‘I’m The Return of Christ’: Alleged Polygamist Cult Leader Hit With Charges in Georgia – The Daily Beast

The leader of an alleged polygamist cult who often refers to himself as 3God and Nature Boy is facing several charges this week, including false imprisonment and rape.

Eligio Bishop, the 40-year-old leader of the group Carbon Nation, was arrested on April 14 on five chargesincluding rape, false imprisonment, and sending sexually explicit electronic transmissions without consentthe Dekalb County Police Department said. The arrest follows a Wednesday-night raid on his Georgia home by dozens of officers and a tactical team, according to WSB-TV.

He is currently being held at DeKalb County jail after Magistrate Judge Abbi Taylor denied bail during a Friday court appearance, owing to the severity of his alleged crimes. While authorities have not provided details into what led to the charges, police did confirm a special victims unit investigation into Bishop has been ongoing since March 30 after they received a complaint against him. The Wednesday raid, police said, included search and arrest warrants.

There is no additional information at this time, a police spokesperson told The Daily Beast.

According to DeKalb County jail records, however, the alleged rape and false imprisonment occurred on March 24. Three days later, he allegedly sent explicit pictures in messages without the subjects consent, prompting two counts on the charge of prohibited nude or sexually explicit electronic transmission.

We teach sexual education and we believe in nudity. And so thats one of the charges thats trying to be brought against my chief thats for revenge porn, but the female that was here, the woman that was here, she gave consent to actually release it for sexual education, its not just like porn, its for educational purposes Daylin Armstead, a current Carbon Nation member, told Fox5Atlanta.

Bishop did not immediately respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment, and it is not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney.

Previous news reports state Carbon Nation members allegedly follow a vegan diet, believe in nudism and polygamy, and are forced to hand over their financial information to Bishop before learning his teachings. Bishopwho boasts 25,000 followers on Instagram and 90,000 more on YouTubedescribes himself as Messiah and $Th33God. Several of the YouTube posts include music videos and self-help instructional videos, and most urge donations to Carbon Nation via CashApp.

Erikka Carroll, a former member of Carbon Nation, told 11Alive on Saturday that the internet is where Bishop first lured her into the alleged cult. She said that in 2006, a Facebook post convinced her to move from New York to Honduras to help build a new community focused on nature. After a few months, Carroll said the group eventually settled in Costa Rica, where they slept outside in tents and ate only fruit and vegetables, before being made to work.

Wed have to sit in these long meetingshed say wed be facing our demons while doing that. But basically hes just projecting onto you what he has going on inside of him, Carroll told 11Alive. It was a lot of verbal and mental abuse.

Carroll said she eventually left the group after witnessing verbal and physical abuse, and believes that since she left Carbon Nation, the group has only turned more sinister.

Those people that are [still in the cult], their only hope is for [Bishop] to be locked up right now. For him to be locked up period. Its too many things he has gotten away with, Carroll added, noting that Bishop always said he wanted a lot of wives.

On Wednesday Bishop posted a video at a restaurant in Atlanta. In tandem with several women, Bishop is seen yelling the Black man is god several times before adding feel my power Black man, this is your power in front of the restaurants employees.

Im here, he added.

On Thursday, several of his followers posted Instagram videos, in which Bishops voice is heard on a speaker phone explaining the situation to his supporters, noting that he was trying to help people and feels misunderstood.

I know that I've scared a lot of people. But truly Im a really sweet person, he said. They want to crucify me, they want me dead, theres hate that surrounds me, you can feel it, just like any other prophetonly me, Im the return of the Christ.

We are here to be awakened. So this will not turn out like people think this is going to turn out, he added, before several people can be heard agreeing with him. I also forgive my accusers. My heart is light as a feather. I am in good spirits. No matter what happens remember, I am with you forever.

But this is not the first time Bishop has faced legal trouble for his role in the alleged cult. In June 2020, Bishop was one of 21 people arrested in Hawaii for violating the states mandatory 14-day COVID-19 quarantine order. In an interview with AP about the arrest, Bishop admitted he is often described as a cult leader, and thought the distinction was kind of cool.

Were a group of African Americans that are protesting our conditions by leaving them, he added. They just make us look crazy on the internet.

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'I'm The Return of Christ': Alleged Polygamist Cult Leader Hit With Charges in Georgia - The Daily Beast