1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 ... 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,000 ... 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,000 No toys, no play, no childhood. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,000 All in the name of God. 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,000 A&E investigates the 12 tribes. 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,000 How old were you when you first realized 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,000 something's wrong here? 8 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,000 ... 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 When we think about harmful cults, 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 we don't think about our next-door neighbors. 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,000 People see these nice people who are very hospitable, 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000 but what they don't see is what happens behind closed doors. 13 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:44,000 The 12 tribes believed staunchly in corporal punishment. 14 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,000 How often did that happen? 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,000 On a daily basis. 16 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,000 The very foundation of the community was 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,000 based on obedience and submission. 18 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,000 They've hurt so many people, 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 and when they find out what I'm doing, 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,000 they will shut down contact with my family. 21 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,000 And I still feel like I'm not free. 22 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,000 ... 23 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:14,000 ... 24 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 ... 25 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000 ... 26 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:29,000 ... 27 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 ... 28 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 ... 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000 My grandparents were normal, middle-class American people, 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 but they had become disillusioned with their local church, 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 and they wanted to be part of something different, 32 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,000 and that's really what attracted them to the 12 tribes. 33 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 We lived all together, 50 to 60 people in a house, 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,000 living exactly word for word what it said in the Bible. 35 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 You couldn't show skin below your collarbone. 36 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 You couldn't wear a shirt that didn't cover up to your elbows. 37 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,000 I had to part my hair down the middle. 38 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 I had to wear it in a low braid or twist it in a bun, 39 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 and that was even considered borderline. 40 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 We were told to abide by the rules of the leader has set, 41 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,000 no matter what. 42 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,000 When you literally live every step of your life 43 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,000 to please someone else, it's a scary thing. 44 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,000 ... 45 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:42,000 ... 46 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000 ... 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:46,000 This is what we live for. 48 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,000 It's what we breathe for. 49 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,000 We want His kingdom to come, and His will be done. 50 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,000 We want to carry out His will upon the earth. 51 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Spriggs is a charismatic individual who was vibrant. 52 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,000 He would speak about the Scriptures in a way 53 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 that a lot of the young people had never heard them spoken about 54 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 in the churches that they had grown up in or gone to. 55 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,000 It is a very appealing belief system, lifestyle, for young people. 56 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,000 A lot of it is in line with what would be considered 57 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,000 historic Christianity. 58 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,000 It's where he deviates that it becomes so dangerous. 59 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 I mean, I was struck by Gene Spriggs, you know, 60 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 the leader of 12 tribes claimed Martin Luther King 61 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,000 was filled with the evil spirit. 62 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Yes. 63 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 You know, homosexual behavior is immoral and mortally dangerous. 64 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,000 I mean, I'm sure they're not telling everybody that 65 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 at the Friday night feast. 66 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:39,000 No, absolutely not. 67 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Those are written in teachings, and usually it's many months 68 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,000 or even years later that people start to realize. 69 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,000 And at that point, their red flags and their critical thinking skills 70 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 has been so diminished that they don't see anything wrong with it anymore, 71 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,000 because they see the bigger picture, or they think they see the bigger picture, 72 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:01,000 of purifying themselves for the purpose that God has created them for. 73 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:06,000 So it becomes all about the agenda and not the beliefs. 74 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,000 And are the teachings as racist and homophobic 75 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,000 as these statements from the group's leader? 76 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,000 Absolutely. Even worse. 77 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Spriggs started giving more and more off-the-wall teachings 78 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,000 when you look at them. 79 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 That which deals with homosexuality, 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,000 the wearing of cotton against one's skin, 81 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,000 women having head coverings and wearing long soos pants, 82 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:43,000 men rolling up their pant legs at this point. 83 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,000 All of this became law. 84 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 He believed that as he was reading the Old Testament in particular, 85 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:55,000 that he was gaining insight into God's purpose for his life. 86 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,000 And the message is that Yeshua, Jesus, 87 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 will not return until the 12 tribes of Israel 88 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000 are geographically established on the face of the earth. 89 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 Once that is done, then they will be able to produce 90 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,000 a pure 12,000 individuals from each tribe 91 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,000 who will be able to usher in the Kingdom of God. 92 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 It's an evil world, and our Father has saved us 93 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000 out from this wicked and perverse, 94 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 this miscreant generation. 