1 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: Welcome back to playing dirty sports scandals. I'm Jay Harris, 2 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: a veteran ESPN sportscaster, and on this show your brave barista, 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: serving up the juiciest, darkest scandals to ever rock the 4 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,799 Speaker 1: world of sports. Today, we're diving back into the six 5 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: Saga of Robert Rosier and getting a taste for how 6 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: a life that started with big promise went terribly wrong. 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: Cleanse your palette while you still can, because this tale 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: is about to get goorier than blood orange juice. I'm 9 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: not gonna lie to you knowing what's coming. It's hard 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,520 Speaker 1: for me to crave anything, including juice, just at the moment, 11 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: because the only word to describe Robert Rosier's path from 12 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: this moment onwards is nauseating. In our last episode, we 13 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: left off in nineteen eighty two when Robert crossed paths 14 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: with community activists turned cult leader Yahweh Ben Yahweh. Having 15 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: failed in the NFL and the Canadian Football League, Robert 16 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: Rogier was down on his luck and looking to build 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,199 Speaker 1: a new life in Miami when he met impassioned Nation 18 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: of Yahweh founder and leader Yahweh Ben Yahweh. He thought, 19 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: as many did at the time that he finally discovered 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: a higher purpose. His purpose. Here was an organization espousing 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: black superiority during an age of political and racial unrest. 22 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: Here was an organization where a disillusioned black man like 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: Robert could regain his voice in America and feel empowered. 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: But while Yahweh Ben Yahweh served up a manifesto that 25 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: resonated outwardly for many African Americans after the Miami Riots, internally, 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: within the walls of his Temple of Love, twisted and 27 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: terrible practices were increasingly at work. The more powerful Yahweh 28 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,559 Speaker 1: Ben Yahweh became between nineteen eighty one and nineteen eighty four, 29 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: the crueler his methods of control grew. More and more 30 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: he intruded into the most personal aspects of his followers' lives, 31 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: exerting control over their actions, finances, and even their most 32 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:18,679 Speaker 1: intimate relationships. In the months leading up to his initial 33 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: meeting with Robert Rogier, Yahweh Bin Yahweh's manipulation reached a 34 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: new level. For some members of the Nation of Yahweh, 35 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: their leaders escalating brutality seemed to run counter to everything 36 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: they'd believe the organization to stand for. Where was the kindness, 37 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: the unity, the empowerment of their fellow black man. Why 38 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: was the Nation of Yahweh buying up fancy real estate 39 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: now instead of routinely cleaning up lower income communities. Why 40 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: were followers being physically hurt daily, with sexual assault now 41 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: a common practice. By nineteen eighty one, a renegade group 42 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: of sixteen Nation of Yahweh members had had enough. They 43 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: broke off from the Temple of Love with plans to 44 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: create a new and competing Yahweh temple across town. Furious, 45 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: Yahweh Ben Yahweh labeled these sixteen members the hypocrites and 46 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: allegedly ordered that his remaining members retaliate against the outcasts severely. 47 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,239 Speaker 1: On November twelfth, nineteen eighty one, Aston Green, a twenty 48 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: six year old mechanic and one of the sixteen members 49 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: who had broken away from Yahweh Ben Yahweh, returned to 50 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: the Temple of Love. While we don't know exactly why 51 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: Aston decided to return, given his commitment to the overall 52 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: Nation of Yahweh movement, it may well have been that 53 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: he was seeking to confront Yahweh Ben Yahweh directly about 54 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: how the organization's doctrine had devolved in recent months. Whatever 55 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: his rationale for returning Aston Green was doomed as soon 56 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: as he stepped foot onto Yahweh Ben Yahweh's turf. According 57 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: to Khalil Amani, a former Nation of Yahweh member who 58 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: witnessed the event, the head of security gathered about a 59 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: dozen followers and escorted Aston Green to a secluded back room. 60 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: I was instructed to guard this side door, a directive 61 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: you don't question from the head of security. Inside that room, 62 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 1: the sounds of violence quickly erupted. Amani, driven by a 63 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: need to know what was happening, peeked inside to witness 64 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: a brutal scene. Aston was savagely beaten, stomped upon, and 65 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: bludgeoned with the wooden staffs carried by the followers. The 66 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: thumping noises were unmistakable, the sound of a life being 67 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: extinguished with chilling indifference, Amani Khalil remembered grimly. Another former 68 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:47,119 Speaker 1: sect member, Ricardo Woodside, corroborated Amani's account, with United Press 69 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: International reporting that he, along with his brother and other 70 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: Nation of Yabweh members, beat dissident member Aston Green with 71 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: a tire iron and our fists in a back room 72 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: at the temple in nineteen eight. Any available spot that 73 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: was open on his body was beaten. He looked horrible. 