Hate Mail From A Cult Leader: inside MOVE's language of control

This episode is available if you would prefer to read it instead of listen . Last episode I shared some MOVE letters that had never been heard outside the group before . One was from Vincent Leapheart , better known as John Africa . On the surface they sounded like letters of love .

So you see , you all are as protected as the sun and just as important , because without MOVE , the sun is incomplete . Stay true to MOVE law and the truth will bring you home soon , ain't that right ?

He taught at Yale and Harvard and wrote the book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism , which is kind of the Bible on brainwashing , and through that lens we looked at what those letters were really about Power control and keeping people locked in mentally and emotionally , even if they were already locked up physically .

Because to the public , MOVE members are the embodiment of the I love y'all so much letter . Even after 40 years in prison they continue to espouse the virtues of being in MOVE , like it's still the greatest thing that ever happened to them . This is Janet Holloway , aka Janet Africa .

How many of us have seen the older generation of MOVE people hug us , receive us , comfort us under all kinds of conditions ? That's something we need to honor and cherish and recognize .

She wants them to buy in on MOVE , just like she did , and she wants them to ignore reality , the convictions , the photos , the abuse and the body count . Because , yes , there is one and it is directly tied to MOVE , and Ross isn't some fringe outlier .

There are plenty of people with degrees , with platforms , with legal and ethical responsibilities still carrying MOVE water . That's why this episode is dedicated to sharing the darkest truths about MOVE , in their own words , the hate mail they sent to each other , letters written under the orders and the indoctrination of narcissistic , sociopathic leadership .

These letters are brutal . No matter how many times I have read through these letters , I walk away feeling disoriented , tired , heavy and really , really pissed off , like fuck you MOVE .

Pissed off Because I'm outraged this happened , that adults and children were trapped in this for decades , and that the very people who lived through it are now out in the public lying about it . So it's time to put this into the public record . Just like in the last episode . I'm going to use a little creative license here .

I'm using AI-generated voices to represent the authors of the letters . I wish I had a roster of voiceover actors on standby , but alas , it's just me and my computer .

I'm going to start with the less intense letters , the ones that use pressure and shame but still keep up the appearance of care , and then we'll work our way into the darkness , to the letters full of insults , profanity , emotional abuse and threats of violence .

I'll chime in with warnings along the way so that if you need to pause , switch to the transcript or just turn this off completely , you have a warning and I will totally understand . Really , you have to do what's best for you . Okay , letter number one . It's in a folder labeled info on thinking .

We ain't loved when things don't go the way we think they should go . I don't know the author of this letter . I've chosen a male AI voice to read it . This letter is not addressed to anyone in particular . I think it is addressed to all 12 adult MOVE members who were arrested on August 8th 1978 and charged with third degree murder .

This is what the coordinator has pointed out to us , and that is the way it is in this system , because this system never had love to give . However , people have carried this attitude over into the organization because that's the way they're used to experiencing things .

All of us , with the exception of our founder , is accustomed to planning on things the way we think they're supposed to go . But we ain't right . And because we ain't right , our plans don't be right either .

Only MOVE leadership can define your reality .

I've heard from sources unverified but consistent , and they make sense , that there may have been a miscommunication that morning that Vincent couldn't get his final instructions to the members who were barricaded inside 309 North 33rd Street . Was he changing the plan ? Another scenario to consider is that MOVE members aborted their activity .

They chose to surrender in order not to die . In that case , it would be considered that they had violated MOVE law . This letter goes on and on about how plans contradict MOVE law , which contradicts John Africa and his authority .

He'll be encouraging you , maybe even praise you if you stay in line . And that's the key , because this letter is almost certainly from right after August 8th 1978 . Vincent still had some access to his followers , then some recent contact , to keep the illusion of closeness intact , but he knew that wouldn't last .

The longer those MOVE members were physically separated from him in jail , cut off from daily indoctrination , the tighter his grip had to become , because if it slipped he wouldn't just lose followers , he risked losing everything . If even one of them broke rank .

They could cooperate with authorities , they could tell the truth about what really happened that day , they could reveal where Vincent was hiding and that would lead directly to his arrest , not just on weapons and explosive charges , but for the third-degree murder tied to the death of Officer James Ramp .

