Editing Twelve Tribes communities (section)

==History==

=== Origins ===
The origins of the Twelve Tribes can be traced back to the "Light Brigade for Jesus Christ," a 1972 teenagers' ministry.<ref name='Glance'>{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Warth | title=The 12 Tribes at a glance | date=October 3, 2009 | publisher=Lee Enterprise | url =http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/valley-center/article_a68bc3cf-981d-5250-9525-e064a002bf1d.html | work =North County Times | access-date = November 11, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Livingasone"/> The ministry operated out of "The Lighthouse,"<ref name="palmerraising">{{cite journal|last=Palmer|first=Susan J.|author-link=Susan J. Palmer|date=May 1997|title=The Northeast Kingdom Community Church of Island Pond, Vermont: Raising Up a People for Yahshua's Return|journal=[[Journal of Contemporary Religion]]|volume=12|issue=2|pages=181–190|doi=10.1080/13537909708580798|author2-last=Bozeman|author2-first=John M.}}</ref> a small [[Coffeehouse|coffee shop]] in the home of Gene Spriggs and wife Marsha. The Light Brigade began living communally<ref name='Hunt'>{{cite book | last = Hunt | first = Stephen | author-link = Stephen J. Hunt | title = Christian Millennialism | publisher = Indiana University Press | year = 2001 | location = Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana | pages = 209–223 | isbn = 978-0-253-21491-1 }}</ref> and opened a restaurant, "The Yellow Deli", while its members were attending several churches, before they decided to join the [[First Presbyterian Church (Chattanooga, Tennessee)|First Presbyterian Church]].<ref name="hosts"/> Members of the Light Brigade, while affiliated with First Presbyterian, caused friction within its establishment by bringing in anyone who was willing to come with them, including members of different social classes and [[Race (classification of human beings)|racial groups]], a practice which was not engaged in at that time.<ref name="palmerraising"/> On January 12, 1975, the group arrived at First Presbyterian only to find out that the service had been cancelled for the [[Super Bowl IX|Super Bowl]],<ref name="palmerraising"/> leading the group to form The Vine Christian Community Church.<ref name="Hunt"/> During this time, the group "[[Church planting|planted]]" churches, each with its own Yellow Deli, in [[Dalton, Georgia|Dalton]] and [[Trenton, Georgia]]; [[Mentone, Alabama]]; and [[Dayton, Tennessee]].<ref name="Vine Church"/>

