This trial coverage project is brought to you by OneTaste. It’s about exposing the damage left behind by a DOJ that was politicized and weaponized during the Obama-Biden years. Americans across the country have been unfairly targeted for political and cultural reasons, victims of a system that was turned against the people it was meant to protect. OneTaste’s fight for freedom is bigger than one case. It is about defending every citizen’s right to fair treatment and real justice in this country. This is Nicole’s passion and OneTaste’s mission to stand up, speak out, and fight for the future of American justice.

UPDATE 24: Thursday, May 15, 11:30 a.m. — Prosecution’s star witness admits to federal felony on the stand…

The DOJ just put a confessed federal criminal on the witness stand in the OneTaste lawfare trial. On day seven, Dana Gill, Government Witness #4, admitted under oath that she committed immigration fraud for cash. Yes, really. She entered a fake marriage, lied to US officials, and manufactured a social media trail to cover it up. Now, she wants the jury to believe this time she’s telling the truth. This is the credibility standard in the DOJ’s war against OneTaste.

Art Voice:

On Tuesday May 13, day seven of the federal show trial U.S. v. Cherwitz and Daedone, the prosecution wheeled out another former OneTaste member to accuse the defendants of manipulation and abuse. But this time, the government’s witness brought more than just her grievances—she brought her own criminal record.

Dana Gill, Prosecution Witness #4, took the stand with the familiar lines. She praised OneTaste, spoke about how the practice and people helped her, how she felt accepted in a way she never had before, and then spoke about how being part of OneTaste had her “deviate from her values” – without clarifying which values those were.

On the stand, Gill admitted—under oath—to committing multiple federal felonies. This was not some iffy ambiguous crime, but clear-cut immigration fraud. For $10,000.

It wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t a youthful mistake. It was a paid job to marry a stranger—so he could get a green card.

Defense attorney Mike Robotti questioned her further:

Q Now, ma’am, you’ve lied to the United States Government before?
A I have.
Q You entered into a sham marriage; is that correct?
A I married an undocumented citizen—or an immigrant for his green card.

This wasn’t a man she knew or someone she loved. Gill admitted she barely know the man—he was the boyfriend of a co-worker at a café she worked at. Her motive was simple: she needed money to pay off debt. Robotti did remind her that other people paid off debt without illegal acts, to which Gill conceded.

Q So this was a choice you made to pay off your debt by committing a crime, right?
A Yes.
Q And you take personal responsibility for that, right?
A Yeah.
Q And it wasn’t just showing up to the interview, right? This was a whole elaborate scheme, correct?
A Uh-huh.

Robotti pressed harder. Gill admitted to creating a social media trail—posting staged photos with the man, playing the doting step-aunt with his niece, fabricating stories of their relationship, and lying to U.S. immigration officials.

Q And you know it’s a crime to lie to government officials, correct?
A I do.
Q And just like you know it’s a crime to lie under oath today, correct?
A Correct.

So here we are. A woman who orchestrated an elaborate federal crime, cashed in $10,000, and lied to the U.S. government repeatedly… is now on the witness stand, swearing she’s telling the truth this time.

Is this credible? Is this who the DOJ is hanging its case on?

And here’s the other question no one in the courtroom can ignore: if Dana Gill was willing to commit federal crimes in 2012 for a $10,000 payoff, what would she do for the compensation she might receive in 2025?

That’s not hypothetical.

Read more here.

UPDATE 23: Thursday, May 15, 11:30 a.m. — Cartoon court: how the feds manufacture victims and call it justice…

This is what lawfare looks like when the government runs out of evidence. Instead of proof, they’re serving up therapy-speak, witness coaching, and anatomy lessons in court. OneTaste’s trial isn’t about justice, it’s about narrative control. And when the witnesses don’t cry on cue, the feds and their TDS cult “expert” are right there to help jog their trauma memories.

UPDATE 22: Thursday, May 15, 6:30 a.m. — OneTaste Trial: FBI used ‘cult expert’ who thinks Trump has mind control powers…

As revealed in Revolver’s exclusive deep dive, the feds relied on Hassan—an unhinged “cult expert” who believes President Trump uses mind control, to help shape their lawfare case against OneTaste. He advised key witnesses, labeled OneTaste a cult, and pushed the exact framework now being used to retroactively rewire the story around alleged “trauma.”

