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Eric Metaxas and John Strand on January 6 Prison Persecution and the Coming American Revolution
Eric Metaxas sits down with his friend John Strand, a January 6 political prisoner who spent a year in jail with four months in solitary confinement. Strand, an actor and creative director for America's Frontline Doctors, refused a plea deal despite facing a 20-year felony, choosing to stand for truth instead. Now running for Congress in Florida's 19th district to fill Byron Donalds' seat, Strand discusses his forthcoming book Patriot Plea, the spiritual awakening happening in America, and why 2026 represents our generation's 1776. This conversation explores the persecution of January 6 attendees, the battle between good and evil in America, and the revival movement sweeping the nation as we enter the super centennial year celebrating 250 years of American independence.
The Personal Cost of January 6
Eric Metaxas opens this powerful conversation by explaining how the January 6 persecution became deeply personal when his friend John Strand was imprisoned for a year, spending four months in solitary confinement. Metaxas emphasizes that when you know and love someone who has been put through hell by your own government, the evil becomes undeniable. Strand's story compelled Metaxas to write the forward to Strand's forthcoming book, Patriot Plea, and deepened his commitment to exposing the truth about what really happened on January 6.
Metaxas expresses frustration that most Americans still believe false narratives about January 6, that Joe Biden was legitimately elected, and that the vaccine was beneficial. He notes that even Fox News refuses to acknowledge the full truth, creating a situation where speaking reality feels like going through the looking glass into wonderland. Despite the difficulty, Metaxas insists that God has chosen people like him and Strand to speak truth and put the results in God's hands.
John Strand's Journey from Hollywood to Political Prisoner
John Strand introduces himself as an artist, actor, and writer who worked in Hollywood for many years. Born in California to an Italian-American family with a Navy father, he was raised with Judeo-Christian values emphasizing absolute truth, love, goodness, beauty, and the value of freedom. Strand was pursuing his American dream as a creative professional when the world turned upside down in 2020.
As the Marxism of BLM literally burned down streets and COVID propaganda brought tyranny to America's shores, God spoke to Strand's heart. He began speaking out publicly against the lockdowns, which proved unacceptable in Hollywood and quickly ended his entertainment career. Strand led the Beverly Hills Freedom Rally to push back against lockdowns and fight for constitutional rights on the West Coast. President Trump retweeted the rally, giving it significant notoriety and driving people into the freedom movement.
Through this work, Strand connected with leaders like Eric Metaxas, Dennis Prager, Dave Rubin, and Dr. Simone Gold, who founded America's Frontline Doctors. Strand became the creative director of America's Frontline Doctors and goldcare.com, a position he has held for five years. This work placed him in position for speeches at an event with a government-approved permit on January 5th and 6th. While January 5th proceeded without incident, January 6th went sideways, and Strand found himself entrapped in what he describes as an incredibly malicious and destructive event.
The Impossible Choice and Unwavering Conviction
Twelve days after January 6, Strand's door was splintered by a battering ram followed by 20 agents in tactical gear, like a scene from a Jason Bourne movie. Facing a 20-year felony charge, the Biden DOJ offered him a golden parachute plea deal of a single misdemeanor. Everyone in his world, including colleagues, friends, family, attorneys, and even his pastor, told him it was not immoral to take the plea deal and that it was the rational choice.
But Strand believes there is never a right time to do the wrong thing. He describes this as the clearest decision he ever made, one he had actually made years earlier when he gave his heart to Jesus Christ and committed to surrendering his will to God's, choosing what is right and necessary regardless of personal cost. Strand refused the plea deal knowing he would go to prison. The extraordinary history that followed is detailed in his upcoming book, Patriot Plea, which will be released by Skyhorse Publishing in early 2026.
Confronting Evil and the Call to Fight
Metaxas praises the name of Jesus and warns against the clever distractions of Satan, who knows how to pull people away from what matters most. At the heart of everything is revival, Metaxas insists. People have prayed for decades to see what is happening now, with Donald Trump back in the White House. Wonderful things are happening at the beginning of what Metaxas calls a golden age.
As America enters the super centennial year, the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, Metaxas firmly believes it is a year of blessing from God. He identifies this moment as the third existential crisis in American history, alongside the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. While there are sacrifices and casualties in this war, including people like John Strand enduring solitary confinement for doing the right thing, God always wins.
Metaxas sees the viciousness of the enemy right now as evidence that Satan knows he is losing. People are coming to faith in Jesus every day. A boldness has been unleashed in the country, with people more willing to talk about God and Jesus. While it is a beautiful moment, Metaxas acknowledges they are in a war, and God has called them to it.
Strand agrees completely, framing two essential questions society must grapple with: Does evil exist, and what qualifies something as evil or good? And second, are Christians supposed to fight against evil or just condemn it from the corner? These two questions, Strand argues, are everything in our world right now.