74 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: Blood was on the floor and all over his face, 75 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: and he was moaning and groaning. The unthinkable assault ended 76 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: with Aston Green being wrapped in a green carpet and 77 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: duct taped, his barely conscious body making desperate, labored noises 78 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: as it was carried past Khalilamani and out the Temple 79 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: of Love door. Aston was then loaded into the trunk 80 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: of a car with one of the members clutching a machete. 81 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: Under the cloak of darkness, Aston was driven to the Everglades, where, 82 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: on the orders of Yahweh bin Yahweh, he was barbarically beheaded. 83 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: How could something so horrible have happened? The sect had 84 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: clearly become an overt danger to society. Ricardo Woodside shared 85 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: years later that before the murder of Aston Green, yahwe 86 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 1: Ben Yahweh preached the hypocrites must die to his congregation. 87 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: Ricardo further revealed that Yahweh ben Yahweh praised the members 88 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,280 Speaker 1: who had butchered Aston Green, but chastised them for not 89 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: leaving Aston's car with his body. Yahwe ben yahwe said, 90 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: we should have left the car and the body together 91 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: so the hypocrites can see what Yahweh, who is God did. 92 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: Ricardo then revealed that Yahweh Ben Yahweh said, when we 93 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: take the next head, we're going to put the head 94 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: in a basket and hang it on a post, so 95 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: the whole city can hear Yahweh and fear Yahweh. Fear. 96 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: That word sums it up. Yahweh ben Yahweh's rule was 97 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:46,159 Speaker 1: fueled by fear, and he was just getting started. In 98 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: the aftermath of Aston Green's horrific execution, Aston's roommates Carlton 99 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: Kerry and Mildred Banks suffered severe consequences for their role 100 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: in the hypocrites rebellion too. Carlton and his wife Mildred, 101 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: who were con considered by Yahweh ben Yahweh to be 102 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: leaders among the dissenters, attempted to alert the authorities about 103 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: the violent, criminal behavior going on inside the Temple of Love. 104 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: When word got back to Yahweh ben Yahweh that his 105 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: ex followers had gone to the police, the repercussions were 106 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: bound to be bloody. Carlton carry and Mildred Banks were 107 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: attacked at their home in an apparent direct retaliation for 108 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: their cooperation with law enforcement. Carlton died on the spot 109 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: from multiple gunshot wounds, while Mildred was rushed to Miami 110 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: International Hospital. The life threatening nature of her injuries was 111 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: immediately apparent in the emergency room. They showed her neck 112 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: and it was almost completely chopped off and she was 113 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:51,239 Speaker 1: drowning in her own blood. Miami Dade Police Detective Steed 114 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: road Rock remembered with horror. Once Mildred had survived at 115 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: emergency procedure and was sufficiently recovered, Detective road Ruck conducted 116 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: a bedside interview. I remember two shots ringing out and 117 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: I screamed, Mildred told him. Mildred amazingly remembered the terrifying 118 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: events of November fifteenth, nineteen eighty one, with vivid detail. 119 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: Apparently Yahweh Ben Yahweh's death. Angel enforcers had been lying 120 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: in wait for Carlton and Mildred to return from their 121 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: police interview, where the couple had pointed the finger at 122 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: Yahweh ben Yahweh for the murder of their roommate, Aston 123 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: Green wearing ski masks. Yahweh's death, Angels attacked Carlton and 124 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: Mildred as soon as they walked through the door of 125 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: their house. Carlton was shot to death, but miraculously Mildred survived, 126 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: being shot in the chest and having her throat slit. 127 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: Once the gunmen had left her for dead, she dragged 128 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: herself to a neighbor's house after trying in vain to 129 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: use her own home phone. Yahweh's death angels had cut 130 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: their phone line in a clear attempt to prevent them 131 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: from either calling for help or surviving the attack. Later, 132 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: members of the Nation of Yahweh came forward to reveal 133 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: that Yahweh ben Yahweh had held a pep rally to 134 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: celebrate the death of the infidels even as Mildred Banks 135 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: was fighting for her life in the hospital. According to 136 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: crimelibrary dot org, although some attendees at the Temple of 137 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: Love were horrified by the news, they dared not show it. 138 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: The temple guards were watching the congregation closely, looking for 139 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: any sign of inconformity. The members had no choice but 140 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: to clap their hands and praise Yahweh with the rest 141 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: of the hoard. They didn't want to be next on 142 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: Yahweh ben Yahweh's hit list. Mildred Banks was put into 143 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: witness protection and the investigation into the now murderous Nation 144 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: of Yahweh cult began in earnest after two murders and 145 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 1: one attempted murder. Surely the authorities would take down the 146 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: cult and the killers right well. It proved to be 147 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: a greater challenge than the Miami Dade Police had anticipated. 