Vincent knew he couldn't afford to lose control , because if he lost control . He lost his freedom and he lost his power . Not all communication inside MOVE came in the form of letters . Sometimes it was an instruction sheet , something written up like a set of guidelines , but still carrying the same pressure , the same voice of authority .

What I'm about to read is one of those documents . It's a MOVE communication titled Good Soldier Section . It was written and distributed to all MOVE members after August 8 , 1978 . As time goes on , anything by John Africa will be valuable . You can see , the Bible ain't worth shit . People want our information .

All people should constantly read the 35-page letter to the family in family study sessions , especially those having trouble . Read it every chance . You get Right here there are two of the eight criteria for thought reform the demand for purity and doctrine over person . Memorize it , believe it .

Eventually you don't even realize that the voice in your head isn't even yours anymore , it's Vincent's . When people go to court for verdict , have hard principle statements ready . Start speaking as soon as you get in the courtroom and don't stop till you're out of the courtroom . Talk over the judge and don't stop because he's giving you verdict .

That's contempt of court and MOVE did it constantly and it got them thrown out of the courtroom , delaying their trials and extending the run of this cult play which puts John Africa on the front pages and , in his mind , makes him think he's the most important person in the world .

One person can put the Jewish argument on Malmed that's MOVE being anti-Semitic as a tactic against a judge . Now the information about always having strong principles in our heads and ready can be applied whenever we go to court . People should constantly be putting founder's name out , like our founder has taught us .

Well , our founder has taught us to see inside your head and see what you're thinking . Run it down , elaborate . If you do things that are fucked up and feel guilty afterwards , it shows you the insanity in doing it .

So if we know we're going to feel guilty and fucked up after violating , we shouldn't violate , that shows the insanity in us and that's a crystallized example of just how crazy and masochistic we are . By we , of course , they mean everybody who isn't Vincent Lepart . Take advantage of news media . Keep John Africa in limelight . Prisoners can call press conferences .

We want John Africa etched in people's heads , like civilization is . Write news media . Get them up here . What you put in people's minds will stay there . This is our founder we're talking about . It should be important to us . People are attracted to Louise Del what they're saying , because they're attracted to John Africa .

Muslims are constantly putting Allah's name out there . Everybody is waiting for John Africa to come . They want to see him , hear him waiting for him like they're waiting for Messiah . They want to hear it . Examples They'll never stop John Africa . Look what he's done for blacks , poor whites , puerto Ricans .

Look at August 8th MOVE , people being drowned with water , shot at , etc . And don't blink an eye because of John Africa . That's leadership power , that's faith , that's wisdom . That's why people broke barricades , why they converged on City Hall , because they got faith in John Africa . That's why Schapp had so much trouble . Because John Africa contacted him .

Carter was contacted by John Africa , humiliated Malmed too . John Africa turned these cops around . Keep John Africa's name out there like they put Christ's out . John Africa told us this would happen years ago . Run examples Rizzo overthrown , etc . John Africa told us judges would have a heart attack . Look at DeBona .

People want to hear about John Africa , they want to see him . Look at what John Africa done for y'all . Run examples Got court system backed up . Don't John Africa run these prisons ? Don't John Africa have judges fucked up . Elaborate . Dell will be able to preach this good . Forget about information and study sessions . Preach John Africa First in this context .

Put John Africa in people's heads . Then , if people ask questions , answer them . Ease into preaching at study sessions . Put out a little bit of information first , then get into preaching . Don't say John Africa is God . Just say y'all better understand who we talking about . People will relate to this because they are used to being preached to their whole lives .

Use Richard Pryor as an example , how he was read to run it down . Preach it . John Africa told us this would happen . Run down personal experiences . Example Lee Singh , epileptic , fits , al's back , et cetera . Elaborate . Did you know when people came to this organization ? They were cripples , whores , alcoholics , dope addicts . Look at them now .

People's hair wouldn't grow Grows thick . Now , if you keep mentioning John Africa's name , they will get closer to him . Example they pumped enough water in headquarters to drown us , but couldn't drown us . Shot enough bullets to kill us , but couldn't kill us , because the power of John Africa was all around us . John Africa said he'd bring us out alive .

Said the system couldn't kill us , and they didn't . John Africa predicted these things . Run examples . Put out you know I ain't lying . You saw it . Saw what John Africa did to this city . He MOVE the cops back so blacks could walk through them like Jesus walked on water . Oceans of cops MOVE back .

