Several readers are always asking for more details of The Vanguard’s life at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) – which is one of the reasons that Frank Report has taken steps to establish relationships with people who can supply that sort of inside information. Most recently, a reader sent an email asking what goes on behind the scenes when Vanguard [AKA Keith Alan Raniere] has to attend a court hearing like he did just a couple of days ago.
Well, here’s the answer to that question:
A good portion of his schedule depends on whether MDC is running one bus or two buses on the day that Raniere has to appear at the Federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Since it’s usually just one, we’ll go with that schedule.
4:00 AM: Keith will be awakened by a guard – and told to get dressed and be ready to move out in 15 minutes. That leaves him just enough time to get up, use the toilet which stands beside the bed, brush his teeth, and get his prison slipper-shoes on (There’s no time for a shower – which, in Vanguard’s case, is no big deal).
4:15 AM: A guard will come by, let Keith out of his cell, and take him downstairs to the R&D (Receiving & Discharge) Unit. Since he’s already wearing his assigned “onesie”, he won’t have to change clothes when he arrives at R&D.
4:30 AM: A guard will take him to the back area of the R&D Unit – and strip-search him. That means that Raniere will have to stand in a slightly elevated area, remove each article of clothing, one piece at a time, and hand it to the guard so that it can be checked for any hidden contraband. When he’s finally ‘buck’ naked, the guard will order him to “Squat, Hold ‘Em, Cough, Turn & Repeat” – or words to that effect. To comply with that order, Keith will plant his feet on the two little foot drawings on the floor, squat down, pick up his testicles, cough – and then turn around 180 degrees and repeat that process. Unless something falls out of his anus, Raniere will then be given back his clothes – and allowed to get dressed.
4:45 AM: Keith will be taken to a holding cell – where he’ll be able to sit on a concrete slab bench with other prisoners who are going to court that day. Depending on which guards are on duty, the prisoners may or may not be given a “Breakfast Bag” (These usually contain a styrofoam cup filled with some stale corn flakes, a carton of milk, and an apple).
5:00 AM – 5:30 AM: Keith will sit in the holding cell with a dozen or so of his new friends – and wait to be called for his trip to the courthouse. This will give him time to tell his fellow inmates that he’s the smartest guy in the world, was the East Coast Judo Champion at age 11, and once tied the New York State 100-yard dash record. Or he could do the really smart thing and keep his mouth shut.
5:30 AM – 6:30 AM: Prisoners will be brought out one at a time – and restrained with handcuffs, a waist-chain and ankle shackles. Those who are wearing prescription eyeglasses will be allowed to keep them on for the trip.
6:30 AM: Once the bus is loaded, it will make the rounds to whatever courthouses at which prisoners are scheduled to appear that day. Since the Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn is the closest, that’s usually the first stop.
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM: When the bus arrives at the courthouse, the prisoners will be taken off the bus and escorted to holding cells. There, they will sit until their case is called – which for Raniere will be several hours. The “good news” is that he’ll get a “Lunch Bag” sometime around 11:30 AM – and be able to satiate himself on a bologna-and-cheese sandwich, a carton of fruit juice, and another apple.
8:30 AM – 1:30 PM: Sheer boredom. Nothing to do. Nothing to read. But a great time to recruit new members for NXIVM.
1:30 PM: Assuming Judge Garaufis’ schedule is running on time, Keith will be escorted upstairs to a smaller holding cell – and remain there until his case is called.
2:00 PM: Keith will be escorted from the small holding cell to the courtroom – and just before he enters, the guards will remove his waist-chain and ankle shackles.
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Keith will get to sit at the table with his co-defendants and listen to whatever proceedings are taking place. This will also allow him an opportunity to make “moon eyes” at all his former slaves – at least those who are willing to look at him. He’ll also have an opportunity to mesmerize the two female AUSAs who are prosecuting his case – and emit the right kind of psychic energy that will cause them ultimately to stand up and announce they’re dropping all charges against him (Thus far, this does not seem to be working on Moira Kim Penza and Tanya Hajjar).
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Raniere will be taken back to the small holding cell – and re-fitted with his waist-chain and ankle shackles.
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Keith will be taken back downstairs to the larger holding cell – where he’ll wait with his fellow inmates for the bus to return and take them back to MDC.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: The bus will go to whatever courthouses where it dropped off prisoners in the morning – and pick them up and then make the return trip to MDC. When he arrives at the R&D Unit, Keith will have his handcuffs, waist-chain and ankle shackles removed – and be moved into another holding cell.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Each prisoner will be escorted to the back of the R&D Unit – and made to go through another strip search. Usually, this will be done in groups of 3 or 4 – which gives everyone a chance to compare physiques and, in Raniere’s case, perhaps for the others to admire the rare body type that allowed him to win both the judo championship and tie the record for the 100 yard dash. It also gives everyone an opportunity to show how adept they are at performing the “Squat, Hold ‘Em, Cough, Turn & Repeat” routine.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Raniere will wait to “catch a ride” with a guard who is going to his unit. Sometimes, this happens right away but sometimes it can be an hour or more.
8:00 PM: Home at last – and, if he’s lucky, someone will have set aside a dinner food tray for him. If not, then he’ll get a “Dinner Bag” with, you guessed it, a bologna-and-cheese sandwich, a carton of milk, and another apple.
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM: Time to reflect on the day’s events and maybe do a little sobbing in his bunk.
10:00 PM: Time for the “Evening Count” – and then “Lights Out” until 6:00 AM.
It’s been a long day and perhaps after wetting his pillow with tears, he’ll fall asleep. There’ll be some rare dreams in his bunk in the night. He’ll dream perhaps of being a Vanguard where branded beautiful skinny slaves run his errands and his clothes just magically appear and he has so much money he can do anything with it so he chooses to use it to sue ex-girlfriends who left him and get them put in jail.
Raniere’s next court appearance is December 6th.