95 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,000 And here we are in a secure, wonderful place 96 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,000 where we can raise our children in peace. 97 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:42,000 What were you told in terms of the religious purpose of 12 tribes? 98 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Like, what were you indoctrinated? 99 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 We were indoctrinated by the 12 tribes. 100 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,000 What were you indoctrinated with? 101 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,000 We were God's chosen people. 102 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,000 We were going to bring in the end times. 103 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 We were going to be the only chosen people 104 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,000 that God would save when he destroyed the earth. 105 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Does anybody ever, in the whole time you were part of this cult, 106 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,000 did anybody ever say, I don't agree with that? 107 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,000 There have been times, absolutely, where people disagreed or asked questions, 108 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,000 and those people were shunned. 109 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,000 They were what we... 110 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Escorted out? I mean, what? 111 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Absolutely, and they were considered dead. 112 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:33,000 What happens in these groups, 113 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,000 and seemingly what happened in 12 tribes, 114 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:40,000 is a family member who departs, the departing person, is dead to them. 115 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:51,000 And you can ask the people who haven't rebelled against 116 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,000 what the word of God teaches, 117 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 you can ask the people who are here, you know, 118 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 and you can see what we actually do and what we believe, 119 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 but you can't believe there were those who have left this place 120 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,000 because of their rebellion. 121 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Hey! 122 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,000 How are you? Good, how are you? 123 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Good, good to see you. You too. 124 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000 Would you like some tea? I would love a cup of tea. 125 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Ashley Allen is actually a woman I knew as a child. 126 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,000 We grew up together in the 12 tribes. 127 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,000 The first thing I have to show you are the readers. 128 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Okay, yes. Let's start with all the goodies. 129 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,000 Okay, all right. 130 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,000 These weren't allowed books, so these were our storybooks as children. 131 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,000 And they're all stories just about the community, about community life. 132 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Yeah. 133 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,000 I'm often asked what life was like growing up in the 12 tribes. 134 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:02,000 We didn't have outside music or television. 135 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,000 We never went to outside doctors. 136 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,000 We never went to public school. 137 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,000 The beliefs are there all the time. 138 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 They're all around you, and it's constant. 139 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:17,000 In the 12 tribes, children are the future. 140 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:22,000 They're the set of expectations of children in the 12 tribes. 141 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:28,000 We were always expected to be the perfect embodiment of the 12 tribes. 142 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,000 So everything is centered around creating the next perfect generation. 143 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Without the perfect generation, 144 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:40,000 we're not going to be able to bring about the second coming of Yahshua. 145 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Typical child behavior, things like not raising our hand at the dinner table 146 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,000 when we needed to get up and go to the bathroom 147 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,000 or not asking for seconds without being offered, 148 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,000 not finishing our food, we were spanked for. 149 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,000 The 12 tribes believed staunchly in corporal punishment 150 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 for the most innocuous of offenses. 151 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,000 They claimed they were falling up to the highest level 152 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,000 by not filing a particular biblical scripture. 153 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Proverbs 13 and 24? 154 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,000 If you spare the rod for your child, then you hate them. 155 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 If you love your child, you will not spare the rod from them. 156 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,000 So this combination about filing what they believe is biblical teachings 157 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 in the context of mixing up love and hate 158 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,000 can be emotionally, psychologically very damaging to the kid. 159 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:43,000 I was a journalist in Germany who went undercover into a 12 tribes commune 160 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 and lived there for a week or so 161 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 and was able to record several instances of very small children. 162 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Yes. 163 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,000 I think 80 instances, actually, 164 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:59,000 of these tiny kids being taken by adults into a darkened corner and being whipped. 165 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Elizabeth, that was the first time that I know there was actual documentation 166 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,000 beyond accounts and reports. 167 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,000 People saw it on tape. 168 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,000 The people like Sammy who have been saying this is happening 169 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000 and then you go to the 12 tribes leadership and they say, oh, no, it's just... 170 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:24,000 This is not abusive and overly aggressive paddling and beating and spanking. 171 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:25,000 We discipline with love. 172 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,000 We discipline with love. 173 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,000 And that videotape didn't show discipline with love. 174 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:42,000 It wasn't just the 3- to 13-year-old children that were punished either. 175 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,000 There were babies as young as 6 months old 176 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,000 that were expected to not cry during the service. 177 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:11,000 It was all in the name of, you know, perfecting them. 178 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,000 They were God's chosen people, so they had to be perfect. 179 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,000 We use sound wisdom and discretion. 180 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,000 We use a small balloon stick that's thin and flexible 181 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000 and we spank children on the hand or the bottom to teach them respect. 