Glenn: It’s time for an Army of Compassion

Glenn issued a clarion call to viewers as he began to lay out plans to kick off a new movement this summer. It's the five year anniversary of 8/28 and since that time Glenn and his audience have been preparing, cleaning out their own lives and turning towards God. Now it is time to put faith into action.

Below is a rough transcript of this monologue:

I want to take you first to the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. It was taken by force by ISIS a little over a week ago.

Palmyra is steeped in history, dating all the way back to 2000 BC. It’s mentioned in 2 Chronicles, and it’s a city built up by Israel’s King Solomon. It’s famed for its ancient ruins. ISIS has now slaughtered hundreds and chased most of the remaining 70,000 people out of the city. The only ones left are those who are physically too old or too ill to make the trek to safer cities.

They’ve blown up the country’s most notorious prison and released hardened criminals. Several beheadings have now been reported, and the city is now under the watch of masked gunmen. Those who remain in the city are begging anyone in the world for help. One Palmyra resident said ISIS is everywhere. He and 50 friends and relatives who lost their homes are afraid for their lives. ISIS, they know, could slaughter them at any moment, and to make the situation even more intolerable, their food supply is now running out.

In the midst of this human suffering, scholars and historians are pleading for the safekeeping of the ruins. As you can imagine, that hasn’t gone over well with the trapped innocents. But where are the churches? The innocents have said, “The world does not care about us. All they are interested in is the stones of ancient Palmyra.” Shame on us. If we cannot collectively muster more concern for people than old rocks, shame on us.

ISIS now controls half of Syria, including most of the gas and oil fields. They are cutting off the heads and brutalizing children, selling them into slavery. What else is required for something, anything, to stir our souls? Has the government completely killed off our compassion gene, or are we so removed from actual service, always expecting someone else to do it, that we just don’t care anymore? Or, more likely, I think, we have all been beaten down so much that we don’t think that we make a difference as an individual, and we just don’t know what to do.

We recently did a show called the “Christian Holocaust.” We detailed a lot of the Dark Age style persecution happening right now. Many people watched in horror, and then more people found ways to become actively involved. Many more, however, did not. They were easily lured back into the creature comforts of leisurely activities, and I believe it’s because we don’t know what to do. What else can I do other than pray?

Well, we can pray for our eyes to be open and our hearts to be open and our spines to be stiffened. We have shown the beheadings in all of their own edited gruesomeness. We’ve told the harrowing stories. We’ve spoken with the missionaries on the ground, and still, despite everything, most Americans just wait, put it off for another day. Someone will do something eventually.

While we wait, they remain huddled with a handful of friends or maybe all alone, trembling, afraid, hungry, looking up to the heavens, scanning the vast, empty skies crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God has not forsaken them. God has not abandoned. God is not asleep. God is not dead. I believe our churches are.

God, I believe, has been busy equipping an entire army of saints for times just like these but not with guns. He’s been stockpiling them with a formidable arsenal of ability, ingenuity, compassion. I don’t know if anybody else has noticed, but God doesn’t announce his presence with a thundering voice from heaven like He used to. He doesn’t have to. His thundering presence comes from the spirit, and the spirit lives within us.

Because of this power that we now have, we can be the voice for the voiceless, defenders of the poor and needy, the help for the orphans and the widows in their distress. We are the army for which they wait, the very hands and feet of God. I’m not talking about an army with guns. I am talking about an army of compassion. The question remains, what will we do with the arsenal of which we’ve been given to fight?

Like it or not, this is a time of war. It’s a greater time of spiritual warfare than it is physical warfare, but physical warfare indeed is fierce. There are no neutral parties in this. The gifts that we have been given have been stockpiled. They were not given so we could say gee, thanks a lot, thanks for giving me more than those other poor saps overseas. That’s not what it’s about.

