STORY BY TOM DUNKET PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRYAN ANSELM/REDUX

HAtF MOON

AFTER THE REV. MOON DIED IN 2OI2, HIS CHURCH SPLIT APART TWO OF HIS SONS ESTABLISHED A NEW CONGREGATION THEIR FOLLOWERS ARE EAGERLY AWAITING THE END TIMES. AND THEYARE ARMED *.17 t 7 Is

Sanctuary Church - whose proper name is World Peace and Unification Sanctu- ary, but which also goes by the more muscular-sounding Rod of Iron Minis- tries - stands inconspicuously on a country road that winds through the village of Nev{oundland, Pa., 25 miles southeast of Scranton. The one-story low-slung building used to be St. Antho- ny's CatholicChurch. Beforethat, itwas a community theater, which is why there are no pews, only a semicircle of tiered seats facing the old stage, now an altar. On a Sunday morning in late Febru- ary, 38-year-old Pastor HyungJin "Sean" Moon, son of the late Rev. Sun Mlnrng Moon, entered stage right wearing a white hoodie and cargo pants. He strapped on a leather headband and picked up a microphone. "Okay, take it away," he said to the electric pianist and two female vocalists who function as the choir. Theylaunched into the first offour songs: "O, light ofgrace, shining above / lighting mydim shadowed way..." The 2oo-plus congregants packed into the room sang along with gusto. Pastor Sean stood by his front-row seat with his wife at his side, wringing his hands like an orchestra conductor. The song cycle ended and, after abriefprayer, he took center stage. "Look at all these crowns of sovereignty!" he exclaimed, gazing upon his audience. One tenet of the Sanctuary Church is that all people are independent kings and queens in God's Kingdom - akind of dont-tread- on-me notion of personal sovereignty.

Previous pages: Church members during a blessing ceremony at the Sanctuary Church in February. Left: Church attendants hold their assault rifles during the sermon. Hence, s)rmbolic gold and silver crowns hell out of that guy. This is the first time swarrn upon sleepy New4oundland for bobbed on row after row ofheads. weVe heard a president talk like that. the wedding-blessing ceremony - pro- This crowd was about twice the usual This is God's grace, folks." fessional gawkers lured by the incongru- size because this service was the wafin-up Virtually the entire congregation was ous coupling of semiautomatic rifles and for a renewal-of-marriage-vows cer- coming back on Wednesday for the big a house of worship. But the media circus emony scheduled for Wednesday morn- blessing ceremony, so he reviewed some also would quickly move on, without ing. Scores ofcouples alreadyhad arrived safety precautions, like securing rifle fully answering questions left dangling. fromJapan and . That ceremony - triggers with a zip tie: "Remember, folks, Who, exactly, are these Sanctuarians? officially, the "Cosmic True Parents of you can never take back a bullet." That And, with their injection of guns into the Heaven, Earth and Humanity Cheon Il was not to say worshipers couldnt pack country's already divisive mix of politics Guk Book of Life Registration Blessing' heat. Anyone with a concealed-carry and religion, what do theywant? - would cap aweekofactivities thatthus permit was welcome to bring their load- far had included an arts festival, a survival ed pistol Wednesday (their "mini rod of skills contest and a goat-butchering dem- iron") in addition to their AR-15. You onstration. never know, 'there may be a wolf in The wedding-blessing event was gen- sheep's clothing who tries to make trou- w erating nationwide attention - some- ble," said Pastor Sean. I thing new for Sanctuary Church, which, After delivering a few social announce- until now, hadnt even registered on the ments (parents seekjng marriage partners radar of the Pocono Record, the local for their adult children were meeting at 3 WHEN THE REV. daily newspaper. A key pillar of Sanctu- p.m.; tomorrow at 5 p.m. there would be died of complications from pneumonia in arydogmais the importance of owning a an AR-15 'trreakdown" tutorial on how to 20l.2 at age 92, it set offa power struggle gun, parficularly the lethal, lightweight properly disassemble the rifle), Pastor within his family. Sean, with backing AR-15 semiautomatic, which the Na- Sean delivered the meat ofhis sermon. He from older brother Kook Jin "Justin" tional Rifle Association has proclaimed plowed familiar ground at first, citing Moon, contends he was selected from "the most popular rifle in America." Last Bible passages where the "rod ofiron" was among his 10 adult siblings to inheritthe fall, Pastor Sean had studied the Book of used to smite evildoers. Pacing the altar, mantle and be Revelation. It makes multiple references he then segued into a freewheeling, gun- crowned the next-generation "Second to how Christ one day will rule his earthly fi re-and-brimstone diatribe. Kind' - not a full-fledged messiah like kingdom "with a rod of iron." Although 'You must shed the slave mentality and his father purported to be, but nonethe- Revelation was