You blacks are free of these cops because of what John Africa did . Cops are more careful now . You can go to court and look the judge in the eye because of what John Africa did . The city knows it already . Cops know it , mayor know it and y'all should have been knowing it .

Wake up Day is coming soon , when everybody's going to have to acknowledge who John Africa is . Here's the difference between John Africa's power and preachers Church's power . John Africa make a shout in person , get off the floor and come to your senses . Takes a faint in person and wakes them , the fuck up .

The preacher makes them dance and shout , but when John Africa walks in the room , they stop dancing and start listening . The preacher makes them faint and fall to the ground , but John Africa picks them up off the floor and brings them to their senses , sobers them up .

John Africa gets inside the person and wakes them up , makes them see themselves for the first time . Church will make people , drunk , scream , holler and fall out on the floor , but John Africa will sober them up , pick them up off the floor . This is lifestyle .

People who haven't heard it and don't accept it , not us , because it makes the MOVE people high , makes us holler and shout . The principle won't let nobody get away with nothing . MOVE people overlook that . If the judges get it , the cops get it , then so will we . When we violate God , the principle , don't make no allowances , it'll happen to us .

It's questions that keep a person from being strong . When a hurricane comes , all that is strong will stand and all that is weak will fail . John Africa , that is when guidelines are read . MOVE will stand , but the lifestyle will fall . The powerful stays and the weak leaves . Everybody remembers MOVE . The powerful stays and the weak leaves .

Everybody remembers MOVE , but Ramp is forgotten , even by cops , because MOVE is powerful and stays in people's minds , but Ramp was weak and was forgotten . They didn't even hold no memorials or nothing . We should keep in our minds that everything we do , we do for John Africa and we can't go wrong .

I mean , can you even imagine having to be around a diva like Vincent Liebhardt , let alone be under his full control , day in and day out ? Nightmare Vincent Liebhardt was a full-blown megalomaniac , a sociopathic narcissist with a God complex and exactly zero to back it up other than the fear and loyalty he could squeeze out of the people around him .

And from these pages their own words , it's obvious . He was thrilled his followers were on trial for murder , because he wanted the attention . He needed the attention and he wanted more of it . This wasn't about justice , this was about branding this man . Vincent Lepart didn't want to just be obeyed , he wanted to be worshipped . This is Prothelitizing 101 .

These pages literally tell MOVE members how to spin their courtroom appearances into performances , how to use the media , how to talk like preachers , how to implant Vincent's name like a brand . He's not teaching them how to win their trial , he's teaching them how to sell him . The Messiah complex isn't a side note here , it's the entire strategy .

And it's not just for the followers , it's meant to manipulate the public too . These pages are both indoctrination and a PR campaign . They're a how-to manual for controlling minds inside the cult and out . But control only works when it's close and as time and distance stretches out , vincent's grip starts slipping . He's not in their ear every day .

He's not dominating the room . He's not cutting off doubt before it forms . Without that constant reinforcement , something dangerous starts to happen . MOVE members start thinking for themselves . Some begin to question his strategy , question the activity , whether any of this ever made sense . Spoiler alert it didn't .

Some whisper in the prison yard , some pass doubts in letters and of course Vincent finds out . That's when the I love y'all so much letters change . The love bombing gives way to guilt trips , then shame , then threats . The next letters aren't just intense , they're brutal . So I'm only going to read excerpts .

It'll show what it looks like when a leader starts losing control and will say anything to get it back .

and you jonesing for a fix . But instead of saying you jonesing , instead of admitting you , an arm-scratching junkie , you try to justify your craving for distortion through the principle of freedom . You criminal motherfucker .

We got women fighting everyday upstate , men fighting everyday upstate , and you coming with all this dumb shit you can't even prove out . I'ma keep your nose pressed in the shit you doing and don't try to say I'm insensitive . Motherfucker , you've been told that a hot stove will burn you .

Now , if you want to keep sticking your head in the goddamn oven , I'm insensitive , motherfucker . You've been told that a hot stove will burn you . Now , if you want to keep sticking your head in the goddamn oven , I'm keep turning the heat up . Long live John Africa , the coordinator .

