Controversial MAGA pastor exploits social media to attack LGBTQ+ youth and educators

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

Family members and associates of former President Donald Trump are increasingly aligning with Tim Thompson, a Southern California pastor known for his attacks on LGBTQ+ teachers and his derogatory comments about public education, which he has labeled as ‘Satan’s playground.’ Through his Inland Empire Family political action committee (PAC), Thompson is mobilizing Christian conservatives to oppose public education.

As the leader of 412 Church Temecula Valley, Thompson uses his platform to support Christian conservative candidates for school boards and protests against schools that employ LGBTQ+ educators. In one instance, he voiced objections to a man ‘dressed as a woman’ teaching young children.

Thompson has labeled the LGBTQ+ rights movement as ‘a religion’ intent on indoctrinating students, advocating for parents to withdraw their children from public schools and opt for homeschooling if they truly care about them. Recently, the Colorado Republican Party echoed a similar message to its members.

Thompson has utilized his Our Watch video streaming platform to host controversial figures like anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and to criticize public schools, including sharing videos of disturbing content such as ‘laser beams into their anus.’

In April, Thompson posted a video condemning Riverside High School’s Pride Week activities—featuring a drag performance, a scavenger hunt, and pronoun buttons—urging viewers to call the school to voice complaints. The school subsequently canceled the drag performance.

In his video, Thompson questioned, ‘Who’s the pervert that’s allowing this to happen on campus?’ He suggested that anyone approving such activities is a ‘pervert’ and called on Christian men to take action against it.

Thompson has also targeted individual educators. In one instance, he criticized two trans middle school students he accused of ‘boys … dressing out in the girls locker room.’ In May 2023, he denounced high school drama teacher Greg Bailey as a ‘perverted groomer’ for assigning the play Angels in America—a piece addressing the AIDS epidemic—as optional reading. Bailey faced a three-month leave due to the backlash.

In 2022, Thompson publicly named and shamed a Murrieta Elementary School teacher who started a ‘unity club’ to support bullied students. He accused the teacher of being a ‘groomer’ and criticized her for promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The club was disbanded after Thompson’s complaints, and the teacher was investigated by the school district. The teacher reported receiving aggressive threats online, with some followers of Thompson’s urging violence against her.

Thompson has also made appearances at events such as Turning Point USA’s gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and a 2020 ‘Freedom Rally’ against lockdowns, where he wore insignia of the Three Percenters anti-government militia.

In March, he urged conservatives to run for local school boards, framing the situation as a battle against ‘Satan’ and efforts to ‘indoctrinate children into filth.’ His PAC played a role in shifting the Temecula Valley Unified School District board to a right-leaning majority in 2022, leading to policies requiring teachers to disclose transgender students’ identities to their parents and rejecting a social studies book for mentioning gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Queer-affirming pastor Rachel Dennis criticized Thompson, stating that he is ‘destroying people in our town’ and accusing him of pursuing an extreme agenda supported by figures like Eric Trump and other MAGA affiliates. Thompson has welcomed Trump attorney Alina Habba to speak at his events and will host a fundraiser featuring Eric Trump and former Trump administration official Kash Patel.

Thompson claims that the Trump family is ‘very well aware’ of his activities. Maddy Ziegler, a staff attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), has complained to the IRS about Thompson’s alleged illegal partisan campaigning. Thompson responded defiantly on his talk radio show, inviting the IRS to take action, which he claims has not occurred.

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