Trump Loyalists Lose It Over FBI Probe of Nazi-Flag-Waving Priest’s Extremist Circle

The latest meltdown from Trump loyalists centers on an FBI investigation that dared to look into a violent extremist hiding behind a priest’s collar. The Department of Justice’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias—created under Trump’s 2025 executive order—has accused the Biden administration of “zealously” targeting traditional Christians, spotlighting a now-recalled FBI memo that flagged “radical-traditionalist” Catholics as a domestic extremism concern.

What the task force’s report conveniently buries is the explosive context behind that FBI probe. In January 2023, the DOJ announced the sentencing of Xavier Louis Lopez, a 25-year-old self-styled “radical traditional Catholic Clerical Fascist.” Lopez was caught red-handed in Henrico County, Virginia, with eight Molotov cocktails laced with napalm-like additives, ammunition, and parts for a 3D-printed handgun. Above his bed hung a giant Nazi flag, with a crucifix and rosary carefully arranged above the swastika.

Federal agents had been monitoring Lopez since 2019 after he posted neo-Nazi calls for violence against police, Black Americans, and Jews. He even boasted of surpassing Anders Breivik, the far-right mass murderer from Norway. After Lopez started attending the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) Chapel, the FBI placed an informant inside to see if he was recruiting fellow worshippers for violent acts.

This investigation and the resulting FBI Richmond memo are what have the Trump faithful so outraged. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland publicly apologized and pulled the memo, but internal emails reveal senior FBI staff privately dismissed the controversy. Stanley Meador, then head of the Richmond field office, told the memo’s author, “No apology needed,” predicting the episode would make a colorful memoir chapter.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took over the DOJ after Trump fired Pam Bondi, now chairs the task force. He insists no American should fear punishment for their religious beliefs. Meanwhile, a 2024 DOJ inspector general review found the FBI’s investigation lawful with no evidence of malicious intent.

In a further twist, Blanche has authorized a federal prosecution against the Southern Poverty Law Center—the same civil rights group cited in the FBI memo as a source on extremist threats.

This saga exposes how the Trump DOJ is weaponizing claims of religious persecution to shield violent extremists and attack civil rights groups. The FBI’s probe into a Nazi-flag-waving, firebomb-hoarding “Clerical Fascist” is not an attack on Christianity—it’s a necessary defense of democracy and public safety.

We reached out to the DOJ, White House, and FBI for comment. Stay tuned.