written long before the adopt the royal mentality. ... The Demo- less responsible for finishing the work of advent offirearms, Pastor Sean conclud- cratic Party has become the Communist building Gods Kingdom. Meanwhile, ed that "rod of iron" was Bible-speak for Party funded by Nazi collaborator C'eorge their mother, , claims the the AR-15 and that Christ, not being a Soros. ... The fake ministers and fake Rev. Moon, her husband of 52 yearc, "tyrant," will need armed sovereigns to priests are pushing a dictator-Christ." He passed the baton to her. help him keep the peace in his kingdom. took potshots at some favorite taxgets: The church they were fighting over As a result, a recent Sanctuary Church Hillary Clinton ("she was paying for the has roots in both Korea and America. news release had noted that 'blessed Russian dossier"), Pope Francis ('a social- The Rev. Moon - bornin 192o inwhatis couples are requested" to bring with them is! communist devil) and government now North Korea but was then part of to the upcoming Book of Life ceremony that gets too big for its britches. "Jesus Japan - said Jesus appeared to him an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle "or equiva- never centralized power. Jesus never cre- when he was 15 and asked him to take on lents." This was unfortunate timing for ated government," he said. 'The worst the "special mission" ofcompleting God's the Church: The next day a young man killer in all of humanity the last one Kingdom on earth, Cheon Il Guk in his walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas hundred years is centralized govemment." native Korean. First, however, he went High School in ParHand, Fla., and killed He showed a video clip of younger off to study electrical engineering in 1/ people with an AR-15. Shooters had Church members undergoing quasi para- Japan and got arrested (and tortured) used that same model rifle to carry out military training as Sanctuaqy's standby twice for his activity in the Korean inde- mass murders in Las Vegas; Orlando; Peace Police/Peace Militia. They shoot pendence movement. He returned San Bernardino, Calif.; and other cities. rifles on the run in the woods. They wear home, married and bfter World War II That latest tragedy was freshly im- camo for the Lord. They learn Filipino moved to Sonryang, where the commu- printed on millions of minds, among knife fighting. "It's not about being a nist government threw him in a labor them Pastor Sean's. He eased into his badass. It's about practicing to be deadly camp for preaching Christianity. When hour-long Sunday morning sermon by because you love people," Pastor Sean that camp was liberated near the end of reminding everyone of what President told his flock. '"The way ofthe rod ofiron is the KoreanWar, Moonheaded south. Trump had pointed out after the Park- thewayoflove." He established a church in Seoul in land shooting: "He said if the teachers In a few days, reporters, photogra- 1954,, dubbing it the Holy Spirit Associa- were armed, they would have shot the phers and TV camera crews would tion for the Unification ofWorld Christi-

LO May27t2Ot8 anity. He codifiedhisbeliefs in atexttitled 'lT's Nor What's more, each one had written an "Divine Principle." One core construct endorsement letter from the Great Be- says Satan seduced Eve in the Garden of ABOUT BEING yond. "People ofAmerica, rise again. Re- Eden. This caused'the fall" ofhumankind A BADASS. turn to the nation's founding spirig" said by eontaminating the bloodlines she and Thomas Jefferson, once characterized as a Adam transmitted through Cain and IT'S ABOUT 'howling atheist" by political opponents. Abel. God sent Jesus to serve as a Second PRACTICING "Followthe teachings of Rev. Sun M1'ung Adam to find sin-free love and salvage the Moon, the Messiah to all people." family of man. But Jesus didnt live long TO BE DEADLY Jefferson was, of course, one of the enough to marry. It thus became Sun BEGAUSE architects ofAmerica's system of govern- Myung Moon's destiny to step in as a LOVE ment - whichwillbecome obsolete ifthe Third Adam and redeem the world. YOU Rev. Moon's vision of God's Kingdom on His ministry put a premium on the PEOPLE,' earth comes to pass. Pastor Sean is sanctity of traditional marriage and con- SAYS SEAN convinced thatwill happen, and in prep- demned premarital sex, divorce and aration, he has taken it upon himself to homosexuality. That conservative mes- MOON. ITH E write a Constitution ofthe United States sage found an audience in Seoul, though WAY OF THE ofCheon Il Guk, grounded in principles police arrested him twice - for suspicion articulated by his father. of having religious sex orgies and ducking ROD OF IRON If all proceeds according to divine the draft. (Both charges ultimately were IS THE WAY plan, the country will be ruled by mon- dropped.) By 1957, he d built a network of archs drawn from his branch ofthe Moon 3O churches and was wired into the South OF LOVE.' family. If the Kingdom comes in Sean's Korean business community and