Editor’s Note: This is Part 6 of the “From Prison: Keith Raniere” series on the subject of his co-defendants’ innocence.
See:
Part 2. From Prison: Keith Raniere: Part 2 My Co-Defendants Are ‘Very Innocent!’
Part 3: Keith Raniere From Prison: ‘Nancy Salzman Is Totally Innocent’
and Why I Choose to Publish Raniere’s Prison Letters About the ‘Innocence’ of His Codefendants.
In this article, Raniere writes about his longtime follower, Kathy Russell.
By Keith Raniere
Background:
Kathy is an exceptionally one-pointed and devoted person. Over the many years of our relationship Kathy has always been there: supportive. Immovable, solid and caring. She is loyal, embodying these traits, for all people she loves.
At one point, she learned her ex-boyfriend, who was much older than her, was in his final days in Florida. She traveled to Florida to be with him and care for him during his final time on this earth. I greatly admire her for that level of consideration and care, even for a person with whom she had not communicated for a very long time. She honored their past time together, and demonstrated the essence of what it means to truly bond with another person in life: they become part of you forever, and you never forget them even though the years may pass.

Kathy is also a devoted ballet dancer, often studying in classes with people a third of her age; some going on to professional dancing careers. Her success in dance beyond her years comes in part from her daring nature. In the most positive way, Kathy has a well developed sense of dare and play.
When I first met her, she had discovered (through our intensive) she had a fear of failure. I remember in one instance, while pushing against this limitation, she found a failure within her conduct and wrote in large letters on a pad in front of the room, “l failed” and gave the task and her name: she wanted to push, break-through, and do whatever it took to go beyond the fear by doing the thing.
I think she might have joked that the last thing she wanted to do was fail at getting rid of her fear of failure!
Most importantly, although I had neglected my relationship with Kathy (see My Participation below), when my partner (and Kathy’s friend) Pam Cafritz was dying, Kathy stepped up and helped tremendously including being there during her final hours at home, and supporting Pam and me during her final hours in the hospital. With Kathy, there was no doubt of her support, caring, and love.
Motivation to Plea:
Kathy waited until the last minute to plea. This was very considerate and also, with Nancy, Lauren, and Allison already pleading, I believe the best thing to do. This process had already revealed itself to be improper and destined to convict me. Had she not plead, she would have likely gotten caught in the hate and convicted also.
Plea:
Kathy is innocent. Her plea was for unrelated activity and she was not required to plea to any of the charges in the indictment. She was therefore not required to plea to RICO (l suspect the prosecution also wanted to focus on just me so wanted her out of the case).
During my trial, the alleged crimes with which she was initially indicted were presented. It is hard to believe Kathy would have been found guilty (although with this hateful process, I believe it could have happened).
The first crime accused Kathy of participating in improperly capturing a person’s [James Loperfido] keystrokes on their computer, thus stealing their password, and improperly accessing their account through the internet. This person testified. He not only could not certify the alleged password was his (he said it “could have been” his), there was no data presented of improperly accessing his account or using the internet whatsoever.
In the second alleged crime, Kathy allegedly traveled to Canada give a fake Sheriff’s ID to a Mexican woman [Daniela] whose visa had expired. She allegedly crossed the border with the Mexican woman using this fake ID. This woman testified at trial to this scenario. Unfortunately for the prosecution there were no records of Kathy crossing the border either way — only a record of a person with information similar to what was on the fake ID crossing into the US by car alone. Either there were two separate mistakes at different times so that Kathy crossed the border undetected twice (very unlikely) or the story is not true.
Additionally, the Mexican woman testified Kathy was in the car with her, driving, and her papers were processed. None of this is consistent. The Mexican woman was caught in a number of critical inconsistencies throughout her testimony.
The only crime to which Kathy did plea was omitting information on an immigration report relating to a person working for NXIVM [Loreta Garza]. The person did everything (and more) sited in the immigration document, but this person’s work and ownership within another company (which I believe is a Mexican company), was not stated.
