a nice man, I like him. But it's a tough job and I think you have to do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track. Because at the moment I don't think the economy's in a good. You can't afford. You can't have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean the UK is being colonized. It's costing too much money. It will cause. It'll cause. Yeah, the UK has been colonized by immigrants really, isn't it? I mean the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020. Now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people.

[Steve Bannon]

You met recently with Nigel Farah to, didn't you?

[Jim Radcliffe]

I didn't.

[Steve Bannon]

Do you think that they would be a kind of a good government if they were to win the next election?

[Jim Radcliffe]

I think Nigel is an intelligent man and I think he's got good intentions. But in a way you could say exactly the same about Kia. When Kia came in. I think it needs somebody who's prepared to be unpopular for a period of time. To get the big issue sorted out would be mine.

[Steve Bannon]

Someone who's prepared to be unpopular for a period of time. Take care of the problem. Now this is the wealthiest guy in England, really kind of self made come up through the ranks of buying chemical companies and really doing tough industrial turnarounds. He said England's been colonized and then he says of course it's been colonized. In 2020 at 58 million people now you have 70 million. That's all been migration. 12 million migrants. On a percentage basis they got a worse problem than we have. Peter McElvena, he has been eviscerated. They are not having a debate about what he said about colonization. They are trying to destroy him, are they not, sir?

[Peter McElveen]

They are. And Steve, this is fascinating. As you said, the richest man in the UK worth yep, 35, $40 billion. I think the fifth highest taxpayer in the UK pays $150 million a year and that's why he moved to Monaco a few years ago, bought Manchester United, probably the biggest football team in the world and soccer team in the world. And he bought that maybe four or five years ago and had been really interested in sports, had bought some French teams and he bought a 25% stake in Manchester United. Hasn't been in the public eye at all. I think during the Brexit debate, during that getting us out of European Union, he probably gave one or two comments that he was actually Euro skeptic. He was pro Brexit, pro leaving, but wasn't a big player at all. I mean I don't recognize him or remember him at all speaking. And I knocked on thousands of doors during that campaign and suddenly he comes and he says this on a Sky interview, which is strange because he normally has stayed under the radar uber successful businessman and has done everything quietly. He doesn't. He doesn' want the spotlight. I don't think I've ever seen an interview from Jim Radcliffe ever before. And that is a curious part of this that he is not a politician. He doesn't have anything to gain. He is just, can you say a normal bloke if you're worth $40 billion. But he sees what is happening to the country. He is a huge concern and he is speaking up. And sky back in the day, Sky News back in the day when they were owned by Fox. Back, back, back. Actually it a voice of reason. I really don't need voice of reason. Is is GB News. But you're right, he has been maligned, criticized. Keir Stormer has demanded he make an apology. He's kind of had to roll back slightly on that. We've got Kick it out, which is the anti racism group in English football. It's called on him to make more apologies. And yet he is one of the most. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have many tens of thousands of people in jobs. The amount of tax he pays and simply he has a concern that and paying more and more tax, being hit by higher and higher levels of tax which are the highest since the Second World War. As a businessman, he's got concerns whenever people come over and get handed free cash when they come over, free education, free.

[Steve Bannon]

But hang on. But what he said is absolutely 100% true. Why she apologized. England has been colonized. That's what we're trying to stop here in Texas. As you pointed out when you came over November, you said at the time that struck me, you said, hey, you guys are much farther along than this than we were when it first started. It's moving, it's accelerating at accelerating rate in Texas. And they're much more sophisticated with halal food and the business and get into the real estate and do these communities. And it took decades for that to kick in in the United Kingdom. He said. He said this is a much more sophisticated invasion. Is there any doubt in your mind that that England has been colonized, particularly 12 million, 12 million additional population since 2020 on a country I think it's got what, 80 million population to start with, 12 million. You went from 58 million now to 70 million. The percentage is huge. And it's all migration.