Mike Howell is now wondering if the FBI has “Ms. Cleo” on their payroll…

UPDATE 21: Thursday, May 15, 6:30 a.m. — Read the Revolver Exclusive that reveals the Trump-hating kooky ‘cult expert’ the FBI used to unleash lawfare against OneTaste…

Revolver: 

In the middle of a quietly unfolding federal trial against former executives of a Silicon Valley wellness company called OneTaste, something truly extraordinary happened. Through the grind and determination of civil litigation, subpoena battles, and courtroom discovery, OneTaste stumbled onto a trail of evidence that doesn’t just raise questions about their own prosecution; it raises red flags about the very foundations of how federal agencies have been operating since the start of the lawfare era.

At the center of this discovery is a man named Steven Hassan, a self-described “cult expert” who authored a book titled “The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control.”

This is the man whose work is now featured on the FBI official website. And the man whose “BITE Model,” a subjective framework built on emotional, behavioral, and thought control, is being used to train FBI agents on how to identify “cult victims.”

This questionable training has been directly linked to criminal cases involving spiritual communities like OneTaste, where former members were encouraged to reinterpret their past experiences as “trauma” with the help of taxpayer-funded “victim services” and workshops hosted by Mr. Hassan.

According to documents reviewed by Revolver, federal prosecutors directed OneTaste’s defense attorneys to “look to the media,” specifically referencing a BBC podcast featuring Steven Hassan and several former members, saying it would help them understand the crime under investigation. That podcast, which is now the subject of a legal complaint by OneTaste, contains no formal criminal allegations or defined legal violations. It offers only personal stories, cult rhetoric, and opinion-based commentary. The only criminal allegation it puts forward is the story of Ayries Blanck, the government’s lead witness up until four weeks before trial. Once the defense proved she had perjured her testimony and fabricated false evidence in coordination with Netflix, prosecutors were forced to drop her.

And here’s what hasn’t been reported—until now.

According to sources close to the case and court-reviewed communications, Steven Hassan wasn’t just a media pundit or an FBI-approved “cult expert.” He was also the personal therapist for both Michal, the central figure in the 2018 Bloomberg article that triggered the FBI investigation (more on that shortly), and Ayries Blanck, the same witness who, according to court filings, allegedly worked with FBI Agent McGinnis to create fraudulent evidence.

You can read the entire piece by clicking below:

Exclusive: Meet the TDS Cult ‘Expert’ Behind the FBI’s Lawfare Machine

UPDATE 20: Wednesday, May 14, 3:00 p.m. — Forced labor conspiracy? No. But we got a really awkward lesson in sex ed…

The federal trial against OneTaste continues, and so far, the Department of Justice has delivered more awkward anatomy lessons than actual evidence of forced labor. This week, courtroom transcripts revealed prosecutors asking witnesses to identify parts of the female body on a diagram, all in an attempt to link the group’s nontraditional wellness practices to criminal coercion.

But here’s the real takeaway: witness after witness has testified they weren’t held against their will. They could leave. They did leave. They kept their phones, saw their families, and even collected unemployment. So what exactly is this case about? By all appearances, this isn’t a trial about forced labor conspiracy, it’s a trial about beliefs the government doesn’t like.

Reason:

At ‘Orgasmic Meditation’ Trial, Feds Can’t Find a Clitoris—or Evidence of Forced Labor

A week and a half into the federal trial, it seems more clear than ever that prosecutors are trying to put OneTaste’s teachings and Daedone’s and Cherwitz’s beliefs on trial.

The government’s whole theory of the case rests on the idea that OneTaste’s teachings around sexual openness and promiscuity, as well as being open and receptive to foreign or uncomfortable experiences more generally, were a form of psychological abuse.

This isn’t just speculation—Farrell said as much in a May 7 comment to Judge Diane Gujarati. “Our theory of the case is that the defendants put some [of] the testifying witnesses, our victims, in psychological distress and also taught them concepts that taught them basically to consent to everything and to be willing to engage in certain sexual activities,” Farrell told the judge.

Farrell alleged that some OneTaste participants engaged in activities they might have otherwise rejected “because they were taught this was a philosophy or a religious practice that was good for them, and if they continued to do it they would reach enlightenment.”

Think about what the government is really arguing here: that expressing ideas that others internalize can be a form of criminal psychological abuse and an attempt at human trafficking (a label forced labor falls under) if anyone says they acted on your ideas in a way that benefited you.

