Florida Sect Leader Who Ordered Murders Sentenced to 18 Years

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Yahweh Ben Yahweh, the founder of a black religious sect, was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for ordering 14 murders of “white devils” and wayward disciples.

Yahweh and six followers were convicted in May of federal conspiracy charges for leading a bloody reign of terror as he built his Miami-based Nation of Yahweh into an $8-million empire of motels, warehouses and stores. He claimed thousands of followers in 22 states.

“He was the classic con man, the classic megalomaniac,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Scruggs said. “This is a man who used religion to amass power and money. The United States of America has never seen anything like this man.”

Yahweh, 56, who changed his name from Hulon Mitchell Jr. to the Hebrew words for “God, son of God,” was once embraced by Miami leaders for his anti-drug message and his transformation of blighted areas into profitable motels and stores.

But federal prosecutors charged that the sect of white-robed members took part from 1981 to 1986 in such acts as a beheading, murders in which victims’ ears were cut off as trophies and the firebombing of homes of people who would not donate money.

Chief U.S. District Judge Norman Roettger said he thought the crimes were “so horrendous and so gross” that the maximum 20-year term was not enough. But he noted that the sect “cleaned up its act” in recent years “and tried to be a good citizen of the community.”

Yahweh, who also was fined $20,000, will be eligible for parole after serving six years in prison.

The defense had accused the government of persecuting Yahweh for racial and religious reasons, saying his rhetoric threatened the white Establishment.

Yahweh, who wore a white robe and turban into a courtroom jammed with about 150 spectators, was asked if he wanted to speak before he was sentenced. He told Roettger he thought it would be better if he didn’t.

He still faces three separate murder trials in connection with the shooting of two men that authorities say challenged the sect’s takeover of a drug-ridden apartment complex and the stabbing of a man prosecutors say scuffled with sect members seeking donations.

The trial ended with seven convictions, seven acquittals and two mistrials when the jury failed to reach unanimous verdicts.