Anti-LGBT cult leader calls on followers to purchase assault rifles
Hyung Jin Moon, who leads the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, and is known as 鈥淭rue Father鈥� and 鈥淪econd King鈥� to his followers, issued a literal call to arms to members of his anti-LGBT sect last month.
Sanctuary Church members 鈥渉ave been asked by the King to participate in the ceremony on 28th February with a crown and a 鈥榬od of iron鈥� (AR 15 or AK style weapon),鈥� . 鈥淎ttending the blessing, either with an AR15 or alike or without, is valid, but to attend with an AR15 would be a substantial 鈥榩erfection stage鈥� blessing.鈥�
The Sanctuary Church, which also calls itself Rod of Iron Ministries, is a splinter offshoot of the Unification Church, or 鈥淢oonies,鈥� founded by the late Sun Myung Moon in the 1950s. According to cult expert Steve聽Hassan, himself a member of the Unification Church in the 1970s, the Unification Church鈥檚 .
At a ceremony in 2008, Sun Myung Moon transferred leadership of the Unification Church to his youngest son, Hyung Jin Moon. After Sun Myung Moon died in 2012, a power struggle erupted between Hyung Jin Moon and his mother, Hak Ja Han, who ordered Hyung Jin to go to Korea.
Hyung Jin refused, and instead relocated to Newfoundland, Pennsylvania and founded the Sanctuary Church with the support of his older brother, Kook Jin Moon. Hyung Jin declared the Unification Church invalid since his father鈥檚 death, and continued to espouse his father鈥檚 teachings while declaring himself the 鈥淪econd King,鈥� after his father. Kook Jin also r, Kahr Arms, to a nearby county in Pennsylvania.
At the core of the Sanctuary Church鈥檚 beliefs is the establishment of 鈥淐heon Il Guk,鈥� a sovereign kingdom of heaven on earth, which is where the assault rifles come in. The missive calling followers to purchase the weapons explains, 鈥淭o fulfill the ideal of kingship and the nation, we need people, land (property) and sovereignty. Sovereignty means that we are able to defend ourselves against an aggressive satanic world, when we are threatened. We should be able to defend ourselves, not only in an abstract but in a substantial way, as we would do in a sovereign nation. A minimum expression of such sovereignty is a crown and a real gun for defense (the biblical 鈥榬od of iron鈥�) like a legal AR15.鈥�
The Sanctuary Church has also created what it calls the 鈥�,鈥� wherein Hyung Jin trains his followers in martial arts, hand-to-hand knife combat and assault weapons. The Sanctuary Church says it to its Sunday services.
Hyung Jin鈥檚 sect is explicitly political, like his father鈥檚 (Sun Myung Moon was once 鈥渃rowned鈥� in a U.S. Senate building 鈥渉umanity鈥檚 Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent鈥�) and aligned with the far-right. "If Trump needed some Brownshirts to kill the opposition, at the level I was indoctrinated to when I was with the Moonies, I would have done anything I was ordered to do, including dying or killing the opposition," says Hassan, the cult expert.聽
In fact, the Sanctuary Church is holding a 鈥淧resident Trump Thank You Dinner鈥� on February 24, featuring Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America. A website for the event 鈥淧resident Trump has stepped into his calling as God鈥檚 representative.鈥�
Hyung Jin has a regular YouTube program called 鈥淭he King鈥檚 Report,鈥� where he , a GOP candidate for governor of Pennsylvania. The appearance made waves in Pennsylvania politics after Hyung Jin, wearing a golden crown and camouflage suit with an assault weapon mounted on his desk, told Mango, speaking of public schoolchildren, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not only going to learn the actual required course load, they鈥檙e getting indoctrinated into the homosexual political agenda, they鈥檙e getting indoctrinated in the transgender agenda saying that their emotions, that they can choose how they feel based on how they feel their gender, which is totally against the bible.鈥�
鈥淵eah and let me just mention two other things,鈥� Mango responded. Mango鈥檚 spokesman later the candidate 鈥渄oes not agree that schools are indoctrinating our kids.鈥� Human Rights Campaign had previously because of his support for anti-transgender 鈥渂athroom laws.鈥�
Cult expert Hassan believes Hyung Jin鈥檚 call for his followers to show up with assault rifles on February 28 is just another attempt by the Sanctuary Church to endear itself to the far right. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 potential for violence at that event,鈥� Hassan says, 鈥渂ut I think they鈥檙e trying to play up to Trump, play up to gun owners. They鈥檙e very right-wing extremists with a totalistic idea of how the world should be.鈥�
