‘Separation of Church and State does not exist’: Hegseth’s faith adviser shared racist, homophobic posts

Staff Sgt. Thomas Norris/US Army National Guard/DVIDS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s senior adviser for religious issues has shared scores of racist and homophobic posts, spread conspiracy theories, and repeatedly denigrated Islam and immigrants, a CNN investigation has found.

Ryan Higgins has become a key aide to Hegseth since joining the Pentagon, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN, particularly in shaping the defense secretary’s embrace of Christian nationalist themes in speeches and public appearances.

On his social media platforms, CNN found Higgins defended a video President Donald Trump shared depicting the Obamas as apes, said same-sex marriage was “ abominable ,” and speculated about how many abortions former Vice President Kamala Harris might have had, citing her age and claiming she had a “long record of sleeping around.”

He’s also asserted that the “Separation of Church and State does not exist” and has posted extreme rhetoric about immigrants.

“They act like barbarians, killing and raping our white women,” he wrote in one post responding to tabloid coverage of sexual crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in Europe.

While many of the posts were made in his previous role as a conservative activist, Higgins has also continued sharing far-right views since joining the administration, including railing against “the satanic cult of LGBTQ,” criticizing gay adoption as “buying babies,” and calling abortion “Demonic human sacrifice packaged as ‘women’s healthcare.’”

Higgins’ comments, which CNN found in a review of hundreds of social media posts, video streams and archived blog posts from the last decade, illuminate the views of a key figure behind Hegseth’s push to dramatically reshape the American military. While some sources who spoke to CNN said Higgins had considerable influence on Hegseth’s rhetoric and positions on religious issues, two other sources downplayed his role, saying he is merely one of many advisers within the department.

Hegseth has faced increasing pushback over his culture war within the Pentagon, which has pushed out senior military leaders and subject matter experts, including women and Black leaders.

Higgins did not respond to requests for comment on this story. A spokesperson for the Department of Defense called Higgins a “valued member of the Secretary’s team” who “does an outstanding job serving as a senior adviser.”

“He has been completely focused on the spiritual health of our troops and the historic establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

Parnell did not respond specifically to detailed questions about Higgins’ posts reviewed by CNN.

Higgins, who spent years in conservative politics and evangelical activism, initially backed Ben Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign before joining Trump’s orbit, writing on his blog that Christians must fall in line to defeat Hillary Clinton.

During the pandemic, Higgins helped organize efforts opposing restrictions on churches and worked with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He went on to serve in a senior faith-outreach role for Trump.

He joined the Pentagon as a senior adviser for faith matters, a role that had not existed in recent years. Hegseth has made his religious views a staple of his office and public engagement. The defense secretary began hosting monthly Christian worship services inside the Pentagon, inviting speakers including Doug Wilson , a pastor who has said he supports the repeal of women’s right to vote and that homosexuality should be criminalized. In February, Higgins thanked Wilson for encouraging “our amazing Pentagon family.”

Finn Gomez/Getty Images

Although few outside Washington and evangelical circles know his name, Higgins is one of several advisors who have played an instrumental role in shaping Hegseth’s messaging on key issues.

According to multiple sources, Higgins has contributed to Hegseth’s focus on culture war issues and has been responsible for some of the secretary’s most incendiary remarks, including his February address to a Christian media convention of the National Religious Broadcasters . That speech attacked what he called the “Godless left,” celebrated “Western Christian” values and cast the administration’s culture-war policies as a religious restoration of the military.

He also has a hand in policy issues; three sources familiar said Higgins is a primary part of the effort to establish a new Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon, which Hegseth announced in a speech last month.

“We are placing spiritual health at the same level as physical health,” Hegseth said in his speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in September. “Our department is, you might say, is putting on the full armor of God. Because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual. God is good. Evil is not. America’s military must understand the difference.”

Higgins has repeatedly denigrated Muslim countries and even Islam itself – a faith practiced by thousands of active-duty American troops.

In January, referring to a Daily Mail article about crimes allegedly committed in Europe by immigrants from Muslim nations, he wrote: “Violent illegal immigrants and even many ‘asylum seekers’ are destroying the entire planet… They act like barbarians, killing and raping our white women.” In February, he posted about a separate story on the topic: “Absolute animals… These people many times come from barbaric cultures which has no place in the western world.” In April, he queried about the UK, “How long until the monarchy is dethroned by Muslims?”