AmericaFest and the Battle Lines
Strand describes AmericaFest as extraordinary, with over 30,000 attendees this year compared to 20,000 the previous year, nearly doubling attendance. He praises Erika Kirk as an absolute champion, an angelic form of grace, courage, and leadership amidst unbelievable suffering and tragedy. Kirk opened the event, followed by Ben Shapiro, who laid out the battle lines of current discourse. Vice President JD Vance brought it home with an outstanding speech capturing where America stands politically, culturally, and spiritually.
Running for Congress in Florida's 19th District
Strand announces that he has filed to run for Congress in Florida's 19th congressional district. He declares that 2026 is our generation's 1776, a singular moment of choosing and destiny. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reclaim the republic and the birthright of liberty, justice, and morality.
Drawing a parallel to the American Revolution, Strand notes that George Washington was the great leader, but he was supported by soldiers, a 3% remnant like Gideon's army. In 2026, President Trump is clearly the George Washington figure with God's hand upon him. But Trump needs soldiers to support him in Congress, where the vast majority of democratically chosen power resides via Article One of the Constitution. Strand urges people to join the fight at johnstrand.com.
Strand is running for the seat currently held by Byron Donalds, who is stepping up to run for governor of Florida due to term limits for Governor Ron DeSantis. Strand praises both leaders as heroes who have set standards for defending liberty. He escaped what he calls the communism of California four years ago to defend liberty and morality in Naples and Southwest Florida. While in prison, God spoke to his heart with the question: If not you, then who? If not now, then when?
Three Policy Pillars: Defending America
Strand's mission in Congress centers on defending the American worker, the American family, and the American dream through three policy pillars. The first is sovereignty, encompassing immigration, election integrity, and bodily sovereignty through medical freedom. Strand advocates banning all medical mandates of any kind, period.
On immigration, Strand emphasizes that Americans have a sacred duty from God to be stewards of what has been given to them. Understanding sovereignty, immigration, and the rule of law is critical to that stewardship. He praises Governor Ron DeSantis for his extraordinary work supporting President Trump's immigration agenda, including initiatives like alligator Alcatraz, aligning with ICE to secure borders and ensure the rule of law is upheld starting with who enters the country.
The Necessity of Civics Education
Metaxas stresses the absolute necessity of civics education, arguing that everyone in America needs to understand these foundational principles. You cannot be a free people unless the people understand what is being discussed. You can be a slave or a subject, but you cannot be a free self-governing citizen in a self-governing republic unless we the people understand these things and live them out.
Metaxas references his book If You Can Keep It, explaining that Benjamin Franklin knew the Constitution is utterly worthless unless we the people understand it and live it out. Otherwise, it is just a dead piece of paper. Americans must understand their history, know their stories, and learn the lessons of leadership, both failures and victories.
In 1960, if you took a microphone to Main Street and asked people about American history, they knew the names and stories because they learned it in school and it was part of the culture. That has disappeared since the 1960s, which is why fewer people understand these principles and why Americans have been able to be manipulated. This erosion of civic knowledge is why someone like Joe Biden or whoever was running his campaign could steal an election, and when people were told not to ask questions, many complied because the spirit of America was nearly dead.
Trump repeatedly says, with characteristic flair, that America was almost dead but is now the hottest country, the sexiest, hottest country. While Metaxas laughs at the phrasing, he agrees with the point: America is beginning to be who it is supposed to be again. There is a long way to go, but the nation is on the way, and it is a battle with people like John Strand leading the charge.
The Power of Homeschooling
Metaxas believes all those who went through the hell of January 6 should run for office or get involved in some capacity because they have suffered and understand what can happen even in a country like America. When the January 6 persecution was happening, Metaxas found it hard to process that such things could occur in America. He thought, not in America. But obviously it can happen anywhere, requiring vigilance and understanding.
As Ronald Reagan said, freedom is always one generation away from extinction. The Bible demonstrates this with the nation of Israel, using these stories to teach all humanity the importance of remembrance, priorities, and worship, with God first and above all in the first commandment. The founders described the Constitution as a parchment barrier, meaning if you do not know it, practice it, and defend it, it will be shredded and taken away. The Bible teaches that people perish for lack of knowledge.
Strand reveals that he was homeschooled, crediting his incredible foundation to parents who took seriously their responsibility from God that their children belong to them on earth. God entrusted them with sacred stewardship to teach and raise their children in the way they should go, as Proverbs instructs. Homeschooling can look different for everybody, including micro schools, charter schools, and private schools, but there must be an understanding and heart for raising your own kids.