[Peter McElveen]

Oh, 100%. And we no longer know what it means to be English. We no longer know what it means to be British. That's a contentious debate. We're now embarrassed about flying our flag. So you' that on one side then you've got an utter lack of integration. When you look at the generation that came over from the Caribbean, the generation that came over from India, they all amalgamated, they all integrated, they all became part of the uk. They were kind of colonies that had traditionally been part of the British Empire. And they came and they became part of the fabric of society. Yet the clash which you refer to, Steve, is in Islam. It's not integration, isolationism, it's demanding your rights, it's wanting to change where you arrive, to fit what you want instead of fitting in to the culture you arrive in. And that's why we are seeing a change and that's why the huge concern of. In 15 years, we've seen the national population go up 10%, the Islamic population go up 111%. We have a 10 times growth. And that's where we have the clash. That's where we have the debate. That's why we have the Islamophobia debate of that legislation, legislation coming through. That's why we have 24, I think, members of Parliament who are Muslim, more than any other country in Europe. That's why we are seeing the huge growth of halal, because it demands its place. That's why we're seeing the huge growth of mosques while we see the fall of churches. That's why we've seen an aggressive, forceful, seemingly confident Islam, especially in education system and politics. And we have a meek, weak, pathetic Church of England that puts a dogma of doubt over confidence. And we are seeing a massive change in our society. Steve, with we have no Christian leadership and the leadership we seem to have is acquiescing and bowing the knee to Islam. And we see that changes across, whether it's Sharia courts, whether it's the rape gangs and no one wanting to say a thing about it. And Jim is, is absolutely right that we are seeing the fabric of England change. We are seeing areas which would have been very English areas. We are seeing change with halal shops on most high streets in London. Most the takeaway shops, the food takeaways are halal only. You see the call to prayer, you see the footpaths full on a Friday at lunchtime. The call to prayer. And you see the church just opposite, empty. I went specifically, I remember a couple of weeks ago, the church I went might have had maybe 25, 30 people in it. A church, maybe 300 people. It could have fitted in. And then you go to the mosque and it's spilling out with a footpath full. And you see this. A forceful demand for domination, for superiority, for imprint in society. So Jim is absolutely right. And the interview he gave was so gentle. It was. He was making comments about what he saw, and yet he pillared.

[Jim Rickards]

Hang on one second.

[Steve Bannon]

I'm gonna get more into this. Ben Berkhom's gotta bounce. Ben, between in Texas, Colony Ridge, H1B visas and Sharia law, you've been at the forefront of this, covering this now for, I think, going on six years with us. Is there any doubt in your mind that what has happened in England, you're seeing in Texas, that Texas is being colonized?

[Ben Bergquam]

Sir no, not at all. And I was actually, I spent the last two summers in England. I was over there with Rahim last year during the elections and spent a night out, one of the scariest nights of my life, on the border at the beaches of Calais where all the boats are loading up with the illegals from North Africa, the Muslims from North Africa that are going across and being given everything for free. And what Peter just said, the key to all of this is the death of the church in Europe is what caused the death of Europe. Europe is gone. England is gone. For the most part, Europe is gone. But it's because the death of the church. And the same thing is happening in America. It's why they've infiltrated the communist churches in America. They've created these, these radical leftists, the United Methodist Church, the. The Lutheran Church, all of these radical leftist churches that are aligned with this destruction of America from within, which will say nothing about Sharia, which will say nothing about beating your wives or having honor killings or the, the way that gays are treated under Islam. But they will attack Christians for standing up for what the Bible says about sin. This is the destruction of the West. Europe is gone. And I hate to say that, but my experience, I don't see it turning around unless we have a crusade 2.0. America is on the verge of that exact same thing if we don't wake up now.

[Steve Bannon]

Ben Burqam, I know you're working on a big book. You're out in the field with us all the time. You're going to get back down here to Texas. Where do people, where do people keep up to you and your weekly show.

[Ben Bergquam]

Law and Border. We're having a new episode. We'll be coming out in a couple weeks. So at Real America's Voice on everything. And then Mike personal social substack is Frontline America website frontlineamerica.com if you want to support ICE, we have a nonprofit Frontline America Foundation. It's frontlineaf.org we got some big things coming out with that and my personal socials at Ben Berklum.