Click here to read more…

UPDATE 19: Wednesday, May 14, 3:00 p.m. — The US Constitution enters the chat…

On Day 7 of the OneTaste trial, defense testimony hit a nerve the government has been dodging all along: empowerment isn’t exploitation. The courtroom heard that Nicole Daedone fostered an environment where women could speak and express themselves without shame—and that, like it or not, the Constitution protects that.

UPDATE 18: Wednesday, May 14, 3:00 p.m. — No regrets… until the government showed up…

Witnesses testified they got exactly what they signed up for at OneTaste—and they had no regrets. That is, until the government swooped in and told them they were brainwashed.

UPDATE 17: Wednesday, May 14, 5:30 a.m. — The FBI’s Dirtiest Player: Agent McGinnis Exposed…

We’re deep into the OneTaste trial, and one name keeps surfacing like a bad penny: FBI Special Agent Elliot McGinnis. From manufacturing evidence to burying attorney-client materials, McGinnis is the poster boy for lawfare gone rogue. This new X thread lays out the receipts. If you want to understand how the feds twist justice into political theater, start right here.

We live in the upside down. Special Agent Elliot McGinnis, of @NewYorkfbi is as corrupt as they come.
-Manufacturing evidence
-Directing witnesses to destroy evidence
-Concealing attorney client privileged material
-Using personal email to avoid oversight
The list goes on.

This stems out of the @fbi’s “investigation” into @OneTasteinc for potential sex trafficking, forced labor, money laundering, and other offenses. After 5 years, there was a federal indictment with a single charge of forced labor conspiracy.

BUT, there was no forced labor. That didn’t stop the government though. US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, a Biden appointee, charged Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz based on McGinnis’s corrupt case.

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The case is now in front of the Supreme Court. Remember when I testified and said the fbi and the government will crush you? That isn’t just true of whistleblowers. It’s true of anyone they want to crush

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McGinnis has a lengthy, sordid history in law enforcement, yet, as far as is known, he is still employed by the @fbi. In April, a member of Congress sent @fbiDirectorKash this letter.

McGinnis has a lengthy, sordid history in law enforcement as detailed by @realfrankreport here in Part 1 of their reporting on the OneTaste case:

FBI’s McGinnis: From NYPD Brutality to Rogue Agent?

FBI Special Agent Elliot McGinnis and Bloomberg’s Ellen Huet: How a Flawed Article Sparked a Dubious Investigation By a Dubious Agent

The Missing Image: A Call for FBI Agent McGinnis’ Real Photo in a Tale of Falsehoods

 

UPDATE 16: Tuesday, May 13, 8:30 a.m. — The U.S. Government Is Now Defining ‘Brainwashing’ However It Wants…

All the government witnesses are supposedly “brainwashed,” but none of them can define what that even means—and they all admit they loved the OneTaste defendants. That’s the case: trauma rebranded, definitions optional.

Prosecuting beliefs… the New American way…

UPDATE 15: Monday, May 12, 9:30 a.m. —‘I Was So Happy’: Prosecution Witness Struggles to Define Alleged ‘Brainwashing’ at OneTaste…

In a striking moment during the OneTaste trial, a key prosecution witness recounted her time with the organization, stating, “I was so happy. Like, I loved it there. I loved my friends. I loved – I loved Rachel. I loved Nicole. And so the happiness was real.” Despite this heartfelt testimony, she later claimed to have been “brainwashed,” even though she couldn’t define what that actually meant. This kind of contradiction raises real questions about the prosecution’s case, and what exactly they think “coercion” looks like.

The Frank Report:

Becky Uma Halpern was a grown woman, not a prisoner of war. The jury heard her talk about how she met her husband and found meaning in life because of the people on trial. She took every OneTaste course because it helped her. She loved the community, the practice.

Becky Uma Halpern said she was happy. Happy in the way people rarely are when they speak under oath.

She testified, “I was so happy. Like, I loved it there. I loved my friends. I loved — I loved Rachel. I loved Nicole. And so the happiness was real. And all those videos, like, that’s what’s making me emotional looking at it. It was nice. Like, I had a great time.”

Imagine a courtroom where love and abuse are recited in the same breath, where happiness is remembered—and prosecuted.

The government insists she is a victim. But Becky Uma Halpern was not caged. She did not scream, “let me out.“ She was an adult.

Love Was a Symptom of Brainwashing
In the redirect examination, government witness Rebecca Uma Halpern appeared visibly shaken as she recounted her experience with OneTaste.

She sat there, crying, and when it came time to explain how she could be happy in a place she now said hurt her, she said she was brainwashed.