Previously, in 2025, h e mocked King Charles for recognizing Muslims’ contributions to British society, later writing , “Islam teaches death to all who do not comply.” He also posted the U.S. must admit only those who “love our nation and wish to ASSIMILATE to OUR culture.”

By contrast, Higgins has often argued Christians are being persecuted and victimized.

Earlier this year, Higgins posted “THIS IS A CHRISTIAN NATION” alongside a map of the United States. In June, he amplified Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s message from the Oval Office that the separation of church and state is not denoted in the Constitution. “ Separation of Church and State does not exist ,” Higgins wrote at the time.

Earlier this year, he implored Christians to vote en masse, proclaiming “Our nation has culturally declined because Christians sit by and allow it.” The same day, he responded to a post noting the decline of New York City’s White population by writing, “ Insanity .” In March, he asked , “Why are Christians always the only ones punished for their beliefs?” In August, he alleged that the left harbors “a deep seated hatred for Christianity.”

Higgins has also posted regularly about women’s role in society, gay rights and abortion.

In May, he replied “God was right all along” to a graphic posted by another user that argued “There is no good or logical reason for a woman to have sex before marriage.” Over the summer , he warned that Democrats want to “promote teen sex” and “fornicate en mass[e],” likening their views to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

“ No ‘career’ will ever give you the fulfillment you’re looking for that can only be found from being a mother ,” he wrote in May in a post about women in the workforce. “Don’t believe the lies.” In July, in response to a video celebrating the “natural instincts” of womanhood, he wrote : “THIS is what living a joyful life looks like. Get married young and have more babies than you can afford.” In August, he described Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to freeze her eggs as “a self-centered mindset. Me first. Career first.”

He has likened abortion to “human sacrifice,” and called for abortion-seekers to be tried for murder. “ Who else loves human sacrifice? Satan & demons ,” he tweeted in May, referring to “psychopaths” who support abortion. In August, he compared abortion to the Holocaust, posting it was like “saying Nazi concentration camps were ethnic end-of-life care.”

Higgins has also called same-sex marriage “ abominable.” In 2022, he shared an Instagram post that read “two males cannot be Dads and two females cannot be Moms.” He repeatedly criticized the existence of Pride Month, saying he “ hate[d ]” that it fell over Father’s Day. He attacked transgenderism as a “mental disorder” and wrote in 2025, “Stop playing dress up, get some help, find Jesus, and learn to be a functioning human with sympathy and compassion.”

His attacks have continued since joining the Pentagon. In March, he warned against “ the satanic cult of LGBTQ” and described a same-sex couple adopting a child as “two dudes buying babies” in a June post.

Higgins has also attacked liberals and Democratic politicians with vitriolic posts – at times employing misogynistic or racist rhetoric.

When Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president, he claimed she “climbed the ranks because of immoral philandering” and was named VP “because of your gender & the color of your skin.” In a later post, he questioned how many abortions she might have had , writing that he found “it hard to believe that a woman of her age & her long record of sleeping around has never gotten pregnant.”

He repeatedly referred to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “Nasty Nancy” and posted in January that her appearance should serve as a warning against “fake” looks. He similarly denigrated Michelle Obama’s appearance in response to an unflattering photo, and speculated in 2013 that she obtained a facial procedure.

In February, he defended Trump’s Truth Social post depicting Obama and her husband as apes – which recalled centuries of racist caricatures of Black people.

“The video is funny, probably a little bad taste considering the Office, but I don’t understand why the Obama’s as monkeys is more racist” than others, Higgins said, adding, “He made Biden a monkey too.”

Amid the racial tension of 2020, he wrote that there is “NOT a ‘systemic racism’ issue in the US” and frequently attacked George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protestors using extreme language. In July 2021, he posted a story about a mural of George Floyd destroyed by a lightning strike, writing, “If this were the book of Daniel, we’d call this the finger of God.”

Higgins has promulgated myriad conspiracy theories across the hundreds of posts reviewed by CNN – particularly around the pandemic and the 2020 election.

Higgins compared pandemic rules to Nazism, like when he posted in 2022: “If you believe the Plandemic is still a thing, they are controlling you… Forget not that Jews willing[sic] boarded box cars and willingly walked into gas chambers.”