Our blessings are not meant to begin and end with us. I think those who think that are missing the point. We’ve been given so much so we too can give. It is for the good of the receiver, the good of the giver, and the glory of our God. So, what will we do with our arsenals?

I think most of us think that we have to grab a flight to Erbil and pick up a weapon. I have been—you saw the show if you watch regularly. I talked to one of the survivors, the nun who finally came over who was being kept out of the United States to tell her story. I said to her with tears in my eyes, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. That’s a lie. I feel like I’m not doing my part if I’m not catching a flight to Erbil.

That’s not what’s required of me. That’s not the gifts that I’ve been given. Maybe that is a gift that you’ve been given, but most likely it’s something small, but together it’s something tangible that we all can do and will make a difference.

In the next coming weeks, beginning Monday, I’m going to announce something because I believe my entire life has led to this point, and we’re going to provide as many opportunities as we can find for you to get actively involved, because humans are suffering. Human rights are being taken away. Whether they are for the Christians or for the Muslims who aren’t Muslim enough, for the gays that are being thrown off of the roofs of buildings, human rights are being lost, trampled. People are dying, and we’re arguing about politics.

Meanwhile, others look to the heavens, cry out to God in their distress as their women are raped and the throats of their babies are slashed. And in the face of this injustice, the rest of the world has chosen to answer the call, the silent call, of ancient rocks.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” So, who is it that will step up? Who is it that has the courage to stand, especially for those who are most unlike you, to use their God-given arsenal and bandage the wounds? Who will drive a spoke into the wheel of injustice?

We put on the set this quote from Martin Luther King. I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but this is important. “We are not makers of history, we are made by history.” The people that we read about now, the giants like Martin Luther King, they weren’t giants at the time. They were just people just like you who answered the call of their time. Now is our time. The slumber can last no longer.

Me personally, I’ve been preparing for five years. It seems like it’s been 100 since we sojourned together to go to Washington DC when I said to you with Restoring Honor, we have to rid ourselves in the junk of our own lives. We have to stand together. We have to pick up our own staff and know what we were born to do.

Five years ago, I asked you to turn your gaze toward God. We stood at the feet of giants in the mall in Washington, and together we vowed to begin living the lives we were meant to live. Somewhere I read that it takes five years to change a man. I’m no longer the man I was when I stepped up in front of that crowd. I’m not.

The moment for which you have prepared for, the moment of which you were born for, is at hand. Persecution now of biblical proportions is happening, and the seeds of it are being planted all over the world. It is not just the innocent blood that is crying out that is happening overseas. Those same seeds of hatred and vengeance and revenge are being planted in the streets of San Francisco or St. Louis or Baltimore, Maryland.

We are the ones equipped to answer that call. Now is the time to unleash the arsenal of love and reconciliation. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to be mamby pamby. This summer, I’m also—we’ll tell you more probably on Monday or next week—I’m releasing a book called It is About Islam. Just because you stand with the faith and fear of God does not mean that you don’t turnover a few tables. We must begin to speak the truth, but the truth is we’re better than this. The truth is politics and politicians will never solve our problems.

This summer, 8/28, is the fifth anniversary of Restoring Honor. Everything that I personally have been living for and building towards has led to this point. I’m going to be real honest with you, I don’t pretend to know what big plan He has. We see dimly what the master painter sees clearly. There are times that I feel that can’t be right because history doesn’t happen like this. This happens with giants. We’re just all schlubs. We’re all the same. We’re not giants. Yes, we are, if we answer the call now, if we all say to ourselves, “In the end, I just want to go home with honor.” In the end, I want somebody in my family to be able to say my father or my mother stood for what was right.

I answer to God. I do not answer to man. We all have a reason for being, and that reason is not to build a network so I can enrich myself or for you to go get a better job so you could have a great 401(k) or stockpile a toy or a new car or whatever. There’s an old saying, and it’s true, I’ve never seen a hearse towing a U-Haul trailer. I’ve never seen a hearse towing a U-Haul trailer with the political bumper sticker on the back. Politics are not going to solve this.

