Alleged Georgia sex cult leader Eligio Bishop hospitalized after prison fight, officials say
MACON, Ga. - A man accused of being the leader of a cult was hospitalized after a fight while serving his life sentence in Georgia.
Eligio Bishop has been in custody at Macon State Prison since he was sentenced to life for rape, false imprisonment, and charges related to revenge porn in March.
Bishop, who also goes by "Natureboy" and "3God," is the leader of Carbon Nation, which authorities characterize as a sex cult. Prosecutors arrested him at a Decatur rental home in 2022, saying he raped a former group member as she tried to escape and then posted revenge porn online.
Eligio Bishop in court on Feb. 26, 2024.
Officials with the Georgia Department of Corrections have confirmed with FOX 5 that Bishop was hospitalized on Wednesday after he was "involved in an altercation" at the jail.
Bishop was treated at a local hospital and has since returned to the jail, officials said.
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Authorities have not shared details about the altercation but said that it was under investigation by the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards.
Carbon Nation leader accused of abuse, revenge porn
Bishop was arrested in April 2022 after a former member of his organization went to the police.
During a hearing a month after his arrest, DeKalb County Police Detective Monica Panosian testified that the woman, who FOX 5 Atlanta is referring to as "AV," reported to investigators on March 30 that she had recently left Bishop's cult and that he had posted multiple videos of them having sex on Twitter without her consent.
AV told police Bishop had ordered other women in the group to hit her because she "made a face" at him. The woman then told Bishop she wanted to leave, and he told her to pack her things while the other women screamed at her.
As she waited for a rideshare driver to pick her up, AV told investigators Bishop asked her to come say goodbye to him.
"He began to tell her how she was his b**** and that she was no longer allowed to leave," said Det. Panosian. "She stated she began to essentially beg him to leave and began to cry. She stated Mr. Bishop then began to attempt to have sex with her. She told him no and he continued."
The woman waited until the morning when most of the other people in the house were asleep and snuck out, according to police.
Panosian said AV changed her phone number and ceased all contact with the cult. Three days after she left, police said the woman discovered the videos and called police.
What does Caron Nation believe?
A painting of Eligio Bishop adorns a shelf inside his rented home in Decatur. DeKalb County police raided that home and arrested Bishop on April 13, 2022. (FOX 5)
Bishop has a heavy social media footprint having made online music videos and life coaching tapes as well as soliciting donations.
The members of Carbon National said the group focuses on positivity and called Bishop a healer of oppressed Black men and women. According to the members, the group follows a vegan diet and believes — among other things — that all people are different shades of brown.
Members said everything sexually took place among adults and was consensual. They said several women come and go from the organization because they don’t necessarily like what they learn about themselves.
But for every positive thing mentioned online or by a member of the group, there appear to be at least two negative criticisms online.
According to critics of the group, followers are asked to live as part of a commune-style "family" being asked to surrender their money and possessions. Those same critics have said once members are part of the group, they are not allowed to leave. A quick search of the internet will reveal reports on at least two such members. That is something current members deny.
Critics have said the group now appears to be a cult.
"The first time I heard that, I thought it was kind of cool," Bishop told the Associated Press in 2020. "Me? A Black man, a cult leader? I’m from the hood."
The group has not only been thrown out of Costa Rica but was also asked to leave Nicaragua and Panama, according to reports.
Bishop and several members of the group were arrested in June 2020 for violating Hawaii’s quarantine policy.
The Associated Press contribute to this report.