148 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,679 Speaker 1: Nation the tapes, the media stuff that Yahweh ben yahwe 149 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,839 Speaker 1: would hand out to his followers, preaching the hatred of 150 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: white men. We were trying to grab everything we could 151 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: about him when we went into the Temple of Love 152 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,839 Speaker 1: and find out what he was espousing at the time, 153 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: Detective Roadruck said of his investigation into Yahweh ben Yahweh. 154 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: We tried to build a case. We tried to get 155 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: a search warrant. We did go into the temple with 156 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: some building inspectors, but Yahweh ben Yahweh and his cronies 157 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: weren't cooperating or talking or anything. Still, Detective Steve Roadrock 158 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: and his fellow detective John King didn't leave their undercover 159 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 1: visit to the Temple of Love empty handed. They managed 160 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: to find evidence, albeit inconclusive evidence that linked the crime 161 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: scene of Aston Green's murder to the Nation of Yahweh 162 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: cults headquarters. It all came down to carpet. Tacky green carpet, 163 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: the very same type of green carpet that had been 164 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: wrapped around Aston Green as his killers lugged him out 165 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: of the Temple of Love into the trunk of their car, 166 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: and the very same type of green carpet that had 167 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: been found by investigators at the site of Aston Green's 168 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: to capitation in the Everglades. Even though detectives road Ruck 169 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: and King had made the carpet connection, how could they 170 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: prove that Nation of Yahweh members were murderers? After all, 171 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: carpet companies have more than one customer, and you'd better 172 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: believe that Yahweh Ben Yahweh's attorneys were ready to fight 173 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: the point. No, the detectives would need more to tumble 174 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: Yahweh Ben Yahweh's dark empire, and so the investigation stalled. 175 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: The local government was hesitant to confront a prominent black 176 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: religious leader without incontrovertible proof of wrongdoing. The community, which 177 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: had over the years benefited from Nation of Yahweh charitable activities, 178 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 1: was reluctant to speak out against the benefactor, and of 179 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 1: course ex members of the Nation of Yahweh were now 180 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 1: utterly terrified to come forward. By this time. X NFL 181 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: defensive end Robert Rogier was a Nation of Yahweh death angel, 182 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: living in the Temple of Love and enforcing Yahweh Ben 183 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: Yahweh's deranged will. He apparently lived there, carrying out orders 184 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: starting from nineteen eighty two and contributing to Yahweh Ben 185 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: Yahweh's reign of terror. Yahwei Ben Yahweh's brutal campaign felt 186 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: interminable to everyone with their own moral conscience still intact, 187 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: and it wasn't until nineteen eighty five, four years after 188 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: the chilling nineteen eighty one murders, that authorities finally acknowledged 189 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: possessing physical evidence linking the Yahweh sect to the gruesome 190 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: decapitation of Aston Green. This breakthrough came about after the 191 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: Miami Dade Organized Crime Bureau and the FBI collaborated to 192 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: amass a significant intelligence file on the Nation of Yahweh. 193 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: Much of this file was based on hearsay, but its contents, 194 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 1: including multiple allegations of child sexual abuse use, were collectively 195 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: alarming enough to demand greater action. What the authorities were 196 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: really hoping for, what they really needed to take that 197 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: greater action, was to flip some nation of Yahweh members 198 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: into testifying. We always felt somewhere along the line someone 199 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: would trip up and they'd start talking. Detective Steve Roadruck said, 200 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: little did he know that the someone they had been 201 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 1: waiting for had traded in football cleats for a machete 202 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,959 Speaker 1: and was about to do what he'd always done, mess up. 203 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: Only this time, Robert Rogier messing up was the key 204 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 1: to good ultimately prevailing, because his sloppy crime scenes and 205 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: drive for self preservation at all costs would bring Yahweh 206 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: ben Yahweh's cult to its knees. Here's how it went down. 207 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: In the violent crescendo of Yahweh ben Yahweh's radical teachings, 208 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: Robert Rogier found himself at a crossroads that would define 209 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: his fall from a sportsman to a zealot. Robert, like 210 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:06,079 Speaker 1: all of Yahweh Ben Yahweh's followers, had been systematically indoctrinated 211 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: to see himself as a divine warrior, a death angel, 212 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: ready to commit murder in the service of his leader. 