Metaxas emphatically declares that homeschooling is the way back. Traveling around the country, he meets homeschoolers and their parents who are going to take over the world. God is raising up a generation in an absolutely extraordinary way that gives him tremendous hope.
Revolution: The Only Real Revolution
Strand describes next year as a year of revolution. Metaxas reveals that his forthcoming book is titled Revolution, not the American Revolution, because to him the only real revolution was the American Revolution. The French Revolution was a failed tragic parody of the American Revolution, in some ways a diabolical parody. The Soviet Bolshevik Revolution was an absolutely demonic parody.
The only real revolution in human thinking that produced a unique country was the American Revolution. It was a revolution in human thinking that brought into history a nation unlike any that had ever existed. This is about American exceptionalism, not that Americans are better as people, but that the ideas bequeathed by the founders, which come from scripture, are exceptional. These biblical ideas about how people can govern themselves, looking directly to God in a covenant relationship, answering to the high authority of God rather than rulers or tyrants, had never happened in human history until 1776.
Americans have been given the glorious ability to live in such a country and keep the flame of liberty alive. Everyone has a responsibility, whether running for office like John Strand or homeschooling children to learn about these foundational truths.
A Sacred Stewardship
Strand reflects on how society has drifted and abdicated its duty as families to make hard, tough, righteous choices, putting children above ourselves, community and church above ourselves, and nation above ourselves. He quotes John F. Kennedy: Ask not what your government can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Apply this to church and to God as well. God's desire for believers, as children of God, is to be in community with him, to choose joy, find purpose, and discover the incredible goodness and eternal future of glory he has destined for all of us.
Metaxas and Strand close by affirming their hope in God's plan for America, the revival happening across the nation, and the responsibility every American has to preserve and defend the freedoms entrusted to this generation. With leaders like John Strand willing to sacrifice everything for truth and justice, and with God raising up a new generation through homeschooling and spiritual awakening, America stands on the threshold of reclaiming its birthright as the land of the free.
Video Transcript
Hey there folks. Uh I've talked about this um over the last few years, but my experience of J6 and all that, my whole processing of that, what happened got very very personal for me when a friend of mine, someone I know and love and respect, uh was put in jail for a year in solitary for four months. We're going to talk about it. Um he's been on the program before, John Strand. But when you know someone and love someone and respect someone, know that they did this to him, it gets real. Uh he has a book coming out. We're going to talk about that. I wrote the forward to the book and um we we're going to be talking about all this, but John is he's an American hero. He's running for Congress. I hope tons of the folks who went through the hell of J6 will run for office because that's how we're going to bring our country back or that's a part of how we're bringing our country back um you know to where it needs to be. Uh John is a man of Christian faith and we've got a lot uh to talk with him about. Uh I want to remind you if you're still doing Christmas shopping or anything to go to mystore.com. You can get most of my books there. children's books, Donald Drains the Swamp, very fun. Donald Builds the Wall, lot of laughs, trust me. Uh, you can get all them at my store.com. Use the code Eric. If you go to myillow.com, and you should use the code Eric. Um, so just a friendly reminder, these are our sponsors. We want to support our sponsors. We love our sponsors. They are they're good people. We choose them carefully. Um, so we'll be right back with John Strand. >> [music] >> Folks, welcome back. My friend John Strand is my guest right now. John, uh, always an encouragement to talk to you. Now, not everyone tuned in right now knows you. So, I will let you tell them a little bit about yourself before I, you know, run the table with my mouth. So, go ahead. Well, the first thing I always tell people is I'm humbled to be a friend of Eric Mataxis. Uh so that's that's the first thing people should know. And uh Eric, it is amazing always to be with you. It's an honor. So thank you for having me on on your show. Um I'm really proud of the work you're doing and the truth you're telling on this show. It's quite extraordinary, especially in these times. So my story is quite interesting itself, I would say. Um I'm I'm an artist. I've been working as an actor and writer in Hollywood for many years. was actually born in California to uh an Italian-American family with a dad in the Navy and have had experiences all over this great country. I was raised uh with Judeo-Christian values to appreciate absolute truth, love, goodness, and beauty and the incredible value of freedom that this country has fought so hard to establish and to protect. So, I was raised to be a patriot. uh and in my own life I was pursuing my American dream as an actor and as a musician and as a creative and then in 2020 of course the entire world turned upside down and in my own personal life God really spoke to me in that moment as the Marxism of BLM was burning down streets uh literally around us and as the incredible darkness of the co propaganda brought tyranny in real time to the shores of America. So, I began to speak out publicly against that, which was not acceptable in my lane as an actor, of course, and that put my Hollywood career on a quick trajectory out of town. I led the Beverly Hills Freedom Rally to push back against lockdowns and fight