Online cult recruitment the new normal: Expert
News Nation/January 10, 2024
Tyler Wornell
Police in Missouri are investigating the mysterious disappearance of six people, all of whom shared a connection to one man: Rashad Jamal.
He is a self-proclaimed prophet — and rapper — who runs an online religious group with thousands of followers on social media. The disappearances are a living nightmare for the friends and families of the six people who vanished with no word or warning.
Rick Alan Ross, founder and executive director of the Cult Education Institute, said Wednesday on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that online recruitment is the new normal.
“(It’s) the way that cult leaders now operate,” Ross said.
Mikayla Thompson, 25; Naaman Williams, 30; Gerrielle German, 27; Ma’Kayla Wickerson, 36; Ashton Williams, 2; and Malaiyah Wickerson, 3, were last seen in the St. Louis area in August 2023. The group reportedly lived in Wickerson’s home before vanishing.
Wickerson’s mother, Carthisha Morgan, said her daughter had been manipulated by an online cult led by Rashad Jamal White, who goes by Rashad Jamal. Morgan said her daughter maxed out her credit cards, quit her job and cut contact with family before she vanished.
Jamal is currently in jail after being charged with sexually abusing the children of a previous partner as well as other charges of cruelty to children. His arrest record includes having previously pleaded guilty to battery by strangulation and suffocation, and he has been charged with attempted murder in the past, though he was not convicted.
His followers joined him via social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. He operates an organization called the University of Cosmic Intelligence, which sells crystals and other New Age items.
“I think it’s outrageous that people are incarcerated and that the prison system allows them to communicate with their followers,” Ross said. “The prison authority should not allow this.”
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People who want to “enroll” in Jamal’s group have to pay fees, ranging from $33 to $333, according to the website. The highest-priced package advertises access to daily “God Talk Lessons,” coupons for the merchandise shop, a free T-shirt and a shoutout on social media.
“He’s a grifter. I mean, he’s a con man, and the only difference between him and a typical con man is he runs the same con on the same people indefinitely, exploiting them and taking advantage of them,” Ross said of Jamal. “He has become an object of worship, and he’s cashing in on that.”
Most of the six missing people are from different states, but they all met and lived together before they vanished. Police said neighbors reported seeing the group worshiping the sun and running naked in the yard during the rain when they lived in the home.
Ross said group housing is a typical tool cult leaders use as a way to exert power.
“The idea being to encapsulate the members, create an environment that you control, cut them off from their family and old friends, so that their sense of reality is manipulated by you and reinforced by the other members, followers of the cult leader that are living with them and constantly reaffirming what the leader says,” Ross said.
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