We need to talk about the King's Army & Christian Fascism

TetleysTLDR: The summary

In October 2025, a group calling itself the King’s Army marched through Soho in black tracksuits, chanting “Jesus saves” — a chilling show of Christian-nationalist intimidation in one of Britain’s safest queer spaces. This is no eccentric sect but the UK face of a transatlantic Christian-fascist movement imported from the US, blending far-right nationalism, End-Times prophecy and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Behind talk of “restoring Britain to God” lies a drive to impose theocracy, erase queer visibility and roll back pluralism. Humanists UK warn that US networks like Alliance Defending Freedom have poured millions into Europe to fuel such agendas. The King’s Army’s spectacle was a declaration of dominance — faith weaponised as fear. We must name it for what it is: fascism in a crucifix, a Taliban in tracksuits — and confront it through solidarity, visibility, and political resistance before it claims Britain’s streets as holy ground.

TetleysTLDR: the long bit

The streets of Soho are meant to belong to us, all of us, they are supposed to be a safe place for both LGBTQ+ and their allies:  the neon-lit heart of queer survival, liberation, laughter and defiance.  But into that space has marched something rotten: a group that styles itself the 'King’s Army'. Not with pride flags or confetti, but in black tracksuits, military-like formation and Biblical slogans. 

We must wake up. Let’s call them what they are: Christian fascists: imported from the United States, adapting their playbook for these British streets, mobilising against the gay community and broader pluralism. 

The King’s Army: what we’re actually seeing In London, October 2025, a so-called 'Christian nationalist mob' under the banner of the King’s Army (or equivalent) marched through Soho, wearing uniform-style tracksuits, forming rows, chanting ‘Jesus saves’ and making plain they were not fellow citizens of a plural society, they were conquerors. 

This is not metaphorical; it is direct. This movement sits squarely in the terrain of what the charity Humanists UK calls ‘Christian nationalism’, the belief that a nation’s identity must be explicitly Christian, and that secularism, diversity and queer lives are not just tolerated but actively under threat. The Humanists UK

Their rhetoric: 'spiritual army… opposed to sin and cultural decay… a coalition of Christians who believe it’s time for the Church to stop living like civilians and start fighting like soldiers'.  By ‘sin’ and decay' they mean the LGBTQ+ community, secular humanism and liberal values. More than harassment, it’s intimidation and a demonstration of power.

In reality the so-called 'King’s Army' is less a church than an apocalyptic death cult wrapped in evangelical cosplay.  It fuses far-right nationalism, Christian Zionism, and End Times prophecy into a single fever dream: the belief that rebuilding the Third Temple in Jerusalem will hasten Christ’s return, and the annihilation of anyone who doesn’t fit their script.  Behind the pious language of 'prophecy' lies a militant agenda: total submission to a theocratic order rooted in white supremacy and biblical literalism.  It's the Taliban in Tracksuits.  Their obsession with Israel isn’t about solidarity but spectacle, the final act of divine warfare.  It’s the same toxic brew fuelling America’s Christian nationalists who mistake faith for fascism and patriotism for prophecy.  The King’s Army doesn’t preach salvation; it preaches apocalypse.

This is why it is dangerous.  This isn’t one swivel eyed brimstone preacher with a placard. This is a coordinated public show of force.  A spectacle.  A message broadcast into one of our safe spaces to say: “You are no longer safe here.” As Humanists UK puts it: “This was clearly an intimidating spectacle designed to make LGBT+ people feel unsafe in their own communities, and send a harmful message to wider society.” Humanists UK 

When you form up like soldiers on a street known for being queer, you are not preaching; you are patrolling.  You are staging dominance.  And what happens next? Once the precedent is set, once a street is ‘auditioned’ as contested space it will most likely escalate.  Physical threat.  Psychological threat. Loss of possession of safe spaces. The ideological ecosystem: imported, networked and intentional We must not treat the King’s Army as a purely British oddity.  It’s a franchise of a transatlantic movement: tactics, funding and framing drawn from US Christian-nationalist networks. 

