‘Cult’ leader Gary Blankenship loses eviction fight in St. Agatha

Facebook followers told he will look for "someplace warmer"

Sun Journal, Maine/February 22, 2020

By Steve Collins

Purported cult leader Gary Blankenship said Friday he lost an eviction case and must leave the Civil War-era house in the tiny town of St. Agatha within two weeks.

Speaking in a live video on Facebook, Blankenship said he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next after agreeing to vacate the house in Aroostook County where he’s been staying since last fall with his family and some followers.

“I’m tired of all this snow anyway,” the North Carolina native said. “Ten months of winter. I thought I could deal with this but maybe I can’t.”

Blankenship said he was run out of town by a campaign of “slander, gossip and lies” by local residents who accused him of running a cult, wanting to shoot up a school and more.

“What was done to us was an injustice,” said Blankenship, who uses the hashtag #CULTure on social media.

Residents of the town of 747 said Blankenship was taking advantage of the property’s owner, Leo James Dugal, and had no right to possess the 347 Main St. home where he has been living.

Blankenship said in the video that he had only a handshake deal to buy the place over time and couldn’t prove it.

The owner of the 16-room house could not be reached, but relatives said he feels like he’s been cheated and wants Blankenship ousted.

Blankenship said he is not angry about the decision reached out of court that gives him until March 8 to leave.

He said he hopes he finds “someplace warmer” to settle next.

“Ain’t nothing falling apart,” Blankenship told his followers on Facebook. “This is just the beginning.”

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