I certainly do not see the relevance of specifying this project, for the work and position specified within the documentation was accurate and true. Additionally, this person was not paid for her other work within her company, only from NXIVM as documented. From the law’s perspective, she could have been doing charity work. In the least, no one was hurt, no monies were misappropriated, and no one was even indirectly slighted. Should such a thing really be considered a crime? I am at a disadvantage for I do not know the full circumstances, but her plea, combined with what I do know of the person’s performance and job, would render the alleged crime moot if not untrue.

Effects:
- (Career) Kathy is innocent. Her career is in accounting. A felony conviction will greatly diminish her possibilities of employment in her field of expertise. She plead guilty, to minimize damages, because of a coercive, corrupt system, and was able to plea to considerably less than what she was charged. Additionally, the courts often penalize a person for going to trial if they are found guilty. With all risks considered, including my highly inflammatory case, she picked the best of multiple bad worlds.
- (Quality of life) It is likely Kathy will not have to be incarcerated. This will allow her to continue her life, be with her son, and not suffer the problems of spending time in prison.
- (Trial) Her plea allowed my attorneys to present whatever defense I had without distraction. Although the result was not good, the expected fair result would have allowed for a more focused trial for me. The unprecedented inappropriateness of my trial could not have been anticipated.
My Participation:
- In general, I did not connect with Kathy as I should have. I did not maintain a good balance between my life, my other relationships, and my relationship with Kathy. As a result, I was often separate from Kathy, relying on her virtues to compensate lack of attention. To honor Kathy appropriately, I needed to spend far more time and effort directly within the relationship and also brought her into my life more deeply.
- (Separation) Kathy and I had issues that separated us. Because she was steadfast, I allowed the resolution of these issues to always be on a back burner. In this way I took her virtues for granted.
- (No Complaints) Kathy is not the type to complain. This is a virtue for she does not want to add to other problems especially with someone like myself who faces many challenges. She is the best teammate in this way. Here again, by not connecting with her, assuming all was acceptable (this does not mean good), I abused her virtue of patience and moral of not complaining. In my beliefs, it is the non-complainers who should often be rewarded.
[…] Part 6: From Prison, Keith Raniere: ‘Kathy Russell Is Innocent; I Took Her Virtues for Granted’ […]
Ya, ya, ya. Same story, all of these. “If I only I’d spent more time with this person, these people wouldn’t have pled guilty and as such, no crimes would exist.” He really does seem to believe he should be author of all laws.
To Kathy Russell,
I hope Nancy gave you a decent cut of the money you sequestered away. I wonder if it was a 50/50 split or if Nancy took the lion’s share because you’re a sucker. 😂
Do you seriously believe that law enforcement is not aware of the money?
They’re simply waiting and watching.
Hope one of your extended family does not rat you out for not sharing.
“At one point, she learned her ex-boyfriend, who was much older than her, was in his final days in Florida. She traveled to Florida to be with him and care for him during his final time on this earth. I greatly admire her for that level of consideration and care, even for a person with whom she had not communicated for a very long time.”
He sounds like a robot in dictating this statement, i.e., devoid of emotion and sympathy. For a minor display of human connection that countless people engage in regularly on a daily basis he “greatly admires” her. You know why? Because he’s empathetically challenged and inauthentic. It’s not something he would do as a sociopath since he’ll get nothing self-serving out of it, like a will with his name in it. But he knows that other people see this as virtuous behavior so he has to try to show those reading the letter that he “gets it”.
Yes! “Look! MY people were so good and virtuous that no crimes exist. Says me.”
I recently saw Nicki Clyne perform at a comedy open mike. Her best joke was
What is Keith Raniere’s favorite beer?
Busch
RE The Real Kathy Russel:
People feel sorry for Kathy Russel.
Please remember Kathy pressured Dani into multiple 3-ways with Raniere, against Dani’s wishes.
“Who brought you back to America through Mexico?”- Kathy Russel said to Danie, to pressure Danie into a 3-way. Russel is as big a scum as everyone else.
People need to wake up to the fact the Dippy-Ballerina ain’t so innocent!
Kathy is a regal princess and is in essence our Martha of the Bible. She also serves who stands and waits.
And let me tell you she is as far evolved above Allison, Nancy and the puerile Lauren Salzman as the Mount Everest is above a dung hill.
Bless you Kathy.
Keith doth need woman’s work, lacking his own gifts; who best bear his heavy yoke, they serve him best.
Good name and comment!!!
Pea Onyu
March 3, 2021 at 4:19 pm
Kathy is a regal princess and is, in essence, our Martha of the Bible.
Pea, Kathy Russell is more like Martha Stewart, the TV personality who went to prison after being investigated for insider stock trading.
For all you folks who don’t like hearing negative news about Biden, it turns out that President Potatohead Biden has not held a press conference in his first 42 days.
I guess it’s difficult to meet the press when Biden’s brains are being turned into mashed potatoes.
How is anything you’ve posted above relevant?
I enjoyed this article immensely!
*****
Re Bangkok & Kathy Russel Connection:
Is Kathy Russel Bangkok’s birth mom?
Perhaps Bangkok, not the loser in Alaska, is Kathy Russel’s true son.
Judge for yourself:
https://images.app.goo.gl/wNmNFmhe1u3KnpLN7
Good one 🤣
Raniere has damned with faint praise most of his top lieutenants.
Allison and Lauren received particularly mixed reviews. And Keith always manages to stick them with insults ( like pointing out that none of the DOS women wanted Lauren involved. Was that really necessary? In a declaration of Lauren’s innocence? Or just unkind?)
Didn’t Keith have a personal, sexual relationship with Kathy? And Nancy?
These read like essays where you don’t really know your co worker/employee at Red Lobster and you were asked to speak at their wake.
And then immediately, whoever asked you to speak, realizes you are crazy. And regrets the invitation.
True and hilarious.
Vanguard Nicki Clyne sees herself as a character in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”.
Well NXIVM DOS was a coven of witches.
Nicki Clyne Retweeted
John McWhorter
@JohnHMcWhorter
·
15h
McNeil has his say. Make a cup of tea, brown, not herbal, and read all 4 segments. Witness how we now live in Miller’s The Crucible. No human society till now would deem this man unworthy of his job, and the future will mock those who did so today.
Mango22 a
3 months ago
POV: you’re only watching this movie because your 11th grade english teacher told you to
free version with inferior video starring the scandalous Winona Ryder
𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞
OK, Boomer. We get it. You have figured out that Twitter exists. Congrats! We don’t need you to cut and paste everything Nicki writes over there onto this comment section.
Raniere is in quicksand, babbling away like a mockingbird who took LSD and doesn’t remember that he is tripping.
Kathy Russell got something out of her long career as a money runner/auntie ballerina/ accountant. She got to have sex with Raniere occasionally. She got to participate in threesomes. Cheap thrills?
She might never have had such OPPORTUNITIES without joining a goddamned cult full of screwheads! But she is paying for it now. As the wheel has turned, where can she get her cheap thrills anymore?
She worked for a couple of real predators. Like a vague and unequipped penguin. She was what? Diligent and a nondisturbance? Kind of like a bellhop?
She reminds me of a character designed to exhibit a spacey, somewhat eccentric sideshow, some offshoot plot thickening device thrown into a very atmospheric, semi-tragic novel by Tennessee Williams.
Shelley Duvall could be ideally cast to play Russell. That is, if Shelley ever truly recovers herself, for she has not been well, ever since she worked on The Shining.
A strangely surrealistic bag, with bags of very confusing cash. She took the fifth over and over again, and that isn’t a reference to her drinking habits.
If I could add an unrelated sidenote, please. Klavinger, forgive me for not noticing an e-mail. There are many media features that I don’t use or even check, except to delete pile-ups, having the internet skills of a woodchuck who barely manages to type. Certainly no offense has been intended. Simply I’m quite behind with the virtual ins and outs.
In fact, Shadow would make a splendid teacher for me, the way that he understands the tech. Shadow must be a lot younger than I and better organized.
“Should such a thing really be considered a crime?”
Says every criminal, ever caught.
More pearls of wisdom from Vanguard Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
I got canceled before it was cool.
8:25 AM · Mar 3, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
6
Retweets
1
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Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
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13h
I think this was supposed to hurt my feelings, but it just hurt my brain.
Quote Tweet
haute momma
@haute_momma78
· Mar 2
Replying to @nickiclyne and @ImHardcory
It’s horrifying to think it’s possible for a human to be of such low intelligence that they weren’t brainwashed, blackmailed or groomed into joining a cult…they joined it and stayed on purpose. Seems so wrong that it’s possible for such ignorance to exist.
Mr. or Miss or Mrs. so-called shadowstate1958, our co-worker, Anthony, has informated us of the hate bias you have perpetrated by questioning the objective data of our legalistic qualifications. We insist you take care to note we tied for first place in our high school 12th grade Latin spelling bee. Res ipsa loquitur you should consider this a de facto refutation of your positionally.
We further submit that you are being terribly mean to Keith Raniere and should consider tabula rasa that subsequent international torts can be filed for so-called emotional distress debitum hurt feelings in forma pauperis.
Having carefully reviewed the detailed legalized argumentations Mr. Raniere presents here, we now calculate a 93.284028% data probability that he will be released on appeal bond ex parte post haste.
“Having carefully reviewed the detailed legalized argumentations Mr. Raniere presents here, we now calculate a 93.284028% data probability that he will be released on appeal bond ex parte post haste.” Two Lawyers
“Res Ipso Loquitor” means “it speaks for itself”, a notion for tort or personal injury law, not criminal law.
Now as to your prognosis, seeing as how America has turned into Clown World where even Doctor Seuss is racist, I would not be surprised if Raniere is released eventually.
America is now an insane asylum run by the lunatics.
But Raniere did engage in sex trafficking and extortion as did his chief henchwoman Allison Mack.
Yes they did. It is proven that Keith Raniere had designs on holding women down and having them ask to be branded so it didn’t APPEAR to be coerced.
You would have probably loved the Latin teacher at my junior high. He was a closeted gay fellow of the “bull” variety, as opposed to wanting to be seduced. He used comic relief as his main teaching aid and blatantly ignored all of his female students while flirting, voraciously and ribaldly, with HIS boys.
And he’s dead now, but was once a People Magazine Teacher of the Year. A little star, Mr da Sil….Big belly, big black beard, rather unkempt, bespectacled.
Perhaps he smelled of garlic. But he was easily avoidable. Besides, Jessica Rabbits terrified him, caused his balls to seek refuge deep up in his scrotum. Dah dum dum dum. And a-snap.
This twat (I was hip to his trips) was also how come I took two years of German, once my French options were exhausted. But the German has turned out to be useful, very useful to other crucial studies, especially anything Yiddish, which I didn’t learn from home.
Studying cults is very educational.
Speaking of crucial, Yiddish awareness is extremely helpful when you study the genocides of WWII and want to understand what has been taken from us, with each and every one of the people savaged by the German political arena out of Germany, Austria, ETC.
The last thing that I would want to do is to demean anyone who is born or who feels Jewish. Or Roma or Sinti. We are who we are, but at heart I see no real division of this entirety at all.
Life is a matter made up of individuals. As such, variety is not only the birthing grounds of every natural species, it’s the very spice of life. Who wants a garden with only one kind of a beautiful flower when we have an entire symphony waiting in the wings?
To me every “club” is a potential prison. There’s only one thing better than getting expelled, and that’s not joining in the first place. Us and them, us and them, us and them. That’s just not my ballgame. Too many hoops.
So Nxivm, DOS, Rainbow subCultural weed pit pretending it’s a garden. Well, heya. What’s new.
Rwanda , Cambodia, Thailand, Mexico, Flo-rida, India, Bosnia Herzegovina, remote island jungle, tiny towns, shtetlach, river ports, slums, cities and megalopolises, you name it. It is all one big home. Not to be missed, all of this. Here like an endless cornucopia every moment.
The Nxivm saga, a drop in the Oceans 🌊. Under view using an electron microscope, lots of threads are acutely observable.
Another day, another Pardon from his holiness Vanguard’s lonely sex prison cell.
(Love the way FR is dribbling these exonerations out piecemeal like chunks of vomit.)
…Woulda, shoulda, coulda shown a little more love to the “non-complainers” like that badass, ballin’ ballerina, eh Keith?
Few hints of, uh oh, some shady Mexican immigration, etc. plot “loyal” Kathy got her sexy self mixed up in – that Keith knows far too little about to comment further on. Hmm.
Didn’t you ever learn Spanish for your anti-violence ‘Cesar Chavez’ cartel farmer recruitment performance, Keith?
Also, do they have hot sauce there for your pizza?
Wow. It’s really hard to see that everyone is innocent. Kathy, Nancy, Lauren, Ally… maybe KR will find some guilt in Clare? Poor innocent people! All of you good souls indicted, guilty, and KR and Clare in prison!!
The questions still remain from your teachings: How did you cause yourselves to get here? How did you actually cause this in your lives? How are you actually the architects of your own lives? Can you see how you are – and have been – responsible for all your actions, decisions and emotions?
Can you all see how there are no ultimate victims?
Cheers Vanguard!! (And company)
Raniere’s notion is that everyone is innocent and so is he.
A very comical notion.
Considering DOS methodology to being badass included punishment in a cage, readiness drills and being available to a schedule made for you, the remaining DOS 8 and sympathizers should find comfort in Keith’s imprisonment.
Perhaps, Keith needs to go thru this to evolve and have a greater understanding of being badass himself and then being able to teach you this enlightened wisdom. Life is dynamic.
It just so happens to be Keith’s turn now in the cage. With acceptance comes the ability to finding peace and expanding into the discovery of more (abundance). I remind you to just be. Perhaps, this isn’t your time for a physical prison, so why subject yourself to a mental/emotional/energetic prison? What else is your potential and purpose that inspires and fills you up?
Is the greatest lesson of DOS to have you become your own master true to serving yourself? Consider the gifts from Keith’s imprisonment to teach and guide you to finding this place within… your own inner-light leading you to live and be your authentic truth. Your autonomy is your responsibility and your present to open, explore, express. Your potential waiting to be seen and unwrapped.
These prolix, condescending, semi-literate brain droppings of Raniere’s – does he really think anyone cares? Like it’s nice to have a jailbird say nice things about you as you sit at home with your ankle monitor chafing?
What a self-important little shit this man is.
Once again, somebody PLEASE take his crayons away from him! Most people are done listening to this dribble!!
Mr. Vantard, here is a newsflash…nobody cares what you think. Stop trying to come off
as though you have some sort of credibility here. Sit down, shut up and be thankful you are not at Danamora.
I care what he thinks.
Why are you so mean to him?
Is 120 years not enough punishment?
I propose a dynamic to you…You post here which of his crimes earn him the punishment of never expressing a point of view…I bet you the crimes you believe he committed are not part of the case and there’s no evidence at all
Want to play? Or do you just want to attack people and put nothing on the line?
Anonymous 3/3/21 at 11:42 am, I propose a dynamic to you… You explain Keith’s “rapable babies” and “mother’s in African soothing their infants sons with blowjobs” statements.
No, those weren’t things he was charged with in criminal court. They are documented statements.
Are you the Nxian you can finally explain them in a way that doesn’t reveal Keith to be a sick, twisted puppy whom the world is better off with locked in jail until he shuffles off this mortal coil? I doubt it. You either won’t reply or will deflect.
If you talk or write to Keith, please let him know we’re all so sorry if his feelings are hurt. People are so MEAN! (That seems to be the NXIVM talking point of the day.)
Anonymous at 11:42
For the sake of space, I refer you to the closing and rebuttal arguments of the prosecution and the court’s jury charge. It’s clearly broken down, how his actions constituted the crimes for which he was convicted. There was overwhelming evidence. The trial was fair. Just because the court, jury, and society view Raniere as a disgusting, manipulative piece of sh*t does not mean he was denied a fair trial. The elements were met. Deal with it.
And as fascinating as I find his psychopathic rants, I also find it quite disturbing. I can see how offensive it must be for his victims. I do not think Raniere deserves this platform; he has done enough damage.
The man never shuts up. All talk, all nonsense. Just like the DOS-8. They’re perpetual victims pointing their fingers at everyone else. They need to grow up, learn to listen, and learn what empowerment really means. It certainly is not defined as a group of naked women sitting on the floor around a clothed man, like groupies. Where is their self-respect, their integrity? I hope they find it soon.
If you truly miss your NXIVM days, there’s plenty of footage to watch for you to bask in your memories.
There it is again, the “it’s all my fault because I did not ‘trust-test’ them, ‘paid more attention’, ‘been softer, harder, whatever was required’ If you remove all the bogus faux-humble, chest-beating ‘my fault’, you are left with the core of a narcissist’s concern: ‘I, Me’. This is all for public consumption. Notice the subtle, coded message in the piece about Lauren, for ex. Very subtle: she’s a traitor to the community.
Subtext to die-hards: ‘bring her back in line. But I did not ask you to do it, I love her and she’s innocent.’ This piece about Kathy reads like an impersonal ‘reference’ from an employer: “she was loyal and good at her job”. KR doesn’t seem to feel anything much one way or the other about Kathy, just took her for granted, she was part of the furniture (sorry, kathy, if you’re reading this. It’s not meant to be personal, at all. It’s just the impression I get from this writing).
Meh. All of his letters are hyperbolic, faux “It’s my fault, I’m responsible” responses to the call-outs that he isn’t taking responsibility for what he did to pretend like he is, though without taking any responsibility for his criminal actions. His co-conspirators are all innocent but were misled while taking stubble potshots at them word salad nonsense is an empathetically stunted person’s attempt to draw sympathy for himself (like his if you sleep with another man you’ll kill me BS) but it just comes off as totally insincere. It may have worked in the cult environment sometimes, but it just falls flat on its face for most people.
Frank, please make certain His Holiness the Vanguard gets my message word for word.
Don’t worry about Raniere’s “feelings”.
Message to Keith Raniere:
You, Raniere, must be the most mentally retarded man in North America.
Raniere, your followers are almost as retarded as you.
No one with a functioning brain cell would adore a two-legged turd like Keith Alan Raniere.
If you cared one iota about your followers, you would have placed your followers’ well-being first and foremost.
That is the mark of a true leader.
The true leader cares about the well-being of his followers first.
Their first concern is not being dragged into the “shit pit” of a Federal prosecution.
Instead, Raniere, you are a selfish stupid puke of a man who never thought beyond the end of his own penis.
All you cared about, Raniere was getting your rocks off.
Raniere, you only have one set of genitals.
Why the hell do you need multiple simultaneous girlfriends, some of them underage?
Raniere, you are a disgrace.
Raniere you are a clown.
Raniere, you are an ass hole.
Raniere you are a fraud.
I find your crocodile tears for your followers to be insincere, boring, and self-serving.
A case of too little and too late. You’re only going through this routine to save your own rotten hide.
Raniere, All of your tears are just another manifestation of your boundless narcissism.
There is an old saying, Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.
Raniere, all of your bogus, feigned torment is the result of living your life as a hog.
Raniere, the world would have been better off had you never been born.
You do realize Keith is going to get off knowing how much power he has to trigger you, Shadowstate, don’t you?
Raniere has more to worry about than me.
Like whether he gets buggered tonight.
Can’t that happen to you? And if it’s the right person and you want it too?
Anonymous 10:18am-
Our beloved, Shadowstate1958, has an indomitable will like the Führer! Raniere is simply no match.
Shadow will never be manipulated! His mind is a steel trap; a TRAP that not even he can escape from.
—At one point, she learned her ex-boyfriend, who was much older than her, was in his final days in Florida.
At one point, Kathy abandoned her husband and son in Alaska for Kieth Raniere. She is a wonderful person and I’m being sarcastic.
Didn’t they all take her for granted? Was she not mocked and told to clean up the jacuzzi after Keith and his younger girlfriends had been in there or was it his bedsheets? I can’t remember now
Natashka-
Excellent memory! Kathy did both chores!
Spoken like a true narcissist.
“In my beliefs, it is the non-complainers who should often be rewarded.”