You're a junkie , you're a traitor . You're not craving clarity or freedom , you're jonesing for distortion . You say you want freedom , then get ready to be screamed at , humiliated , dragged through your past until you believe that even the desire to be free is evidence . You're the problem . Because if you're the problem , vincent remains the solution .

That was brutal , and it gets worse from here . That letter written by Frank James , that letter written by Frank James , aka Nick Africa , louise James' only son , was likely from sometime in 1982 , when cracks were starting to show in MOVE . Because by the fall of 1983 , things really escalate .

Vincent Lepart , who you know as John Africa , had MOVE into his sister , louise's row house on Osage Avenue after beating federal charges in 1981 . And , as always , he brought the full weight of MOVE with him . Too many people , too many animals , too much trash , too much attention . He movified the place and Louise was the one who had to live with it .

When she started pushing back , she was punished violently . Vincent ordered her own son , frank , to kill her . Frank James , known inside the group as Nick Africa , beat his mother under orders from his own uncle , vincent , and according to multiple sources , frank would have killed his mother if Vincent hadn't raised his hand and said not now , not yet .

Louise escapes , she runs to her sister , laverne's house and both women become defectors , traitors . That mattered , because if Laverne turned her five children against Vincent , it could unravel everything . Two of them were in prison as part of the MOVE 9 . So Vincent tightened the screws . He ramped up the surveillance .

He started policing the thoughts of MOVE members who were still

in prison , using letters and coded messages to root out anyone showing signs of doubt or disobedience . Which brings us to the next letter . This one is handwritten , it's undated , but I know who it's addressed to Deb , as in Debbie Africa , born Debbie Sims .

She's Vincent's niece and the second oldest daughter of Laverne Sims , a longtime MOVE member who by this point had become a defector and , in MOVE terms , a traitor . The author of the letter , nick Africa , real name , frank James , debbie's cousin , and the man MOVE called their naturalist minister , as I have previously mentioned , MOVE members use multiple names .

It isn't just about control , it's a tactic , a way to be stealth , to confuse outsiders and to slide letters past prison mailroom sensors . Sometimes men used women's names , women used men's names . Names were swapped , invented . Even longtime members I've interviewed told me yeah , that was normal , that's how it worked . Warning before this one the language is brutal .

It's meant to cut deep because that's what MOVE did when someone was slipping or thinking too much , or tied by blood to a defector . Normally I'd use AI to voice this one , but I've read this letter out loud to myself more times than I can count .

I know how it MOVE , what it's trying to do , so I'm going to read it to you , not because I'm an actor I'm not but because I want you to hear it the way I've heard it in my head . In MOVE Law we trust all praises to the order of life . The power of truth is final . Long live MOVE . Long live John Africa's revolution . Long live John Africa .

Long live John Africa . Long live John Africa On a MOVE , deb . Long live John Africa , the coordinator . Get this message to Angela for me . I heard the things she'd been saying and every time she'd come out with some dirt . I'm going to let the guidelines MOVE law qualify itself .

So I'm going to tell you like the coordinator tell people in the guidelines and let MOVE speak to her testimony . The coordinator direct us to deal with people who come with accusations by simply saying are you natural or are you civilized ? How can you take a civilized reference and interpret a natural reference ? You ain't natural .

You are trained , schooled , programmed , perverted . When you can see you are not natural , you must see you are unnatural . Retardation is unnatural , defection is unnatural . So now , what are you basing your analysis of the coordinator , mama , on ?

You can't explain this contradiction and this is why you , a worthless bitch , a freak , because you are entertaining something you cannot explain , making you the question . I know you ain't been faithfully , honestly , reading all the MOVE law I've been sending you and I know why the information cuts into the thing you want to hold onto .

You don't want to face your problem , your defection . You don't want to face the fact you , a nasty bitch , an empty minded motherfucker , you got a problem cursing the thing that curse your body . You don't want to call it what it is . You want to make excuses for it , pamper it . You want to call it . I just don't want to do the work .

But you will not call yourself unworkable , because unworkable mean useless , worthless , lifeless , senseless , putting you in a position to forfeit everything that work . You see , you think you got the right to your body , but the thing you call Sims ain't got no right to your body , no more than industry got the right to water .

The coordinator go on to explain in the guidelines that only mama got no right to your body , no more than industry got the right to water . The coordinator go on to explain in the guidelines that only mama got the right to the body . Notice it say the body , not your body , because the body is not yours . To claim it is mama's .