She testified: “So the happiness is part of the brainwashing. Right? Like, it’s — that’s — because people don’t stay in places where they’re not happy.”

She was smiling, thriving, orgasming her way through life—but now, years later, it was trauma in disguise. To love and to be destroyed—simultaneously.

She loved them. She hated them. She said they were good to her. She said they broke her. There are moments when language fails.

When a witness, overwhelmed by the need to justify her contradiction, reaches for a word that says everything and nothing.

“Brainwashed,“ she said.

Defense Presses Halpern: “Do You Even Know What Brainwashing Means?”
Defense counsel Celia Cohen pointed out that in Halpren’s 11 interviews with the government between 2018 and 2024, she never said she was brainwashed.

Somewhere in the last five or six months, she picked up this word to explain how she could be happy and still have everything be OneTaste’s fault.

During defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean’s recross, she asked Halpern for a definition of brainwashed.

Q Can you provide me with an accepted definition for the word “brainwashing”?

A I can provide you with my own definition.

Q I’m not interested in your own. I’m interested in an accepted definition of the word brainwashing.“ Do you have one to provide?

A I’m not claiming to be an expert.

Q Okay. So this is just you using it …to make a point, right?

A I’m saying that’s my understanding and that’s my experience.

Q Right. But again, just based on your own definition that none of us know what that is, right?

A I think it’s a common word that people understand.

Q Is it? … – then …What is the definition of brainwashing?

A And I’ll say again: I’m not claiming to be an expert.

Q So you don’t have a definition for the word “brainwashing,“ right?

A Do you want my definition?

Q I want to know if you have an accepted, widely-accepted definition for the word brainwashing“ to provide us.

A We’re just repeating the same.

Q So that’s a no?

A No to what question?

Q Whether you can provide us with an accepted definition of the word “brainwashing,“ meaning accepted amongst the public and all of us here in this room, other than your personal definition.

A No. What I can provide is my own personal definition, yes.

Witness Says No Regrets, Then Cries
During final recross-examination, Halpern told the jury she did not regret an orgasm-based meditation practice she did for three and a half years. She said she practiced OM hundreds of times, enjoyed most of them, and doesn’t regret her experience.

She loved the defendants. She said it again and again. Then she said she was brainwashed. And ended by saying she had no regrets. She cried as she left.

The jurors, like everyone else, were left wondering who she was crying for. They didn’t know which part of her to believe.

 

UPDATE 14: Monday, May 12, 5:00 a.m. — Stone Cold Truth: Roger Stone Says OneTaste Indictment Is a Netflix-FBI Production…

Roger Stone isn’t holding back. As the feds continue their lawfare crusade against OneTaste, Stone just lit a match under the entire case—calling it exactly what it is: a Netflix-scripted, FBI-executed smear job.

UPDATE 13: Friday, May 10, 1:00 p.m. — Douglass Mackey: A Young Man Who Knows Lawfare All Too Well, Outside the OneTaste Courtroom…

UPDATE 12: Friday, May 10, 5:00 a.m. —WarRoom Exclusive: Mike Howell Slams FBI’s Cozy Ties to Netflix in Explosive Clip…

Mike Howell isn’t mincing words: “The FBI shouldn’t be working with Netflix—or any media outlet, period.” He points out the long, shady history of FBI-media collusion dating back to J. Edgar Hoover and the G-Men era. But now in 2025, the feds are allegedly fabricating evidence in coordination with a streaming platform? “C’mon.”

S

Mike took to X with a blunt truth bomb:

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The @OneTasteCase account just dropped a brutal reminder of how insane this has gotten. The FBI is accused of colluding with Netflix, using post-dated journals as evidence… and let’s not forget the 20+ agents who flooded the courtroom in a case that’s completely non-violent.

UPDATE 11: Friday, May 9, 3:30 p.m. — Even Vanity Fair Can’t Ignore It: The OneTaste Trial Is a Legal Dumpster Fire…

When Vanity Fair, a liberal, legacy outlet starts raising red flags over a lawfare trial, you know something’s seriously off. In a surprisingly brutal write-up, VF yanks back the curtain on the government’s crumbling case against OneTaste, highlighting fake journals, a disappearing lead prosecutor and the kind of shaky legal theory no serious courtroom would ever entertain. Here are some of the most jaw-dropping takeaways from the article:

Turns out the government’s “smoking gun” journals were copy-paste jobs—literally. Created years after the fact and funded by Netflix, they were passed off as authentic. The prosecutor who vouched for them? Quietly exited stage left.