213 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: Aston Green and Carlton Kerry were just the first two 214 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: victims of yahwe Ben Yahweh's bloody crusade. Former member Khalil Amani, 215 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: who was in the cult alongside Robert Rogier until nineteen 216 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: eighty five, revealed that yahwe Ben Yahweh used his sermons 217 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: to give veiled directives to his followers. Yahweh used coded words, 218 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: Khalil explained in the Oxygen documentary Uncovered the Cult of 219 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: Yahweh ben Yahweh. For example, he used a word called azazel, 220 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 1: which in Hebrew means scapegoat, and he basically taught that 221 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: in our own land, we'd have these goats that we 222 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: would bring once a year and we'd kill them for 223 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: the sins of Israel. But yahwe Ben Yahweh took it 224 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: further and he'd say white people are the new goats, 225 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: and he said that proof of a k the kill 226 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: is to bring back the head of the azazel. And 227 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: we knew that the azazel was not a goat, because 228 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 1: we weren't in our land with goats. The azazel was 229 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: the white man. So the language was coded, but everyone 230 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: in the congregation clearly understood what Yahweh bin Yahweh meant 231 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: when he would say those kinds of things. He was 232 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: asking for ears and heads in all that kind of stuff. 233 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: Khalil Ahmani's account is incredibly frightening and gives clear insight 234 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: into the messaging Robert Rosier was being fed day in 235 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: and day out. After Khalil Amani made the heartbreaking decision 236 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: to kiss his wife and two children goodbye and flee 237 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: from the Nation of Yahweh in nineteen eighty five, the 238 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: cult apparently became even more sinister, and in nineteen eighty six, 239 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: amidst an atmosphere charged with violence, Robert Rogier took a 240 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: personal step further into the ABYSS by joining the Brotherhood. 241 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: The Brotherhood was a secretive and militant faction within the 242 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: Nation of Yahweh way that was notorious for its brutal 243 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: initiation rights. Membership into the Brotherhood required the murder of 244 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: those deemed white devils as per Yahweh Ben Yahweh's preaching, 245 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: and the presentation of a body part needed to be 246 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: delivered as proof of the deed. This ritualistic violence by 247 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: members of the Brotherhood was intended to cleanse the Nation 248 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: of Yahweh community from external evil influences and cement the 249 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: member's loyalty to their leader. According to the Miami Herald, 250 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: there was a rash of ear cases that cropped up 251 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: during this time. The brutality of the brotherhood was making 252 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: its mark on the city at large now, and people 253 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 1: were understandably scared. The nation of Yahweh was escalating its 254 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: violent reign, and police had yet to definitively pen crimes 255 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: on the cult. It wasn't until May twentieth, nineteen eighty 256 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: six that authorities finally caught a break, and sadly, that 257 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: progress came at a high price. Two police officers in 258 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: Delray Beach, an a fluent community with a majority of 259 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: residents or Caucasian, spotted a white van on a lonesome road. 260 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: The officers smelled gasoline, but as nothing illegal was readily apparent, 261 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: the road was just off the beaten path, and they 262 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: didn't want to stir up trouble needlessly, they just jotted 263 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: down the license plate number before leaving. If only they'd 264 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: dug deeper. Just a few hours later, a couple of 265 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: blocks away from where the officers had spotted the white van, 266 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: fire bombs exploded in a neighborhood, badly burning two children. 267 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: The gasoline sent the officers had picked up had been 268 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: from people inside the van making Molotov cocktails. Now, to 269 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,919 Speaker 1: be clear, a Molotov cocktail is not a drink. A 270 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: Molotov cocktail is a hand thrown incendiary weapon. It consists 271 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: of a glass bottle filled with a flammable substance such 272 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,680 Speaker 1: as gasoline, and is equipped with a fuse such as 273 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: a sock or rag soaked in alcohol or kerosene. When 274 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: the fuse is lit, it ignites the flammable contents upon impact, 275 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,919 Speaker 1: creating a firebomb. Dubbed the poor man's grenade, Molotov cocktails 276 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: have a long history of collateral damage and it was 277 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: devastating to the Delray Beach community. They have children caught 278 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: in the crossfire of Yahweh Ben Yahweh's twisted battle. The 279 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: only silver lining from this tragedy was that it helped 280 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,880 Speaker 1: unlock another piece of the evidence puzzle. Sergeant Robert Brand 281 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: with the Delray Beach Police Department went to where the 