COVID-19 conspiracies turned this church into a deadly cult

Kevin Smith seemed like your typical pastor. He was a respected member of his community in Montego Bay, preaching the Bible to hundreds of congregants each week. But he also preached conspiracy theories from his social media account. On October 17, 2021, Smith sent a message on Facebook instructing his followers to get to the church. He told them “the Flood is coming”. Members of his congregation packed their suitcases and rushed over. But when they arrived, that’s when the real danger began. Three people were killed, two of them, witnesses allege, as part of a human sacrifice.

Reporter Rachel Browne wrote about this story for The Walrus. Today she joins us to explain how a pastor’s pandemic conspiracy theories turned a church into a cult and a crime scene.

Read “Is Your Blood Clean?”: The Paranoid Pastor Who Turned His Church into a Violent Cult from The Walrus here.

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