“Cait-fishing” in the Resistance — An Exposé

In a previous article, I raised red flags about online ‘activists’ who claim to have insider information. In particular, I raised concerns about the accounts associated with @OfficialNMP. Further investigation has revealed that not only are these accounts involved in catfishing, but that the associated individuals appear to be grifting.

In social media, a ‘catfish’ is someone pretending to be someone they are not, traditionally within the context of online romance. The intensity of emotions and social bonds formed within the Resistance carry a similar vulnerability to this kind of exploitation, particularly when it comes to those offering ‘insider information.’ We’ve seen many accounts crop up under these auspices. The names ‘insider’, ‘rogue’, ‘alt’ and ‘leaks’ will garner attention with little or no legitimizing information; however, for the most part, these accounts are face-value. There is no backstory, relationship building, or intricacies. Of course, one must consider both the veracity of the ‘leaked’ information as well as the motive of the account holder. With a political climate fraught with disinformation campaigns, one should always consider unsubstantiated claims with skepticism. It was this skepticism that led to this investigation.

This operation centers around 26 year old Cait Nanna (aka Hepzibah Nanna, Gem Jean, Caitlyn Nanna) of TN and 58 year old Johnny Matthes (a.k.a Johnny Jackson, Scott Jackson, Johnny Fuego) of CA. They are the ‘co-pastors’ of a revivalist ministry called The Lion Triumphs Ministry. Their digital footprint is widespread and comprised of a web of real and fake identities that span Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and GooglePlus among other platforms. With the help of a small team of researchers, I have conducted this investigation to protect the Resistance, but it is worth noting that the political left are not the only targets — her reach extends to sexual abuse survivors, LGBTQ, and revivalist/charismatic Christians. In conjunction with this exposé, the appropriate authorities have been contacted and provided with our research.

The Backstory

Cait and Johnny met in 2009 and both claim to have been born into the occult and subjected to Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). Cait, in particular, claims to have been born into a “top” Illuminati family and ‘promised’ to Satan as a small child. She was later adopted, but her refusal to deny Jesus and accept Satan has caused her to have a life filled with torture, abuse and death threats at the hands of Luciferians. While Cait does have a social media presence prior to her association with Johnny, there is no mention of the occult. Another marked difference is Cait’s use of the name Hepzibah (Hepzi). Under this new name, she launches The River of Fire Fellowship and The Lion Triumphs Ministry. She also begins self-publishing a variety of books. Even the most basic review of Cait demonstrates that she is resourceful and has profiles marketing herself as a model/actor, writer, editor and caregiver in addition to her role as a pastor. Until the current election there is little mention of politics, yet they now claim to have been spiritual advisors to both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and even showcase written endorsements from them on their websites. Hepzi’s site bio also states she has been raised from the dead twice and is currently suffering from bone cancer. As you will see, her health plays an important role in all this.

The Mark

Those in the Resistance know Cait as ‘Hepzi’. My awareness of her began when she was brought into a Twitter activism direct message group as someone who knew ‘what was really going on’ with the election. She used the handle @OfficialNMP and claimed to be the co-founder of #NotMyPresident. She told a tale centering around Jacob Rothschild, The Illuminati and The New World Order. It was her contention that Donald Trump no longer wished to be President, but that he was forced to do so to protect his son, Barron, who was the victim of ongoing Satanic Ritual Abuse at the behest of Rothschild (a shapeshifter, no less). Needless to say, this story was met with shocked silence. It was so preposterous that it didn’t even warrant acknowledgment. However, Hepzi did not disappear from the Resistance, in fact, she kept reappearing — each time with an even larger number of followers — large increases that could not be organic and were not reflected in her post engagement. Another account, @InsideDJTTruth was created. This account was, supposedly, Robert Edward Rothschild (aka Robert Jackson Rothschild) — Hepzi’s boyfriend and Jacob Rothschild’s grandson. Of course, Jacob Rothschild’s lineage is public, and there is no record of a grandson named Robert. Nevertheless, Robert emerges on social media to tell his tale of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of Donald Trump. Despite the ‘conspiracy theory meets the occult’ nature of Hepzi’s story, she manages to become involved with burgeoning Resistance groups. She attempted to. connected with the Resistance Party, in fact, giving her account, @Americas_Party1, to bolster Parrish Beals after his falling out with that group. Parrish went on to form America’s Resistance Party. Hepzi emerged as a partner in TheResistanceUnite.org website.

Hepzi’s tales of conspiracy and odd social media behavior (bulk adding followers, multiple accounts, regularly deactivating, reactivating and transferring accounts) were enough to raise my suspicions. My first concern was that she was infiltrating the Resistance to spread disinformation or gain counter-intelligence. After this investigation, I no longer believe that is her motivation. Further, I have no reason to believe that activists who have partnered with her are fully aware of her scheme.

The Hook

So, how does someone peddling such sensational claims gain a foothold in circles of legitimate activism? Successful catfishing at this level requires significant skill at camouflaging, marketing, role playing, and emotional manipulation. Let’s examine how Cait uses these methods to gain acceptance.

Camouflaging

In a social media based group such as the Resistance, camouflaging is pretty easy. News feeds are littered in posts of the same ilk. On Twitter, snippets of conversations are shown as individual tweets — unless one takes the time to thoroughly review someone’s timeline, there is little reason not to accept them purely on the basis that they are a like-minded individual. Direct message (DM) activism groups allow for more in-depth conversation, and Cait likely learned those would not be the best places to establish credibility. But, how do you bridge the gap from a ‘resistor’ to a leader in the Resistance? It takes more than retweeting anti-Trump posts.

