Tag: bohemian grove

Gavin Newsom’s father went to war with shadowy Bohemian Grove over members’ X-rated antics

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s father once ruled that the super-secretive men’s club Bohemian Grove couldn’t bar women from working there — preventing members from going au natural at the exclusive redwoods retreat.

As a U.S. Appeals Court Judge, William Newsom an issued an opinion striking down a ban on hiring women at the 150-year-old club, saying it was no justification that members might be stopped from walking around the encampment nude.

He added that if the men felt embarrassed, they could use the enclosed shower and bathroom facilities.

The elder Newsom made the ruling in 1986, well before his son entered the California political arena and ascended to the state’s highest office.

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Super-secretive Bohemian Grove society members allegedly leaked as who’s who of celebrity elite revealed

Some members of an elite, super-secretive men’s club based in California wine country have allegedly been leaked — with names ranging from former late-night host Conan O’Brien and billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

The membership list of Bohemian Grove — a private 2,700-acre campground in Sonoma County that hosts an annual two-week retreat and has a clubhouse in San Francisco — was allegedly obtained by an independent journalist and confirmed by a club member, according to the San Francisco Standard.

The extensive list of more than 2,000 members in 2023 features the crème de la crème of business, tech, finance — all divided into “camps,” much like fraternities.

The club is famous for its “Cremation of Care” ceremony and high-level networking, and is long rumored to have been acting as a social club for the powerful.

Other names on the list include former Speaker of the House Nancy’s Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, late crooner Jimmy Buffett and billionaire political donor Charles Koch.

A Bohemian Club spokesperson said the group does not maintain lists of its members due to the highly hush-hush nature of the secret society.

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Billionaire at Bohemian Grove told staff to clean his underwear by hand, lawsuit says

The famous Bohemian Grove encampment, which draws some of the richest and most powerful American men to the Sonoma County redwoods every July, recently settled a wage theft lawsuit brought by three of its employees, but not before some embarrassing allegations came to light. 

Three Bohemian Grove employees sued the nonprofit Bohemian Club and related companies in 2023 for allegedly violating California labor laws, such as by not providing meal breaks and not paying the minimum wage during the event, which is restricted to men. The nearly 150-year-old party is shrouded in mystery, but it takes place in a 2,700-acre camp outside Monte Rio along the Russian River and lasts about three weeks before ending with a rumoured burning of a human effigy and a giant owl. 

The three employees — Shawn Granger, Anthony Gregg, and Wallid Saad — said they were forced to work close to 100 hours per week during the event but were instead instructed by their employers to only clock in 40 hours, according to a November 2023 filing. Gregg also said he was mocked by club members “for complying with a request from famous billionaire William Koch to hand wash his underwear.” 

William “Bill” Koch is a billionaire industrialist and the twin brother of David Koch, a fellow billionaire and Republican megadonor. Both men inherited part of their father’s company Koch Industries, although William sold his shares in the 1980s. Forbes currently estimates William’s net worth to be $2 billion.

Brad Goldstein, a spokesperson for William Koch, denied the allegations regarding underwear washing in an interview with SFGATE Friday. He said that it was likely just an attempt to pressure the club’s owners into paying a settlement. 

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House Speaker McCarthy Spotted at Bohemian Grove

The intimate connection between secret societies and the nation’s political elite is as strong as ever.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was among those present at this year’s infamous meeting of the secretive Bohemian Club at the Bohemian Grove campground in Monte Rio, California.

Known as much for its eyebrow-raising occult-tinged rituals as for its luminary member roster, the male-only Bohemian Club has hosted business titans (William Randolph Hearst, the Rockefellers) and presidents (Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon). It was reportedly the place where J. Robert Oppenheimer first discussed the Manhattan project.

Donald Trump is notably one major power player who is not known to be involved with the Bohemian Club. But he was a major topic of conversation at the group’s July meeting last week.

As Politico reports:

At The Bohemian Grove, the secretive conclave of men who gather in Northern California, the attendance was a Who’s Who of pre-Trump Republicans, a murderer’s row of bundlers and Wall Street Journal editorial page favorites including former House Speaker Paul Ryan and ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as my colleague Ryan Lizza reported. With fear setting in about Trump’s re-nomination, the gathering became something of a fantasy camp on how to avert that prospect or at least confront it. One name that came up as a potential apolitical independent nominee was retired Admiral William McRaven, the former special operations commander who became chancellor of the University of Texas.

Politico further reported that, per sources in attendance at Bohemian Grove, McCarthy spoke favorably of Trump, expressing confidence that he will claim the GOP nomination for the presidency.

At Bohemian Grove, the world’s rich and powerful dress in ceremonial garb, chant around a bonfire, and burn a child in effigy in the presence of a large owl-shaped idol.

The group was started after the Civil War by Henry Harry Edwards, originally as a club for artists, writers, journalists, and other “Bohemians” to get together and relax. Since then, though, the outfit has grown to include more than 2,500 of the world’s elites.

The Bohemian Club, like other major secret societies, has an agenda of furthering globalism. At the United Nations’ founding conference in 1945, UN delegates and key dignitaries were invited to Bohemian Grove for a special program.

During their time at Bohemian Grove, members are known to walk around the forest in the nude inebriated and urinating at will throughout the camp.

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8 Eerie Occult Photographs of Secret Meetings at Bohemian Grove

Bohemian Grove, has long been the location where the most powerful men in the world come to meet for seventeen days each year. Their words and secrets hidden within the remote “sacred grove” of the ancient redwood forest, California.

It’s believed membership to the secret society numbers in the thousands, and includes amongst its powerful folds past and present U.S. Presidents. Notorious for being a conspiracy theory hotspot, claims of everything from Satanic rituals, human sacrifices to paranormal activity and alien indoctrination have found a home within Bohemian Grove lore.

Now, while no-one knows exactly what takes place each July, these old photographs from the turn of the century found in the UC Berkeley archives, certainly show that whatever happens at Bohemian Grove it’s not just ‘good clean fun’ like they claim, but rather something entirely more sinister…

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8 Eerie Occult Photographs of Secret Meetings at Bohemian Grove

Bohemian Grove, has long been the location where the most powerful men in the world come to meet for seventeen days each year. Their words and secrets hidden within the remote “sacred grove” of the ancient redwood forest, California.

It’s believed membership to the secret society numbers in the thousands, and includes amongst its powerful folds past and present U.S. Presidents. Notorious for being a conspiracy theory hotspot, claims of everything from Satanic rituals, human sacrifices to paranormal activity and alien indoctrination have found a home within Bohemian Grove lore.

Now, while no-one knows exactly what takes place each July, these old photographs from the turn of the century found in the UC Berkeley archives, certainly show that whatever happens at Bohemian Grove it’s not just ‘good clean fun’ like they claim, but rather something entirely more sinister…

Keep reading