[Steve Bannon]

Ben, you're a hero. You've put it on the line. One of the bravest guys I know but in some very dangerous situations and we're getting you down here. Texas in the run up. Today's the first day of early voting. The attorney general's debate follows Orem Texas here we're going to be on Getter. We're going to be on our Rumble Channel, all of our platforms. You can watch it. You can watch it live. Ben Berkhom, thank you so much. Appreciate you, sir.

[Ben Bergquam]

Thank you, Steve. My honor.

[Steve Bannon]

Of course, Real America's voice is given wall to wall coverage. That's why as Peter McElvenna, you know, warned us about when he was down here in November saying hey, you lose Texas, you're going to lose this country. And you can see this from what's Mondavani. Look at look at New York City under Mondani. Look at Chicago. Look at what just happened in Minneapolis and the retreat Minneapolis we had last night on the five O show. We had the great Sam Faddis talking about the American Tet offensive, right. And how we've and how like in Vietnam, the Tet offensive, which they didn't totally win the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, but it led the path to victory. That's what you're seeing here and that's why it's got to be thwarted. As Texas goes, so goes the nation. As the nation goes, so goes the world. And of course, Tarrant county and these important towns and little cities north of Dallas, Fort Worth are the place where you're going to do the fight. Okay, we're going to come back with Peter McAvoy is going to stick with us. We're going to go to the the AG Commissioner's debate we covered live on Sunday night. Short commercial break Texas War Room will continue.

[Peter McElveen]

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[Sid Miller]

As Texas goes, so goes the nation. As the nation goes, so goes the world. Are you prepared prepared to fight for this state? Are you prepared to fight for your country?

[Steve Bannon]

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[Benji Gershon]

Yeah, well, thanks for having me on, Steve. This race has gotten national attention. You have this screw worm now that's gotten the attention of President Trump and Brooke Rollins. That's become a national issue. You had the governor, Governor Greg Abbott, which is this is unprecedented in history where he endorsed the challenger as opposed to the incumbents. First time that's actually happened in Texas history. So the debate really heated up. People's got people's attention. People were talking about it on social media. And we just try to keep our finger on the pulse of what conservatives are talking about and what they're concerned about. The whole Maha movement's become a huge, huge subject with rfk, dealing with that. So, so just a lot of different factors went into it. And so, you know, I've had a long standing relationship with Sid Miller going back several years. He's a friend. Got to know Nate Sheets over the last several months. He's also a great guy. You know, two fierce competitors, two smart guys going at it. It's a very important position that has a lot of power in this state. So we decided to put it on. That was the only date they were both available. And thank God we were able to secure it.

[Steve Bannon]

First day was really on the eve, virtually the eve of early voting here in Texas. What I'd like, you didn't endorse either one. He said, hey, what we're doing, my organization is going to just put this on and let you guys go at it. And I can tell you people were fascinated by it they really went at it. We've cut some segments out of it. I want to play it in its entirety. Runs about seven or eight minutes of the debate. I've got Peter McElvena with me also and Benji, I'll bring you back on just for your observations. Let's go and let it rip.

[Benji Gershon]

Provided the border does stay secure. And I don't know what Congress is.

[Ben Bergquam]

Doing about that right now, but what.

[Benji Gershon]

Immigration reform policies would you support provided.

[Peter McElveen]

We do get a bill at some.

[Ben Bergquam]

Point that makes sense for that community?

[I]

