A video that appears to show Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, talking about her departure from the Lifespring self-help cult has reappeared on the internet.
The author of the video is Steven Hassan, who has written several books on cults and mind control. He identifies the woman in the video as Ginni Thomas.
I knew Ginni Thomas. The cult she was in was called Lifespring. In 1989 she spoke at an event I hosted for former members.
—Steven Hassan, PhD (@CultExpert) March 31, 2022
A woman who appears to be Thomas talks about the struggles she faced after leaving Lifespring.
When you leave a cult, you have to find a balance between fighting the cult and exposing it. Thomas says that the other angle is getting a sense of yourself, and what was it that made you join that group, and what open questions are there that still need to be answered.
I think I'm struggling with the balance between that. I want to expose Lifespring, I want to keep other people from going through that experience, but I also want to connect with my own needs in a spiritual way.
Lifespring charged $450 for its basic group training and $900 for its advanced program when Thomas was a member, according to a 1988 expos.
Group trainings led to improvements in participants' self-confidence, self-esteem, lowered job stress, a heightened sense of control in life, and a more positive and pleasurable range of events and experiences.
Many who participated in Lifespring said the group was coercive and used cult-like tactics to grow and maintain its membership. They were kept in sessions for days and kept pushing themselves beyond their limits. It caused pain, hardship, and even death in some cases.
Six people died in the course of Lifespring challenges according to an article on the group. The organization faced a lot of lawsuits from former members.
During her husband's Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991, Thomas's connection to Lifespring was first discussed. She had been a member of Lifespring for several years and had joined in the early 1980s, according to The Washington Post.
Thomas was in a 1987 Post story about the group. She shared that she was disturbed by some of the group's exercises, which included having trainees disrobe, ridiculing members for their body fat, and asking attendees pointed questions of a sexual nature.
Thomas told The Post that she was forced to move to another part of the country because of the constant calls from current Lifespring members trying to lure her back in.
I was so wrapped up with this group that I was moving away from my family and friends. She said at the time that she was preaching at her, using that tough attitude they teach you.
You will probably notice that she was likable. She was heavily involved in the movement to help former cult members exit cults after she left Lifespring, according to the thread of his post.
Sadly, the people who helped deprogram Ginni were also involved in right-wing causes. She was susceptible and went from one cult to another, as is the case with so many former members.
Neither Thomas nor Hassan responded immediately to Insider's requests for comment.
Thomas was in the news last week when she exchanged text messages with Trump's chief of staff. In the texts, Thomas appeared to float theories about the Biden crime family, as well as urging the Republicans to support Trump in the 2020 election.
She admitted to attending the Ellipse rally in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, which preceded the Capitol riot, but denied having any ties to the rally's organizers. The panel investigating the Capitol Riot is considering whether or not to question Thomas.
Some Democrats are calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be impeached or resign because of potential conflicts of interests.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