H e also posted an image about the yellow Star of David that Jews were required to wear, and later shared an image beside a photo of wedding bands taken from Holocaust victims with the text “Sound Familiar?” In September of 2022, he accused then-President Biden of weaponizing “your SS.”

Higgins was also an early adopter of the stolen election theory in 2020.

After the 2020 election, he said he had an “arsenal,” adding that he had bought an assault rifle the previous day and “maxed it out with all kinds of tactical gear.” He then said, “Biden, guess what? You didn’t win.” After the election, he wrote , “ they can steal an election over my cold dead body.”

Amid the chaos at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, he asserted “you can’t possibly ask for a peaceful transmission of power when elections are being stolen and taken from us” and blamed antifa for the violence. Later, he asked why so many arrestees were “Democrat and BLM.” The day after the riot, he called for further escalation. “Today starts the day we start fighting like we’ve never fought before to take our country back… They for sure cheated.”

His attacks on the electoral process have not ceased since he joined the Pentagon. Heading into the midterms, he wrote : “I have exactly 0% faith in our elections… Time to fire them all…wait…we can’t because the elections are fake.”

In August, he posted that media and “elected officials who covered up the crimes” of 2020 should be prosecuted.

CNN’s Abigail Hatting and Thomas Bordeaux contributed to this report

参谋军士托马斯·诺里斯/美国陆军国民警卫队/DVIDS

CNN 的一项调查发现，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯的宗教事务高级顾问分享了大量种族主义和恐同言论，散布阴谋论，并多次诋毁伊斯兰教和移民。

据 CNN 报道，多位知情人士透露，瑞安·希金斯自加入五角大楼以来，已成为赫格塞斯的关键助手，尤其是在塑造国防部长在演讲和公开场合中对基督教民族主义主题的接受方面。

CNN发现，希金斯在其社交媒体平台上为唐纳德·特朗普总统分享的一段将奥巴马夫妇描绘成猿猴的视频辩护，称同性婚姻是“可憎的”，并根据前副总统卡马拉·哈里斯的年龄，猜测她可能堕过多少次胎，声称她“长期有滥交记录”。

他还声称“政教分离并不存在”，并发表了关于移民的极端言论。

“他们像野蛮人一样，杀害和强奸我们的白人女性，”他在一篇帖子中写道，该帖子回应了小报对欧洲移民涉嫌犯下性犯罪的报道。

虽然许多帖子是他之前作为保守派活动家时发表的，但自加入政府以来，希金斯也继续分享极右翼观点，包括抨击“LGBTQ的撒旦邪教”，批评同性恋收养是“购买婴儿”，以及称堕胎是“包装成‘女性医疗保健’的恶魔般的活人献祭”。

CNN通过查阅过去十年数百条社交媒体帖子、视频流和存档博客文章，发现了希金斯的言论。这些言论揭示了赫格塞斯推动美国军方大刀阔斧改革背后的关键人物的观点。一些接受CNN采访的消息人士称，希金斯对赫格塞斯的言论和宗教立场有着相当大的影响，但另两位消息人士则淡化了他的作用，称他只是国防部众多顾问之一。

赫格塞斯在五角大楼内发起的文化战争遭到了越来越多的反对，这场战争排挤了包括女性和黑人领导人在内的高级军事领导人和相关领域专家。

希金斯没有回应就此事置评的请求。国防部发言人称希金斯是“部长团队的重要成员”，并且“作为高级顾问，他工作出色”。

五角大楼首席发言人肖恩·帕内尔在一份声明中表示：“他一直全心全意关注我们军队的精神健康以及宗教事务办公室的历史性成立。”

帕内尔没有具体回应 CNN 审阅的有关希金斯帖子的详细问题。

希金斯曾多年从事保守派政治和福音派活动，最初支持本·卡森 2016 年的总统竞选，之后加入特朗普阵营，并在其博客上写道，基督徒必须团结起来击败希拉里·克林顿。

疫情期间，希金斯协助组织反对限制教堂活动的运动，并与保守派活动家查理·柯克合作。之后，他担任特朗普政府的高级宗教事务联络职务。

他加入五角大楼担任高级信仰顾问，这是近年来一直没有设立的职位。赫格塞斯将他的宗教信仰融入到他的工作和公共事务中。这位国防部长开始在五角大楼内每月举办基督教礼拜仪式，并邀请道格·威尔逊等牧师担任演讲嘉宾。威尔逊曾公开表示支持废除女性投票权，并认为同性恋应该被定为犯罪。今年二月，希金斯感谢威尔逊对“我们了不起的五角大楼大家庭”的鼓励。