• The US Christian-nationalism model is well developed; in Britain the terrain is more fractured but increasingly significant. Evangelical Alliance
• Humanists UK report that organisations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom have invested 'hundreds of millions of dollars' into Europe (including the UK) to push conservative agendas on abortion, LGBT rights and church-state fusion. Humanists UK
• Journalist investigations show UK MPs and groups engaged in “National Conservatism” with open links to US Christian-nationalist funding and ideology. Byline Times

The King’s Army my be a Third Temple End of Times Death Cult, but is not a local sect of oddballs - it is part of an orchestrated ideological campaign, with the British branch learning from Phoenix, Texas and Washington DC via online propaganda, funding, street theatre and political infiltration.  We must stop pussy-footing around with euphemisms such as ‘religious conservatism’ or ‘traditional values’. We should call it what it is: This is fascism wearing a crucifix. The King’s Army ticks every box you’d expect of a classic fascist formation: 

• Militarism: these men (and presumably women) march in formation, call themselves ‘soldiers’, use war metaphors about ‘cleansing’ society.  The Salvation Army they are not.
• Mythic past: they invoke an imaginary golden age: ‘When Britain feared God’, reclaiming a past that perhaps never existed.
• Authoritarian morality: the demand for state-enforced virtue: ban Pride, silence drag queens, censor so-called ‘blasphemy’.
• Scapegoating and enemy-image: queer people, feminists, secularists become the seducers, corrupters, internal threats.
• Cult of masculinity: the ‘real man of God’ trope, aggressive posturing, repudiation of softness, empathy, progressive values.

They label themselves ‘soldiers for Christ’ but their posture is paramilitary.  They use spectacle, they use intimidation, they understand the power of fear.  So why is the gay community their chosen target?  It’s because to some far right POS ideology, queer lives are a threat to their worldview.  In their eyes the LGBTQ+ community are visible.  They are proud.  They claim public space.  They disrupt the ‘traditional family’ narrative.  They assert that love and identity exceed state-church prescriptions, and that is intolerable to Christian-fascist movements. Their march through Soho wasn’t about sharing the gospel, it was a performance of dominance.  It said: this is contested now.  Your night out, your march, your visibility is not just accepted but challenged.  Their message: you are not safe here; we will shape your presence. In that context, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies will become the enemy - become the barometer of public pluralism.  Their very existence threatens the narrative of order, hierarchy, conformity. 

Why are many silent and why that silence is complicit, we must address why we’re not seeing a roar of resistance yet. 

• Denial and trivialisation: “It’s only a fringe group,” we say. But when fringe moves into streets, it becomes mainstream.
• Institutional inertia: churches, faith bodies often want to avoid politics. Mainstream Christianity hasn’t yet drawn the line. As one commentary noted, church leadership’s response to Christian-nationalism has been 'far too timid'. The Guardian
• Complacency: Some assume that because we have legal rights (marriage equality, adoption rights), we’re safe. But rights depend on cultural consensus and public space.
• Fatigue: The queer community has fought so much alreadym HIV/AIDS, austerity, housing, trans-rights. Another battle must feel exhausting.  But front lines do not wait for us to catch our breath.

 The stakes are higher than many realise.  Some may point out: “Well we have marriage equality, adoption rights, what more is there to worry about?” That is exactly what the King’s Army counts on: the illusion of safety.  Because when the social consensus shifts, legal protections won’t hold. Visibility may shrink.  Public spaces may turn hostile. Intimidation may become the normalised regime.  What’s at stake: 

• Safe public space: queer clubs, Pride parades, streets like Soho – they are contested territories, not guaranteed.
• Visibility: the power of being seen, of occupying public space, threatens those who demand invisibility.
• Policy rollback: rights can be reversed or hollowed out when social norms change. Movements don’t wait for parliamentary approval—they change the cultural ground.
• Intersectional attack: this is not just about queer lives. Women’s rights, immigrant rights, religious minorities—they’re all targets of Christian-fascist ideologies. If queer rights are rolled back, others will follow.
• Psychological impact: the message “you are not safe here” is internalised. Fear becomes second nature. Self-censorship becomes survival.