182 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 In the 12 tribes, any adult can discipline any child at any time 183 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000 without parental permission and without ever informing the parents. 184 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000 Whenever there has been a problem with child discipline, 185 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,000 it has been because the parents didn't obey 186 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,000 and follow the teachings of the community. 187 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,000 Their teachings go pretty far outside of 188 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,000 what is acceptable for corporal punishment. 189 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,000 There were many, many occasions on which I was beaten for 4 hours at a time. 190 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,000 I witnessed some being beaten as long as 8 hours... 191 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,000 ...till they bled. 192 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:42,000 12 tribes compounded in Vermont was raided by local authorities. 193 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,000 More than 100 children were taken into protective custody. 194 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,000 The state feared the children were being badly beaten 195 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,000 as part of the strict discipline imposed by church parents. 196 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,000 And that's just what the state is trying to do, 197 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,000 prosecute if there is evidence of child abuse. 199 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,000 the most violent and violent in the world. 200 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 201 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 202 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 203 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 204 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 205 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 206 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 207 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,000 It has been the most violent and violent in the world. 208 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,000 They didn't make it legal because they didn't have 209 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,000 words for every child with their legal name on it. 210 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000 How did it do with no birth records and records of any kind? 211 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,000 Right, but nobody knows whose name is who. 212 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,000 Everyone goes by one Hebrew name that's given to them 213 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,000 when they join the community. No one knows legal names. 214 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,000 And we moved around so much that there was never a legal address. 215 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,000 It's common with these groups. 216 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,000 Outside officials are, in many cases, enemies of Satan. 217 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,000 And they're out to destroy God's work. 218 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,000 So lying to an outside official is acceptable 219 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,000 if the lie is in the context of doing what's best for God. 220 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,000 What do they lie about? 221 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:18,000 Well, the big issue, of course, is the severity of the corporal punishment. 222 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,000 This is taken a step further where other adults, 223 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,000 not your parents, are perfectly allowed to paddle a child, 224 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,000 to hit a child. How often did that happen? 225 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,000 On a daily basis. 226 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,000 It was part of being a member. 227 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:37,000 The parents relinquish their ability to have any say in their child's rearing. 228 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,000 So are children communal property? 229 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,000 Absolutely. The most difficult aspect of it for me 230 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,000 was the feeling of vulnerability and violation. 231 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,000 And without being in the community, without being saved in prayer, 232 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 that I was worthless. 233 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,000 How long? 234 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Did I feel that way? Yeah. 235 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,000 My whole life. It's something I still work... 236 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,000 I'm still working to, you know, recover from and heal. 237 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000 Self-esteem is probably one of my... 238 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,000 my biggest struggles. 239 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,000 They tried to break you. 240 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000 I couldn't protect myself. 241 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,000 And there was no one else there to protect me. 242 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,000 I don't know if you have anything like this, like a journal from back then. 243 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,000 This is when I was 17, and I'm saying, God, where are you? 244 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,000 I wrote, everyone knows me as this bad, insane, stupid person, 245 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,000 and they think I'm trash. 246 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,000 I might as well go where all the other trash goes, 247 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000 because all I have to give is garbage. 248 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,000 It's devastating. 249 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,000 I was seven years old when I first decided that I wanted to leave. 250 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,000 My father played guitar, and he was one of the musicians for the services that we had, 251 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,000 which were every morning and every evening. 252 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,000 He had noticed that someone had been fooling around with his guitar, 253 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:12,000 and he kept asking, and this little boy stepped forward and said, I saw her do it. 254 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 I remember thinking, why would he say that about me? 255 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000 You know, I would... I know better than that. 256 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,000 And, you know, I'm standing in front of 150 people, 257 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000 and my parents asked me in front of everyone, did you do it? 258 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000 And I said, no, I didn't do that. I would never do that. 259 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000 And they said, you're lying. Go to your room. 260 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,000 For the next seven days, I was given one meal a day, 261 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,000 and I couldn't leave my bed. 262 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000 And every day, a different adult would bring me a plate of food for dinner, 263 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 and they would say to me, why don't you just tell the truth? 264 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,000 I remember praying every day. 265 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,000 Saying, God, why can't you just tell them? 266 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,000 Why can't you just tell them I am... 267 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000 I am telling the truth? 268 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,000 And it just... I didn't understand. 269 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,000 They would tell me God spoke to them. 270 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,000 God spoke to me today, and he told me this. 271 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000 So I said to myself, 272 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000 they're all full of s***. 