for constitutional rights um on the West Coast, which blew up really big. In fact, President Trump retweeted it and got a lot of notoriety and drove a lot of people uh into the movement. Because of that work, I came to know some great leaders such as yourself and Dennis Prager and Dave Rubin and also Dr. Dr. Simone Gold, who founded Frontline Doctors. So, I've been the creative director of America's frontline doctors and goldcare.com for the last 5 years. As part of that work, I was in position for speeches as part of a an event that had a government approved permit on January 5th and January 6th. January 5th was no problem. We had a great rally and a great speech. January 6th went sideways, as we all know, and now we know a lot more about why and how that happened. But at the time, I was simply entrapped in this incredibly malicious uh and and destructive event. And 12 days after it happened, my door was splintered by a battering ram followed by 20 agents in tactical gear like a scene out of a Jason Bourne movie. Except it wasn't my audition for the for a great role. Or maybe it was actually, but at the time it seemed like my life was over and had been destroyed. So, I was facing a 20-year felony and I was given a golden parachute plea deal by the Biden DOJ at that time of a single misdemeanor. So, 20-year felony or life is over or a single misdemeanor and you can try to put your life back together. Of course, no sane person would turn that down. And in fact, everyone in my world, all of my colleagues and friends, my family, my attorneys, even my pastor said it is not immoral to take this plea deal. In fact, it's rational and you should. But Eric, I believe there is never a right time to do the wrong thing. And this was actually the clearest decision I ever had to make. In fact, I'd made it many years ago when I gave my heart to Jesus Christ and said, "I'm going to choose each day to surrender my will to yours, to choose what is right and necessary, no matter what the personal cost is." And so, I refused that plea knowing I go to prison. And the rest is uh some extraordinary history that I detail in my upcoming book, Patriot Plea. When does the book Patriot Plea come out? Great question. I don't have the exact date, but early next year. Sky will be releasing it and it it is about to hit the airwaves with the pre-release. So, coming very soon. Stay tuned. >> Well, I mean, we'll we'll have you on to talk more about that uh when it comes out in the new year. But, uh, Patriot Ple, your book, I have the privilege of writing the forward to that book because I've known your story and I said, uh, in before we went on the air here, uh, just in my intro, your story is what really got to me to to know you and to know what they put you through. I mean, I knew all this stuff with other people, but when you actually know someone that has been put through hell by your own government, it is so evil that you just can't believe that it's happening. You can't I you know, I I I just was so upset. And I um and so I'm a man on a mission as well. We need to get the truth out, folks. Most people in America are still buying the lie that like, oh, January 6 was a terrible thing. Trump supporters did some bad stuff. Uh, no. Uh, actually, no. This is the truth is finally coming out, but most people I mean, Fox News will not acknowledge the truth on this. It's kind of amazing that we still live in a world where people act like Joe Biden was actually elected and uh getting the vaccine was is a good thing and J6 is a was a terrible moment in the country where Trump supporters did terrible. People believe this. I it's it really is like, you know, going through the looking glass into into wonderland where you think everything's upside down and people in America still buy these false narratives. The mainstream media still promotes these false narratives. And so it it's up to us. We didn't we didn't sign up for this, but God has has chosen us to speak the truth, and we we put the results in his hands. But we've got to get the truth out. your book goes a long way toward doing that. Um I I want to talk to you a little bit about uh Amfest and and and whatever. So that will have been a week ago when this airs or something like that. But just any thoughts at all about um where we are in the country right now? >> Yeah. You said we didn't sign up for this, but certainly in a way we have, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians because the foundational premise of the of the Bible and of of the Christian faith is that in the beginning, God, so he is first and he is almighty. However, he did this incredible miraculous thing of giving us complete autonomy and free will over our own mind and our own heart. And he's called us to use that free will to choose him. So if we choose that, we have signed up for what God says is coming, which part of what's coming as a Christian and as an American ultimately, regardless of your faith, is a period of suffering through which we actually we actually discover our purpose, our destiny. Our destiny is in part to suffer, but God uses suffering for an incredibly powerful and redeeming purpose. That's most importantly what I learned in prison in a very dark place in my life. So we talked about the lies, Eric, and the lies are extraordinary. You if you repeat them often enough, they become the truth as we know. I think there's a couple of questions we should kind of talk about as we go through the rest of the topics today. like to frame it. One thing is we're struggling as a society right now, especially in America, to really grapple with with exposing and defining what is evil. Does evil exist? What qualifies something as evil or good? This is a essential question we need to grapple with. And then the second question to follow that particularly in the Christian faith is are Christians supposed to fight against evil or are they just supposed to condemn it from the corner? And I think these two questions really are everything in our world right now. So Afest was extraordinary um as I know you have seen