"Tulsi was being groomed for a political position because Chris Butler had political aspirations," Marshall said. "He wanted the influence. It was very unusual because women in Science of Identity aren't really encouraged to do anything." I also remember Chris Butler held this larger than life presence in my childhood. Everything I did I had to think about how it benefitted him. He was my parents spiritual master and they looked to him for guidance on everything, from what to eat, to how to raise their children, and they did it all without question. When I talk to people about the lack of questioning, they find that aspect odd. It is odd, but to put it into perspective, I was raised to believe Chris Butler was God’s voice on earth, and if you questioned him or offended him in any way, you were effectively offending God, and because we believed in reincarnation, that meant that you would be reborn as the lowest lifeform imaginable and then have to spend eon’s working your way back into God’s good graces. So questioning the leader was spiritual suicide, which was seen as worse than death. So no-one questioned. Chris Butler also would ridicule the intelligence of anyone he didn’t like, belittling anyone he felt was questioning his authority even slightly. He demanded the utmost dedication and loyalty from his followers and if he didn’t get it, the punishments were swift and severe. I remember hearing stories of people who were told they weren’t allowed to eat because they didn’t make food to his liking, who were not allowed to sleep because there was a light making a buzzing noise in the house, and the follower didn’t have the foresight to fix the issue ahead of time. Gabbard's rise in US politics came out of nowhere, and is inexplicable until one considers how Sangh donations gave her a leg up when she was a virtual unknown. The first Indian-American donors to her first congressional campaign-who were also among the first non-Hawaiians to support her-are top executives in RSS affiliates in the United States. Donor names provided in filings to the Federal Election Commission, which I collated with lists from Sangh websites and promotional materials as well as media reports, reveal that hundreds of leaders and members of such groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gabbard in the formative years of her congressional career. Kallie Keith-Agaran, a Democratic activist in Hawaii, has also compiled a database of Gabbard's donors. Her extensive documentation of their contributions and affiliations closely corroborates my independent findings.This page is less a review than an attempt to marshal links about how bizarre Donald Tump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is and her links to the Science of Identity cult. I did not find any good books on the topic but recently heard this excellent podcast: The Hawaiian Cult that raised Tulsi Gabbard (with Christine Gralow) (Mission Implausible, Feb 8, 2026). Ms Gralow’s reporting on the subject is unmatched and her experience of harassment by the cultists probably explains why there is not more reporting on this scandalous story. (Reviewed:) Grade: (B) Tweet Websites:-SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@realchrissyg -AUTHOR SITE: Christine Gralow, M.S.Ed., M.J. -AUTHOR SITE: Meanwhile in Hawaii -SUBSTACK: SpyTalk -AUTHOR SITE: Backpacking Burma -INDEX: Christine Gralow (MuckRack) -INDEX: Christine Gralow (NY Times: Lesson Plans blog) - - - -INDEX: Society of Identity Foundation (Cult Education Institute) - - -PODCAST: The Hawaiian Cult that raised Tulsi Gabbard (with Christine Gralow) (Mission Implausible, Feb 8, 2026) -PODCAST: Episode 211: Tulsi Gabbard P1 (The Cult) feat Mike Prysner (Dec. 11, 2022, QAA) -PODCAST: Episode 212: Tulsi Gabbard P2 (The Fascist Turn) feat Mike Prysner (Julian Feeld, Travis View & Jake Rockatansky, QAA) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard and the Pro-Kremlin Belgian Businessman: Gabbard’s 2024 Vatican visit, arranged by Pierre Louvrier, a Paris-based, pro-Russia financier, triggered a TSA security alert—not her opposition to Biden-Harris (Christine Gralow, Feb 12, 2026, SpyTalk) -ESSAY: Butler's Web: Krishna, Politics, and QNET's Global Money Laundering: Featured Story, Part One of a Three-part Series (Christine Gralow, 10/20/17, Meanwhile in Hawaii) Butler's "MO was to recruit influential locals who could run for office," Wehrheim said. -ESSAY: Butler's Web, Part 2: Who is Gabbard's Guru? (Christine Gralow, 12/03/17, Meanwhile in Hawaii) -ESSAY: Butler's Web, Part 3: Grooming