What Are Some Mysterious, Cult-Like, "Bad-Vibes" Towns In The United States?
Perhaps you had a sketchy experience in Vidor, Texas, like this person — "I worked on a door-to-door sales team, and we got sent there because we happened to be all 'white' at the time. Spoiler: We weren't all 'white,' and our crew included several Latino members. Someone spoke in Spanish, and we were detained by the most overtly racist cops I have ever met and literally escorted out of town. Freaky shit."
Or maybe you passed through Island Pond, Vermont, and got a bad vibe, like this person — "It's home to one of the Twelve Tribes communities. Twelve Tribes is a fundamentalist Christian cult known for its misogyny, racism, child abuse, and workplace exploitation. They operate the Yellow Deli restaurants."
Heck, you maybe even grew up in Seabrook, Washington, and, like this person, it never sat well with you — "It is idyllic. Perfectly idyllic. Too much so. Strong Stepford Wives vibes. I read somewhere that it was inspired by the town in The Truman Show."
So, I'm asking you, what is a mysterious, cult-like, bad-vibes town in the United States? Tell us all about it in the comment section or via the totally anonymous form below to be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post or video!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
9 hours ago
- Politico
The attorney fighting Trump's immigration raids in LA
Presented by COURT CLASH: California immigrants swept up in aggressive Los Angeles ICE raids recently scored a legal victory that could undermine a key strategy in Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. A federal judge on Friday blocked federal immigration officials from conducting 'roving patrols' for undocumented residents, saying they've been arresting people on the basis of their race, accent and workplace, not 'reasonable suspicion' that they're in the United States illegally. We're awaiting a ruling on the Trump administration's emergency motion to stay the judge's block on ICE tactics. But Mark Rosenbaum — an attorney working with the coalition of organizations that secured the restraining order — thinks they've already won, because there's been 'a public change in attitude.' (In fact, Gallup polling conducted in June and released recently found a dramatic swing nationally toward support for immigration). 'The highest officials in this land lied when they said this was about killers and rapists and drugs,' Rosenbaum said. 'I think the American public knows that. I think they see the scope of the abuse of power here. I think the federal government is already the big loser, because they couldn't level with the American people as to what they were really doing and why they were doing it.' Playbook spoke with Rosenbaum about how he and others crafted their case, whether the ruling has been effective and what comes next in court. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What went into preparing this lawsuit? What went on in terms of the preparation of that complaint was a serious, thorough investigation as to what federal agents were doing in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. The scope of their activities geographically throughout different communities was so broad that it's not the sort of thing that you can collect and document overnight. What made it even more complicated was that what the government was doing was sweeping up large numbers of individuals of Latino appearance and then taking them to this basement facility down in downtown Los Angeles that was supposed to be a temporary processing center … What that meant is we did not have an opportunity to speak to individuals who were, in fact, swept up like that because of the second part of the case, and that was the denial of access to attorneys. The denial of access to attorneys wasn't accidental. It wasn't incidental. It was part of a purposeful design to keep the facts of the practices that ICE agents and other federal agents were following in Los Angeles secret. It was to make certain that those whose rights were denied were not available to speak to lawyers… The other thing that I think goes to this is that we wanted to make the strongest record possible, and that means talking to a lot of people, a lot of witnesses, many of whom were fearful that providing their names and identities, regardless of legal status, would put them in harm's way. And that wasn't an unreasonable belief. Were things at all delayed because immigration organizations are in triage mode right now? The federal government literally brought in an army, not just figuratively. They literally brought in an army. And in order to make sure that civil rights were addressed to the maximum extent possible, it means that those groups that work with that population, they were stretched to the breaking point. They always delivered. But it meant that there was an awful lot going on — that the first priority wasn't always getting the facts for a lawsuit. The first priority was making sure that people's well being was dealt with, because they were brutal. What went into finding the people who were detained and documenting their stories? What you had was a community that was unquestionably under siege, that was targeted because of their race, in a community that was targeted because it was a blue community. But lawyers did not get that TRO. It