The fight over Christian nationalism in a small Tennessee town
As Josh Abbotoy gazes out at lush green woods and pastureland nestled among Tennessee's Appalachian hills, he describes what he intends to build here: a neighbourhood with dozens of residential lots, centred around a working farm and, crucially, a church.
A customer might very well buy and build roughly where we're standing right now, he says as we hike up to the top of a ridge.
Mr Abbotoy is founder of the real estate company Ridgerunner, which has bought land here and in neighbouring Kentucky. But his is no garden-variety housing development.
Mr Abbotoy is prominent in US conservative circles and describes his development as an affinity-based community - marketed to people not only interested in the peace and quiet of rural life, but in a constellation of right-wing ideals.
Faith, family and freedom, he says. Those are the values that we try to celebrate.
Initially he didn't attract much local attention after setting up shop in Jackson County. However, in late 2024, a local TV news report broadcast controversial statements made by two of Mr Abbotoy's first, and most outspoken, customers: Andrew Isker, a pastor and author originally from Minnesota, and C Jay Engel, a businessman from California.
They are self-described Christian nationalists who question modern values, such as whether female suffrage and the civil rights movement were good ideas, and call for mass deportations of legal immigrants far in excess of President Donald Trump's current plan. Another thing they sometimes say: Repeal the 20th Century.
The TV report raised an alarm bell amongst some local residents. You don't know who these people are, or what they're capable of, says Nan Coons, a middle-aged woman who spoke in a firm southern accent during a recent interview near the town square in Gainesboro - of which this land is a part. And so it's scary.
Although Abbotoy himself does not identify as a Christian nationalist, he says concerns about his tenants are overblown. The Ridgerunner development has since drawn national attention. And people in Gainesboro, home to around 900 people and one traffic light, have now found themselves in the middle of a dispute that is a proxy for much bigger political battles.
Podcasters move in
Mr Isker and Mr Engel announced their move to Gainesboro last year on their podcast Contra Mundum - Latin for against the world. On their show, which is now recorded in a studio within Ridgerunner's Gainesboro office, they have encouraged their fans to move into small communities, seek local influence, and join them in their fight to put strict conservative Christian values at the heart of American governance.
If you could build places where you can take political power, Mr Isker said on one episode, which might mean sitting on the [board of] county commissioners, or even having the ear of the county commissioners and sheriff… being able to do those things is extremely, extremely valuable.
On X, Mr Engel has popularised the idea of heritage Americans - a fuzzy concept but one that applies mainly to Anglo-Protestants whose ancestors arrived in the US at least a century ago. He says it is not explicitly white, but it does have strong ethnic correlations.
He's called for mass deportations of immigrants - including legal ones - writing: Peoples like Indians, or South East Asians or Ecuadorians or immigrated Africans are the least capable of fitting in and should be sent home immediately.
In their broadcasts and writings, they have also expressed anti-gay sentiments. The podcasters deny they are white nationalists.
Both are Ridgerunner customers, and Mr Isker's church will move into the community's chapel when it's complete.
The 'resistance'
Their hardcore views have alarmed residents, with some locals setting up an informal resistance group. I believe that they have been attempting to brand our town and our county as a headquarters for their ideology of Christian nationalism, says town matriarch Diana Mandli, a prominent local businesswoman who until recently owned a pub on Gainesboro's central square.
In Gainesboro, people on all sides see a much bigger story - one of large-scale political fights playing out in rural America. The conflict has drawn national attention, with organizations on both sides becoming involved.
}