govern- lifetime, hell take the reins as king of the ment. The only glitch was that his own United States. Brother Justin - who marriage proved imperfect, ending in serves as Sanctuary Church's de facto divorce. However, Hak Ja Han soon en- assistant pastor - is set to be inspector tered his life. They married in 196O, and general, a super special prosecutor followers hailed them as God's anointed charged with rooting out government 'True Parents." comrption. Dont worry. It's not a theoc- Adecadelaterthe Rev. Moon cameto racy, Sean says: 'TVe would refer to it as a the United States, a necessary foothold libertarian Christian monarchy or maybe for uniting the planet under his Unifica- a libertarian republican democrary." tionbanner. Moon spun aweb offounda- tions and interlocking companies, re- portedly becoming 's first billionaire. His followers were untrou- bled by his wealth, but Congress investi- T gated his empire, and then the Internal I Revenue Service came a{ter him. In the mid-$eos Moon served 13 months in prison for failure to declare $162,000 in THE MOONS PRIMARILY RAISED THEIR ta,xable income. Ever the entrepreneur, 13 children on an estate north of New he made arrangements in prison to start York City owned by the Unification the conservative WashinSon Times, say- Church. The main house at East Garden ing he did it "to fulfill God's desperate had rz bedrooms, seven bathrooms and desire to save this world." Church minions catering to their every Unification Church membership fig- need. Butlife was farfrom idyllic. One son ures have always been elastic, ranging died in a car accident, another committed from tens ofthousands to several million. suicide and a third succumbed at a rela- In 2OO9, cited tivelyyoung age to drinking and drugs. 11O,OOO "adherents." Whatever the cor- Sean Moon wrote about the downside rect number, it had peaked by the late of their gilded childhoods in a 2OO5 199Os. Yet the Rev. Moon pressed on. In memoir.'lMe grew up manytimes seeing 2OO3, a double-page ad in the Washing- Parents one ortwoweeks, combined over ton Times trumpeted this news: All 36 various visits, out of the year," he re- deceased American presidents acknowl- called. "I many times felt scared, aban- edged Sun Mlmng Moont greatness. doned, and neglected. ... We were sur-

The Washington Post Magazine 11 rounded, constantly, by [Church] mem- ofourlives we sharedthe same room, the bers. ... I sat and seethed in anger many same video games, and the same Doritos nights, as I drifted offto sleep." chips," Sean wrote in his memoir. Rev. Moon fancied himself an out- In Jrily 2oof, the prodigal son returned doorsman. There were guns around the to the fold ofthe Unification Church. Sean mansion, and, at 14,, Justin fired one. It had telegraphed his intentions the previ- was love at first recoil: By 18 he had a ous fall by doing 12,ooo prayer bows over permit to carry. He went on to major in six days; on one ofthose days he also made economics at Harvard and earn an MBA a poster-size calligraphy of the Korean at the University of Miami, tinkering character seong ('sincere"), using a paint- with gun designs in his spare time. After brush dipped in his blood, which had been graduate school he opened KahrArms in extracted by a physician. office space across the Hudson River Sean's initial job was pastor of a from East Garden, using a $5 million Unification Church in Seoul. Within 10 loan from his father. His immediate goal, months, he was put in charge of interna- he later told American Handgunner tional Church operations. On three cer- magazine, was to create "an ultracom- emonial occasions, he says, his father pact 9-millimeter pistol." And he did. named him "heir and successor." Howev- Kahr introduced its palm-size K9 er, he also sent conflicting signals to model in 1995; people and police depart- oldest brother Preston and to Hak Ja ments gobbled it up. Justin's success Han. A few days after her husband's with the companycaughthis fathefs eye. passing in 2o12, Hak Ja Han summoned Kahr soon was absorbed into one of the Sean to the magnificent Peace Palace the Unification Church's corporations. Jus- Moons had built in the mountains north tin moved to Korea to take on the added ofSeoul. According to Sean, she put him role of president of a sister subsidiary. By on notice that "I'm God.I'm Hanamin." 1999, Kahr had enough cash to buy the To which he replied, "Mummy, please, company that produced the storied you cant say that. Father's not going to Thompson submachine gun once toted behappy." by gangsters such as Baby Face Nelson. He says she phased him out of Church The Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, Fire- activities and stopped taking his phone arms and Explosives reports Kahr sold calls. In September 2013, on the first

