← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
ICE Can Disappear You at Any Moment. EXCLUSIVE Lindsay Church. Independent Veteran for Congress - IL 4th.
00:45:53
Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff has an exclusive first media interview with Lindsay Church—Minority Veterans of America founder, disabled post‑9/11 veteran, queer non-binary parent, and now independent candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 4th District. This all-new episode dives into what it means to take on ICE in Chicago, confront a rigged Democratic party primary, and run as an independent veteran in the middle of Trump’s escalating war on democracy and the free press. Lindsay’s campaign is already historic—as they’d be the first non-binary candidate on a federal ballot in American history.
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- [00:00]
Lindsay Church
What's happening in Minneapolis is what gives me hope that people are linking arms and finally seeing that this is a bigger problem, that ICE is much more dangerous than anybody really is giving them credit for. Many people have been carrying walking papers and passports for a long time, myself included, because I know that if you challenge ice, they can disappear you at any moment, no matter who you are, no matter what protections that you think that you have. If you think that you had protections from the law here, you don't.
- [00:32]
Paul Rykoff
Foreign. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 41 3. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. It is Wednesday, January 14th. Happy hump day. Every day feels like hump day. And I'm coming to you from New York City, usa, where it is again, gloomy. Feels like the whole year has been gloomy here in New York and all across our country. And like most of the country, like most of the city and like America, I'm still fighting this damn flu cold thing. So thank you for bearing with me as my voice continues to struggle. But I will try to continue to push it like we all have to do right now. I'm going to continue to bring you the five eyes in every show. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. And our guest coming up is going to bring that. It is an exclusive interview with Lindsay Church, who has just announced that they are running in the congressional 4th district in Illinois as an independent. An independent veteran is running in Chicago and making their first appearance anywhere in the media here on Independent Americans. That's coming up. This district is fascinating. It includes Cook county, parts of southwest Chicago, Cicero, which is going to be ground zero for ice. And you've heard Lindsay on this show before. They are a powerful voice, the leader of Minority Veterans of America, and just a righteous and important patriot who I'm excited to have back on the show. But first, there is a ton happening now all across the country. America continues to be very tense. ICE continues to run rampant across America and especially in Minneapolis. More disturbing videos continue to come out every single day. And more Americans are pushing back. More Americans are pissed off. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention. And now that's even including Joe Rogan. I don't think we can play the clip, but I'll read it for you. He said you don't want militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching up people, many of which turn out to be US Citizens that don't have their papers on them. Are we really going to be the Gestapo? Where's your papers? Is that what we've come to? That's what Joe Rogan said in an interview this week with Rand Paul, who's also been pushing back the Republican senator. But I think Joe Rogan gets it, and more and more Americans are getting it by the day. ICE is out of control, deeply un American, and unacceptable. I went deeper on it in an episode earlier this week that you should definitely check out. And many folks are pushing back, including six prosecutors who have quit after a push to investigate the ICE shootings. Victim's widow, Josh Thompson. Joseph Thompson is a career federal prosecutor and the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota. Last year, he was among the folks that resigned as the Justice Department pushed them to examine the woman's supposed ties to activist groups. I've said this before. They're trying to label Renee Goode as a domestic terrorist. And it is outrageous. It's unacceptable. It is wrong. And if they can do it to Renee Goode and her family, they can do it to anyone. So people must continue to push back, hold ICE accountable, hold Kirsty Noem accountable, and hold Trump accountable. ICE is hitting some important guardrails, and we've all got to push back peacefully, but we've got to continue to push back because Trump continues to be all gas, no brakes, and he's continuing to give a middle finger to. To NATO, to the Democrats, and to his critics. Literally yesterday, when he was going to a factory tour in Pennsylvania, he flicked a heckler off. Yeah, he raised his middle finger to a heckler who accused him of being a pedophile protector, which he probably is. It's a fair criticism. But Trump is feeling so arrogant and so cocky and so unstoppable that he's now literally throwing the middle finger up, and he's going further, doing more dastardly stuff. Oh, there's breaking news that the FBI has searched the home of a Washington Post journalist, saying that they may have classified documents. The Washington Post. This happened on Wednesday. It's still evolving. The reporter, Hannah Nattinson has spent years covering the Trump administration's administrative's efforts to fire federal workers. And she's had a lot of folks share confidential information with her. And the FBI raided her house. This is the next phase for Trump. Now he is fully coming after the free press. It was coming, and now it's here, just like he came after Comey and James and Bolton and others. Now it's open political warfare on the press, using the FBI under Cash Patel as the lead weapon. And the FBI is just another prong in his comprehensive strategy. To take more power across America. Think about it. Alongside Hegset, the dod, Nome at dhs, Kennedy at Health and Human Services, Collins at VA, and others. And this continues, his attack on the press after Twitter and pbs, NPR and the Pentagon press corps and CBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Washington Post is very. Is very much next on his very long target list. These are