Group says it will train Christians on combat
Missouri event raises concerns over possible militia activity
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A group that says its mission is “to halt and push back the forces of darkness” is holding a tactical event in southwest Missouri this weekend to train Christians on “hand-to-hand combat” and “fighting from your vehicle.”
Called the Missouri Embattled Warriors Event, the gathering is reminiscent of the militia exercises and preparedness training that spread across the country in the 1990s. It is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday on wooded property in Newton County between Neosho and Joplin. “We’re a group of Christian men and women that go out and will stand against unrighteousness,” said Kevin VanStory, a real estate broker from Neosho and a leader of the Salt and Light Brigade MAKO edition, which includes Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
“This will be an intensive study about self defense. What happens if you were driving on I-70 last year when all those riots were taking place in Kansas City and St. Louis? It’s about time that Christians start going on the offense – at least stop being always on the defense.”
But the head of an organization that has tracked extremist groups for decades said the event raises concerns.
“The group is trying to hide far-right paramilitary training behind a friendly facade,” said Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. “Whatever the label, the group traffics in racist scaremongering to draw people into paramilitary activity. Whether or not they call it a militia, everyone should be concerned about a far-right paramilitary group like this coming to Missouri.”
VanStory said the “very loosely organized” group is not a militia and that the event is nothing to fear.
“We’ll be out in the country, and actually most of the training is going to involve airsoft guns,” he said. “I have no intention of ever using my gun on another human being unless I’m in absolute fear for my life.”
VanStory, who ran unsuccessfully last year for the U.S. House in Missouri’s 7th Congressional District, said he’s not afraid to tackle controversial issues. His Facebook page is filled with anti-vaccine posts – he refers to Dr. Anthony Fauci as a “Godless demon” – and he likes to “witness a lot and do a little street preaching.” He has organized protests in Joplin and Carthage this fall against “forced tyrannical vaccinations.”
“One of the very first sentences in our Constitution is the right to pursue liberty,” he said. “But our liberties are getting taken away now at a pace that’s unfathomable. I am not crazy. I’m a God-fearing, USA-loving person. I never, ever in my life expected to be doing the things I’m doing now.”
He was prodded into activism, he said, because “we’ve had basically four decades of sissified or feminized pastors that have taken the man out of his rightful position as the leader of his family. … I’m not saying I’m a man’s man, you know, I just want to protect my family.”
The Salt and Light Brigade is part of Pass the Salt Ministries, a nonprofit based in Hebron, Ohio. Saturday’s training, the organization says on its website, is designed for “Brigade members/Christians understanding the times in which we live” and for “Christians willing to learn tactical skills, preparedness skills & fighting skills.”
It’s also for “Christians willing to adapt, change the way we think, change the way we respond & overcome difficulties & dangerous situations we may find ourselves.”
The training will cover “room clearing, hand to hand fighting and fighting from a vehicle,” according to a post on VanStory’s Facebook page. “Saturday evening, a dark/low light class will be given. This will be pertaining to the use of a flashlight (weapon mounted or hand held) in dark or low light conditions.”