273 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,000 If he really... if they really did hear from God, he would tell them. 274 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,000 And after a week, I said, it's all a joke. 275 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000 After that week, I said, I'm sorry. 276 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:56,000 After that, I said to myself, as soon as I was old enough, I was out. 277 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,000 When I was 18 years old, I was at rock bottom. 278 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:08,000 I was just tired of pretending like I was happy, pretending like I believed in it. 279 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000 It was October 17, 2005. 280 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:20,000 I remember standing in front of my parents and my uncles and aunts 281 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 and telling them, I don't know what's out there, 282 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000 but I'm going to go and find out. 283 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:32,000 And my father said, we decided that you're going to come live with your Ima and I 284 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,000 until you get your sanity back. 285 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,000 That night, my parents wouldn't let me sleep in my bedroom. 286 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000 They made me sleep on the floor in their room 287 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,000 because they were afraid that I would sneak out in the middle of the night 288 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,000 when everyone was sleeping. 289 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,000 The next morning, my mom had a really bad headache, 290 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000 so she went to lay down for a nap, 291 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:53,000 and my father left the house with my little brother and sister. 292 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,000 I remember hugging and kissing them both. 293 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:01,000 I took my little sister by the head, and I said, this is for you. 294 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000 And that was the last time I saw her. 295 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000 I called my third cousins. 296 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,000 I had met them once, and they were my only lifeline. 297 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,000 Their daughter answered the phone. 298 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,000 She said, I can be there by five. 299 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 So I knew there was a coffee shop next to, like, the town commons, 300 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,000 so I said to her, I said, meet me in front. 301 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,000 And I picked up my backpack and my coat, 302 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,000 and I tiptoed out the front door and closed it as quietly as I could. 303 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,000 And I started to walk. 304 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,000 And then I started to run. 305 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,000 I remember hearing in my head my mom yelling my name, 306 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,000 and I could hear her heart breaking. 307 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,000 I got to where I was supposed to meet my cousin, 308 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,000 and I saw her car, and I ran and jumped in it. 309 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:03,000 I exhaled, and I was free. 310 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,000 At least that's what I thought. 311 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000 It lasted for three days. 312 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,000 And then my older sister, Shalem, convinced me to go to dinner with her. 313 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,000 She was my sister. I trusted her. 314 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,000 So she picked me up. 315 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,000 So I said, where are we going? 316 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,000 And she said, your father wants to see you. 317 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,000 And I said, I don't want to see him. 318 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,000 I have nothing to say to him right now. 319 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,000 When I'm ready, I'll let you know. 320 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,000 I said, I don't want to see him. 321 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000 I have nothing to say to him right now. 322 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,000 When I'm ready, I'll see him. 323 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,000 And they said, it's not an option. 324 00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:00,000 We started to get further and further away from any buildings or lights or anything, 325 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,000 and we started down a dirt road, and it was getting dark out. 326 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,000 We pulled up. 327 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,000 I saw through the windows into the living room, 328 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,000 and there was my uncles and my aunts and my dad, 329 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,000 and they were all just sitting around waiting for me. 330 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000 I was so scared. 331 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,000 Because I had done something really bad in their mind, 332 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:25,000 and I turned and I ran, and I realized I didn't know where I was. 333 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000 There's nowhere to go. 334 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,000 They came outside, and they said, 335 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,000 you're going to stay with your dad. 336 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,000 You'll get your sanity back. 337 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000 You'll learn that this is where you belong. 338 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:55,000 And we stayed in this cottage for two months. 339 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:00,000 We would sit and we would talk, and we would fight, and he would cry, 340 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,000 and he would just say, the world is an evil place, 341 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,000 and I just would get more and more angry with him. 342 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000 How could he say that? It's not true. 343 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,000 I believe there is something else good out there. 344 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:19,000 It felt so good to say how I felt, to just be honest. 345 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000 And he had written me a letter. 346 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000 In the letter, he talks about how I was three years old, 347 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,000 and I was very sick. 348 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,000 I was laying so still, he thought I wasn't breathing anymore. 349 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,000 And then he goes on in the next paragraph, 350 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,000 and he says, I know and realize now that it would have been better 351 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,000 for you to have died on that night... 352 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:54,000 ...not so long ago than for you to be doing what you're doing today, 353 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,000 for you have aligned yourself with the evil one. 354 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,000 He disowned me. 355 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,000 He said, if you choose to not live my life, 356 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,000 then you're not my daughter anymore. 357 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,000 And it was that simple for him. 358 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,000 My only choice was to run away again. 