As I write this, I'm sitting in a cramped satellite truck with the heat on full-blast. There's about four inches of snow outside the Taos courthouse. I feel like the courthouse has been my second home for the past week. My 6pm live-hit is in about 30 minutes.
After six days of covering this trial, with endless videotape and note-taking, I saw a jury deliver a guilty verdict for Wayne Bent this morning.
See my KOB-TV coverage here.
I've also been contributing to beyond90seconds.com for my friend Mark Horner who used to work at KOB with me.
I have never covered a cult before. This is the first time where I've seen first-hand people dangerously obsessed with someone who holds so much power over their lives.
And there is no denying this is a cult, by a reasonable definition. Members of their church are obsessed and isolated. They thought the world would end last October. It did not, and the group has changed its narrative and reasoning for why we are still here today. And lastly, they have a leader, although they strongly deny leadership exists.
Throughout the trial I've watched Bent's followers surround him like fans do with a celebrity, but in their own quiet, strange way. Many of them looked upon him like a mother worried about a sick child throughout this trial. Perhaps they know his end could mean their own end in a way.
I have found members of the cult to be very polite and not aggressive, at least in person. Internet postings suggest they strongly defend their beliefs. They're all nice people who don't seem to be controlled when talking to them one-on-one. Most of them are articulate.
Bent has claimed that he will die behind bars after fasting, drinking only water. He says he can not stop his followers from doing the same.
Bent claims he is "not a dictator" and does not command anyone in his church. There is no doubt, at least by my observations, he is dangerously commanding them. He uses his "visions" and references his "voice from God" as his command. He essentially commands without commanding. To put it into the words of former cult member Prudence Welch, "He doesn't have to say anything."
His cult's website proves Wayne Bent is at the center of their identity.
Bent's attorney Sarah Montoya defended her client, with what seemed to be a genuine compassion. She was appointed by the state to represent Bent. Montoya says she plans an appeal if her client agrees with it.
Bent says he will not survive in prison and will likely fast, drinking only water. I do hope for the sake of his followers, nobody will hurt themselves and commit slow suicide if that is indeed Bent's self-destructive path. His followers are good people, with families outside the church who care about them and worry for their safety.
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jeremyjojola.com
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