There is no room for half-measures. Here’s how the fight must be taken to these people: 

1. Name them for what they are
   • Use the term “Christian fascism”. Don’t soften it. Don’t treat it as mere tradition or religion.
   • Public awareness: we need mapping of groups like the King’s Army, their funders, backers, networks.
2. Defend queer public space
   • Protect Pride marches, LGBTQ+ venues, neighbourhoods like Soho.
   • Local authorities, councils, police must treat paramilitary style intimidation as hate-aggression, not mere protest.
3. Political mobilisation and accountability
   • MPs, ministers appearing at Christian-nationalist events must be exposed. The politics of the street must connect with Westminster. Byline Times
   • Follow the money: trace US funding flowing into UK Christian nationalist networks. Humanists UK
4. Solidarity across movements
   • This is not just an LGBT+ issue. Feminists, secularists, immigrant rights groups—all of us are potential targets. We either fight together or fall separately.
5. Culture counter-attack
   • Visibility, art, joy, drag, protest: let our lives be refusal. Let our visibility be claim.
   • Let their gloom choke on our laughter.
6. Faith institutions must pick a side
   • If mainstream churches stay silent, they become complicit. They must denounce Christian-fascism publicly and loudly.
   • Christianity compromised by fascism is no longer faith—it’s political veneer.
7. Legal and institutional protection
   • Paramilitary intimidation in a queer space is not free speech—it is hate intimidation. Enforcement must reflect that.
   • “Religious freedom” must not become a license to discriminate.

A word to queer people reading this 

Yes, this is tiring.  Yes, you deserve peace, not constant vigilance, but the truth is: when public space is contested, when marches happen under black-tracksuits and crosses, you are no longer simply living your life. You are defending it. You deserve more than tolerance. You deserve safety. You deserve thriving. You deserve joy and you deserve a society that shows up for you.  Don’t let the King’s Army intimidate you into silence, into hiding, into caution. Let your existence, your visibility, your love be the refusal of fear. March. Dance. Kiss. Laugh. Because each of these is a defiance. 

Conclusion: refusal is the only answer 

The King’s Army nominally about ‘restoring Christ’, ‘fighting sin’, ‘returning the nation to God’ is not different to any other religious fundamentalist  far right group.  They are really about suppression, reclaiming power, imposing moral conformity and erasing the gains of queer liberation.  It is the British branch of a global Christian-fascist insurgency.  It wants your visibility turned off. It wants your voices silenced. It wants democracy subordinated to theocracy.  This is not about faith.  It is about control.  Not about love.  It is about domination.  Not about morality.  It is about power.  They may quote scripture, but their real bible is the fascist playbook re-written with megachurch slogans and street rally drums. If we don’t confront them now, politically, culturally, morally, we will wake up in a country where the motto isn’t ‘love thy neighbour’ but ‘purge the unclean’. So yes, we need to talk about the King’s Army.

But more than that we need to stop the King’s Army.  Because when fascism marches beneath a cross, it doesn’t save souls.  It burns them.  

Here’s a preliminary list of 20 UK-based organisations, donor networks and affiliated entities linked (to varying degrees) with Christian-nationalist or strongly socially-conservative religious-political activism. Use it as a basis for deeper documentation: further digging may be required for funding flows, exact donor names, and full organisational links. 

_{Notes & Caveats}

Some of the entries above are directly Christian-nationalist (e.g., ADF UK, ARC, Theos Think Tank research).  Others are adjacent (e.g., CCF, Jubilee Centre) but form part of the broader infrastructure of Christian-political activism.  Funding flows are often opaque.  Many UK Christian trusts are not required to publish full donor details.  US donors may route money via philanthropic vehicles.  For example: Humanists UK reports on 'American Christians spending millions to push religious conservatism in the UK'. Humanists UK Be careful to differentiate between: (a) faith-based conservative activism (b) explicitly Christian-nationalist movements that seek to merge nation/church, often with authoritarian undertones.  Some organisations may have slightly different aims (e.g., family policy, education) rather than outright nationalist or fascist ideology, but the networks overlap. 

Tetley is a left of centre writer and retired musician based in the UK.  A former member of the Labour Party, he writes political analysis exposing Britain’s authoritarian drift, the criminalisation of protest, and the erosion of civil liberties.

A bit of shameless self-plugging here. This is www.TetleysTLDR.com blog. It's not monetised. Please feel free to go and look at the previous blogs on the website and if you like them, please feel free to share them.