Finn Gomez/Getty Images

尽管在华盛顿和福音派圈子之外很少有人知道他的名字，但希金斯是几位顾问之一，这些顾问在塑造赫格塞斯在关键问题上的信息传递方面发挥了重要作用。

据多方消息来源称，希金斯促成了赫格塞斯对文化战争议题的关注，并参与撰写了这位部长一些最具煽动性的言论，包括他二月份在全国宗教广播协会基督教媒体大会上的讲话。那次讲话抨击了他所谓的“无神论左派”，颂扬“西方基督教”价值观，并将政府的文化战争政策描绘成对军队的宗教复兴。

他还参与政策制定；三位知情人士表示，希金斯是五角大楼建立新的宗教事务办公室的主要参与者，赫格塞斯上个月在一次演讲中宣布了这一计划。

“我们将精神健康与身体健康置于同等重要的地位，”赫格塞斯在九月于匡蒂科海军陆战队基地发表的演讲中说道。“可以说，我们部门正在穿戴上帝的全副盔甲。因为虽然我们进行的是肉体上的战争，但我们都知道真正的战场是精神上的。上帝是良善的，邪恶则不然。美国军方必须明白其中的区别。”

希金斯一再贬低穆斯林国家，甚至贬低伊斯兰教本身——而伊斯兰教是成千上万美国现役军人所信奉的宗教。

一月份，他针对《每日邮报》一篇关于穆斯林国家移民在欧洲涉嫌犯罪的文章写道：“暴力非法移民，甚至许多‘寻求庇护者’正在摧毁整个地球……他们像野蛮人一样，杀害和强奸我们的白人女性。” 二月份，他又就另一篇相关报道发表评论：“简直是禽兽……这些人很多都来自野蛮文化，这种文化在西方世界没有立足之地。” 四月份，他质疑英国：“穆斯林还要多久才能推翻君主制？”

此前，在2025年，他曾嘲讽查理国王承认穆斯林对英国社会的贡献，后来又写道：“伊斯兰教义规定，不服从者处死。”他还发帖称，美国必须只接纳那些“热爱我们国家并希望融入我们文化”的人。

与此相反，希金斯经常声称基督徒正在遭受迫害和欺凌。

今年早些时候，希金斯发布了一张美国地图，并配文“这是一个基督教国家”。6月，他转发了德克萨斯州副州长丹·帕特里克在椭圆形办公室发表的声明，即宪法中并未明确规定政教分离。希金斯当时写道：“政教分离并不存在。”

今年早些时候，他呼吁基督徒踊跃投票，宣称“我们国家的文化衰落是因为基督徒袖手旁观，任其发生”。同一天，他回复一篇指出纽约市白人人口减少的帖子，写道：“疯了”。三月份，他质问道：“为什么总是只有基督徒因为他们的信仰而受到惩罚？”八月份，他声称左派“对基督教怀有根深蒂固的仇恨”。

希金斯还经常发表关于女性在社会中的角色、同性恋权利和堕胎等话题的文章。

五月份，他回复另一位用户发布的图表说“女性婚前性行为没有任何合理或合乎逻辑的理由”，并表示“上帝一直都是对的”。夏天的时候，他警告说，民主党人想要“鼓励青少年性行为”和“集体淫乱”，并将他们的观点比作索多玛和蛾摩拉。

“没有任何‘职业’能给你带来只有为人母才能提供的那种满足感，”他在五月份一篇关于职场女性的文章中写道，“别信那些谎言。”七月份，在一段赞美女性“天性”的视频下，他写道：“这才是幸福生活的样子。早点结婚，生很多你负担不起的孩子。”八月份，他将众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯冷冻卵子的决定描述为“一种以自我为中心的心态。我第一，事业第一。”

他曾将堕胎比作“活人献祭”，并呼吁将寻求堕胎者以谋杀罪审判。“还有谁喜欢活人献祭？撒旦和恶魔，”他五月份在推特上写道，指的是支持堕胎的“精神病患者”。八月份，他又将堕胎比作纳粹大屠杀，发帖称这就像“把纳粹集中营说成是针对特定种族的临终关怀”。