Well, two things. I've been actually been working on this ever since I've been in office. We need 800,000 migrant workers in our agriculture sector. We have an H2A program which is legal migrant workers. We started out with 75,000. We've got worked that up and worked that up and I've been involved in that. Right now we're at 400,000 and we just successfully got another hundred. We're gonna have 500,000 of the 800 that we need this time. So that helps. Now the 800 need is coming down because of technology. We now have cows with robotic milkers. We have tractors that drive their cells. We have unmanned drones to spray our crops. We can almost mechanically harvest not all of them, but most of our crops can be mechanically harvested. So that at one time we did have to, you know, use a lot of illegal labor. But the need for that is shrinking. I don't know any farmer rancher that wants to hire illegal labor. They only do it if it's the last resort. Can you imagine a dairyman getting Woke up at 4 in the morning, say, boss, they just picked up all of our hands. Who's going to milk the cows? Or can you imagine being in the middle of a watermelon harvest and you get all your hands picked up, the crops going to rot in the field. No one wants to do that. So I'm going to continue working on that. We do need to fine tune that and I don't have time. But I would tell you that we need to make those workers pay for that their self. The American taxpayer doesn't need to be paying for that. The illegals pay $10,000 to a coyote. We can make those Hua workers pay their own way up here. And we need to do a withholding, just like income tax from them. And if they run off to the construction industry, we keep that. But if they go back, fulfill the contract, all that would be reimbursed to them. And that is a workable system. I'VE been to Congress several times to lay that out. No one has intestinal fortitude to touch immigration reform. That's just the fact. But it would work. It would really work.

[Steve Bannon]

Good.

[Benji Gershon]

It's what actual immigration reforms, provided we.

[Ben Bergquam]

Keep the border secure, would you support that?

[Benji Gershon]

Makes sense for that community.

[Sid Miller]

Yeah. I was just down. When I was down at McAllen, they were telling me that they just put cameras up on the bridge because they used to have workers come up and they come up for about four days and then they would work and then they go back. But we have these new cameras up that are taking people's pictures. And if you do not come back within 24 hours, then they block you to be able to come back in, back into the United States. And so even our current policies are really hindering migrant workers to be able to come up that are legally coming up. We need to enhance that. We need to make it easier for people down south to be able to access migrant workers. And having been someone in the food industry, where we've got a lot of workers, we've got 120,000 beehives, it takes a lot of labor to be able.

[Steve Bannon]

To help work on all those.

[Sid Miller]

And so we need a program that allows us to have longer term relationships with workers to come in from Guatemala and South America, that we could have them here for three years and if they could do well, not have any criminality, pay their taxes, then we could look at giving them some other type of green card to be able to come in here and continue work. Because the labor is an issue. We've lost a lot of dairies lately because ranchers are, because dairymen do not have people willing to get up at 3 o' clock in the morning and go milk cows. So we've got to change this.

[Steve Bannon]

Is Islam and Sharia a threat to the American way of life? But in particular, are you aware of the halal food preparation methods? And should that be legal, what they do to animals? Should that be legal in Texas?

[Sid Miller]

You know, Sharia and caliphate are incompatible with the U.S. constitution and the freedoms that we have. The Islamic goal is to have a global caliphate and they'll let non Muslims vote. They want us to pay a tax. I worked for in Sudan for 10 years when I was in full time Christian ministry. I saw the literal war from the northern parts of Sudan trying to come in and raid and invade the southern parts of Sudan. But there's also a silent war. These mosques, that way they would go and they build a mosque, they would give free education, they would give free health care and they would draw people into the community. And all of that money came from Qatar, uae, Dubai, Saudi Arabia. And we're seeing the same thing happen right here in America, right here in Frisco. I was just talking to one of my brothers that was just talking about the anti Semitism in Plano in the school district. There he is right there. And the anti Semitism in school district right here in Plano where they have swastikas up on school walls, but the school won't do anything about it. We have to stand up against this Islamic invasion.

[Peter McElveen]

I want to go back to the.

[Jim Radcliffe]

I will come to you.

[Steve Bannon]

Same question. Just a moment, commissioner. But Mr. Sheets, the question is, what specifically is halal food preparation permissible or should it be the way they slaughter animals? Should that be something Ag Commissioner cares about?

[Ben Bergquam]

About. Absolutely.

[Sid Miller]

The activist should care it. Care about it. But most importantly, to assure that we do not put the pressure on public school systems to start to bring halal food and segment it and force other non Muslims to eat the meat because they're trying to satisfy the desires of the Muslims. We have to not allow that to be able to come into any Texas school.

[Steve Bannon]

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Okay, we can restart it too. Okay, Commissioner Miller, the same question about halal food preparation.

[News Reporter (Shannon Miller)]

Should the Ag Commissioner care about how.

[Steve Bannon]

We and just overall the Islamification of Texas.

