A group that’s been holding nightly dances in support of inmates at a federal lockup in Brooklyn may have begun as “cover movement” of Keith Raniere, the convicted leader of infamous upstate sex cult Nxivm, according to a report.
Former members of Nxivm told the The Times Union that some organizers of the We Are As You campaign are loyal disciples of Raniere, who is awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center on charges including racketeering, sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy.
“It’s a cover movement for Keith Raniere — it’s a Trojan Horse,” said Mark Vicente, a former high-ranking Nxivm member who testified against Raniere at his trial last year.
“Why are all the key figures Raniere loyalists? This is all in tribute to Raniere.”
A handful of folks associated with the dance group gyrated in front of the jail Tuesday night as music played from a parked car — but they refused to say whether they were there to support Raniere.
“If you make this about a sex cult, again, that’s dishonesty,” one of the attendees, a man sporting a blue bandanna, said.
Another dancer referred The Post to the group’s website, where it’s described as “a nightly dance demonstration … to remind those inside [the jail] they are not forgotten.”
Nothing on the group’s website and social media appears to mention Raniere or Nxivm.
Near the dancers, a Post reporter spotted signs that read “We miss you Kay Rose” and “Love U Kay Rose,” which the Union reported was code for Keith Raniere. There is no inmate named Kay Rose inside the jail.
Asked if she knew who Kay Rose was, one of the dancers shook her head no.
Ex-cult members acknowledged to the Union that it’s impossible to know how many of the participants are actually familiar with the sick self-help guru, who was convicted last June of running a secret society within Nxivm called DOS, in which women were branded like cattle and forced to have sex with him.
But Vicente told the paper that at least six people leading the dancers are well-known Nxivm members and that the group’s followers on social media are a “Who’s Who of the Nxivm World.”
He and other former Nxivm followers and critics of the cult fear that people with loved ones inside the jail will support the dance movement, while unaware of its alleged sinister undertones.
Asked if there is any connection between the group and Nxivm, a We Are As You Are staffer told the Union: “It’s for all the friends and family who have people inside.”
“This is really just about providing entertainment for guys who have been on lockdown for months and haven’t been able to have visitors and see their families, so that’s what it’s about…,” she said.
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