Eric it was it was extraordinary. Um 20,000 people last year there were well over 30,000 this year. So we came close I think to almost doubling the number that so many people in such a small downtown area it was explosive and the power of certain speeches the courage and moral clarity of certain leaders um in contrast I think to the lack of moral clarity and the uh the insertion of a lot of controversy for the sake of controversy uh was was quite interesting. So, um, Erica Kirk is an absolute champion, um, and a just just an angelic form of grace and courage and leadership amidst unbelievable suffering and tragedy beyond anything I've experienced or really could even imagine and she opened it followed by Ben Shapiro who really laid out the battle lines of the current discourse that's going on. So, I thought those were extraordinary beginnings. There were many other things that happened and of course Vice President JD Vance brought it home with an outstanding speech to really capture where we are as a nation politically for sure but also culturally and spiritually. It was masterful. >> Hey there folks. As hard as it may be for us to [music] believe, especially here in America, there are people in other parts of the world who have literally [music] been enslaved because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Some of them for decades. Hundreds of thousands [music] of them have been persecuted and enslaved in the Sudan. Together, right now, we can literally [music] buy their freedom and save the lives of some precious brothers and sisters. Give them the joy and hope we celebrate so freely. For only $250, you [music] can provide life-saving aid this Christmas. You can buy a believer's [music] freedom and provide them with muchneeded food, a goat, and other necessary goods for their [music] survival. Brothers and sisters, enslaved and fearing for their lives, just $250. Maybe you [music] can give more. Maybe you can just give a portion of that. Every gift helps. Imagine buying the freedom of a fellow Christian believer. [music] You can do it. Call 888-2533522. 8882533522. [music] Christian Solidarity International provides life-saving resources for persecuted Christians for almost [music] 40 years. 8882533522 or go to ericmataxis.com [music] and click on the banner. You'll see it. Ericmataxis.com. Click on the banner. Please give [music] someone the gift of getting their life back. Provide life and freedom for someone right now. God bless you. Hey there folks. Okay, it's time to speak plainly. If ever there was a time for plain talk in America, I would say this is it. Uh, every day I hear from people who say, "Eric, something feels off. It's like there are these giant forces, global, financial, unaccountable, kind of pushing things around while hardworking Americans foot the bill. Am I crazy? Here's the problem. No, you're not crazy. You're not imagining it. It's true. Uh whenever there's instability, global tension, market chaos, currency issues, the big financial players always seem to land on their feet while regular people are left wondering why groceries suddenly cost more than your first car. So the real question is, how do I protect the value of what I've worked for? How do I make sure that the global financial class, the folks who profit from disorder, don't get to toy with my savings? For thousands of years, the answer's been the same. own something real, something they can't print, can't erase, can't manipulate. I'm talking about physical gold and silver. Actual precious metals you can hold, touch, see. Not promises, not theories, not trust us, it's stable this week. And that's why I love what Genesis Gold Group is doing. These are faith-based, valu-driven people who believe, as you and I do, that Americans deserve a way to anchor their wealth in something solid. They help you acquire physical gold and silver, real bars, real coins, real metals, not digital gold, not gold exposure, not gold that exists somewhere in theory. I mean, the real thing. And let me tell you, in a world where currencies swing wildly depending on what some global institution decides at 3:00 a.m., there is something wonderfully sane about holding something they cannot tamper with. Genesis Gold walks you through your options, explains everything in clear language, no jargon, no pressure, and delivers you metals of the highest purity from nationally recognized mints and refiners. This is old school value backed by real people with real integrity. Here's what I know. There are forces out there. They're not elected by you or me that benefit when whenever America is financially unstable. They benefit when the dollar weakens, when markets wobble, when chaos rises. But that does not mean that you and I have to sit quietly and watch our purchasing power disappear. you could take a meaningful step to protect yourself and your family by putting part of your wealth into something time-tested and real. Okay, so here's what I want you to do. They set up a website for us at the Eric Mataxis Show. Go to metaxisoldir.com. That's metaxis goldir.com or click on the link we've provided. Ask your questions. Learn what options you have. See how simple it is to own metals outright. Don't wait for the next global shock or the next headline designed to make you wonder if anything's stable anymore. Do something steady and sensible today. metaxis goldirra.com. Thanks to our partners at Genesis Gold. Get ready to own something the global financial elites cannot mess with. Go to metaxis goldir.com. Well, it really is interesting to think where we are right now in the nation. Um, and I I think I just want to say to everybody, folks, praise the name of Jesus. Praise the God of the Bible. Thank him. Praise him. Uh, focus on him. It's easy to get sucked into all kinds of stuff. And there's something diabolical there. We have a very, very clever uh enemy uh in Satan. He's clever and he knows how to distract. And there's a lot of that going on because at the heart of everything is revival. There's revival happening. People have prayed for decades and