God has a purpose for you and for me, and it is much bigger than we can possibly imagine. All we have to do is open our eyes, open our hearts, and then say, “Okay, I’ll do my best.” This summer is a call to action. As the details continue to unfold, I will share more with you. Monday, I’m going to make an announcement. For now, all I can say is if you’re ready, good, I’m not. Good. If you’re like me and you’re not really ready, continue to prepare, because mark my words, never again is right now.

How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor | Getty Images

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. It occurred just after 6:10 p.m. while Trump was delivering his speech.

Here are the details of the “official” story. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He used an AR-15 rifle and managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building unnoticed. The Secret Service's counter-response team responded swiftly, according to "the facts," killing Crooks and preventing further harm.

Did it though? That’s what the official story says, so far, but calling this a mere lapse in security by Secret Service doesn't add up. There are some glaring questions that need to be answered.

If Trump had been killed on Saturday, we would be in a civil war today. We would have seen for the first time the president's brains splattered on live television, and because of the details of this, I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't have been viewed as JFK 2.0.

How does someone sneak a rifle onto the rally grounds? How does someone even know that that building is there? How is it that Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting so weird and pacing in front of the metal detectors, and no one seemed to notice? People tried to follow him, but, oops, he got away.

How could the kid possibly even think that the highest ground at the venue wouldn't be watched? If I were Crooks, my first guess would be, "That’s the one place I shouldn't crawl up to with a rifle because there's most definitely going to be Secret Service there." Why wasn't anyone there? Why wasn't anyone watching it? Nobody except the shooter decided that the highest ground with the best view of the rally would be the greatest vulnerability to Trump’s safety.

Moreover, a handy ladder just happened to be there. Are we supposed to believe that nobody in the Secret Service, none of the drones, none of the things we pay millions of dollars for caught him? How did he get a ladder there? If the ladder was there, was it always there? Why was the ladder there? Secret Service welds manhole covers closed when a president drives down a road. How was there a ladder sitting around, ready to climb up to the highest ground at the venue, and the Secret Service failed to take it away?

There is plenty of video of eyewitnesses yelling that there was a guy with a rifle climbing up on a ladder to the roof for at least 120 seconds before the first shot was fired. Why were the police looking for him while Secret Service wasn't? Why did the sniper have him in his sights for over a minute before he took a shot? Why did a cop climb up the ladder to look around? When Thomas Matthew Cooks pointed a gun at him, he then ducked and came down off the ladder. Did he call anyone to warn that this young man had a rifle within range of the president?

How is it the Secret Service has a female bodyguard who doesn't even reach Trump's nipples? How was she going to guard the president's body with hers? How is it another female Secret Service agent pulled her gun out a good four minutes too late, then looked around, apparently not knowing what to do? She then couldn't even get the pistol back into the holster because she's a Melissa McCarthy body double. I don't think it's a good idea to have Melissa McCarthy guarding the president.

Here’s the critical question now: Who trusts the FBI with the shooter’s computer? Will his hard drive get filed with the Nashville manifesto? How is it that the Secret Service almost didn't have snipers at all but decided to supply them only one day before the rally because all the local resources were going to be put on Jill Biden? I want Jill Biden safe, of course. I want Jill Biden to have what the first lady should have for security, but you can’t hire a few extra guys to make sure our candidates are safe?

How is it that we have a Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, whose experience is literally guarding two liters of Squirt and spicy Doritos? Did you know that's her background? She's in charge of the United States Secret Service, and her last job was as the head of security for Pepsi.

This is a game, and that's what makes this sick. This is a joke. There are people in our country who thought it was OK to post themselves screaming about the shooter’s incompetence: “How do you miss that shot?” Do you realize how close we came to another JFK? If the president hadn't turned his head at the exact moment he did, it would have gone into the center of his head, and we would be a different country today.

