The Nation of Yahweh is a cult which believes that blacks are the true Jews and that their leader, Yahweh ben Yahweh, is the messiah. The Nation of Yahweh was the subject of an FBI terrorism investigation in the late 1980s that looked into the group's financial practices and links to multiple murders in the Miami area. <p><br />Founded by Yahweh ben Yahweh, born Hulon Mitchell, Jr., the Nation of Yahweh had a relatively large following in the Miami area in the early to mid-1980s. Many local leaders praised the group for revitalizing poor, black neighborhoods and preaching hard work and ambition in black communities. While not a terrorist group by traditional definition, the group quickly morphed from a black power, religious cult to a dysfunctional, violent community. According to many former cult members, Yahweh ben Yahweh began sleeping with women of all ages within the group and, soon after, began dispatching members of his inner circle to kill those who had left the cult and random "white devils."<p><br />While the FBI and local officials were never able to conclusively prove the link in court, at least 15 murders in the Miami area between 1981 and 1986 are associated with the Nation of Yahweh. Several Yahwehs were convicted of the murders, but prosecutors were unable to prove that the murders were issued by the group's leader. <p><br />Testimony given by several former cult members, however, indicates that the murders were committed at the direct order of Yahweh ben Yahweh, who advocated the murder of all his "enemies", namely white people and former followers who turned against him as the tone and practices of the cult became sinister. The first murder linked to the group was that of Aston Green, a Yahweh member who had left the cult but continued to visit friends in the community. On one of his visits, he was brutally beaten by members of Yahweh ben Yahweh's inner circle. After the beating, he was taken to a remote location and beheaded. The killers then reportedly brought Green's head back to Yahweh, who praised them for their accomplishment. <p><br />Several more murders followed  --  all of former cult members believed to be talking to the police about life inside the Yahweh community. As Yahweh ben Yahweh become increasingly paranoid, those still within the group but believed to be disloyal to him were killed. Leonard Dupree was one such victim and testimony shows that Yahweh ben Yahweh forced every member of the group, regardless of age or gender, to take part in the beating murder in order to ensure that all were guilty and none would talk. <p><br />Finally, Yahweh ben Yahweh formed a group called 'The Brotherhood', responsible for violently keeping order within the community. In order to become a member of The Brotherhood, young men had to kill a "white devil" and bring a body part back to Yahweh ben Yahweh. One member alone admitted to killing seven people, saying he was fueled by Yahweh ben Yahweh's praise. Authorities are unsure how many murders in the Miami area in the mid-1980s can be attributed to members and future members of the Brotherhood, who were told they were fighting the war against the nonbelievers by attacking random white people. <br />Despite escaping murder convictions, Yahweh ben Yahweh was convicted of racketeering charges and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was released in 2001 after serving 11 years. In May 2007, ben Yahweh died of cancer.