Vanity Fair:

In March, with a trial date soon approaching, the government made a jarring concession. The handwritten journal entries Blanck’s sister read aloud in the documentary, which formed central evidence in the case, had been physically copied from an electronic file created years later. Lawyers for Daedone and Cherwitz had for months been arguing that the diaries were fabricated for Netflix’s purposes, noting that the streamer paid Blanck’s sister $25,000 for use of her archival materials. The prosecutor who had been vouching for the authenticity of the journals left the case.

Before opening arguments even kicked off, OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone went on offense, mobilizing supporters, launching a full-blown PR blitz, and slamming Netflix with a defamation suit. Now, with the feds backpedaling, even the Daily Mail says the case is “teetering on the brink of collapse.”

Vanity Fair:

The trial’s opening arguments began on Tuesday, but Daedone had already been on the offensive. Aside from OneTaste suing Netflix for defamation—the complaint was dismissed by a judge, but OneTaste is appealing—Daedone has posted videos of her supporters, a sizable group of women, walking in unison outside the Brooklyn courthouse where she is being tried. She has conducted a spirited PR campaign; following the prosecution’s backtracking on Blanck’s journals, a Daily Mail headline declared that the case “teeters on the brink of collapse.”

First you’re a kook, then a threat, then a criminal…

Vanity Fair:

“First they call you a kook, then they say you’re a danger to society,” Daedone said, comparing the treatment she had received to that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Then they dig into your history, and then they move into legal. And it was like, Wow, that’s what happened.”

Daedone describes OM as a consciousness practice—not sex. Think yoga meets psychedelics, not porn. And she’s making her case with confidence, eye contact, and Schopenhauer quotes.

Vanity Fair:

Daedone explained as we spoke that orgasmic meditation is an attention-training practice that uses sexual energies but is not itself sexual. She saw her work in a lineage with yoga, Buddhism, and psychedelics—sources of previous American panics that won acceptance as time passed and attitudes loosened. Relaxed and gregarious, she held unflinching eye contact and flitted freely between references to Schopenhauer and Andrea Dworkin.

The case is raising eyebrows across the political spectrum. Critics say it’s built on shock value, not substance, and even Matt Gaetz is calling out FBI overreach.

Vanity Fair:

The case against OneTaste has attracted attention from some specific frequencies on the ideological spectrum. In February, the libertarian magazine Reason published a lengthy deconstruction of the charges, accusing prosecutors of relying merely on “salaciousness, scandal, and the all-too-familiar sense that female sexuality is something to be suppressed and controlled by the state.” Matt Gaetz, at a moment when Donald Trump’s supporters have become increasingly fluent in discussions of “lawfare,” bemoaned FBI overreach in a recent segment on his One America News show—and weighed in on orgasmic meditation.

Great point—being “cultish” isn’t a crime.

Vanity Fair:

Daedone’s publicist, Juda Engelmayer, who was sitting by her side, chimed in. “Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, it’s cultish,” he said. “Not a crime.”

Despite the FBI’s early sex trafficking angle, no such charges were filed. Instead, prosecutors went with a rare stand-alone forced labor conspiracy count, a legal stretch that’s never been tried on its own before. Typical “lawfare” move.

Vanity Fair:

The accusations could be construed as allegations of sex trafficking, which had initially been a focus of the FBI’s investigation into OneTaste. But as lawyers for Daedone and Cherwitz noted in a reply filing, the government did not bring any charges of that severity. Engelmayer has been emphatic about communicating to reporters that the case against OneTaste, to his and defense attorneys’ knowledge, marks the first time that forced labor conspiracy has been charged as a stand-alone count, without an accompanying crime that would typically represent an instance in which the conspiracy—an agreement to commit the crime—was enacted. (A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York’s US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.)

Frank Parlato knows a cult case when he sees one and this isn’t it. The man who helped take down NXIVM took a hard look at OneTaste and came to a different conclusion: this case reeks of prosecutors chasing headlines, not justice.

Vanity Fair:

When Frank Parlato first read about OneTaste in 2018, he was convinced that something was amiss. It was what looked like familiar territory: For a brief period beginning in 2007, Parlato worked as a publicist for NXIVM, then a little-known self-help organization. A decade later, after turning his attention to reporting for his website, the Frank Report, he played an early role in revealing that his old boss Keith Raniere had operated a sex cult.