Now, Joe Biden is also saying that we shouldn't make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. Well, I think we can assume one thing: He wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate. Can we agree on that at least? Can we assume that much?

How can the media even think of blaming Trump for the rhetoric when the Democrats and the media constantly call him literally worse than Hitler who must be stopped at all costs?

These questions need to be answered if we want to know the truth behind what could have been one of the most consequential days in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI has its hands clasped on all the sources that could point to the truth. There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of these glaring “mistakes.”

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

Kevin Dietsch / Staff, Chip Somodevilla / Staff, Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Image

It feels like all of the tension that has been building over the last four years has finally burst to the surface over the past month. Many predicted 2024 was going to be one of the most important and tumultuous elections in our lifetimes, but the last two weeks will go down in the history books. And it's not over yet.

The Democratic National Convention is in August, and while Kamala seems to be the likely candidate to replace Biden, anything could happen in Chicago. And if Biden is too old to campaign, isn't he too old to be president? Glenn doesn't think he'll make it as President through January, but who knows?

There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the current political landscape. Trump came out of the attempted assassination, and the RNC is looking stronger than ever, but who knows what tricks the Democrats have up their sleeves? Let us know your predictions in the poll below:

Is Trump going to win the election?

Did the assassination attempt increase Trump's chances at winning in November?

Did Trump's pick of J.D. Vance help his odds?

Did the Trump-Biden debate in June help Trump's chances?

Did Biden's resignation from the election hand Trump a victory in November? 

Do the Democrats have any chance of winning this election?

What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Trump's assassination attempt?

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor, Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

This past weekend we were mere inches away from a radically different America than the one we have today. This was the first time a president had been wounded by a would-be assassin since 1981, and the horrific event has many people questioning the competency and motives of the supposedly elite agents trusted with the president's life.

The director of the Secret Service apparently knew about the assassin's rooftop before the shooting—and did nothing.

Kimberly Cheatle has come under intense scrutiny these last couple of weeks, as Secret Service director she is responsible for the president's well-being, along with all security operations onsite. In a recent interview with ABC, Cheatle admitted that she was aware of the building where the assassin made his mark on American history. She even said that she was mindful of the potential risk but decided against securing the site due to "safety concerns" with the slope of the roof. This statement has called her competence into question. Clearly, the rooftop wasn't that unsafe if the 20-year-old shooter managed to access it.

Glenn pointed out recently that Cheatle seems to be unqualified for the job. Her previous position was senior director in global security at America's second-favorite soda tycoon, PepsiCo. While guarding soda pop and potato chips sounds like an important job to some, it doesn't seem like a position that would qualify you to protect the life of America's most important and controversial people. Even considering her lack of appropriate experience, this seems like a major oversight that even a layperson would have seen. Can we really chalk this up to incompetence?

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

The Secret Service and DHS said they'd be transparent with the investigation...

Shortly after the attempted assassination, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Secret Service, launched an investigation into the shooting and the security protocols in place at the rally. The DHS promised full transparency during the investigation, but House Republicans don't feel that they've been living up to that promise. Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are frustrated with Director Cheatle after she seemingly dodged a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. This has resulted in calls for Cheatle to step down from her position.

Two FBI agents investigate the assassin's rooftop Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Why is the Secret Service being so elusive? Are they just trying to cover their blunder? We seem to be left with two unsettling options: either the government is even more incompetent than we'd ever believed, or there is more going on here than they want us to know.

Cheatle steps down

Following a horrendous testimony to the House Oversight Committee Director Cheatle finally stepped down from her position ten days after the assassination attempt. Cheatle failed to give any meaningful answer to the barrage of questions she faced from the committee. These questions, coming from both Republicans and Democrats, were often regarding basic information that Cheatle should have had hours after the shooting, yet Cheatle struggled with each and every one. Glenn pointed out that Director Cheatle's resignation should not signal the end of the investigation, the American people deserve to know what happened.