the Second Generation (Christine Gralow, 12/31/17, Meanwhile in Hawaii) -ESSAY: My Battle with Tulsi Gabbard’s Cult Followers in Hawaii: Christine Gralow had left investigative reporting behind, but rumors of a money-laundering cult in her Oahu community prompted her to look into Tulsi Gabbard and her guru (Christine Gralow, Dec 03, 2024, SpyTalk) -ESSAY: Part 2: My Battle with Tulsi Gabbard’s Cult Followers in Hawaii: Christine Gralow faces surveillance, cyber attacks and legal harassment after exposing Gabbard’s ties to the Science of Identity cult. (Christine Gralow, Dec 04, 2024, SpyTalk) -ESSAY: Will Tulsi Gabbard Answer Questions About Her LGBTQ Hate Guru?: Slated to appear at today's LGBTQ forum in Cedar Rapids, Gabbard has thus far avoided discussing guru Chris Butler's decades of hate speech (Christine Gralow, with additional reporting by Gavin Aronsen, September 20, 2019, Iowa Informer) -ARTICLE: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Avoids Public Debate/Forum in Primary Election Race (Wayne Yoshioka, August 7, 2018, Hawaii Public Radio) -LETTER: An Open Letter to the Democratic Party of Hawai`i and ACLU Hawai`i (Christine Gralow, 5/26/2018, Meanwhile in Hawaii) -ETEXT: 10-page summary of its 2012 investigation of QI Group (India's Serious Fraud Investigation Office) [pdf] - -ESSAY: Who is Mike Gabbard?: It's hard not to like Mike Gabbard, once you meet the guy. In June, the city councilman hosted a talk-story meeting at the Wai'anae Public Library. These get-togethers have been monthly rituals for Gabbard since he was elected to represent the Wai'anae-to-'Ewa district in 2002. (Ronna Bolante, 8/01/04, Honolulu) -ESSAY: Islamophobic World View of Tulsi Gabbard’s Guru Revealed in Unearthed Recordings - Can she Still Run for President?: Shocking revelations from 8,000 pages of transcripts of Gabbard’s spiritual guru reveals racism in the sect at the centre of her life and her 2020 presidential campaign. (CJ Werleman, 3 October 2019, Byline Times) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard: How an Extremist Cult Shaped the Anti-LGBTQ+ Crusader into Intelligence Chief (Global Extremism, November 21, 2024) -ESSAY: Gabbard’s Claim of “Foreign” Interference in Georgia Election Takes a Hit: Unsealed FBI affidavits make no mention of DNI’s claim rationalizing her involvement in Georgia election probe (Michael Isikoff, Feb 10, 2026, SpyTalk) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey: Dr Caroline Sinavaiana Gabbard toldThe Independent in an interview that her niece’s career is all about the pursuit of power (Bevan Hurley, 16 October 2022, The Independent) -ESSAY: All in the Family: The American Sangh’s affair with Tulsi Gabbard (Pieter Friedrich, 01 August, 2019, Caravan) Gabbard's rise in US politics came out of nowhere, and is inexplicable until one considers how Sangh donations gave her a leg up when she was a virtual unknown. The first Indian-American donors to her first congressional campaign-who were also among the first non-Hawaiians to support her-are top executives in RSS affiliates in the United States. Donor names provided in filings to the Federal Election Commission, which I collated with lists from Sangh websites and promotional materials as well as media reports, reveal that hundreds of leaders and members of such groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gabbard in the formative years of her congressional career. Kallie Keith-Agaran, a Democratic activist in Hawaii, has also compiled a database of Gabbard's donors. Her extensive documentation of their contributions and affiliations closely corroborates my independent findings. -ESSAY: Questions surround Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to politicized Hindu ‘cult’ (Steve Rabey, November 18, 2024, Baptist News Global) -ESSAY: From Obscure Cult to Top Spy: The Epic Rise of Tulsi Gabbard (Times of India, 2/13/25) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's religious background is not complicated, say American Hindus: Alongside criticisms of her political history, Gabbard has long fielded questions about her particular branch of Hindu faith, which many have referred to as a ‘cult.’ (Richa Karmarkar, January 29, 2025, Religion News Service) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult' (Yoonji Han, 10/18/22, Business Insider) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Used Her 'Cult Name' as Her Password For Years Across Accounts: Report: Gabbard's spokesperson said the passwords have been changed multiple times over several years (Morgan Music, May 07 2025, Latin Times) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard and her Homophobic Cult (Rebecca Watson, January 27, 2025, Skepchick) -ESSAY: Was Tulsi Gabbard In A Cult That Eats Its Leader's Toenails? Is She Still?: To be fair they could have been talking about fingernail clippings. (Marcie Jones, Nov 18, 2024, Wonkette) -ESSAY: What do Tulsi Gabbard, Stehekin and the Science of Identity Foundation have in common? (Julia Duin, 10/11/19, Get Religion) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Has Lauded Religious Leader Accused of Running ‘Abusive’ Cult (Monica Sager, 11/14/24, Newsweek) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's alleged connection to secret cult and views on Russia-Ukraine war (Economic Times, 10/12/22) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard’s Spiritual “Guru” Raged Against LGBTQ People: Audio recordings reveal the leader of a religious movement to which Tulsi Gabbard belongs spewed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from the pulpit. (John Riley, January 30, 2025, MetroWeekly) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Is Not Who You Think She Is: From homophobia to Islamophobia to cultism, she is no progressive's dream. (Eoin Higgins, November 22, 2016, Paste) - -INDEX: “tulsi gabbard cult” (Honolulu Civil Beat) -PODCAST INDEX: “tulsi gabbard cult (Listen Notes) - -PODCAST: Joe Rogan Experience #2143 - Tulsi Gabbard (May 1, 2024 The Joe Rogan Experience Book-related and General Links: - -ESSAY: Who is Mike Gabbard?: It's hard not to like Mike Gabbard, once you meet the guy. In June, the city councilman hosted a talk-story meeting at the Wai'anae Public Library. These get-togethers have been monthly rituals for Gabbard since he was elected to represent the Wai'anae-to-'Ewa district in 2002. (Ronna Bolante, 8/01/04, Honolulu) -ESSAY: Islamophobic World View of Tulsi Gabbard’s Guru Revealed in Unearthed Recordings - Can she Still Run for President?: Shocking revelations from 8,000 pages of transcripts of Gabbard’s spiritual guru reveals racism in the sect at the centre of her life and her 2020 presidential campaign. (CJ Werleman, 3 October 2019, Byline Times) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard: How an Extremist Cult Shaped the Anti-LGBTQ+ Crusader into Intelligence Chief (Global Extremism, November 21, 2024) -ESSAY: Gabbard’s Claim of “Foreign” Interference in Georgia Election Takes a Hit: Unsealed FBI affidavits make no mention of DNI’s claim rationalizing her involvement in Georgia election probe (Michael Isikoff, Feb 10, 2026, SpyTalk) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey: Dr Caroline Sinavaiana Gabbard toldThe Independent in an interview that her niece’s career is all about the pursuit of power (Bevan Hurley, 16 October 2022, The Independent) -ESSAY: All in the Family: The American Sangh’s affair with Tulsi Gabbard (Pieter Friedrich, 01 August, 2019, Caravan) Gabbard's rise in US politics came out of nowhere, and is inexplicable until one considers how Sangh donations gave her a leg up when she was a virtual unknown. The first Indian-American donors to her first congressional campaign, who were also among the first non-Hawaiians to support her-are top executives in RSS affiliates in the United States. Donor names provided in filings to the Federal Election Commission, which I collated with lists from Sangh websites and promotional materials as well as media reports, reveal that hundreds of leaders and members of such groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gabbard in the formative years of her congressional career. Kallie Keith-Agaran, a Democratic activist in Hawaii, has also compiled a database of Gabbard's donors. Her extensive documentation of their contributions and affiliations closely corroborates my independent findings. -ESSAY: An Insiders Perspective on Tulsi Gabbard and her Guru (Lalita, Sep 24, 2017, Medium) I also remember Chris Butler held this larger-than-life presence in my childhood. Everything I did I had to think about how it benefited him. He was my parents spiritual master and they looked to him for guidance on everything, from what to eat, to how to raise their children, and they did it all without question. When I talk to people about the lack of questioning, they find that aspect odd. It is odd, but to put it into perspective, I was raised to believe Chris Butler was God’s voice on earth, and if you questioned him or offended him in any way, you were effectively offending God, and because we believed in reincarnation, that meant