Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has appeared at least four times on the Reformation Red Pill podcast, a far-right podcast hosted by Joshua Haymes, an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist who was also a former pastor at the church that Hegseth attends, The Guardian reported. 

The publication noted that Haymes wants to execute adulterers and people who have abortions, that he seemingly called for the deaths of LGBTQ+ Pride marchers, and also considers liberalism a greater threat to the nation than neo-Nazism.

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Haymes is aligned with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), a Christian Nationalist denomination that believes the United States should be subject to biblical law, and is both a member and former pastoral intern of the Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship church in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, where Hegseth and his family are members.

On August 5, Haymes posted a statement on X, which said, “I used to say homosexuality is no worse than other sins. All sin separates us from God after all! I was wrong. Sexual sin is uniquely evil. Sodomy is an abomination to God, along with crossdressing… It’s important for Christians to say so.”

While Haymes’ post included a Bible verse calling cross-dressing an “abomination,” Biblical laws also require the death penalty for anyone who practices fortune telling, curses their mother or father, accidentally kills someone else’s animal, or commits blasphemy. Other Old Testament laws demand death for anyone who charges interest on loans or works on Saturdays.

Most contemporary Christians don’t follow these ancient Biblical laws and say that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ made them obsolete. However, conservative Christians tend to cite anti-LGBTQ+ Bible verses as proof that God shares their hatred of LGBTQ+ people while ignoring Bible verses against other “sins”, like eating shellfish and wearing clothing made of two different fabrics.

On August 13, Haymes posted an image praising Italy for banning lesbian couples from becoming parents, writing, “By the grace of God, we will see this done in these United States.”

In October 2024, Haymes wrote on X, “Mutilating children, Or being an accomplice to mutilating children should be a capital offense. Jesus recommends execution by drowning.” 

The post included an image of a man being drowned in the ocean with a large millstone tied to his neck. The image refers to a New Testament Bible verse that says those who cause children to stumble or sin would be better off being drowned in the sea with a large millstone hung around their neck.

In a June 28 post, Haymes posted footage of marchers in the Nashville, Tennessee Pride Parade and wrote, “We’re short on millstones at the Nashville Pride parade. This is sick. This is child abuse.”

When asked about his post, Haymes told the aforementioned publication, “I do not advocate for violence against Pride marchers. I do not advocate for violence of any kind. I do not believe that anyone should be drowning anyone in this scenario… My role is simply to give that warning. Pride marchers who are sexualizing children are in for a very, very harsh judgment when they stand before their maker.”

When asked for a comment about Haymes, a Pentagon spokesperson pointed to a statement declaring that “[Hegseth] is a proud member of a church that is affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches which was founded by Pastor Doug Wilson. He is a very proud Christian and has those traditional Christian viewpoints.” 

Earlier this month, Hegseth reposted a video in which Wilson said he’d like laws against homosexuality to be reinstated in all 50 states.