direct attacks on our democracy. He's telegraphed his punches. He said he was gonna come after the Washington Post, and here it is. But he must be challenged, he must be fought, and he must be stopped. Meanwhile, speaking of trying to stop Trump, he's still trying to take over the Western hemisphere. And the premier of Greenland is one of many people across the world pushing back. The premier said yesterday, we prefer to stay with Denmark. Trump was asked about this, and Trump said, who is that? And the reporter responded, the premier of Greenland. Trump responded nastily, well, that's their problem. I disagree with him. I don't know who he is, don't know anything about him. But that's going to be a big problem for him. We, I don't think, can play the clip, but it's not a problem for him. It's our problem. It's everyone's problem. It's the world's problem. But it's especially our problem here in America, because somehow this fascist is our president, and he just continues to push and push. All gas, no brakes. And the Senate is at least trying now to slow him down. Yesterday, they introduced a bill. Check out this headline. U.S. senate introduced Bill to Stop military from occupying NATO Territories of the Financial Times had that headline. That was a real headline. Which illustrates just how far and how quickly the integrity and the status of our nation is falling nationwide and worldwide. Our closest allies now fear America. Americans fear America, and Putin loves it. And our enemies around the world are celebrating. And I want to call out the folks in particular who are taking action, including Republican maverick Representative Don Bacon, who's been on this show before from Nebraska. I think he's the closest thing to an independent there is in the Republican Party. He's been holding the line on Ukraine and a number of issues, and he's going to come back on this show again soon. But Bacon issues bipartisan legislation prohibiting an invasion of NATO. Yes, that's really what it is. We'll have more on that. The days to come. Crazy that he has to do this. Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave. McCain not only rolling over his grave, he must be haunting Trump inside the White House. But this is so far from what the Republican Party used to be, so far from what America used to be. Continuing to focus on Trump's attempted domination of the Western Hemisphere in Venezuela. No new strikes so far. No new seizures of oil tankers so far. But Trump continues to get pushback from unlikely places, including the ExxonMobil CEO. Darren Woods. The largest US oil empire threw a wrench in Trump's plans at a White House meeting where he said, quote, if we look at the legal and commercial constructs, frameworks in place in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable. That's what the head of ExxonMobil said. Trump was not pleased. He said he was going to freeze Exxon out of the Venezuela deal in response. And I think it shows a really important thing about Trump and about Venezuela. It's not just about the oil, it's about the power. The oil is just one of the many rationales he's used to try to get people behind his power grab and the attacks on Venezuela. It was drugs and then it was, Maduro's a bad guy, Then it's fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, then it's human rights, then it's oil. But it's about one thing, power and wanting to dominate the Western Hemisphere. I've said it before, he's like GRU in Despicable Me. He wants it all. He wants the moon, he wants to put it in his pocket. But he's starting with the Western Hemisphere. He said he's going to do it and he's going to continue to do it, from Greenland to potentially to Cuba, Colombia and anywhere else. So we're going to watch this space in other parts of the world. Iran is another area of focus where brutal protests continue. Iranians continue to be slaughtered and executed now by the thousands. The brave Iranian people continue to stand up, so many of them young people. We need to send all our support, our love and our visibility to them to show that they are not fighting and dying in vain. And Iran is key here because if Iran goes, maybe Russia goes and then maybe Trump goes. But it can be a cascading effect where young people are pushing back against despots, against authoritarianism. And Trump, of course, is continuing to make threats to attack, and he's asking for no permission. He's not asking Congress for permission. He's not making a case to the American people about his goals or his plans, and he's not preparing the American public to sacrifice, because we have to remember that every operation isn't going to be like the Maduro snatch. The idea that we could send American women and men into harm's way to potentially die and that they won't die is unreasonable. It's unrealistic. But that's what he's pushing. He wants you to think that war is easy, war is light, and people aren't going to get hurt. And as a reminder, the US has actually moved personnel from a key air base as tensions rise with Iran. Non essential personnel have been moved from UDI Air base in Qatar, the main operations hub in the region. We should expect a response from Iran potentially hitting American troops in the area. The bottom line here is this stuff won't be without blood loss and it won't be without potentially American blood loss. Keep that in mind. As we shift to Ukraine, where the blood loss continues on both sides and especially on the Ukrainian civilian side. It's day 1421 of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. And overnight, again, every day, the attacks continue. Russia is trying to disconnect Kyiv in particular, hitting supermarkets, public transportation hubs, infrastructure. More strikes, more strikes to shut the lights off to make the cold worse. And the energy crisis in Kyiv is unprecedented. Mayor Klitschko, brave Mayor Klitschko has said that the air defense activities were active and the energy crisis they're facing and the conditions they're facing are unprecedented. You want to see what Ukrainian fight looks like? Remember that Mayor Klitschko used to be the heavyweight champion of the world. I'd love to have him on this show sometime. And also we went deeper last week on Ukraine with Tim Mack of the counteroffensive. Check that out if you haven't already. All right, shifting over to politics, I want to focus on somebody that thankfully we haven't had to focus on in a while. Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. I've called him Mayor Disaster. Well, now he's private citizen Disaster. Yesterday he was getting off a plane and he told a heckler to go fuck yourself as he was getting off an airplane. And he said, you're going to see the Brooklyn in me. And if you watch the video, he kind of like shoves this person who's masked, and he basically threatened to punch her in the face. At one point, the masked passenger tells him, eric Adams, please punch me in the face. I would like it if you punch me in the face. I mean, this guy used to be the mayor of New York City. What a real tough guy, threatening to punch people in the airport. I mean, this is who he is. I think he's Showing his true colors and a reminder that he's still as corrupt as the day is long. The first thing he did since leaving office was to launch a cryptocurrency token. That's value suddenly cratered. And there are accusations that it was a scam and that his Honor, his former, His Honor, his dishonor, made a bunch of money. No one should be surprised. Keep an eye on Eric Adams because he's as crooked as the day is long. All right, let's talk about the opposite of Eric Adams. Let's talk about true independence. As I shared yesterday, there is a new Gallup poll that says a record high of 45% of Americans are declaring themselves independent. A majority of Gen Z adults and millennials. The future, especially young people, is independent, and that's very big. And Chuck Todd is a guy in the media who's been talking about this for a while. And our friend Brian Bangs, independent candidate from South Dakota for Senate, tweeted this last night. I'm going to read Brian's tweet. He said, chuck is right. Don't write off independent candidates. Polling shows. When voters hear my pitch, we have a real shot at winning and sending me to Washington to represent South Dakota, not special interests. Brian Bangs is a veteran. He's an independent veteran. He's one of many dozens to watch in 2026. And more and more are declaring to run by the day nationwide. And here at Independent Veterans of America, we are pushing to field 100 of them to run this fall from offices from the U.S. senate to the school board. If you're ready to step up, lead and meet the moment. We got your back. Declare your independence and let's go check out independentveteransofamerica.org and we've got one of those veterans coming up in just a minute. Lindsay Church is the latest independent veteran to step up and meet this moment. And they're coming up in just a second. But first, some culture news and some sad news. Grammy nominated artist and creative powerhouse John Forte died suddenly Monday at his home in Massachusetts. He was 50 years old. If you don't know, John Forte was famous for his work with the Fugees and the group's seminal classic legendary album, the Score that I feel like was a score to my life, especially in the late 90s. And I met John many years ago as a part of the.to.community, an amazing group of young leaders, an activist. And I got to spend time around John and see what a creative genius he was. And we're all mourning his passing this week. John was born in Brooklyn. He was classically trained on the violin and got a scholarship to Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire. And after high school he hooked up with hip hop legends like Most Def, Talib Kweli and Lauryn Hill and he produced and wrote several tracks on the Fugees 96 Critical hit the score. He's featured on two iconic tracks, Family Business and Cowboys. The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys and it won for Best Rap Album. And he wrote the song Something to Lean on that I went back and listened to again, A theme for the Brooklyn Nets that played before every game in their inaugural season in 2012 2013. He was a truly creative powerhouse and a brilliant man and a dynamic person and my heart goes out to his wife Laura and to his two kids. He was a brilliant force of nature and I was honored to know him. We mourn the passing of John Forte, but we also celebrate his life, his impact, his voice and his spirit will carry on forever. So pour one out for John Forte and move forward in his memory. All right, finally in sports, Mike Tomlin is ending his 19 year run as the Steelers head coach, surprising no one. But all eyes will be on Pittsburgh to see who takes the realm there. And the playoffs are set for Saturday and Sunday. We will have football Friday coming up on Friday. Stay tuned for who that guest will be next Friday. It will be Willie Geiss. But the stage is set. It is playoff time in the NFL and it feels like every day is playoffs in America and we are going to meet a person who's stepping up to meet that moment and someone who is going to aspire.
- [15:57]
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- [16:26]
Paul Rykoff
Inspire us all, especially right now, to stay on the field, to get on the field and stay vigilant. All right, our guest is one of the most vigilant people I know. Lindsay Church is a disabled veteran, a nonprofit leader, a spouse, a parent, raising their family in Illinois's 4th congressional district. They are queer and non binary and grew up in poverty with a single mom who served in the military, a post 911 vet and brilliant linguist, Lindsey later founded a nonprofit serving minorities, and it underrepresented veterans. You've heard about it on this show before. Minority Veterans of America. They've worked in Congress, advised federal agencies, contribute to major reform. And Lindsey describes their campaign as running to strengthen accountability, protect democracy, and ensure every person in the district has a real voice. I know some courageous people. I don't know if I know anybody who's more courageous than Lindsay Church. I don't know anybody who's who. I've been encouraging to run for office more than Lindsay Church. And I'm very thrilled and inspired to announce here on this show that they are running as an independent veteran for Congress this fall. And joining us exclusively for their first interview since announcing the candidacy. The great and powerful Lindsey Church is here as a candidate on Independent Americans. Welcome back, my friend.
- [17:47]
Lindsay Church
Thanks, Paul. Every time you introduce me, I get a little imposter syndrome. But also, you have been telling me I need to do this for a very long time. Here I am, very excited about it. So thank you for having me. Thank you for having me as my first interview. And just over the years, being able to have this conversation, you know, you.