that you would be reborn as the lowest lifeform imaginable and then have to spend eon’s working your way back into God’s good graces. So questioning the leader was spiritual suicide, which was seen as worse than death. So no one questioned. Chris Butler also would ridicule the intelligence of anyone he didn’t like, belittling anyone he felt was questioning his authority even slightly. He demanded the utmost dedication and loyalty from his followers and if he didn’t get it, the punishments were swift and severe. I remember hearing stories of people who were told they weren’t allowed to eat because they didn’t make food to his liking, who were not allowed to sleep because there was a light making a buzzing noise in the house, and the follower didn’t have the foresight to fix the issue ahead of time. -ESSAY: Questions surround Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to politicized Hindu ‘cult’ (Steve Rabey, November 18, 2024, Baptist News Global) -ESSAY: From Obscure Cult to Top Spy: The Epic Rise of Tulsi Gabbard (Times of India, 2/13/25) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's religious background is not complicated, say American Hindus: Alongside criticisms of her political history, Gabbard has long fielded questions about her particular branch of Hindu faith, which many have referred to as a ‘cult.’ (Richa Karmarkar, January 29, 2025, Religion News Service) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult' (Yoonji Han, 10/18/22, Business Insider) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Used Her 'Cult Name' as Her Password For Years Across Accounts: Report: Gabbard's spokesperson said the passwords have been changed multiple times over several years (Morgan Music, May 07 2025, Latin Times) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard and her Homophobic Cult (Rebecca Watson, January 27, 2025, Skepchick) -ESSAY: Was Tulsi Gabbard In A Cult That Eats Its Leader's Toenails? Is She Still?: To be fair they could have been talking about fingernail clippings. (Marcie Jones, Nov 18, 2024, Wonkette) -ESSAY: What do Tulsi Gabbard, Stehekin and the Science of Identity Foundation have in common? (Julia Duin, 10/11/19, Get Religion) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Has Lauded Religious Leader Accused of Running ‘Abusive’ Cult (Monica Sager, 11/14/24, Newsweek) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard's alleged connection to secret cult and views on Russia-Ukraine war (Economic Times, 10/12/22) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard’s Spiritual “Guru” Raged Against LGBTQ People: Audio recordings reveal the leader of a religious movement to which Tulsi Gabbard belongs spewed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from the pulpit. (John Riley, January 30, 2025, MetroWeekly) -ESSAY: Tulsi Gabbard Is Not Who You Think She Is: From homophobia to Islamophobia to cultism, she is no progressive's dream. (Eoin Higgins, November 22, 2016, Paste) - -ESSAY: As a Rising Political Star, Gabbard Paid to Mask Her Sect’s Ties to Alleged Scheme: Years before Tulsi Gabbard became Trump’s pick to coordinate U.S. spy agencies, she tried to evade unwanted scrutiny (Brett Forrest, Caitlin Ostroff and Rebecca Feng, Jan. 28, 2025, Wall Street Journal) -ARTICLE: Classified Whistleblower Complaint About Tulsi Gabbard Stalls Within Her Agency: Congress hasn’t seen the complaint, which was filed eight months ago with U.S. intelligence community’s watchdog office (Dustin Volz and C. Ryan Barber, Feb. 2, 2026, Wall Street Journal) -ARTICLE: Tulsi Gabbard is questioned in the Senate about Pierre Louvrier’s Russian connections (bivol, 3 February 2025) -ESSAY: The Mystery of Tulsi Gabbard: Though the former Democrat has aligned herself with Trump, her true loyalties remain elusive as ever. (Kelefa Sanneh, 1/31/25, The New Yorker) -ESSAY: What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?: The making of a charismatic, unorthodox Democrat. (Kelefa Sanneh, October 30, 2017, The New Yorker) -ESSAY: Can Tulsi Gabbard Swing Hawaiian Voters to Sanders? (Sara Davidson, March 9, 2016, The New Yorker) -ARTICLE: DDOS Attack on Hawai’i Free Press tied to Gabbard’s Cult? (Andrew Walden, 11/19/17, Hawaii Free Press) -ARTICLE: Down to Earth, Tulsi Gabbard Cult Tied to $170M Pyramid Scheme (Hawaii Fee Press) -INDEX: “tulsi gabbard cult” (Honolulu Civil Beat) -PODCAST INDEX: “tulsi gabbard cult (Listen Notes) - -PODCAST: Joe Rogan Experience #2143 - Tulsi Gabbard (May 1, 2024 The Joe Rogan Experience - - - - - - - |
Copyright 1998-2015 Orrin Judd
