Kari Lake Supporters Reenact Biblical Battle of Jericho in Maricopa Protest

Supporters of Arizona's GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake reenacted the Biblical Battle of Jericho, marching around the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix on Saturday seven times while blowing horns and singing the popular Christian song "Awesome God."

Lake, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen, remains locked in a close race with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs, as votes are still being tabulated as of Sunday afternoon. Like Trump in 2020, Lake began sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the election months before ballots were cast and has suggested she may not concede.

Right-wing supporters convened on Saturday in a demonstration of support for her. As they marched around the vote counting center, some held signs suggesting Hobbs and other Democrats are "traitors." Their demonstration was based off the Biblical battle described in the Old Testament book of Joshua, in which the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho seven times, then yelled loudly while blowing horns. The city's purportedly impenetrable walls then, according to the narrative in Joshua, collapsed—allowing the Israelites to enter and conquer the city with ease.

"We're very concerned, our country [is] being turned upside down. The fact of the matter is, is that there's a lot of reason for us to be concerned," Arizona state Representative John Fillmore, a Republican, who attended the demonstration, told The Arizona Republic.

A video clip from the march showed the demonstrators singing the contemporary Christian song, "Awesome God," which was written by Rich Mullins and first recorded in 1988. Shane Claiborne, a Christian activist and author, told Newsweek on Sunday that Mullins, who is deceased, would be disturbed if he knew they were singing the song at the protest.

"Rich Mullins must be turning over in his grave. He knew the Gospel was counter-cultural, and the subversion of worldly power. He'd be appalled at how the Christian faith is being exploited in the pursuit of power. Without a doubt Rich would be on the front lines of challenging this nationalism that is trying to camouflage itself as Christianity but looks and sounds nothing like Jesus," he said.

In another clip from the demonstration, Lake supporters can be seen standing and milling about as the sounds of a shofar horn can be heard in the background. The shofar horn has become common at right-wing Christian nationalist rallies in recent years, as many of these events promote Trump and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Trump's former national security adviser retired U.S. General Michael Flynn has been a key figure over the past couple years in the Christian nationalist movement. Through his ReAwaken America events, Flynn and other Trump allies have painted Democrats and moderate Republicans as working with evil forces. At some of the events, speakers have predicted that top Democrats and some prominent Republicans will be dead by the end of the year.

Reverend Nathan Empsall, the executive director of Faithful America, told Newsweek on Sunday that "Christian nationalism is the greatest threat to democracy and the church today."

"It is focused not on following the Gospel, but on abusing religious symbolism to seize power for its followers at all costs, even when that means overturning the will of the voters. There is absolutely nothing Christian about intimidating election officials who are doing their jobs," he said.

Empsall added that "re-enacting the Battle of Jericho is particularly troubling, given that it is a subtle threat of political violence."

Heather Thompson Day, a Christian author and associate professor at Andrews University, told Newsweek that Jesus "said over and over, his kingdom was not of this world."

"He had no interest in setting up a government of worldly kingship, he was only interested in a spiritual governance and the submission of our hearts in love, toward God and each other," she said. "It appears, if you believe in the Bible, that Jesus warns Christians when the church seeks to align itself with the government in order to take power over its citizens, the end is near."

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone told The Arizona Republic that the demonstrators remained "peaceful." However, he also cautioned public officials and politicians about the rallying messages they use to activate their followers.

"They had an objective, they stayed within that scope and they left in a reasonable amount of time," he said. "If you are an elected official and you are doing things to provoke a crowd to come out front here that can lead to the point of acts of violence or crimes, not only should we put you at the top of the criminal report and charge you, but I feel we should send you the bill."

As of Sunday afternoon, Hobbs maintains a lead of 1.4 percent over Lake, with about 88 percent of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. The Democrat currently has about 50.7 percent of the vote compared to her GOP rival's 49.3 percent. The close race has not been called, but Hobbs has consistently maintained a narrow lead over her Republican opponent throughout most of the counting process.

Other statewide races for Senate and secretary of state in Arizona have already been called in favor of Democrats. The attorney general's race, like the governor's race, remains too close to call.