Their withdrawal from the religious mainstream turned what had been a friction-filled relationship into an outcry against them.<ref name="Palmer1998"/> They began holding their own services, which they called "Critical Mass" in Warner Park in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]],<ref name='Palmer2010'>{{cite journal|title=The Twelve Tribes: Preparing a Bride for Yahshua's Return |journal=Nova Religio |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.59 |date=February 2010|first=Susan J.|last=Palmer |author-link=Susan J. Palmer |volume=13|issue=3|pages=59–80|doi= 10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.59 |jstor=10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.59 }}</ref> appointing elders<ref name='elder1'>{{cite news | first=Alan | last=Murray | title=Vine elders concede church has authoritarian character | date=January 19, 1978 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | work =Chattanooga Times}}</ref><ref name='Bankrupt'>{{cite news | first=Bill | last=Castel | title=Elder: 'We have no money' | date=December 1, 1980 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | work =Chattanooga Times}}</ref> and baptizing people outside any denominational authority. The deteriorating relationship between the group and the religious and secular Chattanooga community attracted the attention of [[FREECOG|The Parents' Committee to Free Our Children from the Children of God]] and the [[Citizen's Freedom Foundation]] who characterized the group as a [[cult]] and described Spriggs as a cult leader.<ref name="Palmer1998"/> Starting the summer of 1976, [[anti-cult]]ist [[Ted Patrick]] began a series of [[deprogramming]]s that sought to convince Twelve Tribes members to leave the Twelve Tribes community.<ref name='hosts'>{{cite news | first=Joan | last=Garret | title=Chattanooga: Yellow Deli hosts reunion, betrothal | date=May 3, 2008 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/17/chattanooga-yellow-deli-hosts-reunion-betrothal/ | work=Chattanooga Times Free Press | access-date=November 7, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305034837/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/17/chattanooga-yellow-deli-hosts-reunion-betrothal/ | archive-date=March 5, 2011 }}</ref> The group nevertheless largely ignored the negative press and the wider world in general, and continued to operate its businesses<ref name="Palmer1998"/> opening the Areopagus café and a second local Yellow Deli in downtown Chattanooga.<ref name="hosts" /><ref name='Return'>{{cite news | title=Yellow Deli In Comeback Popular Christian Eatery From 1970s To Be Revived | date=April 5, 2006 | publisher=John Wilson | url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83232.asp | work=Chattanoogan | access-date=November 8, 2009 | archive-date=April 7, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060407125348/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83232.asp | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1978, [[Bryan College]] in Dayton, Tennessee, 
[[Tennessee Temple University]] in Chattanooga and [[Covenant College]] located in Georgia near Chattanooga, issued edicts banning students from patronizing the Yellow Deli.<ref name='Palmer2010'/> In 1978, an invitation was received from a small church in [[Island Pond, Vermont]], for Spriggs to minister there; the offer was declined but the group began moving in stages to the rural town, naming the church there The Northeast Kingdom Community Church.<ref name="Palmer2010"/> One of Patrick's last deprogramming cases in Chattanooga occurred in 1980; it involved a police detective who, according to Jean Swantko, had his 27-year-old daughter arrested on a falsified warrant to facilitate her deprogramming, with the support of local judges.<ref name='amc'>{{cite journal|doi=10.1023/A:1022021125576|title=The Twelve Tribes' Communities, the Anti-Cult Movement, and Government's Response|journal=[[Social Justice Research]]|year=2000|first=Jean|last=Swantko|volume=12|issue=4|pages=341–364|s2cid=140807868|url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1023/A:1022021125576.pdf|access-date=January 16, 2022}}</ref> The group continued moving, closing down all of its Yellow Delis and associated churches except for the one in Dalton.<ref name="Vine Church"/> At one point, a leader conceded that the group was deeply in debt<ref name="Bankrupt"/> before closing the Dalton church down and moving the last members to Vermont.<ref name="palmerraising"/>

=== Move to Vermont ===
[[File:Common Sense Café 28 Cross Street Island Pond VT May 2013.jpg|upright|thumbnail|Common Sense Café and Yellow Deli in Island Pond, Vermont; owned and operated by Twelve Tribes. Permanently closed,{{Disputed inline|date=March 2026}} as of 2019]]

The move to Vermont, combined with an initial period of economic hardship, caused some members to leave.<ref name="palmerraising"/> The Citizen's Freedom Foundation conducted several meetings in [[Barton, Vermont|Barton]] to draw attention to the group. The Citizen's Freedom Foundation had made allegations of mind control in Chattanooga, but now it made accusations of [[child abuse]].<ref name="amc"/> In 1983, charges were brought against Charles "Eddie" Wiseman (an elder in the group) for [[misdemeanor]] [[assault|simple assault]]; this, combined with multiple child custody cases, formed the basis for a search warrant. On June 22, 1984, [[Vermont State Police]] and Vermont Social Rehabilitation Services<ref name='mediacovraid'>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/3512176|title=Media Coverage of Unconventional Religion: Any "Good News" for Minority Faiths? |journal=[[Review of Religious Research]]|date=December 1997|first=Stuart A.|last=Wright|author-link=Stuart A. Wright|volume=39|issue=2|pages=101–115|jstor=3512176 }}</ref> seized 112 children.<ref name="palmerraising"/> Forty cases were dismissed as the parents refused to give the names of their children.<ref name="religionnews">{{cite news | title=Children of Sect Seized in Vermont | date=June 24, 1984 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/23/us/children-of-sect-seized-in-vermont.html | work =The New York Times | access-date = November 12, 2009}}</ref> Due to what the group perceived were a massive misunderstanding of the events and concerns leading up to and surrounding the raid, its members began formal relationships with their neighbors.<!-- repcite:"Palmer1998" --> Two months after the raid, the case against Wiseman fell apart after the main witness recanted, saying he was under duress from the [[anticult movement]].<ref name="Palmer1998"/> The case was later dropped in 1985 after a judge ruled that Wiseman had been denied his right to a [[speedy trial]]. Eddie Wiseman's public defender, Jean Swantko, who had been present during the raid, later joined the Twelve Tribes and married Wiseman.<ref name='Married'>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Wheeler | title=The Raid on Island Pond 25 Years Later – A Personal Look | year=2009 | publisher=Scott Wheeler | url=http://www.thekingdomhistorical.com/index.php/latest-news/210-the-raid-on-island-pond-25-years-later.html | work=Northland Journal | access-date=February 26, 2010 | archive-date=July 17, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717005334/http://www.thekingdomhistorical.com/index.php/latest-news/210-the-raid-on-island-pond-25-years-later.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The group had become more isolationist<!--  this term might be better off replaced here, isolationist generally has immigration or nationalistic connotations. --> after the group's departure from Chattanooga. Now realizing that this had caused outsiders to view the group with suspicion, the group changed tactics and became more open, establishing more cordial relationships with neighbors and authorities.<ref name='Palmer2010'/>

