Greece detains 16 doomsday cult members

Reuters, Dec 3, 1999

ATHENS, Dec 3, 1999 (Reuter) - Greek police on Friday detained 16 members of a U.S. group alleged to be members of a doomsday cult plotting millennium violence to hasten the return of Jesus.

Most of the detained were American citizens who did not hold permits for legal residency in Greece, police officials told Reuters.

"They belong to the Concerned Christians cult and they arrived in Greece after Israel expelled them last January. There have been reports that apart from violent acts they could also commit mass suicide at the turn of the year," one official said.

Police did not say whether they would deport the group or release them go if they produced legal residence permits. Some 50 Concerned Christians, whose base is in Denver, Colorado, are believed to have settled at Rafina, a small port town north of Athens.

Israel deported members of the cult after an investigation by a task force set up to deal with possible violence by cults and messianic groups as the millennium approaches.

The group's leader, Monte Kim Miller, has prophesied he would die in Jerusalem in 1999 and be resurrected three days later.