L4 May27t2OI8 Catholie church in New{oundland. family." And, yet, she thinks healing and water and afewpush-ups. Repeat, repeat. Members voluntarily have dug into their reconciliation is possible. "I still believe in More guidance. Usi.rg his son as a prop, pockets, contributing $683,000 in 2015 the unityofmyfamily," she says. Sean stopped at one pointto demonstrate and $+91,ooo forthe first six months of There seemingly is not much interest the kimura hold, a double-wrist lock you 2o16. Afoundation Justin runs in broth- in reconciliation on the part ofherbroth- can put on an opponent's shoulder and er Phillip's name supports Sanctuary ers, however. Indeed, kicking Mom out upper arm. "Once we have the kimura with grants (almost $38o,ooo combined of the family tree was not enough to position, we're goingto capturethe shoul- in 2o15 and 2016), plus it bought the satisfy Justin Moon. At a question-and- der with chest pressure," he said while church site. That revenue stream should answer session with Church members in tying his son in a knot. "Basically, you're keep the lights burning for the foresee- 2O16, he explained that ifa queen tries to sitting on the head so it doesnt move." able future and Pastor Sean's camou- usurp a king's throne, the ultimate price "He explains things well," said Doug flage-colored Jeep Wrangler on the road. mustbe paid: "It's the king's responsibili- Williams, a retired police officer and In January 2o15, Sean publicly re- ty to arrest her and execute her." Sanctuarian who lives next door and nounced his mother for hijacking the Any second thoughts about Hak Ja studied judo in his younger days. "He's Unification Church and rewriting and Han having committed a capital offense? strict, buthe's inspiringatthe same time. editing his fathefs religious texts. He has Sitting at his office desk one morning, The kids knowthat." since taken to calling her the "whore of sporting his ever-present Kahr Arms They obediently ground each other's Babylon." Last September, Sanctuary baseball hat, Justin told me he stands by faces into the mat for two hours. Every- Church shunted Hak Ja Han aside, and a his earlier remarks: "It's a comment on one then knelt and recited the Lord's posthumous wedding was thrown for the the record. I'm not going to walk it back." Prayer in unison. Sean li{ted his arms Rev. Moon. He (well, his spirit) married All he was willing to do was change the and murmured, "All gloryto God." Class Bo-year-old Hy'un Shil Kang supposedly analory: "I love my mother," he said, but dismissed. the first person to join his ministry in the what if she attempted to overthrow the Sean Moon never raises his voice early t9sos. She moved to Pennsylvania U.S. government? "She should probably teaching juji*u in the garage. Inside the to live with Sean andhis family. be tried for treason." house, however, he regularly unleashes Hak Ja Han did not comment on the higher-octane side of his personality. specific allegations made by her son, but Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday Ki Hoon Kim, continental chairman of from 5 to 8 a-m., Pastor Sean records a live the Family Federation for World Peace webcast, called'The King's Report," in a and Unification USd responded in an A room next to the kitchen. He sits at a desk email: "I know with certainty that Dr. with anAR-15 rifleprominentlydisplayed Moon has reached out to her son, Hlrrng next to his microphone, always decked Jin, numerous times since February - out in a shirt and tie, the camouflage suit 2013 asking him to come back to Korea A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, SANCTUARY jacket he bought on eBay, and a crown to meetwith her, buthe has refused each Church bought a larger house for Pastor made of polished rifle shells. He'll inter- request. ... We cant know exactly what Sean, his wife and their five children. view an occasional guest and show clips took place in private discussions between Heaven's Palace is perched on a hill from the NRAt digital TV channel. But mother and son, but it's clear that he overlooking Matamoras, the eastern- mostly he discusses the latest stories being holds an escalating resentment towards most town in Pennsylvani4 hard by the featured by his conservative-media holy her. ... Even if Dr. Moon had made such a Delaware River. Sean has a brown belt in trimty - the Drudge Report, Breitbart statement [that she is God], it is in line Brazilian jujitsu and several nights a News and Alex Jones's paranoia-pushing with our theological beliefs that she and weekteaches a class inside his converted Infowars - and riffs at length about her husband are one with C.od, jupt as garage. The students are Church mem- current events, from Oprah Winfrey's Jesus said, 'I and the Father are One.' " bers, most in their 2os, and most ofthem potential presidential bid ("She worships , second oldest of the aetive in the so-called Peace Police/ Satan. She promotes the NewAge Chris- surviving children, took an active role in Peace Militia. tian viewof God, which is a relevant God, the Unification Church until about eight On a Wednesday in late March, eight which is, of course, Satan") to gun-control yeaxs ago. She currently lives in New women and five men paired up for a advocates ("Theyare complete demons. ... Jersey and has never before spoken out practice session, trading positions as They want to make you completely vul- publicly about Sean and Justin. Howeveq Moon guided them through a series of nerable to the predations ofthe wicked"). she says, "the language that's coming out jujitsu holds and mini bouts. Dressed in a While the Rev. Moon seldom indulged of Sanctuary Church is quite alarming," so salmon-colored kimono top and loosefit- in personal attacks, Sean and Justin regu- she feels obliged to raise her voice. She ting black pants, he sat yoga-style on his larly toss verbal grenades. They're also loves her brothers 'ferociously'' but says knees facingthe class. "Workit! Thereyou more enarnored with guns than their fa- that the possibility their commingling of go! Thats definitely burning it into your ther - and more overtly political. "No God and guns could inadvertently incite muscle memory your hippocampus." question about it," Sean told me one violence "is the great concern for the A burst ofaction. A pause for sips of aftemoon as we chatted in the orchestra

The Washington Post Magazine 15 section of the theater-turned-sanctuary: Warehouse showroom-store, the place to God's hand was at work in the 2o16 go for rifles, pistols, knives andthe Brook- presidential campaign. A week before lyn Smasher steel baseball bat that in an Election Day, Justin spoke to a group of emergency can be used to club an intrud- Japanese Sanctuarians who were visiring er or a deer to death. The grand-opening Pennsylvania and described in biblical guest of honor was Eric Trump. '1[hat terms what was at stake: Hillary Clinton, came about because God made it hap- he said, was the "Fallen Eve" who would pen," Justin told me. Somebody {iom the start a war (possibly nuclear) with Russia. Trump campaign had called him out of Donald Trump was the'Adam-type fig- the blue and said, "Eric wants to come." ure" who wanted to attack and 'bring So Eric came, and Sean introduced judgment on the government, on the arch- him by saying: "It's my opinion that we angel." Depending on the outcome, he must elect a president that will protect added, "the nature of God's judgment on and expand the right to bear arms. ... I this world will be dramatically different." hopewe can all agree that Hillary Clinton Both Moons shoot straight on and off should never be the president of the the firing range. Sean on Al Gore: 'A United States. ... C.od bless the U.SA, fricking nutbag." Sean on 9/11: "False and please buy some guns and ammo!" flag." Sean on Hollyvood liberals: '"The Eric, in an open-collar shirt and dark most despicable, thieving, conniving, ma- sports jacket, stood in front of a wall of Taxidermied animals nipulating, evil, wicked, iniquitous de- rifles andnextto aU.S. flag. "This election shot Lly Kook Jin mons on the planet."Justin onthe United for every gun owner is a huge thing. It will "Justin" Moon on Nations: "Satanic." Justin on welfare re- be the difference between adding to our safari in Tanzania cipients: "Parasites." Justin on Demo- Second Amendment freedoms or not are on display in the crats: 'There are a lot of pedophiles in the adding to our Second Amendment free- showroom at Kahr realize that doms," he said, then switched to thetopic Arms'Tommy Gun Democratic Party. They Warehouse, which Trump is coming to get them. Literally. ofAmerica hemorrhagingjobs.'IMe dont he owns. Right: Round them up and put them in prison make anl,thinghere anyrnore. That's why Justin Moon at the and execute them." Justin deserves a tremendous, tremen- warehouse. He is Their straight talk caught up with dous round of applause. ... Our govern- Sean Moon's older them three weeks before the blessing ment does not make it easy on you, either brother, ceremony. The Southem Poverty Law from a shooting perspective or from a Center, which monitors extremists, issued manufacturing perspective." a "Hate Watch" on Sanctuary Church - A year and a half later - on a ironically, further raising its profile. SPLC Saturday night before the renewal-of- took issue with a " leadel' urging vows ceremony - Rod of Iron Ministries followers to carry guns and with com- and Kahr Arms hosted a "President ments Sean made about public school Trump Thank You" dinner at the Best children "getting indoctrinated into the Western in Matamoras. This time the homosexual political agenda" and "the only Trump in attendance was a life-size transgender agenda." Sean responded by cardboard cutout ofthe president. posting an alert ofhis own on Facebook: The event doubled as a fundraiser for "southern Poyerty Law Center is well Gun Owners ofAmerica an organization known as an extreme left hate group." Executive Director Emeritus Larry Pratt said takes "a more robust position" on guns than the NRA Pratt lives in North- ern and served one term in the House of Delegates inthe early 198os. His I dinner speech not only denounced any I restrictions on gun sales and possession, it went a giant step furtherby asserting'the feds should have nothing to do with law IN DECEMBER 2013, JUSTIN MOON enforcement anlwhere." paid $2 million in cash for a 62o-acre Sean Moon echoed that ultraliber- industrial site north of Nev{oundland. tarian theme. "Government is becoming On Aug. 30, 2016, he held the grand a totalitarian crime syndicate," he opening of Kahr Arms' Tommy Gun warned, on its way to creating "a dystopi-

