Eduardo’s ‘Lies About NXIVM’ #1: Raniere Branded Women Like Cattle With Hot Iron

NXIVM stalwart Eduardo Asunsolo has produced an exciting series of short videos for Make Justice Blind [MJB], an advocacy group of five Keith Raniere supporters founded in 2020.

The MJB website says it is “dedicated to exposing bad behavior within the criminal justice system and transforming the culture from one of ‘winning’ to truth and justice.”

As the group’s first and only project, the five leaders of MJB are dedicated to exposing the bad behavior that led to Raniere’s conviction. 

Now lest readers jump to a hasty conclusion, the group is not dedicated to exposing Raniere’s bad behavior, of which they see none, but the bad behavior of the DOJ, the judge, and the FBI that took Raniere’s freedom away.

Part of the group’s effort and the subject of Asunsolo’s video series, is to debunk what he calls “Lies About NXIVM People Think Are True.”

This FR series examines Eduardo’s series. 

Is Eduardo telling the truth?

Are the so-called lies Eduardo says people believe about NXIVM lies? Are Raniere and his creation, NXIVM, misunderstood, something, as Eduardo considers, that is ethical and good?

Or is there a middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, one that lies between the pit of society’s fears and the summit of Raniere’s knowledge? 

Beyond is another dimension – the dimension of Keith Raniere. Is it a dimension of word salad, a dimension of willful blindness, a dimension of bullshit and brainwashing? Or are you moving into a subtle land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas, where the world’s smartest man can lead you into something higher than you ever thought possible? Or have you just crossed over into the Dead-Enders Zone?

Let us approach the subject starting with lies about NXIVM number one:

Lie #1 – Keith branded women like cows with a hot iron

The beginning of a false narrative created by people who benefited from it spread by the media and supported by the government.
Lies about #NXIVM that people think are true Part 1 pic.twitter.com/Op185Avsmw

— Make Justice Blind (@MakeJustBlind) January 27, 2023

Transcript of the video:

Eduardo Asúnsolo

Lies about NXIVM that people think are true.

Lie #1: Keith branded women like cows with a hot iron.

Truth: Female members of a sorority branded each other with a cauterizing pen, a very common practice in male fraternities. Keith was never near any of the branding ceremonies.

FR Analysis

Eduardo speaks the truth about Raniere’s slaves not being branded with a hot iron like cattle. There is a big difference between how Raniere branded humans, and we brand cattle.

I know a little about it. When I was younger, I worked on ranches in Texas and Wyoming.

We never used collateral. 

There were other differences. The cattle branding iron is heated in the fire until red hot. Then, when the iron cools to ash gray [about 950 degrees F], the brand is applied to the animal’s hide.

On cattle branding day, in early spring, we’d go to the corral, rope, throw them down, one by one, and brand them with the hot iron on the left hip, then bob off their tails.

The cattle brand is three to five inches in length, depending on the rancher’s brand. Raniere’s human brand was about two inches. But cows are bigger than people, so it makes sense. 

Raniere’s sorority used a much hotter cautery pen. The pen heats up to about 2000 degrees F and creates an instant third-degree burn.

The cautery pen takes much longer than the hot iron, so there is more pain over a longer time. The pen draws the design of Raniere’s initials. The Raniere brand is instantly visible, and the skin will heal with a hairless scar in the shape of the brand that never goes away unless you get scar removal surgery.  

It took the woman using the cautery pen about 20 minutes to brand one of Raniere’s slaves with his initials near her left hip.

The cattle brand is also instantly visible, and the skin will heal with a hairless scar in the shape of the brand that never goes away.

Although briefly painful, a hot iron brand does not cause any complications for the dogies. We did it fast. There wasn’t any drawing. The iron stamp was already cast. It takes about five seconds.

With horses we used a long handled smaller iron with ho— because no one wants a big ugly brand on their horse. Horse brands are about the same size as Raniere’s human brands. 

But, unlike Raniere did with humans, we’d brand horses fast, because you don’t want that iron to bounce back and hit you if the horse jumps.

It is not accurate, as Eduardo says, that the sorority women branded each other. Danielle Roberts was the only sorority member who branded DOS slaves. She lost her medical license because of it.  

Danielle drew each of seven strokes to form KR initials, and it took about 20 minutes. Afterward, the brand was dark red. Four naked slaves would hold the slave down so she wouldn’t wriggle and ruin the design. A fifth slave would film the branding, and the slave would say, “Master, please brand me. It would be an honor.”

When we’d brand dogies, and I can assure you none of them ever asked for it, the way I was taught was to hold the iron on until the brand is golden brown, like shoe leather, and no longer. Don’t over-brand or it burns through the hide.

If it’s a horse, just barely touch the hide with a very hot iron. I got to be able to do it before the horse even knew it. A touch with nice wrist action makes a nice brand. 

Of course, Danielle made some nice brands too.

Keep in mind, that with any kind of branding, whether human or bovine, if you leave it too long or apply too much pressure, it will burn deep and make a scar instead of a brand.

Also, use a smaller iron when branding calves. Don’t worry about it being too small. The brand grows with the animal. With Raniere’s slaves, the brand did not grow, because he kept them on diets. We went the opposite way. We wanted the dogies to get fatter. 

Like Raniere, most cattle ranchers used initials. And like Raniere, we did not tell the dogies what the brand stood for.  The ranchers, however, designed their marks plain and easy to read, so we’d know it was one of ours. Raniere made his brand obscurer so a slave could not tell it was his initials until perhaps after her seduction assignment. 

Like with cattle, Raniere branded his humans on the left below the hip.

Keith’s Not There

Eduardo is right, “Keith was never near any of the branding ceremonies.”

Raniere did not want the most slave women to know he was the secret head of DOS. After all, it was sold as an all female empowerment group. It would not do to tell the new recruits it was headed by a man. It is always good to start off with a lie.

Keithc did a lot of lying to keep his role a secret and so naturally he kept away from the branding ceremonies. 

Guys Do It, So Why Not Raniere’s Slaves?

Eduardo also says branding is “a very common practice in male fraternities.”

Branding is a practice with some male, mostly African-American fraternities. No national fraternity officially condones the practice of branding.

So the record is clear. Keith Raniere invented the world’s first multilevel blackmail and branding scheme. He cleverly devised the idea of collateral which served as a form of blackmail to keep his slaves in line. 

We used ropes, dogs, and electric prodders to keep our cattle in line.

Still, whether a cautery pen or a hot iron, whether cow, horse, or human, a brand is proof of ownership, and Raniere marked his women even if he was not present on branding day.

So should we believe Eduardo when he talks about truth and lies?

How does Eduardo explain that Keith told the world he was not connected to DOS.

His statement is found on the NXIVM.com website.

Letter from the Co-Founder

Dear Members;

I feel it is important to clarify the sorority is not part of NXIVM and that I am not associated with the group. I firmly support one’s right to freedom of expression, so what the sorority or any other social group chooses to do is not our business so long as there is no abuse…. Furthermore, the sorority is proud of what they created and want to share their story. I am confident they will be addressing you very soon…

Moving forward, we will communicate better. We will inform better.

Sincerely, Keith Raniere

Eduardo’s series “Lies About NXIVM People Think Are True.” is off to a good start.

Lie #1: Raniere said, “I feel it is important to clarify the sorority is not part of NXIVM and that I am not associated with the group.”

But Raniere was the founder of DOS, the inventor of the collateral and the branding. He even designed the brand.

Why the double standard. Why should anyone care about what Eduardo calls “lies,” about DOS branding, when he won’t admit Raniere lied himself?