Episode Overview

Podcast: Reveal
Episode Title: He Helped Build the Religious Right. Now He’s Fighting ICE.
Date: January 28, 2026
Host: Al Letson
Guest: Rob Schenck, evangelical minister and former leader in the Christian nationalist movement

This episode focuses on the personal and political transformation of Rob Schenck—from a foundational figure in America’s religious right to an outspoken critic of the movement he helped build. The conversation centers on Schenck’s experiences joining faith leaders in Minneapolis to protest recent violent ICE raids, including the police killings of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy. Schenck reflects on his own complicity, the mobilization of religious communities, and the broader prospects for justice in the face of government overreach and state violence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rob Schenck’s Presence in Minneapolis

• Schenck answered a nationwide call for clergy to support their Minneapolis counterparts in the wake of immigration raids and fatal shootings by agents ([02:53]).
• He describes arriving to find over a thousand religious leaders—Christian and interfaith—gathered for support, solidarity, and public witness.

  “I thought I would find 30 or 40 here… I counted over and over again. It was just amazing to see it.” — Rob Schenck [03:23]

2. Interfaith and Community Solidarity Amid Crisis

• Clergy provided not just moral support but also tangible assistance, especially as local churches cared for injured community members avoiding hospitals out of fear of ICE ([07:00]).
• Schenck discusses a harrowing moment in a church during a lockdown, following a violent ICE encounter with parishioners.

  “…their own members being many immigrant members in that church, they won’t go to emergency rooms or urgent care facilities because they are afraid that ICE will hunt them and capture them there.” — Rob Schenck [08:27]

3. Personal Reflections at Memorial Sites

• Schenck visited both the site of Renee Goode’s death and George Floyd Square, describing intense grief and personal resonance as a father and grandfather seeing echoes of his own family ([09:41]).

  “As I opened my eyes after praying, it was like I was looking at my daughter because of how close they are in age.” — Rob Schenck [11:23]

• At Alex Preddy’s memorial, Schenck found meaning in collective chants and prayer.

  “Say his name. And I chanted his name with the crowd, and it became a litany for me… This was just perfect. To pronounce his name as a litany of prayer.”— Rob Schenck [14:19]

4. Reckoning with Personal Legacy and Movement Baggage

• Schenck candidly assesses his role in building the religious right’s political machine, now appropriated by MAGA and Trumpism, acknowledging both external criticism and self-imposed accountability.

  “I helped construct the platform this has been built on. It wasn’t just me, of course… So I came here loaded with that. I came here with the evangelical label. That’s how I’m known. And there were different reactions to that.” — Rob Schenck [15:21]

5. Can the Awakening of Conscience Fracture Power?

• Asked if grassroots resistance is strong enough to counter entrenched political power, Schenck is guarded but hopeful:

  “I think we’re starting to see, for example, the FBI agent who was tasked with investigating Renee Goode’s wife resigning... When people discover their conscience within the administration, in Congress, in the legislative branch… as more and more people find their conscience and then act on their consciences…it could fracture Trump’s capacity to pull this off in the end.” — Rob Schenck [19:11]

• He underscores that government abuses are increasingly visible both on the streets and within institutions, and that change may come from both public protest and internal dissent.

6. Comparisons to History & the Nazi Era

• Schenck admits to having long feared a turn towards state violence, drawing parallels with the complicity of German churches under the Third Reich ([23:07]).

  “I based that mostly on my study of what happened in Germany… and how the churches behaved in that period. And the churches in Germany in the 1920s and 30s were very close culturally and... doctrinally to the evangelical church in the United States today.” — Rob Schenck [23:51]

7. Signs of Hope in Public Mobilization

• Both host and guest find comfort in mass protest and public solidarity, noting differences between the popularity of Hitler and current poll numbers for Trump ([24:27]).

  “It was emotionally overwhelming for me to see this, these were just ordinary folks… Several told me I don’t go to church. But I knew I had to be here for this… when you see that kind of organic flow of humanity, I find it very, very hopeful. And history would teach that when movements gain that kind of force and participation, the outcome is inevitable. Victory.” — Rob Schenck [26:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On community and personal transformation:
  “You know, I came with a lot of baggage... Some people most warmly embraced me... But others are angry with me and understandably so. And I get that. I don’t need to give them permission... I honor it. I understand it.” — Rob Schenck [15:21]
• On the church’s role in protest:
  “Clergy are the conscience of a culture. So I thought it was extremely important that clergy be called and respond.” — Rob Schenck [04:12]
• On collective resistance:
  “I have to kind of give myself a gentle slap on the cheeks and say, wait, we are still here. This is still happening.” — Rob Schenck [18:27]
• On why hope persists:
  “In seeing the response of the people here from the 50,000 person march…it looked incalculable to me. It was just a sea of humanity… A lot of them spoke during the service and said they had never done anything like this… But they had to with this. So when you see that kind of organic flow of humanity, I find it very, very hopeful.” — Rob Schenck [25:09]

Key Timestamps

• [02:53] — Why Schenck came to Minneapolis; the mass interfaith clergy turnout
• [07:00] — Experience of ICE agents outside a church, parishioners injured
• [09:41] — Reflections at memorial sites for Renee Goode and George Floyd; personal resonance as a father
• [14:19] — Praying at Alex Preddy’s memorial, the power of collective mourning rituals
• [15:21] — Schenck’s reckoning with his past
• [19:11] — On the awakening of conscience within government as a path to change
• [23:07] — Parallels to church complicity in 1930s Germany
• [25:09] — The importance and hope of grassroots activism and public protest

Summary

This episode offers a raw, insightful window into both the stakes of contemporary protest against state violence and the deep introspection of a man who helped build the structures now being resisted. Rob Schenck’s journey from architect of the religious right to protest chaplain is framed not only by political context but by personal loss, regret, and reluctant hope. Through powerful real-world vignettes and honest accountability, the conversation navigates despair, resistance, and the ever-present possibility for redemption — both individual and collective.