LO May27,2OL8 an, Christ-hating hell on earth." Justin alluded to his father, saying, "without our propertyand our guns, we're nothingbut laborers in acommunist death camp." The dinner opened with a moment of silence for the Parkland shooting vic- tims, followed by a prayer led by Sanctu- arian Ted O'Grady, who gave thanks for Trump: "This room knows that this is onlythe beginning ... thatyou will be the president that ushers in God's Kingdom on earth." It ended with Hyrn Shil Kang, Mrs. Moon No. 3, selecting the winning raftle ticket for the door prize: an AR-15 rifle donatedby KahrArms. The winnerwas a middle-aged woman whose reaction was surprisingly muted; it turned out she alreadyowns anAR-15. A few days later, on Wednesday morning, about 2O demonstrators gath- ered outside Sanctuary Church armed with only signs. "Father Forgive Them." "Pickles for Peace, No More Absurd than Guns for God." As a precaution, all students at the elementary school a dressed in combat fatigues. Nert came A group of protesters outside the half-mile awayhad beenbussed to other Pastor Sean, the "Second King," and his Sanctuary Church. classrooms for the day. But no wolves in wife, Yeon Ah Lee Moon, the "Queen," sheep's clothing tried to make trouble. both clad in white. Justin Moon was on John Hind, a lifelong Net{oundland- their heels, his dark suit topped offby his er, soaked in the scene from his front baseball hat. Mother Kang took a seat in porch across the street. "They're good a white-and-gold chair on the altar. A of Korean Sanctuarians unfurled a 2o- neighbors," he said ofthe Sanctuarians. crown was placed on the chair next to foot-long banner referencing their di- "Ihey havent bothered nobody." her, representingthe absent Rev. Moon. vided country: "Thankyou USA. We will "Butthey're weird," snorted his ffiend Pastor Sean carried a bound copy of never forget America's grace. Trump Carol Wood, puffing a cigarillo. "And the Constitution ofthe United States of chosen by God, relocate the tactical blessing their guns? It's confusing and Cheon Il Guk, which he carefullylaid on nucleus to the 38th line." A chest-high it's irritating." a table on the altar. His wife cradled a rail fence runs along the properby line, Inside the church, Timothy Elder, gold-plated AR-15. "The King and hugging the road. The Sanctuarians acting as master of ceremonies, in- Queenwill nowplacethe Rodof Iron on occupied one side, the protesters com- formed the overflow congregation and its ceremonial stand where it will guard manded the other. some 50 reporters and cameramen lin- the Constitution," Elder explained. Two adversaries faced off in gentle- ing the walls (plus about a hundred The brides gnd grooms in attend- manly mouth-to-mouth combat. Gideon people watching a video feed in the ance, some 5OO total, jointly sipped Raucci is a second-generation Unifica- adjacent community room) that "this is from tiny cups of wine. They took their tionist in his late 2os who switched not ablessing of inanimate firearms." It vows ("Do you promise an eternal bond allegiaace to Sanctuary Church. He's was strictly a recommitment of sacred as husband and wife?"). The King said active in Sean's Peace Police. Teddy wedding vows - for people bearing an extended prayer, acknowledging Hose, 39, is a writer-graphic artist who firearms. their "right to sovereignty, the right to flew in from San Francisco. He was part Just before 1o:3o, Elder asked every- keep and bear arms, the right to inherit of afilm crew shooting a documentary on one to remove their AR-15s from their the earth and protect it from socialism, . He's also a second-generation Uni- cases, "being careful to point the muzzle communism and political ." ficationist who grew up neax East Gar- up and remove your finger from the Husbands and wives then exchanged den in close contact with the Moon trigger." Camera shutters clicked crazily. rings. The sanctuary filled with ap- family. Hose left the Church years ago. Attendants in pink-and-white vestments plause, then cheers. "It can take just one bullet to change led a procession into the sanctuary fol- Outside a polite battle of words everything," he told Raucci. lowed by athree-man, arrned color guard raged. On the front lawn, a contingent "I totally hear you about being re-