After Engelmayer approached him about OneTaste, Parlato told me, “I made a very serious news-gathering effort in an investigation to determine whether they were being fairly or, in my opinion, unfairly prosecuted.” In his coverage, he has described the case in his hyperkinetic house style, writing, “Parlato Lives Rent-Free in Prosecutors’ Heads, While Actual Evidence Lives Nowhere.”

Parlato proposed to me that the OneTaste case amounted to “criminalizing regret.” He compared participants’ lodging allegations to going to Harvard and later realizing that the education hadn’t been as valuable as expected. As he sees it, the charges, brought in the same jurisdiction as those against Raniere, are simply an attempt at bringing about another high-profile cult case, or, as he described it, “NXIVM 2.0.” For their part, 20 Brooklyn prosecutors appeared at a recent pretrial hearing in a show of support.

Even the prosecutor who took down NXIVM is raising eyebrows. Moira Penza called the OneTaste case “unusual,” noting the government’s last-minute witness collapse, evidence fumble, and total team swap. Her verdict: “You don’t want to be trying a case with those things stacked against you.”

Vanity Fair:

The prosecutor who led the investigation of Raniere, Moira Penza, who left the US Attorney’s Office in 2019, told me that she found a few aspects of the case against Daedone and Cherwitz unusual. The government had pursued a novel strategy, lost a key witness and evidence at the finish line, and swapped out all its prosecutors on the case. “Keith Raniere wasn’t doing TED Talks and appearing in South by Southwest and talking to Gwyneth Paltrow,” Penza said, describing Daedone’s media profile.

Still, Penza said, “As a former prosecutor, I can tell you you don’t want to be trying a case with those things stacked against you.”

Nicole Daedone isn’t trying to be a martyr—but she knows this fight is bigger than her. She sees the case as a reflection of a culture uncomfortable with people who want more—who’ve “touched something” beyond the norm. In her eyes, this isn’t just a trial. It’s a battle over possibility itself.

Vanity Fair:

“I am not a martyr,” Daedone insisted, but she understands her struggle in a broader sense, as something “more telling about the culture than it is about me in a lot of ways.”

As we discussed the circumstances leading up to her indictment, I asked if it was fair to characterize OneTaste participants as seekers. She had an instant reaction and a partial objection: The term had a diminishing connotation. They were “almost invariably someone who had touched something,” Daedone said, “or had a sense that something more was possible.”

UPDATE 10: Friday, May 9, 1:00 p.m. — The Witness Cries, the Government Lies, and the Case Continues to Crumble…

Day 5 picks up right where Day 4 left off, with the prosecution’s star witness in full emotional retreat after unraveling on cross. She tearfully recalled the power of OM and how it helped her remember who she really was… not quite the story the government hoped for. Meanwhile, the feds keep pouring taxpayer dollars into a trial that looks more like theater than justice.

UPDATE 9: Friday, May 9, 1:00 p.m. — Manufactured Justice: Netflix, the FBI, and Prosecutors Caught in the Same Script…

Is this a courtroom or a Netflix production set? As explosive details surface about fabricated evidence, media collusion, and FBI theatrics, the carefully crafted narrative is starting to fall apart. The OneTaste lawfare trial isn’t just exposing a case, it’s exposing an agenda…

UPDATE 9: Friday, May 9, 5:00 a.m. — “Coercive Control” Is the Left’s New Weapon Against Freedom…

The concept of “coercive control” sounds protective on the surface, but it’s really a Trojan horse — a sneaky way to criminalize personal choices, beliefs, and relationships. Episode 8 of Eros on Trial breaks it all down.

UPDATE 8: Thursday, May 8, 2:00 p.m. — FBI Agents Still Camped Out at OneTaste Lawfare Trial… Why?

The FBI just can’t quit this trial. Nine agents sat in the courtroom gallery all day. They’re not out chasing cartels, not tracking violent criminals, but showing solidarity in a thought-crime case built on media spin and zero evidence.

UPDATE 7: Thursday, May 8, 2:00 p.m. — OneTaste Trial Bombshell: Is Netflix Writing the Government’s Script?

The line between media and government just got dangerously thin.

UPDATE 6: Thursday, May 8, 8:30 a.m. — Attorney James Lawrence Blasts Lead Prosecutor for Criminalizing ‘Thoughts’ in OneTaste Lawfare Trial…

Attorney James Lawrence is sounding the alarm. In a blistering memo, he warns that the DOJ’s case doesn’t just target OneTaste, it opens the door to put churches and religious Americans in the crosshairs for simply practicing their faith.