was the car wash workers and nannies and the farm workers and the day laborers who stood up to the federal government and told their stories. And we work with the groups that work with those communities and people did, in fact, come forward, and that's why we won. Given the makeup of the higher courts, what we've seen from the Supreme Court — do you have any confidence the Trump administration won't win on appeal? I never predict those sort of things, but I think this: that the stories of individuals of all legal statuses who were pulled out of their stores and pulled out of windows and thrown into a dungeon because of the color of their skin — that's devastating, and the government doesn't have an answer for that. But equally powerful is that the government doesn't have a single document, a single piece of paper, that legally justifies any of the 2,000 or so detentions and arrests that they made … This isn't hard stuff. What do they do — take all their justification documents and put them in a vault and then lose the combination? This is like law enforcement training 101. If you have a justification, you write it down. And the reason there are no documents presented to the court with justification is because there are no documents. Do you think the Trump administration is following the TRO? We are certainly monitoring it. The indication we have is that they've slowed down because of the TRO. The TRO is working. There are people out in the field right now that are checking, but if you're asking me if the TRO made a difference, absolutely… One thing you can say for sure is that they are not appealing the part of the decision that dealt with access to lawyers. They have not filed an appeal on that. They have not asked for a stay on that. What does that tell you? That tells you that they know that they were violating those rights and they don't want to present that to a court. So this TRO, it truly is absolutely life or death. IT'S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY POINTING FINGERS: Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said today that the federal government has 'not seen the calculation or formal request' for California wildfire aid, saying that there is a 'multi-step process' that has not been completed. 'For whatever reason, Gavin Newsom seems to enjoy trying to stick his thumb in the eye of the White House and Congress, which seems to be counter purpose if he is requesting relief,' he said. Newsom's office said in a post on X that they have been in contact with the speaker's office. 'It's our understanding that the Speaker was referring specifically to the White House's formal appropriations request,' the office said. Newsom traveled to Washington in February to meet with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on the issue. That month, he also sent a letter to Johnson and other House leaders asking for almost $40 billion to help with immediate and long-term recovery. — Nicole Norman IN OTHER NEWS UNMASKED: Sen. Scott Wiener's effort to prohibit ICE agents from wearing certain types of face coverings appeared poised to advance from the Assembly Public Safety Committee today, although moderate Democrats aligned themselves with law enforcement groups and declined to vote on the bill. At the time of publication, the bill was still awaiting final passage, with some members absent during its hearing. The legislation would ban specific masks for local, state and federal law enforcement, although it's targeted at the immigration enforcement agents who've worn neck gaiters and ski masks to conceal their faces during raids. ON THE HILL: UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons was grilled by a congressional panel in Washington this morning along with other university leaders about allegations of antisemitism on their campuses. Lyons was not chancellor when protests and encampments roiled campus following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, but was pressed repeatedly about a 2024 social media post from history professor Ussama Makdisi that said he 'could have been one of those who broke the siege on October 7.' Lyons paused when Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) asked what he thought Makdisi meant by the post, eventually stating he believed it 'was a celebration of the terrorist attack of Oct. 7.' He did call Makdisi a 'fine scholar,' which drew a rebuke from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Lyons, who is just a year into his tenure, also emphasized the difficulty of balancing protecting the community from discrimination and harassment while also upholding the First Amendment right to free speech. He received the backing of leading Jewish faculty members ahead of the hearing. 'Does it frustrate us as presidents? I'll speak for myself: This is frustrating,' Lyons said. 