282 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 1: white van had been spotted before the firebomb attack and 283 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: collected samples of the kerosene gasoline mixture. It matched the 284 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: homemade Molotov cocktail bombs. Quickly, authorities race to identify who 285 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: the van belonged to, now that they'd identified the vehicle 286 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,640 Speaker 1: as the bomb creation site, and guess what. The license 287 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: plate was traced back to a very well known owner, 288 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,360 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh in Miamiami. So Sergeant Brand went 289 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: to the Temple of Love to follow up the lead 290 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,399 Speaker 1: and noticed a very unusual looking wine bottle in a 291 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: display case. It was the same type of bottle that 292 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: had been used for the Molotov cocktails in Delray Beach. 293 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: From this moment, it seemed as though the police had 294 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: caught a tailwind, with their long stagnant investigation into the 295 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: Nation of Yahweh suddenly making progress on the heels of 296 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 1: the fire bombing. The guilt ridden former Nation of Yahweh 297 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: elder Khalil Amani, who has also gone by the names 298 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: Lloyd Clark and Yehudah Israel, pushed his own fear to 299 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: one side and walked into the Miami FBI headquarters. Overwhelmed 300 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: by remorse for his activities while in the cult, and 301 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: particularly upset that an infant girl had been injured in 302 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh's Delray Beach explosion. Khalil exposed the 303 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: extensive criminal activities of his former sect. The list of 304 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: transgressions he revealed included bombings, child abuse, welfare fraud, and murders. 305 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:12,399 Speaker 1: Yet still, the police needed someone to corroborate Khalilamani's confessions 306 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: in order to make their case against the powerful Nation 307 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: of Yahweh stick. So, instead of arresting Khalilamani for his 308 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: role in Yahweh's criminal empire, the FBI recruited him to 309 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,159 Speaker 1: work under the code name El Indio, hoping that he 310 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,679 Speaker 1: could help them identify and encourage other Yahwehs to come forward. 311 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: But before Khalilamani and the FBI could strategize a peaceful 312 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,360 Speaker 1: solution to gathering witnesses, the next horror unfolded. On October 313 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, nineteen eighty six, just five months after the 314 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: Delray Beach firebombing, the Nation of Yahweh initiated the siege 315 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: of a run down apartment complex in Opa Laca, Florida, 316 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: just six miles from the Temple of Love. Seventy five 317 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,919 Speaker 1: Yahweh followers piled out of two limousines, six buses, avail 318 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: and several cars. They surrounded the building, clinching six foot 319 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: sticks they called staffs. Of life. Wielding these sticks, the 320 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: Yahwehs ordered the tenants to vacate their homes immediately. You see, 321 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: the nation of Yahweh had bought the building and they 322 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 1: were determined to take it over and kick everyone out, 323 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: even if they had to resort to violent measures to 324 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: achieve their aim. What transpired was a two day standoff. 325 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: Some desperate residents struggled with the Yahwehs, and gunfire was 326 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: heard from inside the complex. Furious and frightened residents called 327 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: Opolaca police to no avail. In the time that it 328 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: took the police to arrive on the scene, the situation 329 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: escalated to a deadly level. Two residents denounced the Yahwehs 330 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: on TV, and ten hours later they were shot dead. 331 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: Former local ten news reporter Vicki Fraser reported from the 332 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 1: scene that the apartment complex had now become the site 333 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: of a double homicide, saying the victims are rooted off. 334 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: Broussard and Anthony Brown, who witnesses said apparently argued with 335 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: Yahweh members just hours before they were found shot. They 336 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 1: were shot within close range and the head and back. 337 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 1: Broussard died at the scene. Brown was heard pleading for 338 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,199 Speaker 1: his life as he tried to escape. Sources say he 339 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: was shot once in the back, then three more times 340 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: in the head. He died two hours later at Jackson 341 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: Memorial Hospital. A green car that had entered the complex 342 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: was impounded with several white robes like the ones worn 343 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: by members of the Nation of Yahweh in the back seat. 344 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,880 Speaker 1: At the scene, Metro Dade police found an unidentified man 345 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: hiding in a field close by. He was wearing the 346 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 1: familiar white turban worn by Yahweh members. Someone else donning 347 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,200 Speaker 1: white was on side of the Opa Laca siege as well. 348 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,920 Speaker 1: Robert Rogier, and Robert's crimes had finally caught up with him, 349 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: as the investigation into the shooting death of residents Rudolf 350 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: Broussard and Anthony Brown revealed his fingerprints everywhere. The sloppiness 351 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: of the crime scene itself exuded arrogance or perhaps laziness, 352 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: and delivered incontrovertible evidence to the police of Robert's involvement. 