Ex-members of twisted Colorado 'cult' detail the 'abuse' and 'brainwashing' they suffered at the hands of its leader - who insists on being called 'Mother God' and claims Donald Trump was her father in a past life

Daily Mail, UK/March 25, 2021

By Erica Tempesta

The leader of the New Age group 'Love Has Won' has been accused of running a cult by former members who claim they were brainwashed, abused, and forced to wait on her hand and foot while living with her in Colorado. 

Amy Carlson, 44, from Kansas, purports she is a divine being and insists her devoted followers call her 'Mom' or 'Mother God.' She alleges she has been trying to save humanity for 19 billion years and will one day lead 144,000 chosen people into a new mystical fifth dimension.

In the first episode of the new Vice series False Gods, host Josh Osborne explored the inner-workings of the so-called cult and its off-the-wall beliefs, which include the claim that Donald Trump was Carlson's loving father in a past life.

Love Has Won has about 20 full-time members in Colorado who are dedicated to recruiting more followers around the world through their daily live streams on YouTube. 

They also raise donations and sell New Age merchandise to fund the group while tending to Carlson. It has been alleged that the members are underfed, banned from sitting, and never paid for their work.

Osborne interviewed several former members of Love Has Won as well as people who have lost their loved ones to Carlson and her teachings, with all of them insisting it's a cult.

The episode also featured disturbing clips of Carlson that were originally shared on the YouTube page Rising Above Love Has Won, which serves as a watchdog for the controversial group.

Carlson is supposed to be this nurturing, motherly being who birthed creation, but videos of her that have emerged show her screaming obscenities, holding up a cat by its fur, and allegedly having a young child put in a closet for having a tantrum.

'It's a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of mental manipulation, a lot of brainwash. She only lets us sleep four hours. We have to wake up every day at 5:00 a.m.,' Taylor, a former member, said in one of the videos. 'Everything is revolved around Amy.' 

Even though Carlson claims to have been reincarnated 534 times, her family told Vice that she didn't get into New Age thinking until she turned 30. She then left her third marriage and job at McDonald's to embark on her mission to save humanity. 

Aurora, a Love Has Won spokeswoman whose real name is Lauryn Suarez, defended the group and its leader while she and her live stream co-host Hope spoke with Vice.

'Mom was just in full consciousness from her whole life. She earned where she is at consciously,' she said of Carlson. 'And that's really why she just is the example because we are not at that consciousness level, nowhere near.'

Aurora believes that former President Trump was Carlson's father, explaining: 'Mom was incarnated and Donald Trump, when in that lifetime, was her father.'

Carlson has also convinced her devotees that she speaks to the late actor Robin Williams and can rid people of cancer by talking to them on the phone.

'The beings who have had the most healing and have been cured by Mom are the ones that had no fear and no doubt and they were in surrender,' Aurora told Vice.

Aurora's former friend Dan was among those to speak out against Love Has Won, saying it should be called what it is: 'a cult.'  

'They like to talk about karma,' he said. 'I don't know if I'm a big believer in karma, but I think that I really do believe justice needs to be served for what Amy has done to these people, these families, these friendships.

'She has, in essence, destroyed the lives of a lot of young people.'

Aurora hit back at the claim by accusing those who are against the group of being the ones who are really in a cult.

'We're a "cult" because we see the truth and other people can't,' she said.

'But apparently, if you follow the collective mentality and you follow what everybody else is doing, you're not a cult

'Well, why? It's a group of people who all believe the same insanity. The collective all believes the same insanity, but yet they're not called a cult.'

Carlson runs the group with her partner, whom she refers to as 'Father God.' She has had several Father Gods over the years, including Andrew Profaci.

Profaci survived a deadly crash as a teen and went on a spiritual mission that led him to join Love Has Won. He became Carlson's Father God in 2014 and spent 10 months being her lover and caretaker before he left the group.

In his interview with Vice, he recalled flying to Denver and taking a five-and-a-half-hour taxi ride 'to the middle of nowhere in Colorado.'

Love Has Won members are supposedly banned from using drugs and alcohol, but he claimed that the substances were heavily abused.

'As soon as I got out of that taxi and walked in that front door, I realized I'd made a grave miscalculation,' he said. 'Everybody there was on a mushroom trip, and clearly none of them had gone to bed yet. It scared the c**p out of me.'

Profaci recalled how Carlson was charismatic and thoughtful but had an abusive side, especially when she was drinking.  

'Amy, at that point in time, was definitely one of the most brilliant, insightful people I've ever met, but it all changed after dinner,' he said. 'She could drink like I've never seen before.

'She would fill a highball glass, I mean, almost the whole way with vodka and, you know, just spritz of water on top. She'd probably drink eight, nine of those a night.

'She would turn into somebody else. She would become angry. She would talk smack, and just be very bitter about things, yelling and cussing. I have never really seen anything like that before.' 

Aurora denied that anyone in the group does drugs, saying Carlson is firmly against it and has kicked people out over it. However, footage shows her holding what looks like a joint and taking a hit from a bong. Hope justified Carlson drinking alcohol, saying she needs it to relieve pain.

'She's organic, so she's not going to consume pharmaceuticals,' she explained, 'but she does it with alcohol, which is organic, and that's what she explains is a natural painkiller because she cannot take morphine.'

A former member named Ashley told Vice that Love Has One is a 'cult' and a 'scam.' 

'There were certain things that [Carlson] expressed that seemed so out there, like talking to Robin Williams,' she recalled. 'I mean, I witnessed her do this, and it just seemed like she was super drunk or high.'  

Carlson's current Father God is Jason Castillo, 44, who has a history of criminal behavior, including drinking and driving, breaking and entering, and child neglect.

Castillo's sister Mindy Boyer started crying while speaking to Vice about his work in the group, which she is convinced is a cult.

'He can follow this group and he can think he's Father God for the rest of all time, but he's my brother; I would like him to have happiness,' she said. 'I just wish that they would stop trying to recruit innocent people from around the country to be just like them.'

In 2020, Alex Whitten abandoned his wife, kids, and six-figure salary to join Love Has Won. He was found wandering the desert, hallucinating, and naked with cactus needles in his feet days later, according to Vice.

However, Aurora had an explanation for that too.       

'Sometimes people have a very quick awakening,' she said. 'If anybody's ever experienced that, it can be a bit disorienting because you just all of a sudden open up to all this spiritual energy, and it can be overwhelming depending on your being.

'But ultimately, we love Alex,' she added. 'And has never actually done an interview or said anything. It's always been his wife and his sister.'

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