'People say, 'Well, just drive down the middle of the road.' This is a very complex road to drive down. And so we are constantly making judgments around, 'How do we keep people safe and supported, and also how do we make sure that we are protecting free speech and the marketplace for ideas''? — Eric He and Bianca Quilantan WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — A new group of Camp Pendleton Marines has been posted at the southern border alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol for 'operational responsibilities.' (OC Register) — California's largest public employee pension fund surpassed its annual investment target, bouncing back from a spring stock market crash following Trump's tariff announcement earlier this year. (CalMatters) — A new program steering students toward specific job-ready training now has a waiting list as roughly 160 students are receiving $1,000 this summer while learning about vocational skills in high-demand sectors. (Los Angeles Times) AROUND THE STATE — Locals in California's North Coast are expressing concern after one of the last undeveloped oceanfront properties in the area was put on the market. (SF Gate) — Clean energy in California's retail electricity supply is up from previous years, as data released earlier this week shows that solar, wind, hydropower and other carbon-free sources in 2023 increased slightly from 2022. (The Mercury News) — compiled by Juliann Ventura
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Vanished: Amnesty International accuses Maduro of using disappearances as a weapon
They came without warning—often at night, without warrants or explanations. One moment, a journalist was driving home. A student stood at a border checkpoint. A lawyer met with union leaders. The next, they were gone—vanished without a trace. Since Venezuela's disputed 2024 presidential election, dozens of people have disappeared following encounters with security forces. According to a new report by Amnesty International, these are not isolated cases, but part of a coordinated campaign of 'enforced disappearances' — a chilling tool of state repression that the organization warns may constitute crimes against humanity. It is a deliberate strategy to silence dissent and terrorize the population, Amnesty said in its 46-page report, 'The Crime of Enforced Disappearance in Venezuela: Detentions Without a Trace.' Covering 15 emblematic cases between July 2024 and June 2025, the report documents a pattern of arbitrary detentions, clandestine transfers, and incommunicado detentions — often with victims never resurfacing. Many of those targeted were journalists, human rights defenders, opposition members, and foreign nationals. Among the cases: Rory Branker, editor at La Patilla, was abducted in Caracas by armed men in February. He hasn't been seen since. Officials later accused him of 'extortion' but refused to disclose his Torres, a lawyer with the group Venezuela Program Education-Action on Human Rights, known as PROVEA, disappeared in December. His name surfaced in terrorism court records, but his family has received no formal Trush, a 19-year-old Ukrainian refugee with autism, was arrested at the Colombian border. He was fleeing war, but Venezuelan officials never acknowledged detaining Martínez and José María Basoa, two Spanish nationals, were arrested upon arrival from Madrid and labeled 'CIA mercenaries.' Spain denies any link to the CIA. Victims are frequently seized by agents from Venezuela's military counterintelligence agency, DGCIM, or the Bolivarian intelligence service, SEBIN, often in unmarked cars and plainclothes operations. Detainees are shuffled between undisclosed facilities, their families left in the dark — violating international due process standards and raising grave concerns about torture and abuse. The timing of the revelations is especially jarring in South Florida, where thousands of Venezuelans face imminent deportation as the Biden and Trump administrations ramp up repatriation flights. Despite mounting evidence of systemic abuse, U.S. officials have begun declaring parts of Venezuela 'safe' for return — a position sharply contested by human-rights advocates. Operation 'Tun Tun' The crackdown intensified after President Nicolás Maduro declared himself the winner of a third term in a widely contested election on July 28, 2024. Within a week of the vote, more than 2,500 people were arrested during protests, and at least 25 demonstrators — including two minors — were killed by security forces. The government dubbed its repressive response Operación Tun Tun, a slang term referring to pre-dawn police raids. As part of the effort, authorities deployed a modified version of the 'VenApp' mobile application — originally designed for reporting potholes and power outages — to allow regime loyalists to report protesters and critics. Passports were revoked, homes raided and civil society dismantled. In a speech following the unrest, Maduro vowed 'no forgiveness,' chillingly referencing Tocorón, one of the country's most infamous prisons, as the fate awaiting demonstrators. Diplomatic bargaining chips Amnesty's report raises alarms that foreign nationals may be detained not only for propaganda purposes but as potential leverage in backchannel diplomacy. In January 2025, shortly after a U.S. envoy visited Caracas, the Maduro government quietly released several arbitrarily detained Americans — fueling speculation that detainees are being used as pawns in international negotiations. A similar deal occurred in 2023, when Venezuela freed 10 political prisoners after a close Maduro ally — detained on money laundering charges in the U.S. — was returned to Caracas. Under international law, enforced disappearance becomes a crime against humanity when carried out as part of a widespread or systematic attack on civilians. Amnesty argues Venezuela has met that