353 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: During his arrest, the bizarre details Robert Rogier provided to 354 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: the officers, such as listing his age as four hundred 355 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: and four years old and his proclamation of praise Yahweh 356 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: response to police questioning underscored the deep indoctrination he had undergone. 357 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 1: Backed into a corner by assistant state Attorneys Don Horne 358 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: and Michael Band, Robert Rogier confessed to everything in exchange 359 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: for a lesser sentence, admitting to murder as part of 360 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: his initiation into the ultra violent Yahweh sect of the Brotherhood, 361 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: and to the executions of Rudolf Broussard and Anthony Brown. 362 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: For his cooperation, Robert received a plea deal granting him 363 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: a reduced prison sentence of twenty two years. The fact 364 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: that any deal was on the table for Robert, given 365 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,119 Speaker 1: the severity of his crimes, highlights the desperate need police 366 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 1: officers had for inside information to dismantle the Nation of 367 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: Yahweh cults operations. It seemed that Robert's details, coupled with 368 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 1: the account provided by Khalil Amani, would at least be 369 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: sufficient for the authorities to act. Ironically, Miami Mayor Xavier L. Suarez, 370 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: who clearly did not have insight into the investigation unfolding 371 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: in his own backyard, declared a Yahweh ben Yahweh Day 372 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: on October seventh, nineteen ninety. Just a month later, Mayor 373 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: Suarez had to distance himself from the proclamation. When Yahweh 374 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 1: ben Yahweh was indicted on federal racketeering and conspiracy charges, 375 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: Mayor Suarez must have been stunned to have his political 376 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 1: pandering backfire so quickly, and of course he promptly emphasized 377 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: that the Yahweh ben Yahweh day had been requested by 378 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: another commissioner and that he himself had only ever met 379 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahwa leader once. At times, the stomach 380 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: churning nature of politics gives the scandals I serve up 381 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: when playing thirty a run for their money. In any event, 382 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: With Miami's mayor busy cleaning egg from his face and 383 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: the press in a frenzy, Yahweh Ben Yahweh's trial moved forward, 384 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: as well as the trial of fifteen other Nation of 385 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: Yahweh members, on January second, nineteen ninety two. The legal 386 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: proceeding were set against the backdrop of dramatic courtroom dynamics, 387 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: including the presence of heavily guarded defendants in white robes 388 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: and turbans, and the charges were incredibly serious, encompassing at 389 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 1: least fourteen murders, along with a gruesome attempted beheading and 390 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 1: the Delray Beach firebombing. Khalil Lamani, the ex cult member 391 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: turned FBI informant, was the first witness to testify against 392 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: Yahweh Ben Yahweh himself. Looking eye to eye in that 393 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 1: courtroom was terrifying, Khalil later admitted, but I knew it 394 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: had to be done. It was liberating for me to 395 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,400 Speaker 1: look at Yahweh Ben Yahweh and speak my peace. Other 396 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: witnesses followed Khalil's lead, corroborating the atmosphere of fear and 397 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: brutality within the cult and recounting appalling acts of violence, 398 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: including the public beating death of twenty two year old 399 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 1: karate champion Leonard Duprie. According to The La Times, one 400 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 1: of the prosecution's witnesses was Yahweh Ben Yahweh's sister, Jean Solomon, 401 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: a former sect member, who testified that she and about 402 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: seventy others had gathered in the Temple of Love to 403 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: watch as a former karate champion was beaten to death 404 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: with a tire iron. After Leonard Duprie was dead, Jane 405 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: Solomon said Yahweh ordered her and other women to strike 406 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: the body. According to crimelibrary dot Org, Yahweh Ben Yahweh 407 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: made every single man, woman, and child in his congregation 408 00:26:56,080 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: hit the dying Leonard Dupree as he screamed in agony, 409 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: reasoning that they would all be bound together by blood. 410 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: Yahweh viewed this is ensuring that no one's hand would 411 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,919 Speaker 1: be clean and that no one would be able to 412 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,880 Speaker 1: denounce the murder to the authorities. The flock that kills together, 413 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: Yahweh reasoned, stays together. After Leonard Dupree's slow and agonizing death, 414 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 1: a group of men rolled his body up in carpet 415 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,920 Speaker 1: and dumped it near a canal. They later claimed or 416 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: have forgotten the exact location, and to this day police 417 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,959 Speaker 1: have never been able to recover Leonard's body. That is 418 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: an absolutely horrifying account, and when Robert Rogier took the stand, 419 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: his testimony was equally chilling. The initial question posed by 420 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:49,520 Speaker 1: Assistant US Attorney Trudynuviki to Robert was stark, how many 421 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 1: people have you killed or helped to kill? Robert's response 422 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: was immediate seven. He elaborated that six of these killings 423 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: were executed under direct orders from Yahweh Ben Yahweh, with 424 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 1: the seventh victim being a persistent panhandler whose requests for 425 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: money and cigarettes drove Robert to kill him. Robert Rogier 426 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,439 Speaker 1: described how he and other cult members were instructed by 427 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: Yahwei Ben Yahweh to kill any white devil they encountered. 