In January 2002, a man in a homemade superhero costume armed with guns, a sword, and smoke bombs broke into the exclusive Bohemian Grove retreat in California. His mission? To save children he believed were being sacrificed to the ancient god Moloch by some of America's most powerful men.
This episode tells the remarkable story of Richard McCaslin, aka The Phantom Patriot, whose journey from aspiring superhero to conspiracy-fueled vigilante eerily foreshadowed our current era of weaponized misinformation. The parallels between McCaslin's 2002 raid and the 2016 Pizzagate incident at Comet Ping Pong are striking — both men were convinced they would rescue trafficked children based on conspiracy theories, found nothing, and ended up behind bars. McCaslin's story reveals how genuine concerns about power and inequality can be twisted into dangerous delusions, and how the line between superhero and villain becomes blurred when reality is filtered through misinformation.
GUEST: Tea Krulos is an author and journalist specializing in fringe subcultures and unique characters. His books include Heroes in the Night about the real-life superhero community and American Madness, which chronicles his eight-year relationship with the Phantom Patriot.
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HOSTED BY JOSEPH L. FLATLEY. For bonus content and to sign up for my newsletter, check out: http://lennyflatley.substack.com/