“Cult leader” Dwight “Malachi” York is locked up without bail in Georgia on a 208-count indictment for sexually abusing children. He now faces the possibility of life in prison, probably housed in protective custody, where most convicted child molesters end up.
But York’s devoted followers still believe in him.
The man once proclaimed as the “Imperial Grand Potentate” has more recently received bad press, so his loyal disciples have created their own newspaper that they hope will influence public opinion and the potential jury pool.
A Nuwaubian newspaper called “The Macon Messenger” is now being passed out where York will eventually stand trial, reports the Macon Telegraph.
The “tabloid” of course claims that the “cult leader” has been framed and villifies the sheriff, who is supposedly to blame for York’s misfortune. Proof of the old adage, “If you don’t like the message, kill the messenger.”
This is also an old cult strategy. That is, attack others and try to shift the focus from your group and/or leader to someone or something else. Jim Jones and David Koresh both used such tactics, creating scapegoats and elaborate conspiracy theories, rather than face the consequences of their own actions.
The Nuwaubians even made the ridiculous claim that the McMartin School child sexual abuse case in California somehow paralleled York’s indictment. Nothing could be further from the truth. The McMartin case relied upon “recovered memories,” which were later discredited, while York’s charges are corroborated by mulitple witnesses who can’t forget what he did to them.
It has been said that some Nuwaubians knew that York molested children and did nothing. Now their denial appears to have reached new proportions.
Often cult members, who are deeply invested in a group through years of involvement, emotional commitment and/or personal sacrifices, will do or deny almost anything to protect their sense of equity.
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