Former Miss California USA expelled from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission

The White House Religious Liberty Commission removed conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller days after the outspoken Roman Catholic pushed back on witness testimony about anti-Semitism in America. Prejean Boller hijacked the hearing for her own personal and political agenda, according to a Wednesday statement from the commission’s chairman, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Patrick said he personally made the decision to remove the former Miss USA pageant participant.

What did Boller say? Prejean Boller pressed several witnesses with probing and at times contentious questions around Zionism, a belief in the Jewish right to establish a standalone state in the Biblical Jewish homeland. She repeatedly asked panelists whether anti-Zionism amounted to anti-Semitism, and said that as a Catholic she did not ascribe to Zionist beliefs.

She also asked whether Catholics were considered anti-Semites, claiming that their religious doctrine did not require them to embrace Zionism. Prejean Boller noted that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance considered the phrase “Jews killed Jesus” to be anti-Semitic, and pressed witnesses on whether they agreed.

Prejean Boller specifically asked one witness, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, to stop referring to conservative political commentator Candice Owens as anti-Semitic, meriting a chuckle from Dillon. Prejean Boller insisted that Owens’ failure to subscribe to Zionism did not make her anti-Semitic. Dillon characterized Owens as one of the worst anti-Semites in the world, citing her description of the Jewish people as the Synagogue of Satan. The pair continued to verbally spar before Prejean Boller stated that she listens to Owens daily and has never heard a single anti-Semitic sentiment from her.

How has Prejean Boller responded? Prejean Boller initially released a Tuesday statement on her refusal to resign from the commission. She would not be bullied for honoring her Catholic conscience, she said. Forcing a religious liberty council to agree with Zionism is the opposite of religious liberty, she added. Prejean Boller released a separate statement Tuesday night criticizing what she described as the commission’s homogeneous witness list and insisting Jews who reject Zionism should have been included. The dialogue was weakened since testimony was curated to fit a single political narrative, she wrote. On Wednesday, she refused to step down and said only President Trump had the authority to fire her. 

Owens also released a Wednesday statement defending Prejean Boller. She spoke the truth at a Zionist hearing aimed at neutering Christian faith, according to Owens. Zionists are inherently hostile toward Catholics because they refuse to bend the knee, the controversial commentator added.

How have Prejean Boller's critics responded? Kelly Shackelford, the president, CEO, and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute and a member of the commission, issued a statement on Wednesday calling Prejean Boller's statements during the hearing anti-Semitic and disgusting. First Liberty has in the past represented synagogues and other Jewish clients proudly and Shackelford would always be a friend to the Jewish people, he said.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report on the commission’s push to repeal the Johnson Amendment last year.