Sex Cult Leader Keith Raniere Suffers Legal Blow In Attempt To Block Move To Arizona Prison Dubbed 'Guantanamo North'
May 1 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Imprisoned sex cult leader Keith Raniere was dealt a legal blow when a federal judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction against him being moved to notorious Indiana penitentiary, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
Raniere sought the injunction to stop the feds from allegedly denying him access to his legal team and moving him to super strict Communications Management Unit (CMU) — dubbed the ‘Guantanamo North’ for its rooster of killers and terrorists.
But Arizona’s U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins denied the motion, ruling Raniere “fails to produce evidence to show a likelihood of success on the merits of his claim or that he faces a likelihood of irreparable harm absent preliminary injunctive relief."
The smug cult leader sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Bureau of Prison in May 2022, alleging that prison officials violated his rights by preventing him from talking to his team of lawyers and a longtime supporter. His complaints led to alleged retaliation by prison officials.
Raniere, 62, filed the claim nearly 12 months into his 120-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, child pornography, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud, and racketeering during his tyrannical reign as the leader of NXIVM — which included branding female victims.
The group called itself a "community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people." Raniere convinced young women to join and follow his every rule, including actress Allison Mack.
Raniere charged prison officials prevented him from talking to his nine lawyers and his longtime supporter Suneel Chakravorty, who supposedly operates with his power of attorney and serves as an “agent” for the legal team.
But the judge pointed out that Raniere’s legal complaints acknowledge he has “confidential access’ to counsel.
“Instead, (Raniere) once again relies solely on Defendants’ restrictions on his communication with Mr. Chakravorty to establish his claim when, as noted, he has not shown that Mr. Chakravorty, who is not a licensed attorney or paralegal, was acting on behalf of and under the supervision of a licensed attorney when the Defendants denied him visitation,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Raniere complained prison officials allegedly retaliated against him by putting him in a jail cell with a “known hermaphrodite” that vowed to kill sex offenders like him, according to his handwritten affidavit seeking the injunction.
He also griped about being forced to eat lunch in a prison cell with feces smeared on the walls, claiming he spent months in solitary confinement — after he was beaten by another inmate — because prison officials lost the paperwork.
“I am labeled as a sex-cult leader of a Hollywood actress and abuser of women,” he cried in another handwritten letter. “I am in imminent danger.”
Raniere complained he feared facing the same deadly fate as pervert Jeffrey Epstein and Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger if prison officials transferred him to the notorious CMU – known to closely monitor inmate mail and visits.
“I am in imminent danger I am being silenced,” he said about CMU, which is known to house notorious killers and terrorists.
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The cult ran for years before victims started speaking out about Raniere’s abuse. They accused him of forcing them to have sex with him. Other women revealed they were branded with his initials during their time in the cult.
As part of his conviction, he was ordered to pay 21 victims $3.5 million in restitution — but has declared his innocence.
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