Joyu Gets Jammed Up... Again

File under: The Siddhi of PR and Wackadoo Gurus

What happens when you take a bunch of loonies who once believed their mass-murdering guru was God? You get the cops raining down on your head to placate a paranoid Japanese public:

Intelligence agents swarmed the offices of the new "Ring of Light" religious group to scrutinize its activities, authorities said. The group on Wednesday announced its split from a successor to the deadly Aum Shinrikyo cult of the 1990s.

Even though new sect leader Fumihiro Joyu claims they have nothing to do with their former wackadoo brothers and sisters, the authorities are determined to nip any terrorist activities in the bud:

The raid, part of continuing surveillance of a cult designated by law as a terrorist group since the subway attack, was aimed at inspecting teaching materials and interviewing members for traces of apocalyptic teachings.

We said it before: take on a bunch who supported mass-murder, and folks are gonna think you still have murderin' on your mind, despite what you may be telling the press.

Joyu has got his work cut out for him. He may as well remove all the locks from the doors of his HQ, 'cause this ain't the last time the cops are going to bust them in.

Update: Oops! Some folks must have missed the memo and kept their Asahara pictures after the purge. That ought to be worth five or six more police raids in the next few months.