[I]

America better wake up. We cannot allow Islam and Sharia law in our country. And we're allowing it every day to grow like a fungus. We'll end. Just look at Germany, Germany, France, Sweden. Oh my gosh, look at Great Britain. They have taken over. They're filling all their elected officials spots. It's just horrible what they do to come. They come in with intent to take over. Wake up, America. We've got to stop this. We cannot allow this to happen. You're seeing it here in this local school in Plano. You got the school board defending them and not putting checks and balances in there. We've got whole communities coming together initiating their own Sharia law against our law. We bowl law that we've got to enforce it. We've got to be strong, we got to be tough and we got to stop it. Halal inspections, I've seen those. I've been in the slaughterhouses many times. They have an imam comes in there. They inspect the carcass in black. That is halal beef. I don't know what dog heard, but that's, that's, that's how it works. And you know, it's not a big problem as far as. Because I don't eat it. But if you want to sell beef to Dubai, which Tony just got back, they, they won't, they won't kosher and they won't halal and they're not much difference in the two. But I tell you what, the culture is much, much stricter than that. A whole lot stricter. It's a much tougher standard to meet.

[Steve Bannon]

Yeah, I'm not going to make political comments here, but you know, Nate Sheets is an entrepreneur and also been a missionary for a long time. And of course, Sid Miller, the long standing. I got to know Sid after we won the first time. He came very close to being actually President Trump's first pick to be the Department of Agriculture. That was fascinating, Benji. I really want to thank you guys for putting on. I hope folks throughout Tex and folks throughout the nation understand how hot a topic this situation is with Sharia law. You just saw right there immigration, which used to be almost everything. And of course they got alternatives. And some people thought Nate was maybe not, you know, all of a sudden you start talking about green cards and amnesty, but that has been overwhelmed by this issue on, on Sharia law. And you can see the audience, I mean, when Sid Miller was going through and his name of the countries and the audience goes, hey, and Great Britain, England, right there, Their, their team. So Benji, what, what are your thoughts? Adjust the temperature of this and the intensity of it.

[Benji Gershon]

Yeah, I mean, they were spot on as far as Sharia law and the global, you know, caliphate that, that they're trying to impose on us. And they're not, it's not conducive with Western values, with Judeo Christian values. Yeah, there were some interesting answers as far as the H2A workers are concerned. I'll let the audience kind of make their decisions and determinations on that. That also I want to make a quick distinction on the, on the halal versus Kosher because it's actually a very interesting subject, something that I know, obviously I'm Jewish, I know about, about kosher, but halal I had to learn a little bit about. Apparently halal actually allows stunning, but there's a stunning of the animal, but does actually not allow internal checks of the organs. The animals may not be in good health or may not be clean. Also they're not as strict when it comes to actually enforcing the highest standards of the preparation. And also who's actually doing the slaughtering, the cutting. When they use a very sharp knife, an animal dies relatively quickly within a few seconds kosher. On the other hand, there's no stunning allowed, but the internal organs are checked. It allows for a much higher quality standard of cleanliness and also the higher level standard of training. So I did want to make sure that was that distinction was made because some people think it's either the same or it's, you know, they're both inhumane. But it needs to be made that distinction. So I just want to make sure that was on the record as well.

[Jim Radcliffe]

I want.

[Steve Bannon]

Yeah, Peter, one of the ways you got my attention back in November when you first came out, he says, steve, I don't think you understand this. Halal food's like $100 million a year business in Texas right now and only growing bigger. And once you get these kind of business interests in there, it's tough to unwound. Talk to me about halal food. It's become a massive issue in the United Kingdom, or I guess it was years ago. You've kind of passed it. But talk to me about halal food. Food and particularly halal food as you saw it in the great state of Texas.