decades uh to see what's happening right now to have Donald Trump back in the White House. Um wonderful things are happening. We're at the beginning of a golden age. Um in a couple of days we begin the super centennial year of America, the 250th. In case you didn't get the memo, it's the super centennial. America's super centennial. And I believe firmly that it's a year of blessing that God is blessing this nation. And as I often say, we're in the third existential crisis of our history. So we are in a war. But uh as with the revolution, as with the civil war, there's sacrifices, there casualties. People like my friend John Strand get put in solitary confinement for doing the right thing. There's evil, but God always wins. And I really do see the the the um the viciousness of the enemy right now because he knows that he is losing that people coming to faith in Jesus every day. Something is happening. There's a boldness that's been unleashed in the country. People are more willing to talk about God, about Jesus. I mean, it's it's a beautiful moment, but but we're we're in a war and we have to acknowledge that. And yet, God has called us to the war. It's why we're here. Absolutely. This is definitely a year of blessing, but also it's a year of revival as you said. And Eric, I think this is a year of revolution. And what I mean by that is I keep telling people as I have just announced that I filed to run for Congress in Florida's 19th congressional district that 2026 is our generation's 1776. And I I sincerely believe that this is a singular moment of choosing. This is a singular moment of destiny where we have an an a one-of-a-kind, once in a generation opportunity to reclaim the republic, to reclaim that which was lost and that which was destined for us, our birthright of liberty and justice and morality in this country. 2026 is the year we cannot miss this opportunity. And if you think back to the beginning of the country as we celebrate the 250 year anniversary when this country was born out of a revolution against tyranny, we know the great leader, the figure of George Washington, right? And and he was so powerful and important. But as he was standing there shivering, freezing cold in Valley Forge, on the verge of losing it all and and feeling defeat creeping around him, it wasn't only George Washington that fought and won the revolution to birth this country. There were soldiers that supported him. Not very many. It was a probably about a 3% remnant like in Gideon, but there was a remnant of of Minutemen that supported George Washington. So in 2026, we have our George Washington. That is clearly President Trump. The hand of God is on him. He's a man of incredible strength, of incredible patriotism and incredible talent uh business-wise and foreign relations. President Trump has done incredible things in this first year of his sec of his third term. But 2026 is our generation's 1776. We are at war. Just like you said, Eric, the dark forces of globalism, of communism, of Islamism, of wokeism, they are all combining to try to destroy us. We need soldiers to support President Trump in 26. We have to change the culture in Congress because that is where the the vast majority of our democratically chosen power through our elected representatives resides via article one of the constitution. We have to solve the congressional problem. So, I am asking people to join the fight at johnstrand.com as we lead an exciting race to win a congressional seat in an open district with a lot of support behind us already, but we need every patriot to jump in. johnstrand.com. Okay, so John Strand, um, what is the district in which you're running for Congress? It is Florida's 19th. I live in Naples. I escaped the communism of California four years ago to defend liberty and morality in Naples and Southwest Florida. And when I got out of prison, actually while I was in prison, God spoke to my heart and really called me to take the next step in this journey. He said, "If not you, then who? If not now, then when?" And there are so few men of character, courage, and and and integrity that are even willing to step into the political fray because it's disgusting. It's awful. So, as I've made that first step, I've realized how awful it is and why so few people do it. Uh, but that's why we have such a terrible government. Not very many good people are willing to do it. So, when I came out of prison, I learned that my congressional representative, Byron Donald's, a very consistent and fierce conservative, is stepping up to be the next governor of the free state of Florida. So, we're excited about Byron Donald's being our next governor. And his open seat where I live was a clear call for me to take the next step. So that's where we're running at John Strand. >> I'm glad you clarified that because I was not really clear. Maybe uh I forgot. But the idea that Byron Donald's who is great, he's a hero, the fact that he's running for governor. Um I don't know. Do they have term limits? Does D Santis have to step out? >> They do. It is term limits, which is a funny little wrinkle. Yeah. >> But how wonderful that we have such a deep bench that we have Ronda Santis, Byron Donald's, John Strand. I mean, you know, uh it's it is a wonderful thing that there are lots of folks whose names we didn't know a couple years ago, um that are suddenly in the forefront. And so we we have, as I say, a deep bench. Um it's it's exciting. I certainly hope that Byron Donald's does become governor. And I wonder what what I I I I hope Ronda Santis uh you know gets a job uh in the administration or something cuz he is such a hero himself. I don't know what he's thinking actually. >> Yeah, it'll be curious to see where his political journey continues, but certainly it's not over. Ronda Santis has been one of the greatest governors in our history. uh and he has done extraordinary work to set the standard for liberty in this country by making and keeping Florida the free state of Florida, especially by combating openly and aggressively the wokeism that really erodess uh the the