American far-right activists inspired by Braveheart name religious centre after Scottish town

Far-right campaigners in the USA have named a new religious centre after a Scottish town because of its links to the film Braveheart.

The Falkirk Centre, based at Liberty University in Virginia, has been set up to encourage students to stay true to a “conservative upbringing” and to “restore American ideals and Judeo-Christian values.”

Founders Charlie Kirk, president of far-right group Turning Point USA and Jerry Falwell, president of Liberty University in Virginia, named the centre after Falkirk because of the town’s link to freedom-fighter William Wallace and the film Braveheart.

The campaigners state on their website that conservatives share an affinity with William Wallace, who suffered a defeat in the Battle of Falkirk, because they feel they have been losing their own “battle” when it comes to fighting for far-right values.

Charlie Kirk, president of far-right group Turning Point USA and Jerry Falwell, president of Liberty University name new religious centre after Falkirk because of its links to William Wallace and Braveheart

The website says: “For the past few decades, conservatives have felt like we’ve been losing the battle.

“From Hollywood to academia, from corporations to government, from special interest groups to the mainstream media, a growing and strident anti-Christian, anti-American sentiment has long dominated the most powerful institutions in America.

“Today, we have an opportunity to embolden a new generation of patriots to fight back with resilience, and like Wallace, hold up the banner for freedom and advance rather than retreat.”

In an interview with OAN News, Kirk said the centre has been set up as an active way of pushing “American ideals and Judeo-Christian values” because turning the other cheek is not enough.

He said: “Bemoaning the rise of leftism is no longer enough.

“Turning the other cheek in our personal relationships with our neighbours as Jesus taught, while abdicating our responsibilities on the cultural battlefield is not sufficient.

“There is too much at stake in the battle for the soul of our nation.

“Bold, unapologetic action and initiative is needed, which is why we just launched the Falkirk Center, a think tank dedicated to restoring and defending American ideals and Judeo-Christian values in all aspects of life.”

In the same interview, Falwell says the centre has been set up to advocate America’s “great” history and teaching it “the way it should be taught.”

He said: “In public schools the teachers unions force American history to be taught as some sort of sinister bourgeois white men taking advantage of everyone else and it's just the total opposite of what happened.

“America is so strong because it’s so diverse.

“Alexis de Tocqueville said when he visited here in the 1700s – America is great because she is good, if America ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great.”

He also pointed out “Falkirk” is a combination of both the founders’ surnames making it a fitting name.

Charlie Kirk is a controversial social media sensation and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, a national conservative student movement.

According to his website his social media reaches more than 100 million people per month and the far-right activist is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world behind President Trump among conservatives.

He is also chairman for Students for Trump and has recently written a book called the Maga Doctrine.

In its blurb it reads: “The movement that brought Donald Trump to the White House has better ideas than the old right or the new left. It’s time that the rest of America started listening.

“The Tea Party began as a protest for patriots who feared Big Government. President Trump has become a hero for patriots who are against Big Everything.

“Turning Point USA founder and social media superstar Charlie Kirk explains once and for all why a New York real estate magnate found an audience among young conservatives all over the country.

“Trump and his allies are working to protect all the small things that both parties dismissed: local businesses, families, churches, and the rights of the individual.

“Kirk explains why it took a reality TV superstar to see past the sclerotic and power-hungry institutions, from the United Nations and Google to Harvard and Viacom, working to crush real America.

“The Trump Doctrine is all about giving you a say in the future of America and a hand in making it happen.”