Tag Archives: cults

Courthouse News reports: David Miscavige, the second and current head of the Church of Scientology, is a hard man to find. Plaintiffs in two separate cases are trying to serve Miscavige with complaints and summons, but the religious leader has proved elusive. On Thursday, a Superior Court judge agreed to a request by Miscavige’s lawyers to quash a summons — …

Al Jazeera reports: A Kenyan court has charged cult leader Paul Mackenzie with “terrorism”-related crimes over the deaths of 429 of his followers. The self-proclaimed pastor was charged along with 94 others on Thursday over the deaths of followers whose bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest near the Indian Ocean. The charges, announced during an appearance before a …

“You saw the number of Republicans who voted along with Democrats to keep the government open, so there’s clearly a common sense, sane part of the Republican caucus in the House. But I think they are intimidated. “They oftentimes, you know, say and do things which they know better than to say or do, and it will require us defeating …

Agence France-Presse reports: Kenyan authorities have banned five churches including that of a suspected cult leader accused of inciting more than 400 of his followers to starve themselves to death, a government document said Friday. The registrar of societies said in a gazette notice that the licence of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries was cancelled. Mackenzie …

The Associated Press reports: The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult based in a …

Vice News reports: The leader of a QAnon cult who convinced thousands of people that former president John F. Kennedy and his son JFK, Jr. are still alive has died, VICE News can exclusively report. Michael Protzman, 60, died last Friday in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota a week after an accident at the Meadow Valley Motocross track in …

Reuters reports: A Kenyan accused of involvement in the deaths of hundreds of members of a starvation cult has died after a 10-day hunger strike in police custody, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. Joseph Buyuka was among 30 people, including self-styled pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church, in custody over the deaths of 337 followers of the church. …

Kenyans.com reports: Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church and his co-accused, including his wife, Rhodah Mumbua, on Wednesday, June 7, began a hunger strike in prison. According to their lawyer, Mackenzie, his wife and the rest of the suspects were angered by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki’s threat that he would ensure the pastor stays in prison for life. …

People Magazine reports: The producers of the upcoming docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets are shedding light on how the scandals surrounding the Duggar family all connect back to their controversial Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) church. The upcoming limited series, premiering on Prime Video in June, aims to embark on a deep exploration into the family’s concerning …

Oregon Live reports: A Multnomah County jury on Friday found a pastor of a religious group guilty of sexually abusing a former member when she was a child – the third time a jury has reached a verdict against Michael Sperou. Though he was found guilty of sexually abusing one victim, six other women came forward years ago with their …

The Telegraph reports: Kenyan cult leaders may have harvested the organs of followers they convinced to starve to death to meet Jesus, police have said. Police believe most of the bodies are followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver who became a pastor and is now accused of ordering them to forgo food “to meet Jesus”, because the world …

The Associated Press reports: Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the starvation deaths of dozens of followers of a pastor in the south of the country is akin to terrorism. He said the pastor, Paul Makenzi, who is in police custody belongs to jail and not to any religion. “Mr. Makenzi … pretends and postures as a pastor when …

Reuters reports: Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. Earlier this month, police rescued 15 members of the group — …

The Guardian reports: A financial fraudster who lured students at an elite New York liberal arts college into a cult-like world of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse was sentenced on Friday to 60 years in federal prison. Larry Ray, born Lawrence Grecco, was found guilty in April of sex trafficking and racketeering, among other related charges, stemming from the psychological …

The Daily Beast reports: Kirstie Alley will be cremated and remembered during a memorial service at the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, according to the Daily Mail. The Cheers actress and longtime Scientologist dedicated herself to the organization in 1979 while struggling with substance abuse issues, crediting the group’s drug treatment program, called Narconon, for breaking her cocaine habit. She …

The Savannah Morning News reports: The FBI on Thursday raided three churches associated with the House of Prayer Christian Church in Georgia and Texas.  The House of Prayer is owned by the foreign nonprofit company House of Prayer Christian Churches of America Inc., which registered with the Georgia Secretary of State in 2004. Its churches, which are primarily located near …

The New York Post reports: People familiar with the family’s particular sect of fundamentalist Christianity, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), claim it has played a role in enabling abuse by Josh Duggar and others. Michelle and Jim Bob were expected to speak at an IBLP conference before their son’s arrest. The many Duggar children were home-schooled using a …

Vice News reports:  His speaker bio on the CPAC website notes that Hiroaki “Jay” Aeba is the chairman of the Japanese Conservative Union (JCU), a right-wing political organization, and that he helped found CPAC Japan, which has been running for the last four years in Tokyo. What isn’t mentioned is the central role Aeba plays in a Japanese cult called …

Law & Crime reports: The leader of a New York-based sex cult called NXIVM (nex-ee-um), which branded itself as a self-help group for elites, was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday to life in prison. Through his defense lawyers, Keith Raniere, 60, maintained until the end that he is not sorry for his conduct because he …

The Associated Press reports: A tiny religious organization tied to Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee, sought to erase all mentions and photos of her from its website before she meets with lawmakers and faces questions at her Senate confirmation hearings. Barrett, a federal appeals judge, has declined to publicly discuss her decades-long affiliation with People of Praise, …