Emily Hamer

Afghans who risked their lives for U.S. still separated from families after 4 years Trump’s travel ban prevents most Afghan immigrants from reuniting with their wives and children who have been stuck abroad for four years.

Trump’s travel ban keeps Afghan immigrants — even those who risked their lives alongside U.S. troops — separated from their families.

They haven’t seen their wives and children in four years. Four years.
madison.com/news/local/g...

Indictment: Tucson church pastor failed to report child sex-abuse claims A Star investigation found that Isaac Noriega, pastor of Tucson's Golden Dawn Tabernacle, covered-up alleged child-sex abuse for decades. He now faces criminal charges.

My Lee Enterprises colleague @emilyhamer.bsky.social and I won the Don Bolles award for investigative reporting. This was for our project, called Twisted Message, on a global religious sect and one of its churches in Tucson. The series led to two indictments this year.
tucson.com/news/local/a...

Tucson ‘cult' church member molested boy hundreds of times in pews, new victim alleges A boy said he was molested repeatedly in the pews of his Tucson church, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle. The church's "cultish rules" kept him silent — until now.

A new victim from the Golden Dawn Tabernacle came forward today. He said he was sexually abused during hundreds of church services, starting when he was 11 years old.

His story:
tucson.com/news/local/c...

Twisted Message: A prophet’s unchecked global sect A religious sect called “The Message” has spread worldwide — and also sprouted destructive “cults.” An investigation exposes the child abuse, misogyny and manipulation in some of the faith’s subgroups...

Read our investigation into the church, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle, and other offshoots of “The Message” here:
tucson.com/life-enterta...

Man charged with child-sex crimes after Star's investigation of Tucson church U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Jose Mora, 57, before he was arrested on suspicion of five counts of child molestation.

These are the second criminal charges to result from our series “Twisted Message.”

The first were child molestation charges against congregant Jose Mora. The pastor is accused of covering those allegations up:
tucson.com/news/local/c...

Indictment: Tucson church pastor failed to report child sex-abuse claims A Star investigation found that Isaac Noriega, pastor of Tucson's Golden Dawn Tabernacle, covered-up alleged child-sex abuse for decades. He now faces criminal charges.

Story by me and @timsteller.bsky.social:

tucson.com/news/local/a...

The pastor told me in September that I didn’t have a story and that I was trying to get him arrested but “it’s not going to work.”

He has now been arrested for failing to report child-sex abuse allegations.

Man charged with child-sex crimes after Star's investigation of Tucson church U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Jose Mora, 57, before he was arrested on suspicion of five counts of child molestation.

The first arrest was that of Jose Mora, who admitted to me and @emilyhamer.bsky.social that he had sexually touched a 12-year-old boy. He appeared briefly in court this morning and remains jailed pending trial.

tucson.com/news/local/c...

Indictment: Tucson church pastor failed to report child sex-abuse claims A Star investigation found that Isaac Noriega, pastor of Tucson's Golden Dawn Tabernacle, covered-up alleged child-sex abuse for decades. He now faces criminal charges.

A pastor at a Tucson church has been indicted for failing to report child sexual abuse, following reporting on the church and its sect by @emilyhamer.bsky.social and me. This is the second set of criminal charges following our project, called Twisted Message.
tucson.com/news/local/a...

Trump is gutting an agency that gave $300 million to Wisconsin mental health initiatives The funding brought innovative programs to Wisconsin that gave hundreds of rural students access to mental health care in their school buildings, offered free therapy sessions and found kids who

Trump is gutting SAMHSA, a federal agency that has given more than $300 million to Wisconsin mental health initiatives, including about $35 million to support school mental health.

Here’s how SAMHSA funds have helped Wisconsin schools:
madison.com/news/local/e...

As our kids battle a rise in suicide and self-harm, we’re gutting the funding to fight it Mental health issues among children are rising, and school officials say it's a crisis. At the same time, millions in federal aid for mental health was cut and state funding

My latest story explores how the state and federal government are gutting school mental health funding as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation are rising among youth:
madison.com/news/local/e...

‘Cult’ church member molested small boy while his children napped, new victim says Jonathan Santos, 23, said a member of his former Tucson church molested him when he was about 8 years old. He's coming forward now to support another victim of the

‘Cult’ church member molested small boy while his children napped, new victim says (Golden Dawn Tabernacle, connected to William Branham's The Message movement)
tucson.com/news/local/a...

(Branham: bit.ly/WilliamBranhamCult)

#cults #religion #religionnewsblog #williambranham #themessage

‘Cult’ church member molested small boy while his children napped, new victim says Jonathan Santos, 23, said a member of his former Tucson church molested him when he was about 8 years old. He's coming forward now to support another victim of the

A new victim of the alleged child molester from the Golden Dawn church “cult” has come forward. He is sharing his story of abuse and recovery publicly for the first time.
tucson.com/news/local/a...

Man charged with child-sex crimes after Star's investigation of Tucson church U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Jose Mora, 57, before he was arrested on suspicion of five counts of child molestation.

In November, @emilyhamer.bsky.social and I published a series digging into The Message religious sect. Among all the revelations, nothing was as surprising as the admission by a Tucson church member that he had sexually abused a child. Now he's been arrested.
tucson.com/news/local/c...

Thank you. I appreciate it

Twisted Message: A prophet’s unchecked global sect A religious sect called “The Message” has spread worldwide — and also sprouted destructive “cults.” An investigation exposes the child abuse, misogyny and manipulation in some of the faith’s subgroups...

Read more from @timsteller.bsky.social and my investigation into the church, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle, and the religious sect it subscribes to:
tucson.com/life-enterta...

Man charged with child-sex crimes after Star's investigation of Tucson church U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Jose Mora, 57, before he was arrested on suspicion of five counts of child molestation.

The latest from my investigation into the cover-up of child sex abuse allegations at a Tucson church. One congregant has been arrested:
tucson.com/news/local/c...

He admitted to molesting a boy. And his Tucson church protected him for years. A member of a Tucson church admitted he molested a boy. The pastor said he knew and never went to the police, flouting state laws that mandate reporting of such

Just wanted to add that last week’s story was an update to this investigative article that has a lot more of the victim’s story:
tucson.com/life-enterta...

He wanted to come forward with his first name, so that’s what we agreed upon in the story! I definitely would have kept him anonymous if he wasn’t comfortable with it. Thanks for the question!

One of my favorite holidays!!!

Shows my two sides: Pink-princess-strut-pop and bachelor podcast listener. Van-life-indie-rock and daily news consumer.

Videos show 'Message' pastors preach against interracial marriage across U.S. One former member of the sect said he felt “inferior” as a Black teenager because of his church’s racist beliefs on mixed race relationships.

Eve had sex with the serpent. Race-mixing is "hybreeding" -- "a dangerous and damnable thing." In an online-only coda to our project, Twisted Message, @emilyhamer.bsky.social and I tell of the racial ideologies passed down from a 1960s preacher still being spread today.
tucson.com/life-enterta...

Videos show 'Message' pastors preach against interracial marriage across U.S. One former member of the sect said he felt “inferior” as a Black teenager because of his church’s racist beliefs on mixed race relationships.

Last story in the Twisted Message series posted today.

I was shocked to learn that’s it’s pretty normal for Message churches to advise against interracial marriage.
tucson.com/life-enterta...

Videos show 'Message' pastors preach against interracial marriage across U.S. One former member of the sect said he felt “inferior” as a Black teenager because of his church’s racist beliefs on mixed race relationships.

Videos show 'Message' pastors preach against interracial marriage across U.S. @emilyhamer.bsky.social

Twisted Message: A prophet’s unchecked global sect A religious sect called “The Message” has spread worldwide — and also sprouted destructive “cults.” An investigation exposes the child abuse, misogyny and manipulation in some of the faith’s subgroups...

Our project on The Message religious sect, and a Tucson church that is part of it, shocked a lot of people. It also overwhelmed some readers. Now you can go back chronologically through Twisted Message, at this landing page, and take your time with the stories.

tucson.com/life-enterta...

She escaped a strict Tucson church, discovered what a lesbian is Tucsonan Marissa Butterfuss tried to make it as a woman and wife in The Message, but marriage to a devout man proved disastrous. By leaving she revealed a whole new

And then @timsteller.bsky.social’s story on Marissa Butterfuss is also powerful. She left another strict church in “The Message.” She didn’t realize until she was out that being a lesbian was an option.

“I don’t think I really realized what a lesbian was,” she said.
tucson.com/news/local/w...

I’m really proud of how these pictures that I took of Robert Roa and his fiancée Jamie turned out:

He fled Tucson 'cult' church at 19, but it took decades to get over After he left his strict Tucson church, deacons went to Robert Roa's work to bring him back, he said. Leaving the church was hard, and getting over the experience took

Be sure to also read @timsteller.bsky.social’s story on Robert Roa’s escape from the “cult.”

Church leader’s repeatedly showed up at Roa’s work after he left to try to intimidate him into returning to the church.
tucson.com/news/local/o...

Tucson 'cult' church's former members experience ‘freedom,’ possibilities after escape Dancing for the first time. Celebrating holidays. Seeing the ocean. For people in one strict Tucson church, leaving has meant freedom to do 'wrong' things that others find normal.

The final chapter of @timsteller.bsky.social and I’s church “cult” series ends on a more hopeful note

Congregants who escaped share the joy they felt as they danced, traveled, wore high heels, watched movies and celebrated holidays — activities the church considers sinful
tucson.com/news/local/f...

Tucson's Sabino Canyon a pilgrimage site for followers of 'prophet' Branham Tucson's Sabino Canyon is a pilgrimage site for followers of preacher William Branham. He said he had mystical experiences there, including a sword materializing in his hand.

Tucson's Sabino Canyon a pilgrimage site for followers of 'prophet' Branham @timsteller.bsky.social

Health officials ignored as pandemic raged through Tucson church The COVID fatality rate in a Tucson church was 10 times higher than that of Pima County, estimates show. The pastor ignored health officials and continued services as congregants died.

A Tucson church “cult” manipulated members’ lives by controlling their health decisions — even when it resulted in deaths.

The COVID death rate at Golden Dawn was 10 times higher than the county, estimates show. But the church stayed open. From @timsteller.bsky.social:
tucson.com/news/local/c...