- [18:03]
Paul Rykoff
Meet the moment time and time again. And your congressional testimony, I think last year is one of the most powerful I've seen, and I've seen a lot of congressional testimonies. You've been fighting for what's right for as long as I've known you, for groups that have been under attack, but also for the spirit and values of. Of America. That's why I'm so excited that you're running, because it'll give you a bigger platform, more folks will be able to hear from you. But let me start by asking you a question. I ask everybody, where are you and how are you, my friend?
- [18:31]
Lindsay Church
I'm back in Berwyn, Illinois. Back in Illinois 4. I'm living someone's dream. Don't know who it is, but we're getting through it every single day and, you know, finding as much hope and excitement about what's in the future as possible. That's how I am.
- [18:48]
Paul Rykoff
How does it feel different to be a candidate, to now have this conversation with me, which will, I hope, be the first of many. I think the media needs to pay attention to your campaign. In particular, we're going to get into some of the issues in your campaign. But how does it feel to have jumped in? It's been, I think, 24 hours. What does that feel like, Lindsey?
- [19:05]
Lindsay Church
You know, it's different for Me, you know me, I've been an organizer my whole career. And so I'm used to this broader we and movement building and having to actually step in and say, I'm Lindsay Church. Running for Congress has been a very different challenge for me. I still frame this candidacy as a we instead of an eye because I know that in order to win this or in order to even be competitive, it's going to take so many people to even get us on the ballot. And so I am, you know, being in this position is very different for me. But it's also, I think we have an opportunity to really inspire some people in a moment that many of us feel like we lack inspiration or hope about what the future is. So mixed feelings, but I never thought I would be running for office, but here I am.
- [19:42]
Paul Rykoff
I am glad you're running because you're the kind of person that needs to run. The people who didn't want to run, who never saw themselves as running, are really important. And I think you're going to meet so many of the important topics that are hitting our country. And let's kick it off by getting into what I think is our top topic. Lindsey, you're running and we're going to get to that. But first I want to ask you to react to ice. React to Minneapolis and the murder of Renee Goode. And yesterday we had Ruth Ben Guot was on the show and I asked her to predict where she thought the next place ICE might target will be. And she said, Chicago. You're running in a district that represents the southwest part of Chicago and Cicero and other areas. What's your response and reaction to what we're facing in Minneapolis, Chicago and nationwide right now?
- [20:40]
Lindsay Church
This hasn't been hypothetical in this district for a minute. Every single ever since the ICE raid started, they've been decimating Durham, Cicero, southwest Chicago, portions of our district or Broadview. We this has not been a theory to us. We've been decimated by Grey Bavino coming throughout the coming back and forth through our district. And so to see what's happening in Minneapolis, we've already had protesters shot by ICE or pepper sprayed in the face to the point where potentially blinding people. They've killed people that they were trying to detain. We've already seen what's happened in Minneapolis, but nobody has reacted in the same way. And so to watch this fight finally make it to the broader American public, I'm grateful for it because I know ICE is just taking a minute because it's really cold here and eventually they're going to send in thousands more agents. I mean, I see ICE every single day. I saw ICE yesterday when I was leaving that our friends and family launched. We literally crossed six. Six ICE officers trying to take one of our. One of our residents. And so this has never been theoretical to us. This has been a bit higher impacting local businesses. Our small businesses were decimated. Grocery stores are empty. Food restaurants are empty. People are already living in abject fear in general. And I don't think that it has risen to the level that American. The American population really needs to be looking at it. And so, yeah, ICE is coming back here. We all know that. If you're an organizer, if you've been doing anything on the front lines, you already know that ICE is coming back. But they never left. ICE is very much a part of everyday life here. We all have whistles on our keychains, literally whistling. I drove around six blocks just whistling the code to tell people that ICE is here detaining people. And so what's happening in Minneapolis is what gives me hope that people are linking arms and finally seeing that this is a bigger problem, that ICE is much more dangerous than anybody really is giving them credit for. Many people have been carrying walking papers and passports for a long time, myself included, because I know that if you challenge ice, they can disappear you at any moment. No matter who you are, no matter what protections that you think that you have. If you think that you had protections from the law here, you don't.
- [22:38]
Paul Rykoff
Chicago needs a voice like you, needs many more voices like you. You're meeting the moment. Let me ask you to talk about it from a unique perspective, because I think I've said this. Veterans are going to be so critical. I think one third of ICE agents are veterans themselves. And there are some ICE agents that are trying to do the right thing, that understand professionalism. You've held a weapon in your hand. You've been across from people that want to kill you. I don't know if you've been on checkpoints or not, but as a military veteran, as someone who is an expert in the profession of arms, can you talk specifically about the Renee Goode murder, what you saw, and breaking that down? Because they're trying to spin it, they're trying to twist it. They're trying to say, she tried to run him over and the agent's life was in danger. But those of us who've held a weapon understand that what's maybe most jarring and consistent is the lack of professionalism, the lack of discipline. But I want to ask you to respond to the shooting, the murder in particular, as a veteran who's been on the other side in uniform with a.