You ain't nothing but an infection fucking with the natural flow of the body . Coordination , an intruder , an outsider , a deform , leeching off the body of life and trying to criticize the coordinator of life because you guilty , dirty , uncoordinated . The coordinator always say when you do wrong , you ain't got the right to nothing .

Bitch , I ain't going to let you take that brain given you by mama and twist it to question mama . I ain't going to let you take mama's legs and donate them to this unnatural system to walk against mama . I ain't going to let you take that heart , belong to mama and contribute to the heartbeat of the Frankenstein MOVE is fighting .

I ain't going to let you dissect the lungs of mama , steal the breath of mama , snatch the organ of mama to feed a distortion called Sims that you can't even produce . Bitch . What the fuck is a Sims ? Show me a Sims , point to a Sims . I can show you my belief . My belief is life and I can show you life , but you can't show me no fucking Sims

. You see you , a goddamn freak , a maniac , talking about how you feel like you got a right to question somebody . You ain't got the right to do nothing but be right . And you ain't right . You are as wrong as the reference that trained your dumb ass . You say you feel like mama is tactful . But those who understand MOVE law know mama is not tactful .

Mama is natural . You ain't tactfully being kept here . You are naturally being kept here . You cannot leave nature . You think MOVE is an organization that is joined and left . You think life began and end with a number called age . You think love is addiction . You think totality is violent . You think loyalty is robotic , commitment pretentious correction , sadistic .

You think absolution is crazy . You think coordination is education . You think the coordinator is crazy . You think coordination is education . You think the coordinator is a man . Think mama is a word . Think life is a career . Think truth is philosophized . You think solution is a tactic . You think righteousness is a trick .

MOVE law , academic , the guidelines and idea . You think of animal life as below people . Think of plant life as below animal life . You think water ain't got feelings . Think air ain't got feelings . Think soil ain't got feelings . You ain't conscious of the sun . You ain't conscious of the rain .

You ain't conscious of the heartbeat in your chest , the breath in your lungs , the blood in your veins . You ain't conscious of the immediacy to rid life of your veins . You ain't conscious of the immediacy to rid life of this system . Because you ain't conscious of life . You are unconscious , dead , senseless .

Your problem is you think and your thought patterns are calculated by civilization . That's why you a cripple bitch , that's why your goddamn head should be cut off , because you ain't doing nothing but misusing your head for a fucking cavity for the monster to hide in , throw in nature , the coordinator life mama .

Out your head to make room for your monster teacher , your poison thoughts . This is an eight page letter . It's all this kind of talk . It's insane . And then he ends it . Long live John Afker , the coordinator , and a PS . Deb , send a copy of this back to me I'm too busy to do it and send a copy to Chuck . It's important for everyone there too .

Nick , he's asking her to copy this . So is it for Debbie ? Her middle name is Angela or is it for Debbie to send to her mother , laverne , I'm not sure , but the message is clear . If you talk to a defector , if you even question , or if Vincent just wants to turn up the dial on the control , then you get a letter like this .

This is an eight-page typed letter . It is to Mike Davis , known as Mike Africa or Mike Africa Sr , and it is in a folder labeled Mike Info on Prison Activity .

Prison is where you belong , because you a criminal motherfucker . I don't know who the fuck you think you are . You can just write some shit like that here and expect that people gonna accept it . You realize you talked about the coordinator like the coordinator a piece of shit , nothing . And you had the nerve to get an attitude with ria two years ago .

You and rev , when she told y'all , neither of y'all respected the coordinator and ain't have no loyalty in ya . But now you explain this shit . You just spit it out , since you claiming what ria said about you ain't true , john .

After the coordinator told MOVE people to not worry about a whole lot of legal foolishness , to put our faith in mama , do our work and we'd come home . That's what the coordinator said . Now is you saying something different ? Is you disputing that ?

You isolate somebody , you betray their trust , you flood them with shame and then you reassert the party line so aggressively they start to believe that maybe they were wrong , that maybe they do deserve this .

But I know I'm still where I'm at because it's necessary for me to be here , and the same apply to you and everybody else on this activity . And I ain't questioning that People ain't fit to be home around the coordinator at this point . If you don't believe this , all you got to do is look at yourself . What the fuck you going to do if you go home now ?