359 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,000 And the next day I was gone. 360 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000 I didn't waste a second. 361 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,000 When I left, I separated myself completely from that life. 362 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,000 I cut my hair, I changed my name. 363 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,000 I changed every single bit about who I was. 364 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,000 I turned my back on that life, and I felt alone so often. 365 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,000 What was your assumed Hebrew name? 366 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000 Batakh Yakara. 367 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 You can see why I changed my name. 368 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,000 What are some of the things silly or innocuous 369 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:58,000 that you remember from those first days, weeks, and months 370 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000 in the real world? 371 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Lipstick. 372 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Lipstick. 373 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000 That was a big thing for me. 374 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:07,000 I didn't really know how to do my makeup, 375 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:12,000 and I just had this little infatuation with being able to put color on my lips, 376 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,000 and I felt like I was prettier. 377 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Shaving. 378 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,000 Shaving. 379 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,000 That was a really big one. 380 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000 We weren't allowed to shave, so I remember going to work, 381 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000 and there was two girls, they were college students, 382 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000 they were working in the back with me. 383 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,000 And I asked them how to get rid of these little red bumps on my legs 384 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,000 from I keep getting them after I shave. 385 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,000 And they're like, oh, you mean razor burn? 386 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,000 I'm like, oh, there's a word for it. 387 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,000 There's a term for it. 388 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,000 You had never learned any of that. 389 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:45,000 How many family members did you cut yourself off from that day by running? 390 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,000 40, 50. 391 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,000 50 family members. 392 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,000 And the rules were what? 393 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000 You were now shunned? 394 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,000 I was disowned. 395 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000 I wasn't part of the family anymore. 396 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,000 I wasn't welcome there. 397 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,000 13 years later, I still haven't seen my little brother and sister. 398 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,000 When someone leaves the 12 tribes, 399 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,000 everyone is told they're not allowed to speak to them, 400 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,000 to associate with them. 401 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,000 It's a method of shunning. 402 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,000 I am the one who chose to turn my back on God. 403 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Therefore, I am to be rejected. 404 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,000 He was eight the last time I saw him. 405 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:32,000 He's 21 now. 406 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000 Oh, my gosh. 407 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,000 Let's see. 408 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,000 My oldest sister, Shalem, you probably remember her. 409 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Yeah. 410 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,000 My older sister has been a little bit more receptive to seeing me, 411 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,000 which is great, since no one else in my family really is. 412 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,000 Considering what we've been through in terms of our relationship with each other 413 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,000 over the years, we have as good of a relationship as we possibly can. 414 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,000 She's always treated me as much as she could as a sister. 415 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:03,000 She tries as best as she can to not completely forget about me. 416 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,000 She's the only one in my family who does that. 417 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,000 In the 12 tribes, that's rare. 418 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,000 It's really rare. 419 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000 So everyone in my family, except for my older brother, 420 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,000 everyone's still there. 421 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,000 Such a shame. 422 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:24,000 And that's something that's really hard for me to digest, you know? 423 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,000 Yeah. 424 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,000 I still have hung on to this hope for the last 13 years almost 425 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,000 that one day I'll get a call from my siblings, 426 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,000 and they'll say, I need your help. 427 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:38,000 I want to get out. 428 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,000 And that's what keeps me going. 429 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,000 Chattanooga is where it all started. 430 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:45,000 Yeah. 431 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000 It's such a significant place, you know? 432 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000 Just always growing up and hearing about the original Chattanooga community. 433 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,000 The history there. 434 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,000 Yeah, just the history. 435 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,000 I can't change that the 12 tribes exists. 436 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 I can't change what they've done to my family. 437 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,000 But I want to see what's going on in the 12 tribes today. 438 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000 I want to understand what my family has been through. 439 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000 You know, since I've been gone, what's changed? 440 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,000 What's the feeling like going there and seeing people? 441 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,000 You know? 442 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,000 I don't interact with them at all now. 443 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,000 So seeing what's going on there today... 444 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,000 Yeah. 445 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,000 ...is going to be an interesting experience. 446 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Ed Wiseman generally considered the group second in command 447 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,000 to founder and apostle Eugene Albert Springs. 448 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,000 Jesus Christ himself established that, 449 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,000 and he gave authority to the church to be that lie. 450 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,000 The word is clear that you have to obey the word. 451 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:09,000 The word is clear that you have to obey what you believe 452 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,000 and surrender your life to obedience to the word of God. 453 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,000 Eddie Wiseman, tell me about him. 454 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,000 He's an original when it comes to... 455 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,000 An original member. 