tg May 27,.2OI8 rang group per se, 'but I certainly hope and sponsible with guns," Raucci replied. forwarded to his cellphone, which expectthe FBI is watchingthem closely." "What I feel is not coming across to shortly after he entered the showroom. It put the For second-generation Church mem- the rest of the community around you, was a New Jersey area code. He bers, these choices are more emotionally this is scaring people ..." call on speaker phone. complex. The Unification Church is the '1fhis might open up somethingbeau- "Are you f---ing insane! You don't anchor theyte known. Andrew tiful where people understand where knowthe meaning ofreligion! You ought only Stewart's parents raised him in the we're coming from," Raucci said. 'Your to be ashamed of yourselves !" Church. He spent several college sum- focus is on loving your neighbor, I'm A minute later, another call came in. "I was wondering if mers as an intern on a nondenomina- totally down with that. ... We're taught to OHahoma area code: people your tional farm near Newfoundland, where never be the initiators of violence." you're accepting more into got exposed to Sanctuary Church. He "David Koresh and Charles Manson group." Hanna told the man he could he helped with some minor building reno- both used the Book of Revelations," Hose catch Sanctuary services on YouTube. "I vations and attended Sunday services. reminded him, 'trecause it's a very ex- Another call. British Columbia. love The vibe grew progressively darker, he treme part ofthe Bible." whatyou guys are doing. I love Sean." Although personally fond of many It went back and forth like that for 'Thankyou, brother," said Hanna' said. people he met, it struck him as odd that, about 1O minutes. Then they reached HakJa Han's ascensionto thehead of ef- theologically, "the Church thrives offthe over the fence, and hugged. the Unification Church had ripple He gradu- fects, and manyhundreds ofpeoplefaced abilityto make people angry." the same decision the Hannas did. allydrifted awayfrom Sanctuary and this Friendships got torn apart, marriages spring left the Unification Church, too. blew up and families were divided as Somiya Chapman Gabb - whose T Church members declared different loy- fatherwas part ofthe Unification Church I alties. Most Unificationists stayed with support staff at East Garden - was so the parent church; some went with Pas- offended by Hak Ja Han's revising of she tor Sean; a few followed oldest brother Rev. Moon's religious texts that jumped to Sanctuary in early 2o15. She THE DAY AFTER THE BLESSING CER- Preston Moon, who established a secular and her husband were then living in emony Regis Hanna, a Georgetown Global Peace Foundationin Seattle. Oth- Yonkers, N.Y., a three-hour round-trip University graduate in his late 6os who ers quitthe movement altogether. drive. But she and her family felt increas- recently moved to Pennsylvania to join Kyle Toffey, 65, was a longtime Unifi- with Sanctuary's often the Sanctuary Chgrch congregation, cationist who lived in Korea for 1o years' ingly out of tune "scathing" sernons. Also, a member of walked into Kahr Arms'TommY Gun He admitted to me that "at first it did the congregation told her that another Warehouse showroom with his wife, sound a little bit offthe wall" when Pastor Sanctuarian had pulled a loaded gun on Nancy. Right inside the door stands a Sean added an AR-15 twist to the bless- partici- him. By the end of 2017, the Gabbs taxidermy triptych: a lion and a leopard ing ceremony, buthe andhis wife "reserve my stopped making that long Sunday drive attacking an antelope, all three animals pated. He has learned to judgment. to Pennsylvania. They read the Bible and shot by Justin Moon on safari in Tanza- skepticism" and trust Sean's pray at home now. Gabb thinks "there's nia. "Infowars" was playing on the big- Plus, he has grown to aPPreciate the that still hope" that Sanctuary Church can screen TV. Posters of beautiful women responsibility and self-confidence right itself but said Sean Moon "is one in spiked heels, flashing slit skirts and comes with being armed: "In the morn- from a violent situation and Kahr pistols, adorn two walls. Hanna ing when you strap on a pistol, you feel word away he may not even know it." was thinking of buying a handgun. He like the sheriffofthe town." moved here from Panama, where gun Dan Fefferman used to worshiP with laws are strict and where he spent 21 Regis Hanna at.a Unification Church in years doing missionary work for the Washington. He andhis wife were mar- Unification Church. He and Nancy did a ried in the same Sroup ceremony as the unwed Hannas. They live in Bowie, Md., now I lot of family counseling with I couples. Theirs was one of the early and stayed with the Unification Church, American marriages arranged by the but Fefferman visited Sean Moon's con- Rev. Moon. They've been together 43 gregation several times. INDIVIDUALLY, SANCTUARY CHURCH years andhave seven children. 'A lot of us went to check it out," come aeross as honest, reason- Afterthe Unification Church ruptute' Fefferman said in a Phone intervieq members able, upright folk, the stuff of good the Hannas chose to cast their lot with 'hopingwe couldtalk sense into him." In "attract neighbors. Collectively, the dynamic Pastor Sean. Regis, around-faced man of his opinion, the Moon brothers changes. So much of the Church dis- mellow temperament, is now Part of the more unbalanced members" that can course cant abide contrasting opinions Sanctuary's paid staff, and today it was be found in anyreligious . He consid- a and worldviews. You dont hear much his job to field any post-ceremony calls. ered Rod oflron a"far-rightgroup with or empathy for, the poor, the The Church's main number had been paramilitary aspect to it." Not a hate talk about,