- [23:36]
Lindsay Church
Weapon in your hand, number one, I think it's really important to clarify that you're 100% right. This is murder. Denver we have never trained as military professionals to hold a weapon and a cell phone at the same time that this man feared for his life while also holding a cell phone to capture. The video tells me that this man did not fear for his life. He was angry that they challenged his authority. Renee Goode was driving away from the police officer, from the ice. Officer turned a wheel completely to the side. She had a dog in the car. Literally. This person was not there to endanger lives. She was there to protect her neighbors. If you look at the slow MO video of the breakdown of ICE shootings, number one, the first bullet went in sideways, and then as she was driving off, he shot her in the side of the face, in the back of the head. None of those were defensive shots. Those were offensive shots that were taken from a man who was very angry. And I am watching the palpable response from domestic violence survivors that have seen men like him, that have seen men say fucking bitch when they drive away from this person. You can hear the audio of exactly what he believes of her as soon as she is dead. Her last words to you were, I'm not mad at you, and he shot her in the side of the head. And it's very important to be as descriptive as possible, because people don't understand that this was murder. There are still some people that are out there defending this man's actions as if what he did was a threat to his life. And what normal police officers and even law enforcement in general would do. You ask anybody what law that has held a weapon. Law enforcement, military. You know that you're going to hold that weapon with both of your hands, and you're not going to sit there with a cell phone to record it. And so I. You have to throw this out on its own face value that this was never a threat to his life. And even, you know, you hear J.D. vance talking about PTSD, and if that's the case, if this man is so triggered by the fact that he's been, you know, something has happened in the past, he shouldn't be holding a weapon. We don't go in and hold weapons. And because it's a threat to the person, to the people around you, no matter what the end result is, like, go. This is why police Officers have time out, why they have to go to therapy, why they get desk jobs. This man should not have been in the field if this was the case.
- [25:55]
Paul Rykoff
I'm glad you focus on that because I think it's important for us to not let them twist sympathy for PTSD or for trauma into an allowance of this murder. Right? I mean, we. I mentioned this on my show on Ice, that there should be screenings. You should be, you know, after a shooting, I think it's routine to take your weapon out of your hand, right? To have a psychological evaluation, to be screened for duty. And anybody who saw this guy operating can see that he had a control issue. Right. He couldn't control himself, and it ultimately resulted in murder. I think that this will be a case study in ice. This will be the My Lai massacre for ice. This will be the one, the incident that's taught in schoolhouses decades from now about what not to do. But I think it's really important that folks like us, especially who've been in uniform, who've been on checkpoints, push back and challenge them on their. Their total lack of discipline, their lack of emotional control, and hold them accountable. I'm really, really glad that we got you on that. Let's shift to the topic that I'm going to consider below the radar, but is related and front and center your campaign. Congratulations. You're running. I'm so glad that you are. I want this show to be a place that independent candidates come to first to announce the running. This is a community that supports independents and wants to see more of them. But let me ask you this. We know who you are. Why are you running? Why now, and why as an independent?
- [27:18]
Lindsay Church
I'm running because I believe in choice. And I think that's been very clear in my career, that I believe everybody should have the option to make or the choice to make the decisions about their future. Here in my district, my member of Congress retired in a way that told his chief of staff the Friday before it was going to happen that he was not going to run for reelection. She quietly collected petition signatures to get on the ballot, not just from everyday people. She literally got them from members of the. Of the party, state senators, state representatives, aldermen, all of the many people knew about this, but nobody told anybody. So the only person knew was his chief of staff, who filed at 5pm on the. On the day of deadline. A couple hours later, he announced his retirement. Now, this might be legally allowed, but the answer is that collusion is collusion and wrong is wrong. And even if you are legally within your rights to do exactly as you did, what does it say to us as people in this district when you make our decision? In this district, we are 67% democrat. Whoever wins the primary walks on and has a very easy shot to take on to be the next representative. Coordinating your next successor is not how I believe that we should be doing this. And after everything that we have been through with, I'm being told who I'm going to. Who's going to be my next person. And, you know, Biden stepping out of the race at the last minute and all of us having to kind of get behind it because there was no other option. There was an option here, and it was a primary, and it should have been open and it should have been fair. And instead they blocked people out from it. And so she had to collect 694 signatures in order to get on the ballot. There's still an opportunity for independents to get on the ballot, and it requires that we collect petition signatures. So in order to get on the ballot, we have to collect over 10,000 petition signatures. That's 15 times more signatures than she had to collect. That's the highest number. One person had to collect 54 signatures, Paul. 54 signatures got one candidate on the ballot. And so instead of being able to do this in a primary and have an opportunity to compete in a primary of a, of a party that I've been a part of my whole life, literally I've been a lifelong Democrat, and here I am standing outside wondering what's happening and why are we doing this? You know, as a, as a organizer, I'm actually kind of excited for this challenge because it means that I have to knock 15,000 doors and tell them what happened happened. It means that I have to talk to people and tell them the reality of the situation is that somebody told us that we were too stupid to make a decision for ourselves about our future. They said, this is your representative. This is the person that's going to take this job. You can just, you know, she was my chief of staff, so that's fine. That's not fine by me. And so there is one other independent in the race already. I'm in the race as well. That means that between the two of us, we have to get a 10,320 signatures, about 15,000 total between the to beat contest. That's 30,000 people that we're going to knock on their doors and we're going to tell them what happened. Because if you think that you're going to escape because people didn't hear about it. We're going to make sure that you do. And so I believe this is how democracy should work. At the end of the day, if you want to represent this district, you need to know it better than anybody. You need to knock on those doors. You need to care about what people care about, because I can tell you that the candidate they're telling us is going to be our person. Doesn't know anything about my life because she didn't ask me a single question. She didn't ask people like me what fear we live in, what, what, what scares me, whether or not I'm afraid the FBI is going to come and break into my house, take my child literally. Did not ask what my fears and my dreams are. Instead said, this is what you're gonna get. And that just doesn't sit right with me. And so I'm writing because I believe that people should have a choice in November, and I believe that we should have the opportunity to earn votes. Like, at the end of the day, we should have choices in November that represent our values and operate with integrity. Because no matter what you tell me, if this person wins the race, I'm always going to know what happened.