threshold. The country signed but never ratified the U.N. Convention on Enforced Disappearance. However, as a member of the Inter-American human rights system, it is still legally obligated to prevent and punish such acts. Instead, the Maduro regime has 'weaponized the justice system,' different human rights organizations warn, to enable disappearances and dismantle opposition. Systematic torture Amnesty's findings align with a separate 110-page report released in May by the pro-democracry CASLA Institute, which documented the state's widespread use of torture, psychological warfare, and enforced disappearances following the contested election. CASLA's report describes a terrifying resurgence of clandestine 'torture houses' where detainees suffer electric shocks, suffocation, mock executions and sexual violence. Women face psychological torment and threats to their children. Visits, when allowed, are rare and heavily surveilled — and even words like 'freedom' and 'pain' are banned. In Tocuyito prison, a method of punishment known as the 'grilled arepa' is used: inmates are handcuffed and forced to lie on sun-scorched concrete. Those who resist are tortured with electric shocks, especially targeting their genitals. Prisoners with chronic illnesses like HIV or diabetes receive no treatment. Food is scarce, sanitation is abysmal, and suicide attempts are frequent. CASLA concludes that these abuses are not rogue acts but part of state policy — 'a calculated strategy to break the spirit, destroy resistance, and erase hope.'
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Federal grand jury indicts man accused of killing former Minnesota House speaker Melissa Hortman
Prosecutors initially charged Boelter with the same counts. But under federal court rules they needed a grand jury indictment to take the case to trial. Prosecutors say Boelter, 57, who has lived in rural Sibley County south of Minneapolis, was driving a fake squad car, wearing a realistic rubber mask that covered his head and wearing tactical gear around 2 a.m. on June 14 when he went to the home of Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin. He allegedly shot the senator nine times, and Yvette Hoffman eight times, but they survived. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Prosecutors allege he then stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers. One, in Maple Grove, wasn't home while a police officer may have scared him off from the second, in New Hope. Boelter then allegedly went to the Hortmans' home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed both of them. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized. Advertisement Brooklyn Park police, who had been alerted to the shootings of the Hoffmans, arrived at the Hortman home around 3:30 a.m., moments before the gunman opened fire on the couple, the complaint said. Boelter allegedly fled and left behind his car, which contained notebooks listing dozens of Democratic officials as potential targets with their home addresses, as well as five guns and a large quantity of ammunition. Advertisement Law enforcement officers finally captured Boelter about 40 hours later, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from his rural home in Green Isle, after what authorities called the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. Sen. Hoffman is out of the hospital and is now at a rehabilitation facility, his family announced last week, adding he has a long road to recovery. Yvette Hoffman was released a few days after the attack. Former President Joe Biden visited the senator in the hospital when he was in town for the Hortmans' funeral. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views who had been struggling to find work. At a hearing July 3, Boelter said he was 'looking forward to the facts about the 14th coming out.' In an interview published by the New York Post on Saturday, Boelter insisted the shootings had nothing to do with his opposition to abortion or his support for President Donald Trump, but he declined to discuss why he allegedly killed the Hortmans and wounded the Hoffmans. 'You are fishing and I can't talk about my case…I'll say it didn't involve either the Trump stuff or pro life,' Boelter wrote in a message to the newspaper via the jail's messaging system. It ultimately will be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in consultation with the local U.S. attorney's office, to decide whether to seek the federal death penalty. Minnesota abolished its state death penalty in 1911. But the Trump administration says it intends to be aggressive in seeking capital punishment for eligible federal crimes. Advertisement Boelter also faces state murder and attempted murder charges in Hennepin County, but the federal case will go first. Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris joined mourners at the Hortmans' funeral June 28. Gov. Tim Walz, Harris's running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, eulogized Melissa Hortman as 'the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history.' Hortman led the House from 2019 until January and was a driving force as Democrats passed an ambitious list of liberal priorities in 2023. She yielded the speakership to a Republican in a power-sharing deal after the November elections left the House tied, and she took the title speaker emerita.
