Newsletter - Breaking: Minnesota Shooter and His Suspected Extremist Cult Ties
More About the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and its Associated Groups
This past weekend marked the nationwide “No Kings” protest; I attended my local protest in Springfield, Massachusetts, and livestreamed it on Instagram; we have now put the video on YouTube. Also, this week’s livestream will be tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17th, at 3-4 p.m. EDT. I welcome everyone to tune in with questions and comments! Last week’s livestream was a great success; you can see the recording here if you missed it.
I learned that Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect in the recent Minnesota shootings that killed top state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounded another lawmaker and his wife, may have ties to a white supremacist sect. Specifically, he may be connected to the Branhamite “Message” cult, which has known associations with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement. I spoke yesterday with my colleague, Dr. John Collins, the expert on this group, and recorded this short video.
As I mentioned above, I attended the “No Kings” protest in my local area; reports that 5-11 million people protested nationwide. I also heard that 20 countries worldwide protested in solidarity with the protest against Trump’s regime. Trump claims 250k people attended his military parade in DC, however, legitimate sources estimated his crowd to be between 8,500-10,000 in attendance. There is a lot of disinformation coming from all sides. We all must be careful to be responsible when consuming and especially when sharing information online. Be very careful with Deepfake AI. It looks and sounds so real. Yikes!
I also made a short response to the viral video of General Mark Milley’s wise words about Trump’s parade. This veteran said it best: the military does not take an oath to a King or a wannabe dictator. They take an oath to the Constitution.
In this week’s episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, “Rapid Advancements in VR and AI: Understanding Opportunities and Necessary Boundaries,” my friend and colleague Dr. David Lane returns to the show. We discuss the rapid advancements in AI technology and the need for caution, regulation, and vigilance. We agree that it is important not to “outsource” our mental resources and allow AI to think for us. You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
In next week’s episode, “Social, Forensic, and Media Psychology: Law and Reform in Current Practices Surrounding Influence,” I will speak with Dr. Brian L. Cutler, a specialist in Forensic Psychology and the justice system. We will discuss police interrogation tactics and their implications for human rights. The video of our interview is now available to our YouTube members, so join our members today for early access to this video and future interviews released a week early!
Last week, I spoke on “Cults & Fascism—Finding the Way Out,” the latest episode of the Friday Power Lunch Podcast with hosts Carrie Short and Finale Norton. We talked about the cult of Trump and the creeping normalization of fascism in our lives and our country. They were also joined by Dr. Stephanie Gerber-Wilson of the Freedom Over Fascism podcast. All in all, it’s an episode you’ll want to listen to!
Last week’s paid subscriber only blog post, “Cancel Culture is Bad for Everyone,” explored how cancel culture has become a significant tactic in modern politics, particularly used on social media and legacy media. It is a rebranded form of the shunning and ostracism that mark cult-like thinking and behavior. Right, Left, or Center, we must not fall prey to blocking out people we disagree with. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, now is an excellent time to become one.
Finally, we are looking to audition a possible co-host for my podcast; the ideal candidate will be an ex-cult member and/or mental health professional who has read my books and taken my online course. Please email center@freedomofmind.com for more information.
Previously, on our podcast, I interviewed Lane on his work with cults and gurus. In Part II, David Christopher Lane, PhD and I discussed his experiences with the worlds of Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and neuroscience. In addition to his engaging and in-depth experiences in consciousness studies, cult-mind communities, and concerns surrounding growing authoritarianism, Dr. Lane is also a Professor of Philosophy and Sociology at Mt. San Antonio College. He is an accomplished author of numerous books, audiobooks, and mini-films. In our last episode with him, we spoke in-depth about his book, The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar, the stories that led up to this, and many more of his writings.
Read the blog post or listen to the podcast, below:
We have been wading into authoritarian waters for some time now. For most of human history, shunning, excommunication, and public humiliation have been used for social conformity. The Puritans, for instance, used to whip members who broke rules publicly. The Ancient Greeks allowed white male citizens to write someone’s name on a broken piece of pottery and have them exiled for 10 years. The modern versions include “calling out” or “canceling,” which are instantaneous and often occur in our digital town square: social media.
As always, please let us know what you think about these pieces or what you’d like to see us discuss in the future. Thanks so much!
Thanks for this informative message.
Why is the news not picking this up, this is crucial for people to know that it’s not just a conservative Christian, but it’s a cult member. The word has to get out.