456 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,000 An original member. 457 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,000 They call them the Nucleus. 458 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,000 It's like a group of the original members... 459 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:25,000 Mm-hmm. 460 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,000 ...who have throughout, you know, the history of the group, 461 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,000 filled leadership roles. 462 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,000 He worked very closely with, you know, 463 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,000 sprigs as, you know, right-hand man kind of thing. 464 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,000 Someone to fear? 465 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,000 Someone to fear, absolutely. 466 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,000 Someone who could enforce the rules. 467 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:44,000 So this is it, huh? 468 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,000 Yep. 469 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000 This is university housing, probably? 470 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,000 Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 471 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,000 It's all university, all around it. 472 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:08,000 The Yellow Deli restaurants are used as a tool to recruit people. 473 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,000 The location of the Chattanooga Yellow Deli is on the campus 474 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,000 for the University of Tennessee, 475 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:19,000 where there are young, receptive youth and young adults 476 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:23,000 that are open to different ideas, 477 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000 and they're searching for answers. 478 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,000 You know, a lot of them are looking for certain fulfillments, 479 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,000 and it is put there as a place to recruit. 480 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,000 There's no question about that. 481 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,000 Yay! 482 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,000 You made it. Yep. Good to see you. 483 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,000 Good to see you, too. Thanks for coming. 484 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,000 I'm Roger Arnold. 485 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,000 I am a former member of the Twelve Tribes. 486 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,000 The appeal of the Twelve Tribes was they offered the opportunity 487 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:56,000 to live 24-7, 365, in Christian community. 488 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,000 And yet, at the same time, there was a lot of darkness that was underneath 489 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,000 the constant requirements of submission and obedience. 490 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,000 And it's a very patriarchal, hierarchical system 491 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:14,000 that gave a lot of emphasis on authority and the use of authority. 492 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:21,000 A lot of elders took that as a total license to become tyrants. 493 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:27,000 And that shift began to see people leaving the community. 494 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,000 So is this your first time, too? Yeah. 495 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,000 All right. First for both of us. Yep. 496 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,000 OMG. 497 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,000 Three. Three, please. 498 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,000 You know, people see these nice people who are very hospitable 499 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,000 and they have great food and they, you know, welcome people into their restaurant. 500 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:57,000 But what they don't see is what happens behind closed doors. 501 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000 Hey, how's it going? 502 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,000 I just wanted to know what the deal was. I've seen you all around. 503 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,000 I just wanted to let you know, I've really used to seeing Aaron. 504 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,000 I've heard some negative stuff about these guys, 505 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,000 but these guys are really cool. Oh, yeah? 506 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,000 Yeah, yeah. They love you. They're kind to you. 507 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000 They treat you like human beings, as other people don't. 508 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000 Are you a member of their organization? Do you work here? 509 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,000 Have you been thinking about it? I don't know, yeah. 510 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,000 I'm just kind of new and freshman. 511 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,000 With the 12 tribes, cafes are like, you know, the Venus flytrap 512 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000 where people are sucked in. 513 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,000 Thanks. 514 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000 Can I ask you a random question? 515 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,000 I think at some point in my life I lived with you. 516 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,000 Your name was Susan, right? Yeah. 517 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,000 Yes. Do you remember me at all? 518 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,000 What's your name? It used to be Batak. 519 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Brasa. Oh, my goodness. 520 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Rochor and Rooster. Oh, my goodness. 521 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,000 Wanted to say hello. 522 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000 It was a long time ago. Yeah, it's been a long time. 523 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,000 But it's nice to see your face again. 524 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,000 You too. 525 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:18,000 I feel bad. I really like there's a sort of pity that I have. 526 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000 Hi, how's it going? You're the main guy? 527 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,000 I'm the main guy, yeah. How are you? 528 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,000 And what's your name? My name's Alex. 529 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,000 Who are you? Alex? Yeah. 530 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,000 Now I'm a member of the 12 tribes. 531 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,000 I just want to know what you're doing, because you're... 532 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,000 We're doing a documentary about various different faiths 533 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,000 and movements and organizations and stuff like that. 534 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,000 What's happening? Who is that? 535 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000 But I'd love to set up an interview with you if you'd like. 536 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,000 What's your name? 537 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,000 Eddie Wiseman. Eddie Wiseman? 538 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,000 The Eddie Wiseman? He's here? 539 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,000 He's sitting right there talking to Alex. 540 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000 He is the number two person. 541 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,000 Eddie, would you like to set up an interview? 542 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:14,000 Of course not. 543 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 The story that we have to tell is on our website. 544 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,000 Correct me if I'm wrong. 