What we DO and DON'T know about Thomas Matthew Crooks

Jim Vondruska / Stringer | Getty Images

It has been over a week since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks narrowly failed to assassinate President Trump while the president gave a speech at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennslyvania. Despite the ongoing investigations, we still know very little about the would-be assassin, which has left many wondering if the agencies involved are limiting the information that Congress and the public are receiving.

As Glenn has pointed out, there are still major questions about the shooter that are unanswered, and the American people are left at the whim of unreliable federal agencies. Here is everything we know—and everything we don't know—about Thomas Matthew Crooks:

Who was he?

What we know:Thomas Crooks lived in Bethel Parks, Pennsylvania, approximately an hour south of Butler. Crooks went to high school in Bethel Parks, where he would graduate in 2022. Teachers and classmates described him as a loner and as nerdy, but generally nice, friendly, and intelligent. Crooks tried out for the school rifle team but was rejected due to his poor aim, and reports indicate that Crooks was often bullied for his nerdy demeanor and for wearing camo hunting gear to school.

After high school, Crooks began work at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide. In fact, he was scheduled to work on the day of the rally but requested the day off. He passed a background check to work at the facility and was reportedly an unproblematic employee. Crooks was also a member of a local gun club where he practiced shooting the day before the rally.

It was recently revealed that sometime before his attempted assassination, Crooks posted the following message on Steam, a popular computer application used for playing video games: "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds." Aside from this, Crooks posted no warning or manifesto regarding his attack, and little other relevant information is known about him.

What we don't know:It is unclear what Crook's political affiliations or views were, or if he was aligned with any extremist organizations. Crooks was a registered Republican, and his classmates recall him defending conservative ideas and viewpoints in class. On the other hand, the Federal Election Commission has revealed he donated to a progressive PAC on the day Biden was inaugurated. He also reportedly wore a COVID mask to school much longer than was required.

Clearly, we are missing the full picture. Why would a Republican attempt to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee? What is to gain? And why would he donate to a progressive organization as a conservative? This doesn't add up, and so far the federal agencies investigating the attack have yet to reveal anything more.

What were his goals?

What we know: Obviously we know he was trying to assassinate President Trump—and came very close to succeeding, but beyond that, Crooks' goals are unknown. He left no manifesto or any sort of written motive behind, or if he did, the authorities haven't published it yet. We have frustratingly little to go off of.

What we don't know: As stated before, we don't know anything about the movies behind Crooks' heinous actions. We are left with disjointed pieces that make it difficult to paint a cohesive picture of this man. There is also the matter that he left explosives, ammo, and a bulletproof vest in his car. Why? Did he assume he was going to make it back to his car? Or were those supplies meant for an accomplice that never showed up?

The shocking lack of information on Crooks' motives makes it seem likely that we are not being let on to the whole truth.

Did he work alone?

What we know: Reportedly, Crooks was the only gunman on the site, and as of now, no other suspects have been identified. The rifle used during the assassination attempt was purchased and registered by Crooks' father. However, it is unlikely that the father was involved as he reported both his son and rifle missing the night of the assassination attempt. Crooks' former classmates described him as a "loner," which seems to corroborate the narrative that he worked alone.

What we don't know: We know how Crooks acquired his rifle, but what about the rest of his equipment? He reportedly had nearly a hundred extra rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, and several homemade bombs in his car. Could these have been meant for a co-conspirator who didn't show? Did Crooks acquire all of this equipment himself, or did he have help?

There's also the matter of the message Crooks left on the video game platform Steam that served as his only warning of the attack. Who was the message for? Are there people out there who were aware of the attack before it occurred? Why didn't they alert authorities?

We know authorities have access to Crooks' laptop and cellphone that probably contain the answers to these pertinent questions. Why haven't we heard any clarity from the authorities? It seems we are again at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, which begs one more question: Will we ever know the whole truth?