strength of the natural nuclear family unit and our Judeo-Christian values overall. So Ronda Santis has been unapologetic, unwavering, and fierce in fighting and defending um what I'm going to fight and defend. And so in my mission going to Congress is specifically to defend the American worker, the American family, and ultimately the American dream. So uh with our campaign, John Strand, Patriot for Congress, we have three policy pillars that we really focus on, Eric. And the first one is sovereignty, which ultimately comes down to a question of immigration as well as protecting the sovereignty of our elections and your bodily sovereignty with medical freedom. We should ban all medical mandates of any kind. Period. End of story. Sovereignty is so critical to start with. As we all know, the immigration issue has been huge since President Trump first took office. Um Ronda Santis as a governor of Florida has done incredible work supporting that agenda with alligator Alcatraz and otherwise aligning with and supporting the president and the federal agenda with ICE to secure our borders to make sure the rule of law is upheld starting with when you enter this country and really making uh sensible common sense decisions about who and why do we allow someone to be in this. This is our country. It belongs to us. We are responsible for it. We have a a sacred duty from God to be stewards of what he's given to us. And understanding sovereignty and immigration and the rule of law is so critical to that. And that's why sovereignty is our first and foundational policy pillar. Hey there folks. Quick word from today's sponsor. When you hear about rockets, drones, missiles, or a terror attack in Israel, somebody has to rush in after the sirens. That is Men Davided Adome, Israel's National Emergency Medical Service. basically Israel's 911. They dispatch every ambulance in the country, take thousands of emergency calls every day, and they also collect, process, and distribute the nation's blood supply for civilians and the IDF. Since October 7th, Menan Devita Dome says they've lost 40 of their people, medical professionals, and 17 ambulances have been destroyed or disabled. And yes, sometimes medics and ambulances are intentionally targeted. But here's what's incredible. 90% of their 37,500 EMTs, paramedics, and first responders are volunteers. 90%. They keep showing up, yet they need the basics. 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Don't wait. Don't try to go it alone. Certainly, don't attempt to become your own lawyer. Let the professionals at legal help center handle this for you. Legal help center helping you know your rights and what your case is really worth. Well, and this is why we need civics education. In other words, everybody in America needs to understand this stuff. You cannot be a free people unless the people understand what we're talking about and so much more. Uh you can be a slave, you can be a subject, but you can't be a free self-governing citizen in a self-governing republic unless we the people, most of us, understand these things, live them out. As you know, John, I wrote a book called If You Can Keep It. And that's really the central idea is that Benjamin Franklin knew that the Constitution is utterly worthless unless we the people understand it, live it out. Otherwise, it's just a dead piece of paper. It doesn't do anything. We the people have to live out uh the ideas in it. Yeah. And you can't do that unless you understand our history. Unless you know our stories. Unless you know the lessons of of leadership, those who failed, those who won, how the battles went. >> Unless we Americans understand all of this stuff, unless we celebrate it, I mean, it's why I'm writing my book on the on the revolution, which title is revolution. Um, unless you kind of know this stuff, you can't really celebrate it. You can't teach it to your kids. you can't live it out. And we have had several generations that have drifted away from this. I mean, if you took a microphone in 1960 and went around on Main Street in America and asked people, they they knew all these names and all these they everybody knew it because of course you know it because it's you learn it in school. You celebrated you. It's part of the warp and woof of the culture that has gone away since the 60s. Yes. So that fewer and fewer people understand this and it is why we've been able uh to be manipulated. Uh it's why somebody like uh Joe Biden or whoever was running his campaign, they could steal an election, >> right? >> Um and when you're told not to ask questions, a lot of people thought, "Oh, I'm not going to ask." I mean, the spirit of America was nearly dead. >> Yeah. >> Uh and Trump says it over and over again. And I I I howl with laughter. He says, "We were almost dead." He goes, "Now we're the hottest country." And it's like, I certainly wouldn't put it that way. We're the hottest country. We're the sexiest, hottest country. I mean, I would [laughter] >> The point the point is >> that's where we want to go and we're on our way >> is is that we are um beginning to be who we're supposed to be again and we've got a long way to go, but we are on the way and it is a battle and folks like you are leading the way. I mean, I said I remember that, you know, when this whole J6 thing was going, I thought all those folks who have been in prison, whatever, they need to run for office. Now, maybe they can't all run for Congress the way you're doing, but >> they need to get involved because they have suffered. They have understood what happens even in a country like this. And again, it's hard for me to process when this stuff was happening. It was hard for me to process that this could be happening in America. I just thought not in America. Yeah. >> But but obviously it can happen anywhere and we have to be vigilant and we have to understand these things. Um >> like Ronald Reagan said, right? Freedom is always one generation away from extinction. So it can happen at any time when you forget. We also see this in the Bible with the nation of Israel. And