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The Cult Dossier · No. 066 · Racial / Nationalist

Nation of Yahweh

Yahweh ben Yahweh's Temple of Love

1979 – present (much reduced) · Miami, Florida

VII. THE 1980s — SIEGE AND SCANDAL

Fully religious — Black Hebrew Israelite offshoot

Who led it

YAHWEH BEN YAHWEH (born Hulon Mitchell Jr., 1935–2007), son of a Pentecostal preacher and a former Nation of Islam member, who declared himself God in person — the name means God, son of God.

What it worshipped and taught

Yahweh ben Yahweh as the returned Messiah and God incarnate; Black people as the true Israelites; white people as devils. Members wore white robes and turbans, took the surname Israel, surrendered their possessions and income, and were forbidden contact with outsiders. An inner circle called THE BROTHERHOOD required initiates to kill a white person at random and return with a body part — an ear or a finger — as proof.

Who was in it

Yahweh ben Yahweh (Hulon Mitchell Jr.); Judith Israel; Robert Rozier (Neariah Israel), a former NFL player who confessed to seven murders and testified for the state; the victims, including Aston Green, beheaded in 1986; Leonard Dupree, beaten to death in the temple; the Delray Beach arson victims.

How it ended, or where it stands

Broken as a criminal enterprise by the 1992 federal prosecution, BUT NOT DESTROYED AS A MOVEMENT. Public signs of revival appeared from 1999, when a family of followers spent 22,000 DOLLARS ON BILLBOARDS IN MIAMI; in 2001, the year of Yahweh ben Yahweh's parole, the Nation held two lavish conferences in MONTREAL. It has since spread beyond Miami. The Southern Poverty Law Center, reporting after his death, described HUNDREDS of followers, with about 500 at the funeral, a publishing arm with offices in Montreal and Texas, and a legal arm; this file previously said around 1,000 members, which no source consulted supports.

The dead

14 killings charged in the federal indictment, alongside two attempted killings, extortion and arson; the conviction was for conspiracy

Of note

Distinguish carefully: Black Hebrew Israelite belief is a broad religious tradition, most of it entirely non-violent. The Nation of Yahweh was a specific criminal organisation within it.

Its timeline

  1. 1979 Founds the Temple of Love in Liberty City, Miami.
  2. 1980s Rapid growth; the group acquires substantial Miami real estate and businesses and is publicly praised by city officials. In October 1990 the Mayor of Miami declares a Yahweh Ben Yahweh Day.
  3. 1981–1986 At least 14 murders committed by members, including the random killings of white victims for initiation and the killings of defectors.
  4. 1986 Aston Green, a defector, is beheaded. Leonard Dupree is beaten to death in front of the congregation.
  5. November 1990 Yahweh ben Yahweh and 15 followers indicted on federal racketeering charges covering 14 murders, two attempted murders, extortion and arson.
  6. 1992 CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY in the RICO case; ACQUITTED ON THE INDIVIDUAL MURDER COUNTS. Sentenced to 18 YEARS.
  7. 26 SEPTEMBER 2001 Released after serving 11 years, on parole conditions barring contact with followers.
  8. 7 May 2007 Dies of prostate cancer in Miami.

Its people

Yahweh ben Yahweh

Hulon Mitchell Jr.

Founder, Nation of Yahweh · 27 October 1935 – 7 May 2007 · active 1979–2007

Son of a Pentecostal preacher and a former Nation of Islam member who declared himself God in person — the name means God, son of God. Members wore white robes, took the surname Israel and surrendered their income. An inner circle called the Brotherhood required initiates to kill a white person at random and return with a body part as proof. At the movement's height the Mayor of Miami declared a Yahweh Ben Yahweh Day. He was federally indicted in 1990 over fourteen murders.

Before the law. CONVICTED of RICO conspiracy, 1992, and ACQUITTED on the individual murder counts; 18 years, of which he served 11, released on 26 September 2001. Never convicted of an individual murder.

Where things stand. Deceased 2007. The movement outlived the prosecution: the SPLC reported hundreds of followers, about 500 at his funeral, with a publishing arm in Montreal and Texas and a legal arm.

  1. 1979 Founds the Temple of Love in Miami.
  2. 1981–86 At least 14 murders, including random initiation killings and the beheading of the defector Aston Green.
  3. October 1990 Miami declares a Yahweh Ben Yahweh Day.
  4. November 1990 Indicted on federal racketeering charges covering 14 murders.
  5. 1992 CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY; ACQUITTED on the individual murder counts. 18 years.
  6. 7 May 2007 Dies of prostate cancer.

Checked 2026-09-26

Robert Rozier

Neariah Israel

Enforcer, Nation of Yahweh · born 1955 · active 1982–1986

A former NFL defensive end who played for the St Louis Cardinals before joining the Nation of Yahweh, where he became a member of the Brotherhood — the inner circle whose initiation required killing a white person at random and returning with a body part as proof. He confessed to seven murders and became the state's principal witness against Yahweh ben Yahweh, serving ten years under a plea agreement. He was later imprisoned again in California under its three-strikes law for cheque fraud.

Before the law. CONFESSED TO SEVEN MURDERS committed for the Nation of Yahweh — he had killed at least four people for the group by Halloween 1986. He TURNED STATE'S EVIDENCE against Yahweh ben Yahweh and the organisation, was sentenced to 22 YEARS, PAROLED AFTER TEN, and placed in WITNESS PROTECTION. THEN THE PART WORTH SITTING WITH. On 5 FEBRUARY 1999 he was arrested in El Dorado County, California, FOR WRITING A BAD CHECK FOR SIXTY-SIX DOLLARS. In 2001 that conviction drew 25 YEARS TO LIFE UNDER CALIFORNIA'S THREE-STRIKES LAW. He served ten years for seven confessed murders and is serving twenty-five to life for a sixty-six dollar cheque.

Where things stand. INCARCERATED IN CALIFORNIA, SERVING 25 YEARS TO LIFE. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-07: he testified against the group, served about ten years of a twenty-two-year sentence and was paroled into witness protection; then in 1999 he was arrested for passing bad cheques and in 2001 SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE EDDIE T. KELLER imposed the maximum third-strike term. THE TRIGGERING OFFENCE WAS 27 CHEQUES TOTALLING ABOUT $2,200. Nothing consulted establishes any parole since.

  1. 1982 Joins the Nation of Yahweh after a brief NFL career.
  2. 1982–86 Commits seven murders as a Brotherhood initiate.
  3. 1986 Arrested; agrees to testify.
  4. 1992 Principal prosecution witness at the federal RICO trial.
  5. 1996 Released after ten years.
  6. 1999 Sentenced to 25 years to life in California for cheque fraud under three-strikes.

Checked 2026-09-07 · living: health details are kept at home

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