Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Forest Cult Group Cited in Misdemeanors

SANTA CLARITA —  A group of nine people who claimed divine revelation led them to live in Angeles National Forest for more than five months were cited for misdemeanor federal charges Tuesday, authorities said.

The group, led by a woman who claimed to be Jehovah, refused numerous requests by U.S. Forest Service officials to leave an elaborate shelter constructed in a remote mountainous area about 10 miles north of Castaic. The eight women and one man were arrested Friday on suspicion of trespassing.

Misdemeanor citations for building an unauthorized structure and occupying Forest Service land longer than 21 days were issued to the group, said Ken Harp, a law enforcement officer with the Forest Service. He said the group committed no offenses serious enough to keep them in jail.

“The only other thing they did was interfere with forest officers, but they didn’t interfere to the extent we could charge them with it,” he said.

Each individual faces a $500 fine, Harp said.

The dwellers could have received up to six months in County Jail if the district attorney’s office had filed misdemeanor trespassing charges against them. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Damon said his office decided not to file charges because federal law deals more clearly with the allegations in the case.

No extraordinary measures will be taken to prevent the group from moving back into the forest, Harp said, but members could face more severe punishment if they do.

“If they do it again, we could probably go further and add charges,” he said. “Hopefully, they won’t do that.”