St. Louis authorities believe that the mysterious disappearance of six people, including two toddlers, is connected to an online cult. As Fox 2 reported, 24-year-old Mikayla Thompson, 29-year-old Naaman Williams, 28-year-old Gerriele German, 2-year-old Ashton Williams, 35-year-old Ma’Kayla Wickerson, and 3-year-old Malaiyah Wickerson all went missing after reportedly becoming involved with an online cult run by convicted sex offender Rashad Jamal.

Police say that Jamal is currently serving an 18-year sentence in Georgia for child molestation, as well as a 22-year probation term that will begin once his incarceration ends. Jamal disputes the terms of these sentences, releasing a video on YouTube saying, “The only law I have broken was speaking out against oppression.” He also claimed, “The only thing I am guilty of is freeing the minds of my people and speaking out against this system, and I’ll never back down from that.”

Initial reports from Fox 2 on the cult did not indicate a name for the cult, but spoke to the mother of Ma’Kayla Wickerson, Cartisha Morgan. Morgan told the outlet that she had not heard from Wickerson or her granddaughter since March 2023, and placed several calls asking for welfare checks and for child services to do something to help, but nothing came of it. Morgan also said that her daughter abruptly cut off communication with her family, quit her job, and maxed out her credit cards. Morgan told Fox 2 about her unsuccessful attempts at contacting child services

“I was trying to let them know that something was not right,” she said, “Mental illness is real. Manipulation is real. There are a lot of things going on out here, and we just need to be aware of it.”

Berkeley Police Major Steve Runge, who has been looking into the group’s disappearance for almost five months, told the outlet that some neighbors had seen concerning things. “Neighbors reported seeing these people outside daily worshipping the sun,” Runge said. “When it was raining, they would come outside naked and run around the yard. They were digging up things in the yard.”

In addition to these sightings outside of Wickerson’s residence, Runge says that the core beliefs of the cult, as with most cults, are a belief in polygamy, a distrust of the government, and a belief that its followers need to embrace an off the grid lifestyle. According to investigators, Jamal’s rhetoric “includes a mix of polygamy, sovereign citizenship, ancient mythology, and cosmic universe beliefs.” Additional reports from NBC News established that the cult Jamal runs is called the University of Cosmic Intelligence, and its website declares that it is “GEARED TOWARDS ENLIGHTENING AND ILLUMINATING THE MINDS OF THE CARBONATED BEINGS A.K.A YOUR SO CALLED BLACK & LATINO PEOPLE OF EARTH.”

Shelita Gibson, who like Morgan, is missing her daughter and grandson, told KDSK that she is concerned about their safety. “I would like to know that they’re OK so that I can get a good night’s sleep,” Gibson said. “I would like to know they’re not hungry, they’re not cold, that no one is making her do things that she would have to pay for in the long run.”

Dr. Steven Hassan, a mental health experts an an expert on cults, describes the teachings of Jamal as a kind of mind hack.

“I’ve developed a model called the BITE model of mind control. It stands for behavior control, information control, thought control and emotional control,” said Hassan. “So it’s very common for people to disappear when they get recruited, and it’s very common for them to be given phobias, irrational fears and to believe that their family isn’t good or they’re satanic or demonic or low frequency or whatever. In other words, in the person’s mind, their loved ones are no longer viewed as loved ones. And that’s part of the mind hack that happens.”

Morgan just wants her family members as well as the other missing parties to reach out and let someone know they are okay.

“I know that people have many different opinions of things, but if it was their family member, everybody wants to know that their family members is okay,” said Morgan. “If she (Ma’Kayla Wickerson) chooses to stay or not I just want to know that her and my granddaughter are safe. If she can just contact us and let us know.”

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