545 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,000 Do you believe in corporal punishment of children? 546 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000 Corporal discipline, yeah. 547 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,000 Corporal discipline. 548 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,000 To the point of severe bruising? 549 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,000 No. 550 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,000 To the point of severe bruising? 551 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000 No. 552 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000 To the point of severe bruising? 553 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:33,000 No. 554 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,000 To the point of severe bruising? 555 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000 No. 556 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,000 To the point of severe bruising? 557 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000 No. 558 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000 Of stuff like that happening though? 559 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,000 Not in recent times. 560 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:47,000 Every religion, they remember who do criminal things. 561 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:48,000 Sure. 562 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:49,000 We stand by everything we say. 563 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,000 Can I? Oh, sorry. 564 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,000 Do you think they knew that? Oh. 565 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,000 I don't think they caught on that I was there. 566 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:09,000 I haven't seen them in over a decade. 567 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,000 But we told them in the... 568 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,000 Right. 569 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,000 ...cafe. 570 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000 I told one person who I was. 571 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,000 News travels fast in the community, so... 572 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:19,000 She could have said, oh, well, it was so-and-so, you know? 573 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,000 And somebody watched us enough to know how far down the road we went 574 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,000 that they knew to come into that parking lot. 575 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,000 Right. 576 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,000 I just hate that it always feels like it has to be a confrontation. 577 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,000 Right. 578 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,000 Why can't it be a conversation? 579 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,000 Why can't it just be a discussion? 580 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,000 Seeing Eddie Wiseman and his wife, Jean Swanko, in the parking lot, 581 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000 it's a scary thing. 582 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,000 You know, it was a brief encounter, 583 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,000 but when they find out what I'm doing, 584 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,000 they will shut down contact with my family. 585 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,000 That's how they protect themselves, 586 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,000 is they lash out at people who come against them. 587 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,000 What were you thinking when you tangled with Eddie Wiseman? 588 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,000 I'm so torn. 589 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,000 I'm so torn whether I want to tell my story, 590 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,000 I want to speak out, 591 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000 but at the cost of losing the little communication 592 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,000 with my sister that I have. 593 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,000 Is there any chance that any other members of your family, 594 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Shalem, any of your other sisters, brothers, will also leave? 595 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,000 I don't know. 596 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,000 I don't know. 597 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,000 I don't know. 598 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,000 I don't know. 599 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,000 I don't know. 600 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,000 I don't know. 601 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,000 I don't know. 602 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,000 I don't know. 603 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,000 I don't know. 604 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,000 I don't know. 605 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,000 I don't know. 606 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,000 I don't know. 607 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,000 I don't know. 608 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,000 I don't know. 609 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,000 I don't know. 610 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,000 I don't know. 611 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:05,000 You know, an alert sent out that something was going on 612 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,000 and people were suspicious of what I'm doing. 613 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:12,000 My sister probably wouldn't agree to meet with me. 614 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,000 I don't think it got that far. 615 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:18,000 The news got that far yet, so I... 616 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,000 I guess I count myself lucky so far. 617 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,000 I really don't know what I'm going to say to her, to be honest. 618 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,000 I think, you know, it all depends on how the conversation goes. 619 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,000 The reason I've kept that relationship open with her 620 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,000 even through everything we've been through 621 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,000 is because I hope that she'll, when she does, leave, 622 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,000 and I still hope that she will. 623 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,000 You know, she'll be able to reach out to me, 624 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,000 and she'll know who to call, 625 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,000 and she'll know that I'm there to help 626 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,000 and I'm not angry with her. 627 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000 There's a lot of history there. 628 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000 There's a lot of, like, emotions. 629 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:02,000 I think a good night's sleep and, you know, waking up tomorrow, 630 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,000 I'll feel good about seeing her. 631 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000 It's three minutes away. 632 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,000 The restaurant? Yeah. 633 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,000 Good. 634 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,000 So, I'm going to go and get her. 635 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,000 I'm going to go and get her. 636 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,000 I'm going to go and get her. 637 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,000 I'm going to go and get her. 638 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000 I'm going to go and get her. 639 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,000 I'm going to go and get her. 640 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,000 I'm going to go and get her. 641 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,000 I'm going to go and get her. 642 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,000 I'm going to go and get her. 643 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,000 I'm going to go and get her. 644 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,000 I'm going to go and get her. 645 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,000 I'm going to go and get her. 646 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,000 I'm going to go and get her. 647 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,000 I'm going to go and get her. 648 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,000 I have to be grateful that I even get to see her at all. 649 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,000 I'm hoping to have that conversation of, does she believe in it? 650 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,000 Is that where she wants to live? 651 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,000 Is that where she really wants to raise her children? 