428 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: He then recounted a specific episode where they found a 429 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: man unconscious in a car outside a bar. Using their 430 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: twelve inch blades, which were standard issue for the sex 431 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: so called Death Angels, they stabbed the man repeatedly. After 432 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: severing one of his ears and accidentally losing it in 433 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: the dark, they successfully took the other as a trophy 434 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: to present to Yahweh Ben Yahweh. Robert claimed that Yahweh's 435 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: reaction to this brutal act was one of sheer joy, 436 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 1: highlighting the deep evil and violent worship practices that marked 437 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: the cult. As a reward for the man's ear, Yahweh 438 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: Ben Yahweh allegedly gave the Death Angels a day off 439 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: from their duties, and Robert Rogier casually noted in his 440 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: testimony that they celebrated by going to the movies. Of course, 441 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: the defense challenged Robert Rosier's credibility. In classic form, head 442 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: defense attorney Alsie Hastings portrayed Robert as a liar seeking 443 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: to reduce his own sentence by slinging mud at Yahweh 444 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: ben Yahweh. Attorney Hastings and his team pointed out that 445 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: there was no definitive evidence that Yahweh bin Yahweh himself 446 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: had ordered the killings and claimed that Robert was an 447 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: independent serial killer. Once Robert Rogier's questioning had concluded, Yahweh 448 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: ben Yahweh took the stand and introduced himself to the 449 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:47,840 Speaker 1: jurors as the grand Master of the Celestial Lodge, architect 450 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:52,040 Speaker 1: of the universe, blessed and only potentate, and founder of 451 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh. He continued to preach to the jurors, 452 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: saying that he had been the son of God all 453 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 1: my life but didn't know it. Even as he was 454 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: on trial for serious crimes, Yahwei ben Yahweh exuded confidence, 455 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: clearly believing that he could convince the jury of his 456 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: innocence in the same way he convinced Robert Rosier and 457 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: so many others in his flock to become killers in 458 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: his name. But the jurors didn't buy that the cult 459 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: leader was the son of God, and on September fourth, 460 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:28,240 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two, yahwe Ben Yahweh was convicted of conspiracy 461 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: to commit murder and received an eighteen year prison sentence. 462 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: Six Nation of Yahweh members received sentences between fifteen and 463 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: sixteen and a half years of imprisonment, and Robert Rojier 464 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:44,480 Speaker 1: received his twenty two year reduced plea deal sentence. Nowadays, 465 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: only about forty four percent of prisoners in the United 466 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,680 Speaker 1: States served their full term, so it's not entirely surprising 467 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: that Yahwei Ben Yahweh served just nine years before being 468 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: released on parole in two thousand and one at the 469 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: age of sixty six. Following his release, yaiyawe Ben Yahweh 470 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: wanted to rejoin his followers, but he was prohibited from 471 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: communicating with the Nation of Yahweh members by the courts. 472 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 1: He eventually passed away in two thousand and seven at 473 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: his home in Opa Loaca, Florida, from prostate cancer. Today, 474 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh still exists, but is much diminished 475 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: in size and influence, with most of its assets depleted. 476 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: While the group no longer openly expresses its most controversial doctrines, 477 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: the core beliefs remain largely unchanged, and yahwe Ben Yahweh 478 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: continues to be revered as a messianic figure by many 479 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: of the remaining followers. As for Robert Rogier, the talented 480 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 1: athlete turned serial killer, he seemed never to learn the 481 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: path of righteousness. After serving only ten years of his 482 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: twenty two year sentence, Robert was released and given support 483 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: under the Federal Witness Protection Program. As of twenty twelve, 484 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: it cost taxpayers ten million dollars a year to keep 485 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: the United States Federal Witness Protection Program or float. And 486 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 1: you might be interested to know that less than five 487 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: percent of relocated witnesses are actually free of any wrongdoing. 