- [31:02]
Paul Rykoff
I think all of this is so important. Your race is going to be so interesting and important because it's such a test case for where people are fed up with the Democratic Party. There's a lot of places where people are fed up with MAGA and fed up with Trump and fed up with Trumpism. But this underscores the frustration that exists all across this country. It's why 45% of people are unaffiliated. Independent young people are not registering as Democrats and Republicans because they feel both parties have failed them. The entire system has failed them. So I think it's very, very exciting. It's ridiculous, but not surprising that you have to get 10,000 signatures, which underscores how the system is stacked against independence. This shows you why the parties have been calcified and have so much power. And, you know, we need folks to take the hill, to break through the barriers first. And you're doing that, and you've always done that your whole life. But this is a really important one for our democracy. And I think it's also giving people who are frustrated, Democrats and Republicans and independent, a place to go and a leader to look to. Because I keep saying this, independents are not a platform. It's an attitude. Right? And they're right, you know, right leaning Independence, left leaning independents. But we all share an understanding that the system is broken and we don't want a part of it. So you're breaking that system. Let me ask you, like we're going to help you, you know, and I hope everyone listening will help you get those 10,000 signatures. So you're not alone. But talk a little bit more about your strategy. How are you going to take on this machine? You're going to simultaneously be taking on ICE and be taking on Trump. But talk about the electoral machine and how you're going to win this and how you're going to be competitive.
- [32:37]
Lindsay Church
First and foremost, I got to get on that ballot, right? I have to build up an operations. If anybody wants to volunteer, love volunteers to Dr. I have a five city strategy digging in really deeply. I live in the city of Berwyn, has an foir 20,000 households here in Berwyn alone. Really. This is a city by city, block by block strategy in order to get on the ballot. So we have a strategy to dig into five cities. We have a strategy to meet people at the train stations literally everyday places that you might, you would be going. We're going to capture people and get those petition signatures. I have 12 weeks to do it. That's 15,000 signatures. A little over 1200 a week if I have to. But I would like to do it in my, from there we hit the ballot like we actually we, when we hit the ballot, we are really truly fighting for history here. Number one, our country hasn't elected an independent as an independent like 30 years like that. The 90s was the last time an independent was truly elected. Its first time. Did you know that no non binary person in American history has ever made a general election ballot for a federal office? We're fighting for history here. In a moment that they're telling us to sit down, to stop, you know, stopping ourselves, to stop, you know, being out there in the world that we're radical gender ideologists. Actually I just believe in America. I actually just believe in this country. I believe in this community. And I believe that you all should have a choice and be represented somehow in a way that believes like that I can believe in. And so I, you know, my, my goal is to go out and ask people for the opportunity to earn their vote in November. That's how we're going to get on the get on the ballot is getting those petition signatures. The only thing you have to lose is a choice. Honestly, at this point the only thing you have to lose is your voice. And then from there is really convincing People that this is a winning strategy, that we don'. I don't have to continue to contribute to this, like, party machine. That's how my, you know, my representative got the job. In a very similar way, instead of accepting that this is who our fighters are, I'm going to ask people to choose your fighter. Do you want somebody that, that stole your voice, that said you were too ignorant to go out there and make your own choice, or do you want somebody that says, I'm willing to take on the hardest fight I've ever taken on in my whole life. I'm willing to get 15 times more signatures than the person that you are that told you who you, who your next representative is. I'm going to ask you to choose your fighter because in this moment, we need real fighters. It can't just be people that tell us that they're fighters and then go on to do exactly what they've always done, which is contribute to a larger machine that keeps us here. I would much rather choose my fighter. And so my strategy is to tell people who I am, what I'm fighting for, what I've done my whole life, and how, you know, like, how we've taken on some things that they told us we couldn't do. Paul, you know this. How many times have they told us that it was impossible to do what we've done? And instead of saying, okay, I guess that's fine, we said, no, actually, we're going to implement. We're going to get the PACT act across the finish line. We're going to change the Uniform Code of Military justice in the name of Vanessa Guillen. We're going to go on and move the Deborah Sampson act, and we're going to actually change the way that VA does everything for women. Like, we have beaten battles that they told us could not be won and had been fought for generations. And so why not this one? Why not usually? Why not today?