Marketing

Social media status is determined by the size of one’s following, therefore investing in large numbers of purchased followers is a shortcut to establishing credibility. Like @OfficialNMP, I noticed that @InsideDJTTruth was also adding bulk followers that could not be organic. Further, amid the influx of alt and rogue accounts that followed Trump’s silencing of federal agencies on social media, @InsideDJTTruth (‘Robert’) became Inside Trump’s Life (@RogueLeaks) and Johnny’s account became POTUS Leaks (@johnnyecstatic). This was a calculated move from a marketing standpoint. Despite their wild allegations, they were able to not just blend in, but tap into a popular trend, maintaining credibility as long as no one examined them too closely. An ‘official’ sounding name and tens of thousands of followers will result in follow backs from big Resistance accounts. This ‘endorsement’ from actual leaders in activism offers even more legitimacy.

Role Playing and Emotional Manipulation

While Hepzi does have a small core group of believers, the driving force behind her post engagement comes from fake accounts that exist to bolster her story. Based on writing styles, the @RogueLeaks account seems to be authored by both Cait and Johnny. Robert’s narrative is ever-evolving. Currently, he claims to be part of an impending sexual abuse lawsuit with 50 other people being brought against Trump, Bannon and Paul Ryan, to name a few. It is always right on the cusp of happening. Johnny (as POTUS Leaks) legitimizes his insider knowledge by claiming to be Donald Trump’s 3rd cousin, his current spiritual advisor, the ‘spiritual dad’ and ex-brother-in-law to the fictitious Robert. He gives his location as Washington D.C. — records show neither Cait nor Johnny have ever lived there. The combination of the three Twitter accounts reflect and validate one another’s legitimacy. They have similar arrangements on Facebook, and, as of yesterday, Robert has become an actual member of the Lion Triumph’s ministry-this on the heels of his explosive leak that Donald Trump molested his son, who has Down’s Syndrome, and made a porno tape about it. (I wish I was making this up). Facebook has shut down many of their accounts for being fake, but they keep creating new ones.

While the overarching narrative is extraordinary, Cait and Johnny have rooted their story in emotional truths — bullying, sexual abuse, PTSD and serious illness. Aside from political re-tweets, this is the bulk of their content. This emotional language serves two purposes: 1) it fosters empathy/sympathy and 2) it serves as a defense against criticism. The character of Robert, for instance, is suicidal due to being triggered by seeing Donald Trump in the media all the time. Any pushback on their story is met with reference to another suicide attempt. This is particularly interesting since ‘Robert’ already died on November 9, according to social media references. Now that he is alive again, he is quite useful for reflecting and supporting Hepzi’s claims.

Reviews of Hepzi’s social media circles reveal that she is quite a sick young woman, apparently, afflicted with 4th stage bone cancer, AIDS, and a brain tumor. To make matters worse, she is continually harassed and threatened by the likes of Paul Ryan, Steve Bannon, members of the “Trump cult” and, even, 100 or so people in the Resistance. People who question her story are bullying her, making fun of her for being a pastor or for having cancer, or threatening her life. Hepzi spends a fair amount of time elaborating on this in Facebook Live videos.

The Con

At first glance, it is difficult to imagine that many people would be taken in by a story as absurd as this one. If it is truly just a way to get attention, why spend money purchasing followers for multiple accounts? @OfficialNMP is not the first large account she has developed this way (@popomondo was apparently stolen by Richard Spencer and given to a Turkish woman — add the alt-Right to the list of Hepzi’s harassers). In my opinion, all this catfishing is designed to get money and opioid pain medication.

Cait and Johnny have gofundme, givesendgo, and givesforward pages and a paypal account for donating directly to their ministry. They assert these donations are tax-deductible, yet their ministry is not a listed charitable organization in CA, TN or GA. The GA address associated with their domain registration is not an actual address.

The money raised for the ministry pays for the associated costs of their Revival Tours. They recently visited Hawaii on such a mission where they claim to have saved 400 people. In addition to travel costs, money raised is also used to pay for Hepzi’s pain medication. Given that occultism is a central theme in their ministry, their existing donor pool is limited. This is where the Resistance comes in.

Cait’s strength is in one-on-one contact and she pushes for personal interaction in all her accounts. She lists her phone number in her profile and encourages people to call or text her. She often asks people to private message her on social media. After publishing my initial article, several sources contacted me about their engagement with Hepzi. It was clear pain management is a common topic — particularly that she can not afford pain medication. One source told me she actually asked if they could get pain medication for her. I can’t comment on the veracity of Hepzi’s health claims, but the treatments needed for metastasized bone cancer and full blown AIDS are very expensive and would pose a greater obstacle than the cost of narcotic pain relief. Further, anyone who has seen either disease would question her ability to travel on Revival tours while so afflicted.

When it comes to the Resistance, her scheme depends on people having only a partial picture of her story. One may view Hepzi as a fellow resistor, a Resistance leader, a pastor, a Christian, a survivor of sexual abuse, a cancer sufferer, or a political insider. At that point, she relies on interpersonal communication and the sympathy of others to achieve her goals. The deactivation periods of her social media accounts are designed to prompt people to contact her directly.

On a personal note, I confess that I would have preferred not to have had to write this article. During her deactivation periods, I had hoped she would simply cease this farce. There are much more serious issues that need attention. That said, protecting the integrity of the Resistance and activists from fraud and exploitation are my priorities. I have sympathy for Cait. I think she is on a bad path, and I don’t think she got there on her own. I honestly hope this article results in those close to her getting her the help she needs.

Author’s note: I can assure you my research was very thorough. There is information I did not include in this article to preserve privacy. Doxxing is not the purpose of this article. Any comments that include contact information will be deleted. Thank you.

Supporting screenshots can be found in the original article:

https://rachelmurphyazzara.com/2017/03/03/cait-fishing-in-the-resistance-an-expose/