93 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
93 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
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1578/1583 20 Jun 90 08:23:38
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From: Michael Barnett
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To: All
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Subj: Pagan Bashing Alert
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Attr:
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According to Tampa Tribune 6/19/90 gunfire was exchanged between fundamentalist
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agitators and A New Port Ritchie coven (Lothlorien Coven). Sherriffs deputies
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were called to investigate when the coven was recieved gunfire during a ritual
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at their remote island temple. Several occurrances of site desecrations and
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several threatening letters were recieved in recent weeks. The sherrifs deputy
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assigned to investigate suspicious cult activity stated "These people are just
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worshipping Mother Nature and show no tendency toward criminal activity, leave
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them alone!"
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After the first shots were recieved, a visitor from another coven identified as
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Ron Parshley retrieved a shotgun from his automobile and fired warning shots
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into the air.
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Blessed Be and wish me luck!
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Michael
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--- Opus-CBCS 1.12
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* Origin: Liberty BBS, Tampa FL (813)933-6247 (1:377/5.0)
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2019/2027 23 Jun 90 23:46:12
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From: Alfgar Maharg
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To: All
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Subj: Crisis
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Attr:
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------------------------------------------------
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NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (UPI) -- A witches' ceremony came to an abrupt
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halt over the weekend when angry neighbors and members of the nature
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worshiping coven exchanged gunshots, authorities said.
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The witches said the attack Sunday was just the latest in a series of
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violent acts against their group and its island shrine near Moon Lake,
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northeast of New Port Richey.
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Five witches from the Coven Lothlorien told Pasco County deputies
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they had just finished a ritual seeking protection from threats when
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gunfire ripped through the trees surrounding their ceremonial grounds at
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about 11 p.m.
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No one was wounded and no arrests were made, the Pasco Sheriff's
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Office said.
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Witches, or wiccans, are nature worshipers who honor celestial cycles
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and the seasons, said Ron Parshley, president of National Association of
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Pantheists.
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Wiccans' ceremonies include torch-lit dancing, chanting and burning
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of incense, he said.
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"We heard the bullets ripping past and we all crouched down on the
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ground and started crawling back to my house on our hands and knees,"
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said Kassie Cornwell, a witch and a registered nurse.
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The small island sits in the middle of a pond at the end of a lush
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pathway behind Cornwell's house. Only one other house stands within 200
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yards of the pond, which backs up to a vast stretch of swamp.
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Members said Sunday's ritual was in response to threats they received
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the day before. Cornwell's house had been pelted with eggs, she said,
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and a note was left in her front yard Saturday.
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The note warned the group to stop their "Satan worshiping or be
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prepared for worse. Next time we won't stop at eggs."
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Another note said, "We are the ultimate enemy. We are out to kill!"
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Cornwell, 43, said she heard people cursing, calling them Satanists
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and other names during Sunday's attack.
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When the gunfire started, coven member Curtis Niles of Spring Hill
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grabbed a shotgun and fired several rounds in the air, Cornwell said.
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Neighbor Art Gray, 39, told a sheriff's deputy he heard shots coming
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from Cornwell's property and he fired back, also in the air, to warn the
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people away from his house.
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Several of Cornwell's neighbors said they believed the group
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practices Satanism and sacrifices animals. But Cornwell said the group
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doesn't allow animals near their worshiping area.
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She said the group's credo is to "do what you will, but harm none."
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Parshley said the group has "nothing to do with Satanism."
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The coven has worshiped at Cornwell's property since she bought her
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home a year ago. She said the worship area has been desecrated six or
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seven times.
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Mary Niles, another member, said the coven is named for the tree that
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the elves inhabited in "The Hobbit," J.R. Tolkien's novel about an
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imaginary dwarf-like people.
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Detective Jerry Puig, a religion specialist for the Pasco Sheriff's
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Office who has interviewed coven members, said there is a big difference
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between Satanism and the group's religion.
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"Wicca is all nature worship worship of the sun, the wind, the moon,"
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Puig said. "There is no blood and no devils involved."
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Copyright 1990 United Press International
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... ...and we, madonna, are we not exiles still?
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--- Via Silver Xpress V2.26
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* Origin: Opera=Amorem =+= BaphoNet-by-the-Sea (718)499-9277
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