The Washington Post Magazine 19 TOBEA infirm, the weak. Most enewating, though being a neutral country may though, is the steady drumbeat of dysto- have a little something to do with that. D EVO UT pia. To be a devout Sanctuarian requires President Trump was doing a fine SAN CTUAR IAN almost superhuman faith in the cleans- job implementing God's plan, the way ing waters of catastrophe. It s like stand- Pastor Sean saw it - that is, until he REQUTRES ing on the deck ofthe Titanic and rooting signed the omnibus spending bill that ALMOST for the icebergs. added another trillion dollars to the Justin Moon told me we've entered national debt. Then came the April SUPERHUMAN "that End of Times time frame" prophe- airstrikes on Syria. Afew days later Sean FAITH IN THE sied in the Book of Revelation, when Moon addressed these developments in God and "his champions" will "take the a "King's Report" webcast: "This is very, CLEANSI NG political power in the earth" away from very disturbing for the actual Trump WATERS OF Satan. Viewed through that lens, the supporters who got him elected. We 2O16 election was "very different." Actu- don't want war. We're sick of foreign GATASTROPHE. ally, hugely different. "I believe God is entanglements. ... He's eompletely do- IT'S LI KE using Donald Trump," he said, a senti- ing a 18o. He's becoming frickin' Hillary STANDING ON ment his brother shares. "He is an Clinton. ... If he continues down this imperfect person, a sinner, but God has road, America is dead, folks. ... He's a THE DECK OF chosen to use him. Just like King David man with many flaws, many sins, and THE TITANIC was an imperfect person." now he's capitulating to the most evil The apocalyptic events predicted in wickedness on the planet." AND ROOTING the Bible began unspooling, Justin ex- That wickedness kept getting worse. FOR THE plained, during his father's lifetime: The day he recorded this particular World War II, the Cold War, famines, "Kint's Report," news broke that the ICEBERGS. disease epidemics and "the continuing judge overseeing the court case of the confusion we see today." Biblical time- president's personal attorney, Michael lines are unpredictable, but he is confi- Cohen, had officiated at the 2013 wed- dent the End of Times and the corre- ding of George Soros ("the Antichrist; he sponding advent of Cheon I1 Guk will has his Rothschildfingers in everything," come in his son's lifetime, if not his own. Pastor Sean moaned) and Nanry Pelosi His father, the Rev. Moon, said so. was a guest. The fixis in, he said. Oneway Sean Moon's Constitution of the or another, the "deep state" is going to United States of Cheon Il Guk is a takeTrumpdown. powerful document. Itthrows the coun- Then again, for Pastor Sean, the good try in reverse and then steps on the gas. news is that all this bad news is actually Considerjust these few provisions: The great news. He perceived a hidden hand House of Representatives will elect the at work, puzzling it out live on "The president. The king will pick Supreme King's Report." The quicker the country Court justices. Congress cannot levy goes down the toilet, the quickerAmeri- income taxes or property taxes; nor can cans will come to their senses and em- it fund health care, education, Social brace the Rod oflron and Cheon Il Guk. Security or Medicare. The constitution It now appears to him that God is using specifically states there will be no Cen- Trump to run America into the ground, tral Bank, Environmental Protection not make it great again. "\Me didnt know Agency or national police force. exactly how it would unfold," Pastor Oh, and there will be no standing Sean told his fellow Sanctuarians, You- military of any kind. Justin Moon says Tube watchers and the world, 'but we the United States will follow the "Swiss knew that in the end times, it gets worse model" of national defense. For exam- before it gets better."r ple, he says, the Swiss Air Force has a small number of paid managers who Tom Dunkel is the author of 'Colnr schedule airplane maintenance and de- Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke sign training regimens, but citizen vol- Baseballk Color Line" and is at utork on unteers take care ofall the planes and fly a book about the Gennan resistance in A member of defense WorldWar To cornment onthis story, Sanctuary Church them, too. He says the Swiss II. during February's system has kept Switzerland safe and email wpmagazine @w ashpost.conx or blessing ceremony. secure for a long time. This is true, r: is it u as hin gt onp o s t. c om,/maga.zinn.

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