U.S. diplomat openly calls for Christian nation-states, rails against Jews

A State Department official for several years has been publicly calling for the establishment of Christian nation-states, warning that white people face “elimination” and railing against Jews as well as Black Lives Matter and other social movements.

Fritz Berggren, a mid-ranking Foreign Service officer, openly uses his name and image as he espouses these and other controversial views, according to a review of his online postings. Current and former State Department officials noted the connection to POLITICO in recent days.

“Jesus Christ came to save the whole world from the Jews — the founders of the original Anti-Christ religion, they who are the seed of the Serpent, that brood of vipers,” states an Oct. 4 blog post signed “Fritz Berggren, PhD” and titled “Jews are Not God’s Chosen People. Judeo-Christian is Anti-Christ.”

“They murdered Jesus Christ,” the 5,300-word post continues, “How then can they be God’s chosen?”

Berggren’s voluminous output dates back to at least September 2017, according to the archives of his website, Bloodandfaith.com. An about page for the site, also signed “Fritz Berggren, PhD,” offers what appears to be a manifesto of sorts. Like several of his other posts, it includes a video of Berggren expanding on his views.

“The goal of the Left is to destroy blood and faith so that (Marxist) religion alone becomes master and enslaver of all,” Berggren writes. “Europeans must reclaim their blood and faith, just as Blacks are proud and hispanics have very strong blood identity organizations.”

Two days after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, another post signed by Berggren declared: “Notes on the events of January 6. The illusion of a participatory democracy has been burst. You already live in a cult/theocracy — I offer you Christian liberty in a Christian nation.”

President Joe Biden has made diversity a priority for his administration and has sharply criticized anything that smacks of white supremacy and anti-Semitism. The Pentagon already has launched a campaign to root out white nationalists and other extremists in the military. While there’s no similar effort underway in Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he is creating a new position, chief diversity and inclusion officer, to promote that ideal.

According to a directory viewed by POLITICO, Berggren is currently assigned to a State Department unit that handles special immigrant visas for Afghans. His previous positions have included serving as a financial management officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain, according to an older directory.

Asked about Berggren, a spokesperson for the State Department declined to say whether his remarks had led to internal disciplinary measures of any kind. “We will not comment on internal personnel matters beyond saying that these are personal views and do not represent those of the State Department,” the spokesperson said. “As a department, we embrace and champion diversity, equity and inclusion as a source of strength.”

Exactly when Berggren entered U.S. diplomatic ranks wasn’t clear, but he is listed as a Foreign Service employee on congressional documents at least as far back as 2009. His sparse LinkedIn account describes him as an “FSO” — a Foreign Service officer.

Berggren did not reply to messages sent to his work and personal email addresses nor to ones sent through LinkedIn and his Blood and Faith website. Phone numbers listed for him did not work.

Free speech vs. a diplomatic problem

The State Department’s options for addressing Berggren’s online postings may be limited.

There are rules that govern diplomats’ on- and off-duty behavior that could be grounds for punishment or dismissal in similar instances — rules that can differ based on whether a person is serving overseas or in the United States. But the federal government, for First Amendment reasons, is not supposed to dictate its employees’ religious views.

According to a former State Department attorney, if Berggren can show that he never used work time or U.S. government equipment to craft his writings and recordings, he might fall in a gray area in terms of whether or how the department could discipline him. The former attorney did not have direct knowledge of the case and requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. POLITICO found no examples of Berggren identifying himself as a State Department official in his online commentary.

The Blood and Faith site was updated just this week with posts that take shots at Jewish people, the United Nations and the LBGTQ community, among others.

The blog’s archives date to Sept. 16, 2017, and they include around 300 posts that tackle topics ranging from theories about Christian violence to the importance of bloodlines. Many of the posts link to videos as well as podcasts in which Berggren discusses his beliefs.

Berggren often rails against “the Left” along with movements like Black Lives Matter and Antifa and organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League.

“Anti-Fa/BLM is not the resistance — they are the establishment,” he writes in bullet points on a Sept. 12, 2020, post that includes a video segment. “The resistance could be White men and Christians if we man up to it.”

A major theme across Berggren’s online output is the necessity of creating explicitly Christian countries. He refers to Jesus Christ as a revolutionary icon, dubbing him “Rebel Leader One” in some posts. “The revival of Christian nation-states is required for the advancement of Truth,” he writes in one section of his Blood and Faith site. “There is no substitute for the public acclamation of Jesus Christ as the King and Lord of a nation.”

A significant chunk of Berggren’s commentary appears focused on the fate of white people, especially those of European and Christian descent.

In a Oct. 24 post titled “The Demon-God of Diversity,” he states: “The world gasps in horror with each new ‘endangered’ sub-species, but cheers the elimination of White culture from whole regions of the earth. This will not stop until White people stop it — we have been handmaidens to our own demise.”

At least one video of Berggren found online is less controversial.

He appears in a brief Department of Defense clip urging people to “track Santa” through a popular project of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.