希金斯还称同性婚姻“令人憎恶”。2022年，他在Instagram上发帖称“两个男人不能成为父亲，两个女人也不能成为母亲”。他多次批评“骄傲月”的存在，称他“讨厌”骄傲月与父亲节撞期。他攻击跨性别者是“精神疾病”，并在2025年写道：“别再玩角色扮演了，去寻求帮助，找到耶稣，学会做一个有同情心和怜悯心的正常人。”

自加入五角大楼以来，他的攻击行为仍在继续。今年3月，他警告人们提防“LGBTQ的撒旦邪教”，并在6月的一篇帖子中将一对同性伴侣收养孩子的行为描述为“两个男人买婴儿”。

希金斯还发表过一些恶毒的帖子，攻击自由派人士和民主党政客——有时甚至使用厌女或种族主义言论。

当卡玛拉·哈里斯宣布竞选总统时，他声称她“靠不道德的风流韵事爬到了高位”，并“因为性别和肤色”而被任命为副总统。在后来的帖子中，他质疑她可能堕过多少次胎，写道他“很难相信一个像她这样年纪的女人，而且有这么长的风流韵事记录，竟然从未怀孕过”。

他多次称前众议院议长南希·佩洛西为“讨厌的南希”，并在1月份发帖称她的容貌应该成为人们警惕“虚假”外貌的警示。同样，他也曾因一张不太好看的照片而贬低米歇尔·奥巴马的外貌，并在2013年猜测她做过面部整形手术。

今年二月，他为特朗普在 Truth Social 上发布的帖子辩护，该帖子将奥巴马夫妇描绘成猿猴——这让人想起几个世纪以来对黑人的种族主义漫画。

“这段视频很有趣，考虑到《办公室》这部剧，可能有点低俗，但我不太明白为什么把奥巴马夫妇画成猴子就比其他视频更具种族歧视意味，”希金斯说，“他还把拜登也画成了猴子。”

在2020年种族关系紧张的背景下，他写道“美国不存在‘系统性种族主义’问题”，并经常使用极端言辞攻击乔治·弗洛伊德和“黑人的命也是命”抗议者。2021年7月，他发布了一篇关于乔治·弗洛伊德壁画被闪电击毁的文章，并写道：“如果这是《但以理书》，我们会称之为上帝的手指。”

CNN 审查了 Higgins 的数百篇帖子，发现其中充斥着各种各样的阴谋论——尤其是在疫情和 2020 年大选方面。

希金斯将疫情规则比作纳粹主义，例如他在 2022 年发帖称：“如果你相信‘计划性疫情’仍然存在，那么他们正在控制你……别忘了犹太人是自愿登上货车，自愿走进毒气室的。”

他还发布了一张关于犹太人必须佩戴的黄色大卫之星的图片，后来又分享了一张图片，旁边是一张从大屠杀受害者身上取下的结婚戒指的照片，并配文“听起来耳熟吗？”。2022 年 9 月，他指责时任总统拜登将“你的党卫军”武器化。

希金斯也是 2020 年选举舞弊论的早期支持者之一。

2020年大选后，他说自己拥有“武器库”，还补充说前一天刚买了一支突击步枪，“配上了各种战术装备”。然后他说：“拜登，猜猜怎么着？你没赢。” 大选结束后，他写道：“除非我死了，否则他们休想窃取选举结果。”

2021年1月6日，国会大厦一片混乱，他声称“选举被窃取、被剥夺，你不可能要求和平交接权力”，并将暴力事件归咎于反法西斯主义者。随后，他质问为何被捕者中有这么多“民主党人和‘黑人的命也是命’运动的支持者”。骚乱发生后的第二天，他呼吁进一步升级行动。“从今天开始，我们将以前所未有的方式战斗，夺回我们的国家……他们肯定作弊了。”

自从他加入五角大楼以来，他对选举程序的攻击就从未停止过。在中期选举前夕，他写道：“我对我们的选举完全没有信心……是时候把他们都解雇了……等等……我们不能这么做，因为选举是假的。”

8 月，他发帖称，媒体和“掩盖 2020 年罪行的民选官员”应该受到起诉。

CNN的阿比盖尔·哈廷和托马斯·波尔多对本报道亦有贡献。