Lawrence:

Some Americans, including Christians who seek to obey Jesus Christ’s call to sexual purity in Matthew 5:27-28, may find OneTaste’s teachings distasteful and/or morally objectionable. Meanwhile, OneTaste points to faithful Christians, Muslims, and Jews who have followed Daedone’s teachings within their marriages to build stronger relationships with one another. The R-rated allegations in the government’s case aside, it would be one thing if Cherwitz and Daedone were on trial for sexual assault, sex trafficking, prostitution, or facilitating adultery, but they are not. Cherwitz and Daedone are being prosecuted for exerting coercive control over other adults under a statute aimed at sex trafficking—in many ways their beliefs are on trial. Under the First Amendment, if Cherwitz and Daedone’s beliefs were “popular,” they would be “easy enough to defend,” but “[i]t is in protecting unpopular religious beliefs” like theirs “that we prove this country’s commitment to serving as a refuge for religious freedom.

The Trump Administration is taking religious freedom and anti-Christian bias seriously. In February, President Trump issued an executive order on “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” Exec. Order No. 14202, Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, 90 Fed. Reg. 9365 (Feb. 12, 2025). In the order, President Trump noted that “the previous Administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians.” Id. at 9365. President Trump ordered that his “Administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians,” and “protect[] the freedom of Americans and groups of Americans to practice their faith in peace,” while “ensur[ing] that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.” Id. at 9366. Dropping the case against Cherwitz and Daedone, which would remove a cudgel a future administration could use to threaten Christians and other people of faith with up to twenty years in prison, 18 U.S.C. § 1589(d), would be consistent with this order.

If the government is successful in amending the TVPA to criminalize coercive control, Christians and other religious believers could find themselves the target of prosecutions by future administrations. Consider what could be coming for evangelical Christians. As noted above, the academic project to frame conservative evangelical Christians and their beliefs as “coercive” is well underway. Using the prosecution of Cherwitz and Daedone as a roadmap, future administrations can point to evangelicals’ efforts to “intentionally recruit” people with a “history of trauma” as part of their efforts to spread the Gospel. Christian discipleship, particularly small groups in churches where members hold themselves accountable for sin, becomes an instrument of “control” and “intimidation.” To the extent members are encouraged to avoid temptation, those efforts “isolate” victims. Labor is extracted from members who serve in church ministries. Finally, public excommunication, the last resort in church discipline cases, becomes the last step in a campaign of “shame and humiliation.” Other faiths that engage in similar shunning practices run the same risk.

Read the full memo in pdf form…

UPDATE 5: Thursday, May 8, 8:00 a.m. — Lead Prosecutor in OneTaste Trial is Overtly Prosecuting ‘Thought Crimes’…

Lead prosecutor Assistant US Attorney Kaitlin Farrell made it clear what this case is really about: criminalizing beliefs and twisting consent into coercion.

MS. FARRELL: I think, as your Honor understands, our theory of the case is that the defendants put some the testifying witnesses, our victims, in psychological distress and also taught them concepts that taught them basically to consent to everything and to be willing to engage in certain sexual activities that even at the time they would have viewed as something they wouldn’t consent to, but they did so because they were taught this was a philosophy or a religious practice that was good for them, and if they continued to do it they would reach enlightenment.

UPDATE 4: Wednesday, May 7, 11:oo p.m. — OneTaste Trial: Witnesses Confirm They Wanted In…

Voluntary choices are now being twisted into “forced labor.”

https://twitter.com/onetastecase/status/1920172644722164215

UPDATE 3: Wednesday, May 7, 11:30 a.m. — Jury Selection Is Over, Opening Arguments Are In — The Real Fight Starts Now…

Tension is rising, the pressure is building inside the courtroom, and the fight over truth and justice is heating up.

UPDATE 2: Wednesday, May 7, 9:30 a.m. — FBI Agents Pack OneTaste Courtroom in Chilling Show of Power…

The OneTaste trial is officially underway and already the courtroom is feeling more like a federal PR stunt than a fair and just proceeding. At least 20 FBI agents packed into the gallery on day one, creating what some folks inside described as a blatant show of power and support for the FBI’s lead agent, Elliot McGinnis. According to court records, McGinnis didn’t just investigate this case. He helped shape the narrative using false testimony and doctored evidence.