In about 1985, Gene Spriggs said he had received revelation about the [[Book of Daniel]]. Spriggs believed that his community would bring about the [[Second Coming|return of Jesus]]. The group started to believe that it was the spiritual Israel. About this time the community began referring to Jesus by his likely name in Hebrew, [[Yahshua]], and members of the community started being given Hebrew names—Spriggs took the name "Yoneq". The group also started to incorporate Israeli dancing and folk music into their traditions. In the summer of 1987 the entire community in Island Pond was baptized in a ritual that, one scholar wrote, "[washed] themselves from the perceived flaws of contemporary Christianity."<ref name='Palmer2010'/>

During the 1980s, Twelve Tribes members followed [[Grateful Dead]] tours by bus, recruiting members from their concerts.<ref>{{cite web |title=At Concerts {{!}} Twelve Tribes |url=https://www.twelvetribes.org/concerts |website=www.twelvetribes.org |publisher=Twelve Tribes |access-date=September 6, 2024}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===

[[File:TT-literature.jpg|thumb|right|"We Need Radical Change", an example of Twelve Tribes "free paper" commonly distributed at events as a form of evangelism<ref name="Livingasone"/><ref name="a church of their own"/><ref name="WomeninNR"/>]]
By 1989, the church had become widely accepted in Island Pond<ref name='underfire'>{{cite news | title=Vt. Village Warms to Church | date=July 5, 1989 | publisher=[[Tribune Company]] | work =The Hartford Courant |page=17}}</ref> and grew substantially during the 1980s and 1990s, opening branches in several different countries, including the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. During this expansion in the early 1990s, the group used the name Messianic Communities, until 1995 when the group became known as the Twelve Tribes.<ref name='Palmer2010'/>

Through the mid-2000s, the group remained controversial, with allegations of [[child labor]],<ref name="labor">{{cite news | first=Kenneth | last=Lovett | title=Upstate 'Soap' Cult fined for Child Labor | date=October 4, 2001 | publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] | url =http://www.nypost.com/p/news/upstate_soap_cult_fined_for_child_Eoi0z2cBQc5W4LlE1al4FK | work =New York Post | access-date = December 15, 2009  }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2026}} [[Child abduction#Parental child abduction|custodial interference]],<ref name="amc"/> and illegal [[homeschooling]].<ref name='homeschoolgerman'>{{cite news | title=Fundamentalist Christian Group Gets School of Their Own | date=August 31, 2006 | url =http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2151809,00.html | work =Deutsche Welle | access-date = November 17, 2009  }}</ref> In 2006, the Tribes re-established a community in Chattanooga. This group also established its 12th and final tribe, Benjamin—named after the historical [[Tribe of Benjamin]] of Israel—centered around the [[Southeastern United States|American southeast]].<ref name='Palmer2010'/> In 2006, the group held a reunion in Chattanooga commemorating the occasion.<ref name='Return2'>{{cite news | first=Robert T. | last=Nash | title=Chattanooga Yellow Deli Reunion Draws Crowd | date=April 16, 2006 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83886.asp | work=Chattanoogan | access-date=November 17, 2009 | archive-date=June 28, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628210127/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83886.asp | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Tribes opened a new Yellow Deli in Chattanooga in 2008, nearly 30 years after leaving Chattanooga.<ref name="hosts"/>