[Peter McElveen]

Well, the halal food industry globally is $2.5 trillion. In the U.S. it's 100 billion, going to hit 220 billion in about seven, eight years. So massive growth, 10% U.S. growth, 22% in Dallas and Houston, which are the epicenters. And this has all been happening under the noses of, of different governors. Obviously it's been, the big growth has been in New York, it's been in California and it's been in Texas. Those are three epicenters of Muslim population. But also the demand and rise of Halal. My assume certainly there is a distinction between kosher and halal. I wouldn't even begin to touch on it with Benji listening. But one of the issues is that halal is very much religious, it is prayed over. And a proportion of the money in halal food industry goes to further Islam. That should be a concern to anyone who's not Muslim or a Christian. But the second thing is choice. I know when I go around London, if I'm in a Jewish area, I can choose not to eat kosher food if I so wish. Because it's not as if every food establishment is in effect forced to only offer that where when I'm in a Muslim area, which is most areas in London, you don't really have a choice anymore. The vast majority of takeaways, pizza outlets, chicken outlets, whatever they are, have that little halal sticker which is often clear in the window, so you would actually miss it because you wouldn't notice it. And yet all the meat in that establishment is halal. That is simply not the case with Judaism, because Judaism wants to provide for its own community. It's not missionary, it's not expansionist. So that is not a concern to anyone who does not want to partake of food which is kosher. With Islam, it's different. Halal is growing hugely and over 40%. I know in the UK, over 40% of halal food is eaten by non Muslims. It's put out there certainly by. By gen zers as ethical or better for you. It is no such thing. It's just a new quirky way of, of pushing it. But the size of the industry and the impact on especially government institutions, on schools, on hospitals, on prisons, many of them go fully halal because it's too difficult to have two suppliers, two preparation areas. It's simply easier to go all halal because of course with Islam you run the risk of legal action and of course with Judaism it doesn't have that aggression. Judaism is not trying to force itself or attack the country Jews are in where Islam is so different. So they're very. And I love that question by. Was Debbie. Georgia asked that question and it was great to see it. I would love to have knit. Could I get someone like Nate here in the uk, we need someone like that, who's bold, who understands the issue and for Sid to compare halal with kosher, that. That is a slippery slope and that is something that Islam want you to do to say, you know, we're all the same, we're all don't worry. No, do worry. And Debbie's question pushed the issue and the crowd responded.

[Steve Bannon]

I'd love. I'd love Sid, but I think also I'll get you back on. I really want to talk about halal food, the preparation halal food, I'm not buying that. It's just a imam coming and praying over. Anyway, we've got a bounce. We have the Attorney General debate that's going to follow us live here on the War Room. We're going to pick it up live at top AR at 7.

[Jim Radcliffe]

Pete.

[Steve Bannon]

Peter, you've become kind of a star down here in Texas because you came down and really kicked off this warning. Where do people get you the show, your content, all of it, sir.

[Peter McElveen]

Just watch War Room. So we're on War Room on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, 3pm Eastern, 2pm for all the. The Texans there. Just tune in on War Room. Get a rumble if you want to watch us directly at Hearts of Oak UK on X or at Hearts Evoke everywhere else.

[Steve Bannon]

Thank you, Peter. And thank you for all the attention and focus and backup you're giving us here on this Texas situation. Really appreciate it.

[Peter McElveen]

Thank you, Steve.

[Steve Bannon]

A man who loves his country does. Benji, real quickly, where do people go to find out more about you and your group? What's your social media?

[Benji Gershon]

Yep, American Jewish conservatives dot com. You can also find us on Facebook and on X AJC America. We got a great AI and politics event coming up on March 12th. Wealth, several other events including a Sharia law event that's all talking about that as well. So on March 5th. Check us out and more information there and all the other social platforms.

[Steve Bannon]

Benji, thanks for putting on this debate. It was amazing. The only time I think you're gonna have a debate in this early voting starts a day. Thank you, sir.

[Benji Gershon]

My pleasure.

[Steve Bannon]

Thank you, Steve. We've played it a couple times and we're played a couple more times. It's a fascinating debate. I think you find out a lot about the two candidates. Okay, we're gonna take you out with War Room Texas. We're gonna be back, back in a moment with the Attorney General debate on the first day of early voting. The state of Texas. Be back in a moment.

[Peter McElveen]

What makes a manly bed and born and dirty is back on hold. Ride away, Ride away.

[Steve Bannon]

Ride away.

[Jim Rickards]

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