Texas State Rep. James Talarico’s pastor is taking fire for making a ludicrous remark about the Trump administration after the Saturday shooting at the White House Correspondent’s dinner in Washington, D.C.
During his Sunday sermon, Pastor James Rigby who leads St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, he noted that people have “mixed feelings” about the shooting but affirmed, “It’s really really important if we are going to be the healing agents of the world to realize that violence is not going to get rid of the problem that we have.”
“I said last week, if violence could have gotten rid of racism, the Civil War would have worked,” he continued. “But if you look at the Bible Belt and the heart of the MAGA movement, it is the Confederacy. The America they want to get back to is the Confederate States of America, not the United States of America.”
The pastor further stressed that “It’s very important that even as we fight for justice, even as we protect each other from this fascistic movement, that we not do to them what they're doing to the rest of us.
Texas Democrat James Talarico's pastor calls President Trump and his administration "fascist" right after the assassination attempt against them:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 27, 2026
"I know a lot of people have mixed feelings...the America [Republicans] want to get back to is the Confederate States of America." pic.twitter.com/aXbmZ1vFVV
Talarico, who is running for Sen. John Cornyn’s seat, has described Rigby as a lifelong spiritual mentor whose preaching and activism shaped his view that faith and politics are inseparable.
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Cornyn blasted Rigby in a post on X in which he said he "made light of an assassination attempt on the President of the United States" and that "all Texans should be outraged and Talarico must condemn it."
James Talarico claims to be campaigning on love and kindness, but his Pastor made light of an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in Washington, DC this weekend where a Secret Service officer was seriously injured. All Texans should be outraged and… https://t.co/kSvB1GP1BL
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 27, 2026
Rigby has been a controversial figure in the Presbyterian Church, having made a series of remarks many have criticized. The Christian Post reported that he opposed the denomination’s former restrictions on same sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ individuals as church leaders.
In the 1990s, he protested this position by refused to wear his clerical robe or participate in communion at meetings because he believed the church excluded members of the LGBTQ community.
In a roundabout attack on James Talarico, The Christian Post challenges St. Andrew’s pastor Jim Rigby, in part by highlighting the controversy 20 years ago when I joined the church but rejected Bible's supernatural claims and conventional ideas about God. https://t.co/0kyUi2EDH5
— Robert Jensen (@jensenrobertw) March 3, 2026
Church members filed a complaint against Rigby in 2004 for conducting 50 same-sex marriage ceremonies at the University of Texas. The pastor said he welcomed the criticism because he wanted a public battle over the issue.
In a sarcastic 2015 Facebook post, Rigby denied the Virgin Birth and Resurrection while appearing to mock the idea of Hell. “I received some bad news this week,” he wrote. “Apparently, because Id on’t believe in a literal resurrection, I’m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won’t be going to heaven with many of you.”
In a 2022 Facebook post, slammed the church for using male pronouns for God, arguing that “the transcendent does not need to have a gender.”
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