- [35:35]
Paul Rykoff
Hell, yes. Bravo, right? I mean, choose your fucking fighter, America. This is what's happening all across the country. I'm glad you put it that way. Choose your fighter. Who do you want in the ring? And Chicago's 4th district and America, I mean, whether you're in that district or not, America needs a fighter like Lindsay Church. It's about freedom, it's about patriotism. It's about right and wrong, and it's about fighting and, and knowing that someone will step into that ring and step into the arena and be that fighter. And I don't know too many fighters that are tougher than you and also I gotta underscore this. You and I know this as an activist, as an organizer, as someone who led an organization for veterans, you know how to get shit done. You've probably passed more legislation than most members of Congress. I know that. I have. I mean I've been in the rooms to write it. I've been there for the testimony, I've whipped votes, I've advocated on. You've done all those things. You know how to get legislation done. And that is a very, very important skill. You have the skills to be a very effective fighter from day one because you've already done it. Very few folks running for office for the first time have the kind of legislative experience and tactical experience that you do. So I celebrate you. All right, Lindsey, you have the sign behind you. I will link in the show notes. Lindsay, church veteran for Congress. Tell people how they can support you right now and where number one, go.
- [36:53]
Lindsay Church
To church for Congress. Learn about who we are. You know, we have a long history of fighting for this country and we'll continue to do so. So I would love for you to learn more about us and what we're fighting for. I need volunteers. I need to build up 250 volunteers to knock 100 doors each for 25,000 votes between the petition to collection. So I'm going to need a lot of volunteers. If you know folks in the district, if you know folks who want to travel and help me, I would love to be support. And also we're building a movement. It's not about me. I'm very bad at talking about myself. And so it's a weird. This campaign will continue to be a week. So any, any volunteers the time you have, I would love it if you can't be here in district. You can share and support, you can tell people about what we're doing. You can give, you can support. We're not taking PAC money, we're not taking party money. We're not going to get a bunch of support from a, you know, somebody who's going to dump thousands of dollars into our campaign. This is going to be a person to person, people to people doing exactly what we're doing. But it's going to take every small donor that we have to be able to be actually make this move and be competitive. So there's that. And generally like Paul just continuing to believe that countries worth fighting for is that choose your fighters, whether it's me or people across the country. But genuinely we are in a moment where we need fighters and it has to be the focus of every single American. Who are we going to put in Congress that's actually going to fight for us and supporting not just me, but everyone that's doing that because we don't have an option. The next Congress will be monumental to deciding whether or not we have a democracy moving forward. And so I want the best and brightest fighters out there with the precious legs ready to do that work.
- [38:19]
Paul Rykoff
All right, let's fucking go, people. Independent Americans. Vigilant, very vigilant. Most vigilant support. Lindsey linked in the show notes. Lindsey will be back on the show. I want to get out to Chicago on the ground and help, and I want to encourage other people to do the same. This is about everything. And we need letter leaders who are bravely stepping up, leaving their family. Leadership's about sacrifice. And Lindsay is sacrificing for all of us. So I celebrate you. I'm rooting for you, but I can't leave you and let you go out into the field to keep after it without getting to something good. All right, Lindsey, I'm coming to you next, but I'm going to start. We talk about a lot of independent things, Independent music. We talk about independent politics. We talk about the independent spirit. I want to talk about independent filmmakers because my wife is one of them. My great wife, Lauren Hale Rykoff has always had a dream of making movies. And today in Philadelphia, she and an amazing team, scrappy team, is starting shooting of an independent feature film called the Florist, about the great life of Vivien Leigh, the star of Gone with the Wind. An incredible woman, an icon who lived an amazing life, battled bipolar disorder, was in a relationship with Lawrence Olivier, and later in her life, struggled with electroshock therapy. And overcame that and drove on and met a florist named Penn, who was a World War II veteran. It's an incredible story. It stars Carla Gijino and Matthew Modine. Yes, the joker is in it, folks. Military folks, directed by Nick Sandow, written by my buddy, the brilliant Jay Spartock, and produced by my wife. I just want to give a huge shout out to them as they kick off this endeavor in Philadelphia. The Eagles are out. So if I go to Philly, I don't have to hear about the Eagles, but I am rooting for the Florist. I'm rooting for you, Lori. We're all rooting for you. And independent filmmakers all across the country who are telling important stories that must be told. They are a part of our independent movement. Independent restaurants, independent music, independent stores. We're all in this together. So my something good is my amazing wife and their independent film, the Florist. All right, over to you, Lindsay Church. What do you got? That's something good.
