Sounds too Red Letter to me.

It’s called a metaphor.

He has many followers, and he is priming them to revolt.

And the book the article references?

The Washington Time is the Moonie Times. From Wikipedia:

The Washington Times was founded on May 17, 1982, by Unification movement leader Sun Myung Moon and owned until 2010 by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate founded by Moon. It is currently owned by Operations Holdings, which is owned by the Unification movement.[4][5]

Throughout its history, The Washington Times has been known for its conservative political stance.[6][7][8][9] It has drawn controversy for publishing racist content, including commentary and conspiracy theories about United States president Barack Obama[10][11] and support for neo-Confederatism.[12] It has published material promoting Islamophobia.[13] It has published many columns which reject the scientific consensus on climate change,[14][15][16] as well as on ozone depletion[17] and on the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

You might have mistook the link for the Washington Post, but the Times holds as much credibility as World Net Daily.

1st the “export” you cited (from the salon article) made a provably false claim: “the crime of treason can only be committed by an American citizen during time of war with a foreign enemy.”

Provable by whom? Oh, random person on the internet? i’m convinced. If you don’t get it by now, I am rejecting your interpretation of the clause. Like I said, cite a (reputable) expert who agrees with you. it should be easy since it is so obvious.