What you ain't got no faith in MOVE law , the coordinator , no loyalty , no real commitment . So what are you going to do if you go home ? What good are you going to be to the org ? What good can you be counted on for the coordinator ? I mean , with the attitude you got , what's the point in you being anywhere near the coordinator ?

I know what you got in your head about the people , May 13th and all , but you see , that's because you ain't strong in faith , but I am . I ain't thinking like you . I know the coordinator ain't failed and I'm staying strong with my belief in the coordinator . MOVE law , mama .

But you ready been ready to fall apart , sell out , go the fuck crazy at the drop of a hat , ain't you Talking that shit about ? We was coordinated to speak out . We was also coordinated to work . Be honest , respect the coordinator , love , revere mama . MOVE in harmony with life . When the fuck you gone do that .

You see , I know you just using that stuff about us being coordinated to speak out to people , news media et cetera , as an excuse to justify your sellout personality . Cover up your weak ass , brittle , wishwashy personality . But you ain't fooling me . I know you better than you think I know you . The coordinator is coordinating me that way .

Anything I need to know about people in order to work with them , I know the coordinator . Bring it right to me because it's my activity to work with people on this activity . The coordinator put me on this activity for this purpose , and the coordinator have said this . You don't believe I can see you . Ask your wife , She'll tell you .

She's seen the many examples of how powerful the coordinator's influence is in me and how the coordinator give me everything I need to deal with people , to push them to work , and the coordinator's influence is being felt . It's very effective . It's not only pushing others to work , it's pushing me .

That letter to Mike was hard to hear , I know , but it's necessary .

control . Of all eight criteria that psychiatrist Robert J Lifton laid out in his work on thought reform Milieu control , mystical manipulation , demand for purity , confession , sacred science , loading the language , doctrine over person , dispensing of existence . Every single one of those shows up in MOVE , right here in black and white on the page .

And now think about the children . They weren't just written to , they were sat down one-on-one , face-to-face , and indoctrinated for hours , lectured , manipulated , berated , praised , love-bombed , shamed , told what to believe , what to feel , what to say , over and over again , starting as young as four years old .

Those kids don't have paper proof of the coercion they endured , but these letters , these are the closest thing we have A paper trail of pressure and punishment , of mind control in action . And here's the part that should chill you . These weren't people in a foreign dictatorship . These were American citizens with constitutional rights , human rights .

But once they were behind those prison walls and once MOVE had their hooks in them , they might as well have been in North Korea or on another planet , because they had no rights , not as individuals , not as parents , not even as human beings , just followers , property of the MOVE cult . And MOVE made sure they never forgot it .

All of the letters I've shared in this episode are difficult to hear , they're difficult to believe , especially if you spent years buying into MOVE public narrative . It's not easy to accept that you were deceived . But I want to be clear about something You're not naive and you're not stupid . You just didn't have all the information . MOVE made sure of that .

Because if you had seen these letters , if you have read what I've read , if you had witnessed the cruelty , the coercion , the verbal abuse and the God complex behind it all , you wouldn't have supported MOVE Not me , not you , not almost anybody , unless they're just as twisted as the people who wrote this shit , who created MOVE , vincent Lepart .

And that's why it matters that this material is now public , because the point of investigative work , the point of journalism , is not just to expose lies , it's to ensure that no one can claim they didn't know the truth once it's been laid bare .

So with that , I'm going to sign off , I'm going to go watch something funny on TV and shake off this MOVE mind meld and come back to earth and if you've made it this far , if you agree with what I said about the role of investigative work and the responsibility this podcast has to inform the public about what MOVE actually was and is , please share it .

Share it with friends , with family , with co-workers not with kids they can wait until they're adults for this shit but especially , especially , share it with journalists , media outlets and public figures , especially the ones you see smiling in photos with MOVE . They may not know the truth , but after this they can't say they weren't told .

I love hearing from everyone . Thanks for all of the emails over the past week . They are great and I am going to get to your questions in an upcoming episode .

I promise you know how to reach me social media or email murder at ryan's run at gmailcom for tips , questions , comments , information about the unsolved murder of John Gilbride , shia Halloway going missing in MOVE as a child or any of the allegations in the podcast . Thanks for listening .