Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 41
Karen Robidoux will be tried in August, charged with second degree murder, while Mingo
faces charges of assault and battery.
The remaining sect children, taken into state custody and later adopted or placed with non-
group relatives were critical in making the case against Robidoux they offered information
about the death despite the parents‘ unwillingness to cooperate with authorities.
Defense attorney Francis O‘Boy says, ―I continue to believe he [Robidoux] is a good
person,‖ but added that the religious teachings ―drilled into his head by his father,‖ sect
founder Roland Robidoux, had clouded Jacques‘ judgement. O‘Boy said that his client‘s
testimony was ―chock full of remorse‖ despite the lack of an apology. (Tim Grace, Pawtucket
[RI] Times, 6/15/02, Internet)
Branch Davidians
Davidians Appeal Dismissal of Suit vs. Government
Branch Davidians and their families have appealed the dismissal of their $675 million
wrongful death lawsuit over the 1993 federal assault on the sect‘s Waco compound.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs accused U.S. District Judge Walter Smith of bias against the
Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh.
Koresh was among some 80 men, women and children killed after the Davidians‘ complex
burned to the ground April 19, 1993, after an armored federal assault. The action capped a
51-day siege that began following a raid by federal agents that killed four agents and six
Davidians. Smith dismissed the lawsuit in 2000, agreeing with an advisory jury‘s conclusion
that the government was not responsible for the deaths. In a 125-page brief filed with the
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the plaintiffs say Smith was involved in
the initial raid from its planning stages and that he manipulated and excluded evidence.
(AP, Internet, 4/19/02)
Church Universal and Triumphant
CUT Buys Church Building
The Church Universal and Triumphant, which has had its world headquarters in nearby
Corwin Springs since 1986, has bough the Church of the Nazarene building in Livingston,
MT, to serve its several dozen local members.
Throughout the 1980s and well into the 1990s, there was considerable animosity between
CUT and some of its neighbors, particularly when CUT followers built fallout shelters and
made other preparations for a nuclear apocalypse [predicted by retired CUT leader Elizabeth
Clare Prophet]. But tensions have since dissipated, especially as CUT has reduced its
presence in the county, closing down church-owned businesses, selling real estate, and
laying off hundreds of staff members. (Bozeman Chronicle, Internet, 5/4/02)
Eastern Lightning
Eastern Lightning “Cult” Frees China Gospel Fellowship Leaders
Thirty-four leaders of the underground China Gospel Fellowship, abducted two months ago
by Eastern Lightning — a group the Chinese government has branded an ―evil cult‖ —
have been released. Christian groups in the region, such as the Bangkok-based Christian
Harvest, say that Eastern Lightning has been abducting leaders of house churches for the
past ten years, beating and brainwashing captives.
Although China Gospel Fellowship is an underground Protestant church, and not registered
with the government, it is considered a mainstream evangelical group. Eastern Lightning,
founded in 1989 by Zhao Weisan — and also known as the Church of the Everlasting
Fountain and Real God — maintains that Jesus returned in 1990 in the form of a Henan
Karen Robidoux will be tried in August, charged with second degree murder, while Mingo
faces charges of assault and battery.
The remaining sect children, taken into state custody and later adopted or placed with non-
group relatives were critical in making the case against Robidoux they offered information
about the death despite the parents‘ unwillingness to cooperate with authorities.
Defense attorney Francis O‘Boy says, ―I continue to believe he [Robidoux] is a good
person,‖ but added that the religious teachings ―drilled into his head by his father,‖ sect
founder Roland Robidoux, had clouded Jacques‘ judgement. O‘Boy said that his client‘s
testimony was ―chock full of remorse‖ despite the lack of an apology. (Tim Grace, Pawtucket
[RI] Times, 6/15/02, Internet)
Branch Davidians
Davidians Appeal Dismissal of Suit vs. Government
Branch Davidians and their families have appealed the dismissal of their $675 million
wrongful death lawsuit over the 1993 federal assault on the sect‘s Waco compound.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs accused U.S. District Judge Walter Smith of bias against the
Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh.
Koresh was among some 80 men, women and children killed after the Davidians‘ complex
burned to the ground April 19, 1993, after an armored federal assault. The action capped a
51-day siege that began following a raid by federal agents that killed four agents and six
Davidians. Smith dismissed the lawsuit in 2000, agreeing with an advisory jury‘s conclusion
that the government was not responsible for the deaths. In a 125-page brief filed with the
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the plaintiffs say Smith was involved in
the initial raid from its planning stages and that he manipulated and excluded evidence.
(AP, Internet, 4/19/02)
Church Universal and Triumphant
CUT Buys Church Building
The Church Universal and Triumphant, which has had its world headquarters in nearby
Corwin Springs since 1986, has bough the Church of the Nazarene building in Livingston,
MT, to serve its several dozen local members.
Throughout the 1980s and well into the 1990s, there was considerable animosity between
CUT and some of its neighbors, particularly when CUT followers built fallout shelters and
made other preparations for a nuclear apocalypse [predicted by retired CUT leader Elizabeth
Clare Prophet]. But tensions have since dissipated, especially as CUT has reduced its
presence in the county, closing down church-owned businesses, selling real estate, and
laying off hundreds of staff members. (Bozeman Chronicle, Internet, 5/4/02)
Eastern Lightning
Eastern Lightning “Cult” Frees China Gospel Fellowship Leaders
Thirty-four leaders of the underground China Gospel Fellowship, abducted two months ago
by Eastern Lightning — a group the Chinese government has branded an ―evil cult‖ —
have been released. Christian groups in the region, such as the Bangkok-based Christian
Harvest, say that Eastern Lightning has been abducting leaders of house churches for the
past ten years, beating and brainwashing captives.
Although China Gospel Fellowship is an underground Protestant church, and not registered
with the government, it is considered a mainstream evangelical group. Eastern Lightning,
founded in 1989 by Zhao Weisan — and also known as the Church of the Everlasting
Fountain and Real God — maintains that Jesus returned in 1990 in the form of a Henan