=== Death of the group's founder ===
The founder of the Tribes, Elbert Eugene Spriggs Jr. (May 18, 1937 – January 11, 2021), died in 2021 while visiting his [[Hiddenite, North Carolina]], property. Within the Tribes, Spriggs was also known as "the anointed one" and by the Hebrew name "Yoneq".<ref name="TimesFreePress2021-02-03">{{Cite news |last=Massey |first=Wyatt |date=February 3, 2021 |title=Death of Twelve Tribes founder leaves future uncertain for international Christian movement founded in Chattanooga |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2021/feb/03/death-twelve-tribes-founder-leaves-future-unc/540927/ |access-date=January 13, 2022 |work=[[Chattanooga Times Free Press]]}}</ref>

=== Recent activity ===
On December 24, 2021, Twelve Tribes members burned scrap metal, branches and other junk on one of their properties. The fire was contained and its embers were buried. A week later, on December 30, the weather had become more dry, leading to embers reigniting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thakore · |first=Ishan |date=2025-09-24 |title=Xcel settles Marshall Fire lawsuit just before trial begins in Boulder |url=https://www.cpr.org/2025/09/24/xcel-energy-marshall-fire-settlement/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Colorado Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> Videos were taken of a burning shed and field.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-11 |title=Everything we know about the ‘cult’ living where Colorado fires allegedly began |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colorado-fires-boulder-twelve-tribes-cult-b1986654.html |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> High winds carried sparks from the fire towards a broken power line about 2,000 feet away, which caused an explosion, resulting in the [[Marshall Fire]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips|first1=Noelle|last2=Bradbury|first2=Shelly|title=Marshall fire started by week-old embers on Twelve Tribes property and a sparking Xcel power line, Boulder sheriff says|website=The Denver Post|date=June 8, 2023|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2023/06/08/marshall-fire-cause-origina-investigation-boulder-colorado/|access-date=March 15, 2026|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608144654/https://www.denverpost.com/2023/06/08/marshall-fire-cause-origina-investigation-boulder-colorado/}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2026}}

In the aftermath, the Twelve Tribes members were concluded to not be at fault for the fire. According to Boulder County District Attorney Dougherty, there was no sign that the Twelve Tribes members created an unjustifiable risk when starting their fire,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Marshall Fire: Body-camera footage shows investigators talking to Twelve Tribes member |url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/marshall-fire/marshall-fire-investigation-twelve-tribes-bodycam-video/73-141ed049-e778-4499-be75-20879f85c9f9 |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=KUSA.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and said the incident had been handled responsibly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prentzel |first=Olivia |date=2023-06-08 |title=Marshall fire was caused by reignited burn on residential property, Xcel Energy power line, Boulder County authorities say |url=https://coloradosun.com/2023/06/08/marshall-fire-investigation-results-colorado/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=The Colorado Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> Initially, no charges were held against either the Twelve Tribes members or [[Xcel Energy]], whose broken power line was investigated.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-09 |title=The cause of Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever revealed |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cause-colorados-destructive-wildfire-ever-revealed-rcna88576 |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> However, a later report concluded that Xcel Energy was primarily at fault. Xcel Energy was sued by victims of the fire for their involvement. However, Xcel Energy denied having any role, and later settled, the terms of which include stating that it was not at fault.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thakore · |first=Ishan |date=2025-09-24 |title=Xcel settles Marshall Fire lawsuit just before trial begins in Boulder |url=https://www.cpr.org/2025/09/24/xcel-energy-marshall-fire-settlement/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Colorado Public Radio |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Xcel Energy ‘prepared to go to trial’ to fight Marshall Fire liability {{!}} Utility Dive |url=https://www.utilitydive.com/news/xcel-energy-marshall-wildfire/756536/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=www.utilitydive.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The Twelve Tribes were not listed as a defendant in the trial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-21 |title=Marshall fire lawsuit set for trial in September as attorneys battle over cult’s role in catastrophic blaze |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2025/08/21/marshall-fire-xcel-trial/ |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}</ref>