God uses these stories to teach all of humanity the importance of remembrance, the importance of priorities and worship. God first and above all in the first commandment. And the founders said about the Constitution that it was a parchment barrier. So to your point, Eric, if you don't know it, if you don't practice it and if you don't defend it, it will be shredded and taken away from you. Um, and in the Bible, it says that my people perish for lack of knowledge. So everything you just said is so true and is so important that we have drifted. We have um abdicated our duty as a society and as families um to make hard tough righteous choices um to put our children above ourselves to put our our our community and church above ourselves to put our nation above ourselves. It was John F. Kennedy famously who said and we should continually pursue this. Ask not what your government can do for you. Ask what you can do for your for your country. Um, ask not what your church can do for you, but ask what you could do for your church. And ask not what God would do for you, but that that he would bless you and strengthen you and inspire you to serve him. because his desire for you, for all of us as believers, as children of God, is to be in community with God and to choose joy and to find purpose and to discover the incredible goodness and the eternal future of glory that he has destined for all of us. Well, that's so beautifully put. Uh I what you were saying earlier about next year being a year of revolution. I I mentioned that my book is titled Revolution. >> Perfect. not the American Revolution because to me >> the only real revolution was the American Revolution. So even to to say well we got to clarify it's the American Revolution. The French Revolution was a joke. It was it was a a failed tragic parody of the American Revolution. In some ways a diabolical parody and the Soviet Bolevik Revolution was an absolutely demonic parody. The only real revolution in human thinking uh to produce a country that is unique was the American Revolution. It was the a revolution in human thinking to bring into the history into history a nation unlike any that had ever existed. And again folks this is about American exceptionalism. Not that we Americans are better because we are not. But the ideas bequeathed to us by the founders which are come out of scripture, biblical ideas about how people can govern themselves to look directly to God, to have a covenant relationship with God that we're going to govern ourselves. We're we're answering to the high authority of God, not to some rulers or to some tyrants or or whatever. In the history of the world, nothing like it ever happened until 1776. And we've been given this glorious ability to live in a country like that and to to to keep the flame of liberty alive. We all have a responsibility. And so some of us will run for office like you, John. Um but we all have a responsibility. Maybe it's just to homeschool your kids to learn about this stuff. I think I think all of us have that responsibility in one respect or another. That's that's a critical element of the story that I have to share. I was homeschooled. I have such an incredible foundation in my life because my parents took the responsibility from God seriously that their children belong to them on this earth and that God entrusted them with a sacred stewardship to teach and raise their children in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it as Proverbs tells us. So my parents actually did that and homeschooling can look different for everybody. There are a hundred different ways to approach homeschooling. They could include micro schools, charter schools, private schools, but there's still an there's still an understanding and a heart for raising your own kids where I think homeschooling should be a part of the discussion and part of the the culture that we need. >> It is the way back, folks. It is the way back. Go. I travel all around this country. I meet homeschoolers and their parents. They're going to take over the world. God is raising up a generation. It is absolutely extraordinary. Gives me tremendous hope. Uh, you have no idea. Um, John, we're out of time. I want to tell people once again, johnstrand.com. Yes, John, we are just proud of you and we'll have you back uh in the new year. God bless you, my friend. >> Thank you so much, Eric. God bless you and the great United States of America. I'll see you next time. Cheers. Amen. >> During the horrors of the Holocaust, Corey Tenboom and her Dutch [music] family, as told in her classic book, The Hiding Place, risked everything to [music] shelter Jewish neighbors in their home. They were betrayed and sent to concentration camps. Yet Cory survived and went [music] on to preach forgiveness and hope around the world. That same redemptive spirit lives on in [music] 10 Boom Coffee. Working with Agro Cafe, an Israeli ag tech company, 10boom coffee helps farmers [music] around the world increase their harvests by 60%, improving both the quality of their beans and the quality of their lives. [music] So every cup you pour becomes part of a legacy, one that stands for courage, kindness, and redemption. Visit tenboomc coffee.com. That's 10boomc coffee.com. [music] Taste the goodness that changes lives. Use the code eric and save 10%. 10 tenboom coffee.com. [music] Use the code Eric. This Christmas as we celebrate the super centennial coming up. Superentennial 250th. There's no way uh better way to support it than by supporting my friend and American hero Mike Lindell. Uh he's one of the main sponsors uh on this program. He's the man behind My Pillow. He put his money where [music] his mouth is. Some of you know this if you've watched the program. He stood up for the country. He was unfairly cancelled by the big box stores. So, I want us to stand with him. So, please go to my pillow.com. Use a promo code Eric to save big on pillows, sheets, slippers, everything you need for Christmas comfort. You'll sleep great, save big, celebrate freedom with my pillow. Use the code Eric.