652 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,000 Does she think that maybe it's not right? 653 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:16,000 I don't know, but I hope that I can maybe plant some seeds. 654 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:20,000 My biggest concern is making sure that my sister doesn't get any blowback from my vi... 655 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:27,000 My biggest concern is making sure that my sister doesn't get any blowback from my vi... 656 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:33,000 Oftentimes, when someone is found out to have done something like visit with family, 657 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:38,000 the community will shame them and make a big deal of it. 658 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,000 How are you feeling? 659 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000 That was good. That was really good. 660 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:58,000 That was, I think, worth every bit of it, of going to see her. 661 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,000 That was, I think, worth every bit of it, of going to see her. 662 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000 That was, I think, worth every bit of it, of going to see her. 663 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,000 She said something really important. 664 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,000 She said, everyone has the right to live the way they want to. 665 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,000 She said, everyone has the right to live the way they want to. 666 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,000 And I don't think it's fair that when people leave the community, 667 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,000 that they blame all of their problems on the community and say, 668 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,000 And I don't think it's fair that when people leave the community, 669 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,000 that they blame all of their problems on the community and say, 670 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,000 Well, this person mistreated me and that person mistreated me, 671 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,000 and I just, you know, they all were out to get me. 672 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,000 She said, if you don't want to live here, don't live here. Go. 673 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000 She said, if you don't want to live here, don't live here. Go. 674 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:31,000 I'm not saying that it's not bad, but I think what makes it really hard for me is my... 675 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:40,000 And it's hard for me to group them with that situation. 676 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:45,000 Sometimes I feel like I'm confronted with the same life that I had growing up. 677 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,000 And it usually happens when I have some sort of interaction with them. 678 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:53,000 It makes me nervous. It makes me feel weak. 679 00:39:53,000 --> 00:40:02,000 You know, I've been gone for almost 13 years, and I still sometimes feel like I'm not free. 680 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:08,000 You have established a nonprofit for people like yourself. 681 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,000 People who are leaving a cult. 682 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:14,000 What do you actually do for these people as they're trying to escape? 683 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,000 It's kind of a crash course on life. 684 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,000 Remember, oftentimes these people are coming out, they're, you know, 25 years old even, 685 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,000 and they have the education of a 10-year-old. 686 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,000 So really starting out with the basics. 687 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,000 Where are they going to live? 688 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,000 Helping them get their driver's license, open a bank account, 689 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:34,000 and really just help them take one day at a time, step by step, 690 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,000 and learn how to self-manage their life. 691 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:42,000 It's like you're taking these people by the hand and saying, here's how you live. 692 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,000 Yeah. 693 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,000 How many people have you helped so far? 694 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,000 18 people have come through the program. 695 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,000 18? Wow. 696 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,000 What do you tell them? 697 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,000 And when it gets better? 698 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,000 What? You can do this? 699 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:00,000 It doesn't get easier, but it does get better. 700 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,000 You start to find happiness. 701 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,000 You start to find your place. 702 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,000 You make your own family. 703 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Life is beautiful. 704 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000 Life is amazing. 705 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,000 And you're told the complete opposite your whole life. 706 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,000 So when you start to feel like life is beautiful, 707 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:20,000 and you start to enjoy it, and, you know, you look forward to waking up in the morning, 708 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,000 it's affirmation. 709 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,000 It's worth it. 710 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,000 Oh, my God. 711 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,000 You did your hair so cute. 712 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:39,000 When I started my organization a little over a year ago, 713 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:41,000 Grace was my first recipient. 714 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:45,000 She had just left the 12 Tribes, and she had so much to learn. 715 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:52,000 And I've been there every step to see her find her little place in the world and sta... 716 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,000 I would say I definitely wouldn't have made it this past year without you. 717 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,000 That's for sure. 718 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:02,000 I can't change that my family are still members of the 12 Tribes, 719 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:06,000 but I can change the experience that everyone has coming out, 720 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:10,000 giving them opportunities, because without these opportunities, 721 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,000 their options are to fail and go back. 722 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:16,000 By failing and going back, the 12 Tribes win. 723 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:20,000 But if I help these people to succeed on the outside, 724 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,000 then they lose, and I'm taking from them. 725 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:27,000 And I'm slowly draining their numbers and resources. 726 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,000 And that's how I can affect change. 727 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:36,000 Every single person who leaves gives me a little more hope that one day that will be... 728 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:39,000 that I'll be reunited with them.