488 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: According to Mental Floss, the vast majority of people in 489 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: witness protection are career hoods looking to be absolved of 490 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 1: charges for their own activities and protected from retribution. That's 491 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: certainly not how the Witness Protection program is portrayed in 492 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: the movies. Is it not to mention that different sources 493 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: put the recidivism rate for Witness Protection members at anywhere 494 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: between ten and twenty percent. Given Robert's history, the likelihood 495 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,040 Speaker 1: of him breaking the law even after being given yet 496 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 1: another chance on the taxpayer's dollar was, let's face it, 497 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 1: pretty high. And that's exactly what happened. Despite getting a 498 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: new name, he became Robert Ramsay's instead of Robert Rozier. 499 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: On release into the Witness Protection program, Robert couldn't tow 500 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: the line. He tried to find peace in spiritualism and 501 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 1: even arder to build a normal life, engaging in entrepreneurial 502 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 1: ventures like auto detailing and web design while helping to 503 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 1: raise two children, But he threw all of his progress 504 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,640 Speaker 1: away by going back to his roots and writing bounced 505 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: checks again. At age forty three, finally having established a 506 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: life of relative security, Robert repeated the same crime he'd 507 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: engaged in while playing for the Canadian Football League as 508 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,480 Speaker 1: a thirty one year old back in nineteen eighty six. 509 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: The Eldorado County Deputies arrested Robert for writing the fraudulent 510 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: checks totaling just over two thousand, two hundred dollars. On 511 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: February fifth, nineteen ninety nine, Robert's anonymity in witness Protection 512 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: was blown, exposing him to serious danger. He is probably 513 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,560 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh's most hated enemy. Set Assistant US 514 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: Attorney Richard Scruggs, who prosecuted the Yahweh case, Robert Rogier 515 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:59,320 Speaker 1: is their Judas, their enemy number one. Now Judas had 516 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:01,959 Speaker 1: been brought out into the open with his life on 517 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,040 Speaker 1: the line, all because he behaved recklessly. Not only that, 518 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: but under California's stringent three strikes law, Robert Rosier's past 519 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,400 Speaker 1: offenses turned what might have been a misdemeanor into a 520 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: felony charge. He was convicted of check fraud, and this 521 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:22,440 Speaker 1: time Robert received a twenty five year to life prison sentence. Currently, 522 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 1: Robert Rogier is still incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, 523 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: which is known for housing high profile criminals. Despite his 524 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: attempts at parole, Robert was denied release in twenty twenty 525 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,840 Speaker 1: two and won't be eligible again until twenty twenty seven. 526 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:42,560 Speaker 1: Robert Rosier's life, marked by glorious moments on the football field, 527 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,000 Speaker 1: blinding darkness within a cult, and an ongoing struggle to 528 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,440 Speaker 1: find his true purpose, serves as a potent reminder of 529 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: the profound impacts of our choices and the enduring shadows 530 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 1: they cast. Now, that was a scandal that stays with you, 531 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,120 Speaker 1: causing more heartburn than a glass of carbonated orange juice. 532 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: What a terrible tragedy on every level, But it's also 533 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 1: an important tragedy to cover here. On Playing Dirty, We're 534 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:14,759 Speaker 1: shining a light into sports darkest corners is more than 535 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: just storytelling. It's educating. As Rick Ross, an international cult 536 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:24,320 Speaker 1: expert who runs the Cult Education Institute, wants everyone to understand, 537 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 1: extreme violence isn't the reason people join a group like 538 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,880 Speaker 1: the Nation of Yahweh. Cults run a bait and switch 539 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: con Rick emphasized, they lure you in through false promises. 540 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 1: They don't reveal what's really behind the door because that 541 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: would scare off recruits. These groups are predatory. They feed 542 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: on people's vulnerabilities. It's important to share Rick Ross's words 543 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: in Robert Rogier's story because despite hearing less about cults 544 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: in the news nowadays, membership in sex is actually on 545 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: the rise. According to Eric Sweitzer, mtsph, a clinical psychologist 546 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:05,960 Speaker 1: and director of the Cheris Counseling Centers in Massachusetts and 547 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:10,440 Speaker 1: Rhode Island, Robert Rosier's tale isn't one that's relegated to history. 548 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 1: It remains pertinent today. Join me You're Brave, Barista and 549 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,600 Speaker 1: Committed hosts Jay Harris for next week's fresh episode of 550 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is a 551 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: production of Dan Patrick Productions, never Ever Productions and Workhouse 552 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:42,360 Speaker 1: Media from executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, Nick Panela, 553 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:47,000 Speaker 1: Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Claring. Hosted by Jay Harris, Written 554 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,799 Speaker 1: and produced by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks, Maya Glickman, and 555 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 1: Jennifer Claaren