The agents filled nearly every seat, blocking regular citizens from entering. By the afternoon, the courtroom was wall-to-wall with EDNY and FBI officials. Even co-defendant Rachel Cherwitz’s husband couldn’t get in to support his wife.

In fact, so many federal agents and EDNY officials showed up that the court had to open an overflow room. This isn’t justice. It’s process abuse in plain sight, and taxpayers are footing the bill for an FBI fan section clapping for lawfare.

Political Ploy? Intimidation?

UPDATE 1: Tuesday, May 6, 3:00 p.m. — Congressman Inquires About FBI Agent’s Corrupt Misconduct as OneTaste Trial Begins…

Congress is finally taking notice of the FBI’s dirty tactics in the OneTaste lawfare case.

https://twitter.com/DailyMail/status/1919605099665453068

The Daily Mail:

An FBI special agent leading the investigation into two former leaders of an ‘orgasmic meditation cult’ featured in a hit Netflix show has been accused of fabricating evidence by a Member of Congress, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

The representative has written to new FBI director Kash Patel, alleging the agent ‘transformed the Netflix-created content into federal evidence’ to go after ex-OneTaste wellness company executives Rachel Cherwitz and Nicole Daedone.

Both women face trial this week in New York, accused of a forced labor scheme that allegedly involved participants in OneTaste courses and employees between 2006 and 2018.

Now DailyMail.com has seen a letter to FBI director Patel from a Member of Congress – who is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee and a former law enforcement official – ‘seeking answers’ about the special agent in the case. DailyMail.com has decided not to name the agent in the letter, whose ‘actions appear to represent a fundamental corruption of the investigative process and a failure of agent accountability,’ writes the Congress member.

Read the story at the Daily Mail.

Corrupt FBI Tactics in OneTaste Trial Now Under Congressional Scrutiny…

Podcaster Aubrey Fuller breaks down the latest twist in the OneTaste trial, where a Congressman is calling out the corrupt FBI agent driving the lawfare…

BACKGROUND:

Revolver and OneTaste are teaming up to shine a light on lawfare.

The federal case against wellness company OneTaste is more than just a courtroom battle. It’s a clear example of how the justice system has been weaponized to punish those who think or live outside the mainstream. This six-week trial comes from a years-long smear campaign born out of the #MeToo era, and it’s now playing out in federal court under flimsy charges, fraudulent evidence, sketchy witnesses, and media-driven propaganda.

One Taste’s intention is simple. They want this case dismissed and intend to use the red-hot nature of this high-profile trial to shine a light on the much bigger lawfare crisis. This isn’t just about OneTaste. It’s about due process and the basic American belief that everyone, no matter their beliefs, lifestyle, or background, deserves a fair trial.

We’ve brought you coverage of J6, the case against President Trump, the Douglass Mackey case, the Dr. Eithan Haim case, and more. This case falls into that same vein of coverage.

Stay tuned and check back often. We’ll be posting real-time updates, inside scoops, and key developments as this lawfare trial unfolds.

For more background on the lawfare against OneTaste, read these two previous articles and check out the videos below.

Netflix, the FBI, and a Federal Frame Job That Took Down a Wellness Company…

The Lawfare Case You Weren’t Supposed to Notice Just Got Darker: FBI Lies, Fake Evidence, and a Dirty Judge

Matt Gaetz Calls Out the Fed’s OneTaste Witch Hunt…

Matt Gaetz is calling out the lawfare. The feds got OneTaste of power and now they’re hooked, fabricating evidence and targeting consenting adults. If they can do it to this wellness company, they can do it to anyone…

“If people were harmed by OneTaste, they should have a fair chance to make their case in court. But FBI agents fabricating evidence against consenting adults living an alternate sexual lifestyle doesn’t sit well with me. Because once the feds get OneTaste of that kind of power…it can be weaponized against anyone.”

https://twitter.com/OANN/status/1918481887623852277

Lawfare in the Spotlight: OneTaste Founder Tells Dr. Phil Her Side…

OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone breaks her silence in this powerful Dr. Phil interview, sharing her side of the story and exposing the lawfare campaign against her and her wellness company.

Full Interview:

Kyle Seraphin: The FBI Got Caught Targeting OneTaste…

Former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin knows exactly how the game is played. He’s calling out corruption and pulling the curtain back on one of the ugliest lawfare cases in recent memory.

https://twitter.com/revolvernewsusa/status/1917961066828484672

Check back for more updates on this developing story…