- [40:23]
Lindsay Church
I'm gonna go back to Iran and say something good here. I've been working Iran for a long time. Language background is Persian, Farsi. And so I've been studying and working on Iran based advocacy. In 2009, I was a language school and the first green revolution and watched a movement of hope really get, you know, squashed by the same machine that's happening right now. There's so much hope and resilience in the Iranian people that no matter how many times they have to try, they will fight this regime. And whether they won or lost in 2009, it's all planting seeds for a future that we are seeing right now. The Iran blackout of the Internet is because they're scared to show you how powerful their movement is, that Iranians are some of the most resilient fighters I have ever seen. And when you're talking about young people, I'm actually going to talk about the older Iranians that have lived under most of this. I saw a woman who was akin to being my great grandmother, literally bloody in the mouth, walking the streets saying, I don't care. I am done with this regime, I am done with this nonsense. It's been almost 50 years and I will not let the next generation go into it under the same brutal law. And so to me, that's like spirit and resilience and the fight that we as Americans have to have before we have something similar for 50 years. And so I just want to tap into the hope, the belief, the azidi, the freedom, the everything related to the Iranian fight. Like I keep saying, zen, zenday, azadi. It's like talking about hope and freedom and women, like just watching this, like, I'm inspired to continue to fight even if it causes me to be bloody in the mouth.
- [42:05]
Paul Rykoff
Hell yeah. Wouldn't it be great to have that voice in Congress, folks? Wouldn't it? And also, like under someone who understands Iran enough to speak the language and know the history, I mean, this is another reason why, Lindsey, you are a multi sport athlete, a multi pronged threat. You are awesome and I'm just so honored that you came here first. I'm honored to have you as a friend. I've been so inspired by you in all the time I've known you. And I'm thankful to you and your family for stepping up to meet this moment. Go get them. Give them hell. We got your back and we're rooting for you, the great and powerful Lindsay Church. Congratulations on your launch.
- [42:40]
Lindsay Church
Thank you so much, Paul, and thanks for having me. I can't wait to come back.
- [42:43]
Paul Rykoff
You got it. All right, folks, there it is. That is what freedom sounds like. Okay? That is what leadership sounds like. Lindsay Church, they are meeting this moment and I'm so grateful that they joined us first to announce their candidacy. If you're an independent vet or an independent and you want to make some headlines, you want to talk to the independent community, come here first. We got your back and this is the right place to do it. It is Wednesday, so I will be on some TV later. I got my weekly segment coming up at 3 o' clock with Connell McShane on News Nation. Tune into that. I don't think I'm going to be on Ms. Now today with Nicole Wallace, but that might change. I might be on CNN with Aaron Burnett in my regular segment. All those interviews are always posted up on our YouTube page where you should definitely go hit that subscribe button and like and rate us. If you're listening to us somewhere, please like us, subscribe, rate and share. And if you can contribute, please do. Our patreon community at IndependentAmericans US. We will continue to bring powerful, important, inspiring independent voices and your support makes that possible. So thanks to our Patreon members especially, we hit number 36 last week on the news charts on Apple Pods. I hope we can get even higher later in this week. If you didn't check out my show yesterday with historian Ruth Ben Guy, definitely check it out. I mean, she is like a Tony Romo of politics. She is predicting what's happening before it happens. She's told us about the authoritarian warning signs and it's really, really a great interview. Go back and check that out. And go back and check out all our recent conversations from Ron perlman to Scott McFarland on January 6th and so many others, especially if you're new here. Follow, subscribe and share. It's a critical week, but we are trying to meet this moment. Tomorrow I will have Sheriff Chris Swanson, a cop, he's a sheriff for Genesee county who's now running for governor. He's a Democrat, but maybe I can talk him into dropping that part and running as an independent. As I mentioned, we're going to have Jesse Ventura coming up. We'll have Don Bacon coming up. We have Rachel Maddow coming up at some point soon. Republicans, Democrats, everything in between. We will have Friday football. Coming up on Friday and next week, Willie Geist will be back for that. I might have some more surprises and quick response pods. Keep the feedback coming. Let you know, let me know what you think and check in the show notes for more information. As always, America is divided. But we and independent Americans and I are battling to change that. Adding light to contrast the heat. Light like you saw from Lindsay Church today. If you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, especially this is your show. But if you're independent, curious or you just care about freedom and good shit, come here. This is your show because we are bringing the hope for the future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, busting up that status quo. And this movement is growing. Lindsay Church is the latest example and Lindsay Church is going to bring more people with them. Hope is the oxygen of democracy as we see in Iran and so many other places. If you like this episode with Lindsay, share it far and wide and invite others to declare their independence now, this is the time. And stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. It's the price that people in Iran are willing to pay, that folks in Ukraine are willing to pay. Folks in Minneapolis are willing to pay. And Lindsay Church in Chicago now is willing to pay. No, you're not alone in your vigilance. You heard that today. We're all vigilant. We're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning in to independent Americans. I will see you tomorrow. And of course, especially now. Stay vigilant, America. Power by righteous media.
- [46:25]
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