This is part 6 of my report on the unredacted sentencing memo of Lauren Salzman. My comments I publish [in brackets and bold]. Any redacted material will be in RED.
Here are the first parts in this series:
In part 1, I explain that I have the unredacted version of Lauren’s sentencing memo.
Unredacted Lauren Salzman Sentencing Memorandum Falls into My Hands [Part 1]
Part 2 Unredacted Lauren Salzman Sentencing Memo — Upbringing and Intro to Raniere and ESP
Lauren’s Post-Trial Efforts to Commence a New Chapter in Her Life.
After her trial testimony, Lauren experienced significant emotional difficulties and experienced a “devastating recapitulation of the prior two decades of her life.” Ben Myers Ltr. (Ex. 8).
[While the fact of Ben Myers writing a letter on his sister-in -law Lauren’s behalf was redacted, it is obvious from the contents of the letter which is not redacted that he is the letter writer. He is a well known NXIVM player – active in NXIVM and their plans until the arrest of Lauren and her mother Nancy.
“It is also no secret that Meyers was the man that Daniela was fond of back in 2010 and apparently kissed, which, she says, caused Keith Raniere to demand that she heal her ethical breach by going into a room and not leaving until she healed it. That ethical breach, Daniela told me – and testified at the trial of Raniere – was that she had feelings for Ben and while Raniere was polygamous – he demanded from all of his women that they be monogamous to him. At that time Ben was single and not dating Michelle. Curiously, as Lauren was appointed to monitor Daniela, who remained in her unlocked room for almost two years, Ben moved on with his life and of all people he later married Lauren’s sister Michelle. Had it not been for Raniere demanding Daniela go into her room and heal her breach, and for Lauren being in effect the monitor of Daniela, Ben might have married Daniela and not her sister. Such is fate.]
Lauren’s trial testimony was undoubtedly the first and most important step in her rehabilitation process. Since this time, however, Lauren has made significant efforts to meaningfully continue to regain her identity by engaging in regular counseling with [I am redacting the name of the counselor] embarking on a new career path, and spending time with family and friends and caring for her ailing family members.
[While some might wonder why I am revealing that Lauren is getting mental health counseling – a fact that her attorneys do not want the public to know – I think it is most relevant since many of the DOS victims of Raniere got a large percentage of their restitution money based on the fact that they are getting therapy and that information was made public. Even the amounts of money their therapist expect they will spend on therapy over the coming years was published. It is or should not be a secret and it is in the public interest to know that Lauren is getting mental health therapy. She has been alleged as a woman who helped foster an environment where women needed therapy. She has claimed to be both a victim and a criminal in her plea bargain and on the witness stand testifying against Keith Raniere. This is fair to know at least some details.]
Lauren Has Attended Counseling to Address her Misconduct and Recovery.
After her testimony at Raniere’s trial, Lauren was in an extremely dark place in her life. While her testimony served as a pseudo-release of years of pain, she was now faced with the reality that most of her entire adult life had been based upon the principles of a Charlatan.
[The next paragraphs I am redacting since it gives details of her treatment for her] anxiety and trauma…. she needed to address and confront how an intelligent woman such as herself could have disregarded the red flags for many years.
[The next paragraphs relate specifically on details of treatment and I think it fair to only mention this – she is not taking psychiatric medication. There are quotes from her therapist, who has written a letter in support of Lauren and her progress. It is fair to mention this much – that she, like many of the other women, are claiming the same mental health injuries. If it is true that she caused other women to have these, it is also true that she is claiming she has them also and blaming the same cause — Keith Raniere.]
She entered into treatment with post-traumatic stress, and [redacted] was experiencing “depression, anxiety, flashbacks and dissociative moments that significantly disrupted her daily activities.”
[The next paragraphs deal with what Lauren told her therapist – much of which supports what she has already told the world – in testimony which is that she was] ashamed and remorseful [over] her unwitting involvement in what she believed to be an ‘honorable’ self-improvement organization for over 20 years since her university graduation.”
[This is an important point – since she told her therapist what she essentially was asked to tell the jury during her cross examination at the trial of Raniere, The judge halted the cross examination when she broke down in tears, He said she was a ‘broken’ woman. Lauren claimed that it was “unwitting” – a hugely significant use of a word – – that she did not intend to harm others but thought she was doing good by serving Raniere. Now she realized that she was wrong, she said.]
[More paragraphs are devoted to her relationship with Raniere as told by Lauren to her therapist and includes more of her therapists analysis of her condition and he future. This I have chosen to redact except for one thing. Since the other victims of Raniere had their need for future therapy – and the cost of it – on the public record, as attested to by their therapist, I think it is only fair to relate that her therapist believes she is going to need therapy for years] she is likely to suffer with these posttraumatic symptoms for years.
It will certainly take a great deal of time in order for Lauren to fully heal from her twenty (20) years of involvement with Raniere. Fortunately for Lauren, [therapist name redacted] is committed to continuing to assist her through this healing process.
[The purpose of the lengthy explanation by Lauren’s attorneys about Lauren’s therapy – most of which I redacted – is to help the judge no doubt become informed that Lauren is following the tried and true method of recovery for victims. Therapy to help her come to terms with her misconduct – which she claims was caused by one foul man who led her astray. There is very little in the section about her therapy that addresses her misconduct and a lot about how she was horrified to have such a man as Raniere lead her astray and ruin her life – and help her enter a world where she thought she was doing good and it was really all fasle.
In a word she was an utterly deceived woman, who is now broken and is trying to heal and recover. It is also clear that she believes that a man is fully responsible for the bad she did.
Still is it fair to blame it all on Raniere – and her gullibility? –
– that is the question. The point of this in her sentencing memorandum is to make it clear that Lauren has suffered plenty and is getting the necessary help – that she wants to confront her mistakes and start anew.
How true this is, how sincere, how significant it will be is hard to say. Sentences are based on a number of factors including remorse, deterrence and public safety. Therapy speaks to public safety and remorse.
The judge’s biggest issue perhaps is deterrence. If he does not give her prison time, will it satisfy the deterrence requirement that a woman was involved in a group that the judge has openly declared to be led by one of the foulest of men – a man who does not deserve any respect.
Many of my readers are chastising me for seeking leniency for Lauren. And I am glad for their comments for I may be wrong.]
I did not mean to shoot Abe Lincoln in the head.
I must have been crazy.
My bad,
John Wilkes Booth
I did not mean to whack my father and step mother to death.
I must have been crazy.
My bad..
Lizzie Borden.
I did not mean to rob all of those banks.
I must have been crazy.
My bad.
John Dillinger.
Frank: I know NXIVM was a big part of your life, but isn’t it time to move on? 6 parts on a sentencing memorandum???
Actually, I really appreciate Frank’s reporting. I can’t get this quality and detail from the NYT and there’s a paywall at Times Union. Please keep it up, Frank, you are providing journalism in the truest sense of the word.
Unfortunately for Lauren, she is likely facing incarceration. Unlike Allison Mack, her pre-sentencing presentation of herself and the facts surrounding her involvement is noticeably lacking in critical areas. Significantly, she hasn’t individuated from her mother and obviously cannot appreciate or articulate their separateness nor the harm her mother caused separate and apart from herself. The whole thing reads like “My Mom and I are victims” and contradicts true contriteness in subtle ways, especially considering the high-end lifestyle Lauren and her mother lived for two decades where her mother was the president of the cult.
Unlike Allison who sought to integrate into her Non-nxivm family and obtain an associate’s degree in psychology, how is Lauren building “a stronger relationship” with her cult co-leader Mother evidence of rehabilitation? Starting a business with the financial support of your parents (plural), when one of those parents is your co-defendant and was found with $500K in cash stashed around the house, is not a good look with the Judge. Nancy’s statement seems to contradict Lauren’s. Nancy takes the credit for Lauren’s cooperation with the government and says she (Nancy) agreed to cooperate first. That contradiction stood out to me very boldly. Although a compassionate person may seek to empathize, rightly intended, with Lauren’s twenty-year relationship with Keith Raniere, Lauren’s memorandum overall goes too far in this direction, to the point of denial of responsibility. Unlike Allison Mack’s which struck just the right balance. Noticeably absent is an acknowledgment of the money and power Lauren accumulated over all those years, while advocating for near slave wages and the financial destruction of others throughout her career. Till it all blew up in her face in a three-month period through DOS. I recall reading on the Frank Report sometime this year Lauren sold her $350K home and within her memorandum, she mentions owning two cars and two properties. There are a lot more judicious and repentant ways Lauren could have leveraged her accumulation of assets to support a more fulsome attempt at rehabilitation and making amends than she has evidenced. I just don’t see it.
Lauren’s attorneys have done her a disservice by not advising her better to make her case stronger, separate and apart from her mother’s. Lauren’s memorandum seems to absolve and excuse her mother’s acts as if they are co-victims rather than co-defendants. It would have been better for Lauren to leave her mother out of it. Instead, the undue influence of Nancy Salzman’s sophisticated powers of persuasion and indoctrination are felt throughout Lauren’s attempt to make a strong case for herself. Nancy is clearly a continual danger to society and by association, Lauren may be perceived as such. It’s unfortunate for Lauren but not unexpected. Nancy was the wind beneath Keith Raniere’s wings for a long, long time and continues to maintain a strong influence in the former NXIVM community where I understand she still marshals considerable fees for coaching and EM’s. Given Keith’s own tendencies for self-destruction, you’d have to have some considerable skills to partner with him in a successful business for twenty years. Also absent is an acknowledgment from Lauren of her being the most influential and highest rank person in NXIVM to join DOS and how her enrollment may have emboldened Keith to dramatically up the recruitment requirements for DOS members already enrolled resulting in many more victims. I seem to recall reading somewhere, from Sarah Edmondson maybe, that after Lauren’s DOS enrollment the very small group grew exponentially in a short period. Going from a few dozen to over one hundred or one hundred and fifty women.
All in all, it’s hard to imagine all this will escape the Judge’s attention, nor should it.
“Unlike Allison who sought to integrate into her Non-nxivm family”
Who is the white haired woman in this photo?
It looks an awful lot like Mindy Mack!
jnessonline
Together… #jness
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLlbWDDjBcV/
“Allison who sought to obtain an associate’s degree in psychology, ”
If Allison Mack is studying Psychology, it is only to better manipulate and control people.
“Any man who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined.”
Samuel Goldwyn
Isn’t it ironic that the Salzmans who are so infamous for bullying people and using coercive tactics are now in need of psychiatric therapy?
Didn’t the Salzmans gang up on people to intimidate them in various NXIVM programs and EMs?
Aren’t the Salzmans being sued by Neil Glazer for the unauthorized practice of psychotherapy?
Wasn’t Kristin Snyder pushed into suicide in a class that was organized by Nancy Salzman?
The Salzmans are about to find that it is easier to break someone than fix them.
Alanzo –
It’s me again.
I actually understand why some of the “deprogramming” stuff “makes you want to scream”.
Scientology & Nxiv m (DOS too) are/were very big on recruitment.
How is that NOT trying to get someone to join their lifestyle and adapt their way of living/thinking/being?
And I am not just referring to getting friends and family to join.
Or the profit-driven multi-level marketing angle of some groups.
I was walking with a friend on a public street and a Scientologist asked us to “take a personality quiz”. We were coaxed 2 steps into an open doorway that was then blocked by a second Scientologist.
Of course, they did not reveal themselves as Scientologist s. We found out way later.
We could see the street but not leave. And the pressure was on. Hardcore. It was very uncomfortable. And scary.
Did I mention it was two men? And we were young girls?
Long story short, we both started to laugh nervously so hard we began to cry. And it finally got too weird for THEM. They weakened just slightly. And we saw our moment and fled.
Back to the question. These cults are not just minding their own business living an alternative life. They are out there trying really hard to recruit. Anyone. And everyone.
They want to force people to conform to THEIR regime.
And pretty much always pay for the privilege of becoming just like they are. That’s the same as trying to mainstream a person.
Why is one scenario scream-worthy and the other is not?
Ben Myers should come clean on his work with the Chinese company BrainCo, a sinister company that monitors the brain waves of school children.
Is there anything more Orwellian than trying to read people’s minds and delve into their most private of thoughts?
NXIVM is filled with freaky people trying to monitor people’s brains.
People like Brandon Porter and his snuff film experiments where non-consenting adults were subjected to ultra-violent videos while their brain waves were monitored.
These MK Ultra experiments mark NXIVM as a sinister operation and Ben Myers was part of that.
Ben Myers Gets Job With Chinese Communist Party-Backed Company Doing EEG Experiments on Children; Left Under Suspicious Circumstances
https://frankreport.com/2020/02/15/ben-myers-gets-job-with-chinese-communist-party-backed-company-doing-eeg-experiments-on-children-left-under-suspicious-circumstances/
Though Nxivm Hacker Ben Myers Is Fired, Chinese Communist BrainCo Still Selling Suspect EEG Headbands for Children at Catholic Memorial School in Roxbury MA
https://frankreport.com/2020/02/18/though-nxivm-hacker-ben-myers-is-fired-chinese-communist-brainco-still-selling-suspect-eeg-headbands-for-children-at-catholic-memorial-school-in-roxbury-ma/
Thank you, shadow. The experiments and patents have always bothered me the most. Also that mission statement.
Don’t forget, Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman were friends with State Republican politicians. Nancy and Lauren and Michelle also donated thousands of dollars to political campaigns. I’m sure the salzmans are well protected and have dirt on the many business leaders and politicians that were, directly and indirectly, involved with and members of nxivm too. This is the countries biggest covering. Lauren and Nancy will get off scot-free because of the collateral she has on politicians and businessmen.
You sure seem to know a lot of information, and have incredibly strong opinions. What up? Were you in NXIVM? Inner circle? Fronting?
What precedent will this set for other leaders of cults? The number 1 guy is always guilty, but the number 2 and 3 people go free? This won’t stop any cults. If there are no penalties for being on the executive board and leadership of a cult, then cults will continue.
Further, when the next cult comes out, leaders number 2 and 3 will have no fear…no deterrence, because Lauren could be let go Scott free. How do you prevent future cults from thriving and how do you send a signal that you can claim to be a victim when you are a knowing and willing accomplice to things? Lauren locked a girl up for 2 years and branded women and hurt women, what is the penalty for holding someone hostage?????
What is the penalty for branding people? How many people get in trouble and do bad things and say… I’m sorry…I’m a victim too now? What’s now to stop anyone from repeating what Lauren and Nancy did if there are no penalties because of the precedent they set?
Well said . Really liked that you named all her Crimea clearly and also discussed the precedent it sets
At some point, the “Everyone’s a Victim” narrative falls apart.
Keith Raniere could not run the whole NXIVM shit show by himself.
At some point, Raniere needed the eager and willing helping hands of his many followers, including his devoted female acolytes.
If we pushed the “Everyone’s a Victim” narrative to its logical conclusion at some point in his upbringing even Raniere could claim victimhood status.
By the way, if singer R. Kelly is convicted of sex trafficking, including sex trafficking of minors, he could end up at USP Tucson with Raniere.
Raniere is relocating.
Anonymous @ 11:06 pm
Where to? (Raniere relocating) when?
Usually it is with little notice or info when BOP moves prisoners. Security reasons.
How did you learn of it?
Thanks
When another crazy cult leader starts up…and a person becomes the number 2 person…what responsibility will they have? They can always claim victim and be let go. An example to others must be set. You can’t simply go along with a psychopath and get away with just because you feel bad and are seeing some therapist. If you dissuade people from supporting cult leaders, they won’t have any followers and won’t have people to enact their plans. If you let everyone get away with it, history will repeat itself. Cults will forever exist if you can be a number 2 or three person for 20 years hurting thousands of people…..just to get off when you lie and act and play victim. Show other cult leaders and their lieutenants that when you help run and lead a cult, you are equally responsible and culpable.
Putting the word victim in quotes is kind of a dick move, Frank.
Spanky, aka SultanOSix, why are you posting such hatred about Frank Parlato on Reddit as JRule31?
You have such a venomous hatred for him despite never meeting him.
Could it be he called out Kristin Kreuk who you have stalked for 20 years!?
You are nearly 50 years old, you crazy spanker.
You are like a teenage girl with autism.
Anon 6:09-
I looked at the posts. The post are all from people who have axes 🪓 to grind with Parlato. The commenters are all horrid writers. Sultan may be crazy, but he is a good writer. I’m familiar enough with his writing style and he did not author a single comment.
Some of the comments were all about Frank being a chauvinist for not liking the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. I watched the movie. It is a shit-fest…..
….I’d rather toss off with grit 65 sandpaper than watch that movie.
None of the comments are worth the time it takes to read them.
Personally, I think this commentator has an unhealthy obsession with another reasonably articulate poster to this site. I think he created that pile himself to keep the little lynch mob in his head dry and warm and occupied.
Hi, Spanky. Still got [redacted] Kristin Kreuk😂
As an ex cult member, the most damage done to my mental health was not from my involvement in the cult, but from the incredibly self-destructive ideas I’d adopted after leaving the cult – where I’d convinced myself, and told myself, I’d been “brainwashed”.
Even with all the mindfucks that Hubbard attempted on scientologists, there was no more damaging mindfuck than that one.
And it’s hard to spot, too, because when you get out and back into the mainstream, seemingly everyone around you insists you must have been brain damaged by the cult.
No. The most mental damage comes from the anticult, where you re-interpret your life with the worst, most over-the-top nightmarish cognitive distortions.
As long as Lauren believes her decision making was based on brainwashing, she will never find peace. She will never “recover”.
Because these anticult ideas are not the truth, they will never help anyone. Sure, they’re more socially acceptable, but they are lies and superstitions and blaming excuses. Yes, she will be in ‘therapy’ for the rest of her life because this isn’t therapy.
It’s a lie.
Lauren Salzman is actively harming herself with the way she is interpreting her earlier life now with this anticult bullshit.
And look at the social pressure she is under to do it: She’ll go to prison if she doesn’t swallow this poison.
Seeing this makes me want to fucking scream.
Alanzo
Alanzo – When you left Scientology, you had certain beliefs that eventually changed. There was undoubtedly a process that your body/mind went through to change some of your beliefs. When those who were in NXIVM attempt to describe the process that led to no longer blindly following Raniere, why do you jump in and scream that they should stop thinking they were brainwashed? They didn’t say they were brainwashed, and don’t we all agree that it might be a good idea for them to stop blindly doing/thinking what Raniere told them to do/think? Can’t we simply let them go through whatever process they’re going through – not unlike you did?
Nutjob writes:
I began seeing ex-Nxians saying they were brainwashed in “The Vow”, in “Seduced”, and on the “A Little Bit Culty”. Seduced featured an actual deprogramming session with India Oxenberg and her deprogrammer Rachel Bernstein.
Their whole approach is “We were brainwashed”. Sarah Edmonson goes into great lengths about it in her book, she had Steven Hassan on her first podcast. They used the term brainwashed over a dozen times in that hour.
The women in the Dossier Project were called “brainwashed sex slaves” by the global media.
So they do say they were brainwashed, repeatedly. And the media says they were brainwashed. The whole NXIVM/DOS story is viewed through the lens of “cult brainwashing”.
I learned after years of swallowing that tripe after Scientology – without ever examining the science – that I had been telling myself lies about my own life, and why I was a Scientologist. Once I dumped those lies and began telling myself the truth about why I got involved, and why I stayed, it was an incredible relief. It was VERY therapeutic.
And again, the damage was not coming from being in a cult, it was from being in an anticult.
Just like you can’t sit by and watch people lied to by a cult leader, you can’t sit by and watch people being lied to by anticult leaders. You have to provide people with the information necessary to make informed decisions.
They can accept it or reject it. But with a lot of this stuff, once you see it, you can’t unsee it. For instance, you’ve noticed that no one has presented any scientific study or any evidence saying brainwashing exists. Because there is none.
A person who has accepted that they were ‘brainwashed’ can’t unsee that challenge and its lack of response. It gets them questioning what they’ve been told, examining their assumptions.
I do realize that people are on their own path of learning, but shouldn’t somebody go back and tell the others coming up on the path behind them that the Bridge is washed out? Or warn them about other dangers they’ll encounter while they travel this path? (this was a free metaphor for you – on the house)
When I got out of Scientology, I tried to get Scientologists to question Hubbard by telling them how he had lied to them. It worked. I got a lot of people out of the cult.
So now I’m telling people about the lies of the anticult. Hopefully, they won’t spend as much time lying to themselves as I did, and they will embrace themselves and their lives and their lessons faster than I did.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but there is no one challenging this anticult bullshit. Someone’s gotta say something.
I tried to answer as completely and as honestly and as sincerely as I could, nutjob.
Thanks for your question.
Alanzo
Thank you for the answer. I have gotten your point about all the anticult bullshit out there and think I’m with you on most of it. Where I look at you with a raised eyebrow is on your fixation with the word “brainwashed”. Keith used Ericksonian, NLP, and any coercion trick he could find. These things were all used and used often – and were probably always in use when his mouth moved. Breaking away from years of this crap impacting your life can be a challenge. Sure, brainwashing isn’t technically what happened to these people. But, some things did occur to them while they were in NXIVM. I don’t care what they want to call it, just see it for what it was and move on with your life.
In my interactions with Nxians, and from my experience with the way Scientology auditing was applied – when it was abused (and it was not always abused) – I can see that in NXIVM, Raniere alone could decree that something or someone was irrational, and he could order EMs on people which were used on them until they had the “epiphany” that they were being irrational when they weren’t. They were just saying or doing something Keith didn’t like.
This is a method of power and control. It is a pre-poisoned set up where you are being accused of being insane for saying or doing something the boss doesn’t want you to do.
If it’s at your job, your boss can just fire you or pass you over for a promotion, or give you a low score on your next annual employee evaluation. He doesn’t have the weaponry at his disposal of declaring you insane like they have in NXIVM and Scientology.
Humans coerce and control people everywhere. The question is whether you are stupid enough to fall for it, or whether you have the courage to resist it.
The definition for brainwashing that I use is “techniques cult leaders use to override your own power of choice to make you believe things against your will”. Ericksonian NLP is one of those powerful cult leader techniques that NXIVM is claimed to have used to brainwash their members.
Ericksonian NLP can not override your own power of choice and make you believe anything you don’t want to believe.
Alanzo
NutJob-
In all seriousness, both of you were brainwashed!
Lol. I wasn’t, but I could see attempts at influence going on all over. I stayed rational and kept being curious. He didn’t like this. Nancy understood and had the same questions I did. She finally bought in and worse – bought into the “Don’t ruin your internal representation of Keith” bullshit. He was just shady and obviously was a liar about his accomplishments. Wasn’t hard to be skeptical.
Ben. Daniela. Evil Keith Raniere.
Keith Raniere locked Daniela up for one reason. And it is the only REAL reason…
Because Daniela is freaking gorgeous.
Vanguard could control Daniela very much.
But he could not watch her 24/7. Or rather Keith could not watch all other males 24/7. And many of those males would certainly be watching Daniela.
So Keith locked Daniela in the tower. Away from prying male eyes. For safekeeping.
After all, Daniela was Keith’s. Daniela “belonged” to Keith. In his warped, ogre mind Keith owned Daniela. And even if Keith didn’t want his dollY all the time – he surely didn’t want anyone else looking at his dolly or touching it.
BUT it was a secret. Shhh… No one could know that Keith had claimed the young, dazzling Daniela for himself. Oh. And her 2 sisters! Greedy, greedy Keith.
From the dawn of civilization bad, old men have clipped the wings of lovely much younger ethereal angels. And hid them away. From the rest of the world.
Keith is just such an unoriginal villain. The exquisite princess was locked away from all other knights who would surely be dazzled by her presence and might just try to save Daniela.
But this breathtaking beauty was strong. And finally rescued herself. And left the tower. Alone.
And even that could not stand with the wretched Raniere.
Daniela had to be sent away to Mexico.
A different kind of tower.
Post Script from Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
One more thing: After the arrests, all the co-defendants were planning to fight the charges and go to trial. The government’s case was thin, if not pure vapor, and purely based on witness testimony. Then the feds magically produced a hard drive they alleged contained child porn.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
Replying to
@nickiclyne
In addition to the FBI agent who testified at trial admitting that chain of custody was broken, it has since been confirmed by multiple forensic experts that photos were manipulated and planted on the drive. Sadly, the damage had been done.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
All the co-defendants took plea deals before trial because there’s no way to win a case with child porn charges. The court wouldn’t allow them to sever their trials from Keith’s, so it was either cooperate, or suffer the same fate as him. The rest is history.
Any thinking person reads these tweets and investigates. No matter how Nicki gussied it up. The stench remains. You’d have to be “special” to buy what Nicki is selling.
Nicki tried to push every popular “gin up the right” button but it rings false. Her diatribe is riddled with red flags unless you are a real dope.
The Devil’s Advocate
Nicki Clyne’s Take
Twitter Thread
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
The NXIVM narrative is a psy op
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
Replying to
@nickiclyne
Keith made some powerful enemies when the daughters of billionaires took NXIVM classes and sought greater independence and personal and financial autonomy.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
These powerful families weaponized the media against Keith and NXIVM for years, creating the “cult” stigma and a PR nightmare. Despite the bad publicity, thousands of people took classes and created a community of successful, thoughtful people seeking to make meaningful change.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
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3h
The classes taught personal responsibility, emotional intelligence, and tools to better live by one’s own ethics and values. Over 17,000 people took the education and improved their lives, as proven by anonymous questionnaires and measurable milestones of success.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
Through the challenging of limiting beliefs and outdated social norms, people found greater degrees of freedom in their lives, and became less reliant on external success for a sense of worth. However, sometimes challenging long-held beliefs can be hard, and requires humility.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
A few people in leadership positions within NXIVM were frustrated with their own unwillingness to push past limitations and NXIVM’s persistent PR troubles. They wanted to be famous and successful in the “eyes of the world” and felt like the organization was holding them back.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
A former publicist for NXIVM who had a personal vendetta against Keith and Clare Bronfman after a business deal gone bad decided to wage war by publishing salacious, humiliating, and defamatory stories on his blog, the Frank Report.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
People were afraid. There was enough truth to the rumors that people extrapolated validity. Fear is a hell of a tool to obstruct critical thinking, and it worked. Not to mention, no one wanted to be trashed online and the only way to avoid it was to disavow the organization.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
Keith happened to have multiple long-term romantic partners. It wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t broadcast publicly either. All of his partners were adult women who chose to be in an unconventional relationship for their own reasons. When some people learned, they felt deceived.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
All of this might have just ended after a sensational news cycle, but you add the #MeToo movement, the secret women’s sorority DOS, heiresses, celebrities, and branding, and you had the perfect ingredients for a trial by media that led to a Kafka-esque trial and a guilty verdict.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
DOS was a women’s organization that taught discipline, self-reliance, compassion, and interdependence through a serious commitment backed by collateral.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The disgruntled former employees tried to conjure criminal charges for months to no avail. (Consenting adults.) It wasn’t until a former actress wrote a book and did a media tour trying to “save” her 26-year-old daughter from the “cult” that authorities started to pay attention.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
An ambitious prosecutor in the EDNY looking to make a name for herself saw an opportunity. She convinced a 29-year-old actress that a single consensual sex act wherein she was blindfolded and received oral sex by a woman was actually sex trafficking.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The FBI terrorized and threatened the entire NXIVM community. Abuse of the RICO statute put everyone at risk. Women were offered starring roles as victims if they just surrendered their agency. Some were happy to do it, others were threatened with deportation or prosecution.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The mainstream media salivated over every salacious detail and spun it beyond recognition. No one cared about the truth or the lives that were being destroyed, just the creepy “sex cult” that branded women. (Some women chose to get brands, just like men in fraternities.)
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The federal investigation and media narrative was empowered by a collective moral panic, but also carefully crafted and controlled by power, politics, and money. See first tweet re: powerful families. Hate and social repugnance convicted Keith before he ever entered a courtroom.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The NXIVM narrative is a psy op because it preyed on people’s earnest sympathies toward victims of abuse and weaponized them to strip women of their agency, cover up government corruption, and put innocent people in prison, all with the mob cheering in the background.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
·
3h
The NXIVM story is further proof that our liberties are not only at risk, but nearly non-existent. The federal government can fabricate crimes, create victims, bully people into submission, tamper with evidence, and do it in broad daylight because hate trumps truth and justice.
Nicki Clyne
@nickiclyne
· 3h
One more thing: After the arrests, all the co-defendants were planning to fight the charges and go to trial. The government’s case was thin, if not pure vapor, and purely based on witness testimony. Then the feds magically produced a hard drive they alleged contained child porn.
Tripe.
Although I disagree with Nicki’s take, I also believe in free speech.
I find cancel culture repugnant and un-American.
Besides most people can easily spot what went wrong in NXIVM.
Branding
Blackmail
Pedophilia
Shadow-
I’m glad you are posting Nicki’s Tweets. She is totally mischaracterizing the NXIVM trial.
All of those tweets were written by Keith. Nicki is just the messenger.
Of course, Nicki hits on stuff most Americans can get behind.
But she’s yanking your chain.
This is a pre-civil trial charm offense.
Squeaky whiney Clyne sees the writing on the wall.
And when she’s ordered to pay damages Nicki wants allies.
Nicki wants those who are (rightfully in many cases) suspicious of the government and losing freedom etc. to back her fabricated narrative that she is a martyr for the Patriot cause.
She’s not.
Nicki is a pedophile apologist.
And true patriots should be offended that she is trying to taint and coopt their earnest efforts to hold the government accountable to the people.
A big reason to push the therapy – Lauren’s attorneys want the judge to believe that it is vital that Lauren continue this therapy. With this therapist. And that Lauren not be interrupted in her healing journey. By say… a prison sentence.
Lauren should do some time. It will be better for her in the long run. She can hold her head high. And say, “I paid my debt to society”.
It shuts some people up too. Sometimes. Some detractors. And Lauren can move on with her life. If she does no time – she will be lambasted.
If Lauren serves time, people will say, “Look, she was punished. Lauren did not just skate on this matter”. And Lauren will become less of a pariah. Is that way the right way? I don’t know. But it does seem to be the American way. We are forgiving. Yes. But first ya gotta pay.
I don’t think Lauren should be crushed on the wheel of justice – I agree she is already crushed – but – she should do some time.
Just one little humble opinion.