(AURN News) — On this day in 1978, tragedy unfolded in the Guyanese jungle at a settlement known as Jonestown. What began as what followers believed would be a utopian refuge led by American cult leader Jim Jones instead became one of the deadliest mass deaths in modern history.
The violence began after Jones ordered the murder of visiting U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California and several journalists who had traveled to Guyana to investigate concerns about the Peoples Temple. In the hours that followed, Jones forced his followers into what he called “revolutionary suicide,” distributing a lethal mixture of cyanide-laced Flavor Aid.
By the end of the night, 918 people were dead by either murder or suicide — predominantly Black women and children who had been manipulated, isolated and stripped of their autonomy. Jim Jones was later found dead from a gunshot wound to the head, which officials ruled a suicide.
Jonestown remains a sobering reminder of the dangers of unchecked power, coercive control and the vulnerabilities that extremist leaders exploit.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.
