CultNEWS101 Articles: 5/26/2026
Patrick Ryan
New Docuseries
Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult digs into the story of Frederick von Mierers, founder of the youth- and beauty-obsessed group Eternal Values in the 1980s."Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be any more crazy cult stories to make multi-part documentaries about, HBO Max has announced a new one that has everything from wealthy socialites and gorgeous models to new age mysticism and UFOs. Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult, tells the story of Frederick von Mierers, founder of the youth- and beauty-obsessed Eternal Values group, and it’s set to premiere June 1.Von Mierers was a Manhattan socialite, who used his wealth and status to cultivate a devoted following of up-and-coming models and young professionals in 1980s New York City. One of his most notable recruits was Hoyt Richards, widely considered to be the first male super model.Richards anchors Bring Me the Beauties, and the new trailer opens with him recalling the day von Mierers first approached him on a Nantucket beach and started talking about “Eastern religion and astrology."” (Richards was just 16 at the time.) The clip goes on to feature other acolytes describing von Mierers’ lifestyle — filled as much with lavish parties as deep spiritual meaning — and his perennial request: “Only invite the beauties,” as Richards puts it. "Not your friends, just the beauties.'"
Domestic & True CrimeNeo-Nazi 'butcher' gets 15 years for plot to poison Jewish Children in NYCKey details of the case include:* **The Poisoned Candy Plot:** Prosecutors revealed that Chkhikvishvili devised a plan to distribute toxic, poison-laced candy to racial minorities and Jewish children in Brooklyn on New Year's Eve. He attempted to recruit an undercover FBI agent to carry out the attack, instructing them to dress up as Santa Claus to distribute the lethal treats.* **Extradition and Plea:** After being extradited to the United States from Moldova, Chkhikvishvili pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes and distributing instructions for making bombs and lethal poisons, including ricin.* **Extremist Ideology:** As the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, Chkhikvishvili authored and distributed a manifesto titled the "Hater's Handbook." The text encouraged white supremacists to carry out school shootings and other violent acts to trigger a racial and religious war. Officials noted his online incitement has been linked to multiple violent incidents.* **Official Statements:** Federal and local officials, including the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the NYPD, condemned Chkhikvishvili as a "hate-mongering menace" who specifically targeted vulnerable populations, including children. They credited the swift intervention of federal and local
NY Post: Utah woman raised in polygamous ‘cult’ says women were treated like ‘second-class citizens’"A woman who grew up in a polygamous “cult” with 44 siblings and four mothers has said women were treated like “second-class citizens” and taught that “it was a privilege to marry a man.”Janet Z, 32, was born in 1994 into a “break-off” group of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the sect led by convicted sex offender Warren Jeffs.""...She said she was raised to become a plural wife — a woman in a polygamous marriage — and to enter into an arranged marriage in her early 20’s.Janet said she was taught it was a “privilege” to marry a man, but at the age of 20, she began to question that belief after a friend told her it felt like “watching her husband cheat, and there being nothing she could do about it.”At 20, Janet left the family home and moved elsewhere in Salt Lake City, where she said she finally felt “free.”Janet, a stay-at-home mom from St George, Utah, said, “My whole life, I was raised that it was a privilege to marry a man as one of his wives."
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