South Dakota State Rep. Joe Donnell Claims Mount Rushmore Is a Demonic Portal Spreading Communism Across the Nation

Earlier this month, a group of QAnon conspiracy theorists and self-proclaimed “prophets” held an “Open The Heavens: Let God Arise” conference in Rapid City, South Dakota, where some attendees claimed to have seen an image of former President Donald Trump appear in the sky over Mount Rushmore.

Among the participants was South Dakota state Rep. Joe Donnell. Prior to the event, Donnell appeared on a program hosted by conference organizer Meri Crouley, during which he asserted that Mount Rushmore is a demonic portal that is spreading communism across the nation.

“If you go back and do some search history on Mount Rushmore, it actually is a Freemason shrine,” Donnell said. “It was set up to enshrine democracy or the Declaration of Independence. … How do we worship the great thing we did with our government? So that was the idea behind it.”

“What the Lord revealed to me is that Mount Rushmore has a direct ley line to Washington, D.C.,” he added. “And he said, basically, that as we continue to work in prayer and do the work of the ministry, that God was going to break that connection. Because in order to understand the spiritual realm of what we’re facing, we have to realize that in order for the enemy to do anything, he needs the agreement of human beings. In order to be empowered to do more damage, he needs the agreement of human beings, and oftentimes that comes in the form of an altar, an active altar that acts as a portal for demonic things.”

“And so that’s what we’re dealing with,” Donnell declared. “I just know that God is doing something. Even Donald Trump’s landing in the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore on July 4, when the governor Kristi Noem put the message out that fireworks are returning to South Dakota, that was a prophetic word. And God spoke to me said, ‘When Donald Trump steps foot on this territory, there’s something that’s going to be done as far as the Constitution being upheld. It’s gonna bring a breakthrough with the Constitution.’ And I kinda got the feeling that what we’re really dealing with in that portal was communism. That witchcraft altar and those things that are happening in the Black Hills; what we’re really dealing with is communism; it’s the ideology and all the demonic entities and spirits behind that.”

We need your help. Every day, Right Wing Watch exposes extremism to help the public, activists, and journalists understand the strategies and tactics of anti-democratic forces—and respond to an increasingly aggressive and authoritarian far-right movement. The threat is growing, but our resources are not. Any size contribution—or a small monthly donation—will help us continue our work and become more effective at disrupting the ideologies, people, and organizations that threaten our freedom and democracy. Please make an investment in Right Wing Watch’s defense of the values we share.