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Bohemian Grove / Bohemian Club

Elite all-male retreat in northern California where U.S. presidents, corporate CEOs, military commanders, intelligence officials, and media moguls gather for two weeks each summer behind closed doors — featuring a ritualistic "Cremation of Care" ceremony performed before a 40-foot stone owl.

FieldDetails
TypeSecret Society / Elite Networking Club / Power Retreat
Founded1872 (San Francisco)
Location2,700-acre old-growth Redwood grove, Monte Rio, Sonoma County, California
Active Period1872–present; annual summer encampment since 1878
Membership~2,700 men; invitation-only; waitlists of 15+ years; annual dues required
StatusActive — annual two-week summer encampment continues
Key ClaimThe most powerful men in America gather in total secrecy, make policy decisions off the record, and perform occult-themed rituals — all outside public scrutiny or democratic accountability
Evidence RatingSTRONG EVIDENCE

Overview​

The Bohemian Club was founded in San Francisco in 1872 by journalists, artists, writers, and lawyers. Within decades it was dominated by the wealthy and powerful. Since 1878, the Club has held an annual two-week summer encampment at a 2,700-acre private Redwood grove along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, known as Bohemian Grove.

Membership includes every Republican president since Herbert Hoover (and some Democrats), Supreme Court justices, CIA directors, Fortune 500 CEOs, military commanders, media executives, and prominent academics. Members are organized into approximately 120 "camps" within the grove, each with its own lodge and social hierarchy. Regular full members pay substantial dues and often wait 15 years for an opening.

The encampment operates under the motto: "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" — ostensibly prohibiting business deals. In practice, the Grove has been the site of some of the most consequential political and military decisions in American history, conducted entirely outside public view.

The Cremation of Care Ceremony​

The most controversial aspect of Bohemian Grove is the Cremation of Care, a ritualistic theatrical performance held on the first night of the annual encampment. First performed in 1881, it involves:

  • A dramatic production staged at the edge of a small artificial lake
  • A 40-foot concrete owl statue ("The Owl of Bohemia") serving as the ceremony's centerpiece
  • Robed participants carrying torches in procession
  • A symbolic "cremation" of an effigy representing "Dull Care" (worldly concerns)
  • A "High Priest" presiding over the ceremony
  • Pyrotechnics, theatrical lighting, and orchestral music

The ceremony was devised by James F. Bowman with George T. Bromley playing the first High Priest. Walter Cronkite reportedly served as the narrator for some performances.

The official explanation is that the ceremony is a theatrical allegory — members symbolically banishing their worldly cares to enjoy the retreat. The Club describes it as an artistic tradition.

The critical interpretation, most famously articulated by Alex Jones, who infiltrated the Grove in July 2000 with a hidden camera, characterizes the Cremation of Care as an "ancient Canaanite, Luciferian, Babylon mystery religion ceremony." Jones' footage became the documentary Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove (2000). While Jones' framing is disputed by mainstream observers, the footage itself — showing robed men performing a fire ritual before a giant owl in the dark woods — is authentic and deeply unsettling to many viewers regardless of interpretation.

Documented Policy Decisions Made at the Grove​

The claim that "no business is conducted" at Bohemian Grove is contradicted by historical record:

  • Manhattan Project (1942): In September 1942, the Grove hosted a meeting related to early planning of the atomic bomb, with participants including Ernest Lawrence, J. Robert Oppenheimer, members of the S-1 Executive Committee, and representatives from major universities, industry, and the U.S. military.
  • Nixon's Road to the Presidency (1967): Richard Nixon gave a foreign policy speech at the Grove that he later called "the first milestone on my road to the presidency." At the same gathering, Nixon struck a deal with fellow member Ronald Reagan in which Reagan promised not to challenge Nixon in the upcoming Republican primaries.
  • Reagan's Political Launch: Reagan's association with the Bohemian Club was instrumental in his political networking and eventual rise to the presidency.

As Nixon himself stated in a recorded conversation: the Grove was where political deals were made, despite the official "no business" motto.

Known Members and Notable Attendees​

U.S. Presidents (Confirmed Members or Guests)​

  • Herbert Hoover
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Richard Nixon
  • Gerald Ford
  • Ronald Reagan
  • George H.W. Bush
  • George W. Bush
  • Every Republican president since 1923 has been a member or guest

From the 2023 Leaked Membership List​

In 2024, independent journalist Daniel Boguslaw obtained and published a 2023 camp attendance list containing approximately 2,200 names. The list was confirmed by another alleged member to The San Francisco Standard. Notable names included:

  • Michael Bloomberg — former NYC mayor, media mogul
  • Eric Schmidt — former Google CEO
  • Charles Koch — billionaire political donor (deceased 2024)
  • Paul Pelosi — husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi
  • Jimmy Buffett — musician (deceased 2023)
  • Conan O'Brien — television host
  • Ken Burns — documentarian
  • Jim Belushi — actor
  • Edwin Meese III — former U.S. Attorney General
  • James A. Baker III — former Secretary of State
  • Bobby Inman — former Director of the National Security Agency
  • Henry Kissinger — former Secretary of State (deceased 2023)

Other Known Historical Members/Guests​

  • Clarence Thomas — U.S. Supreme Court Justice (attended for decades, per ProPublica)
  • Harlan Crow — billionaire Republican donor who brought Thomas as a guest
  • Walter Cronkite — CBS News anchor
  • Clint Eastwood — actor, former Carmel mayor
  • Mark Twain — author (early member)
  • Jack London — author (early member)
  • Ambrose Bierce — journalist (early member)
  • Charles Schwab — financial executive

The Clarence Thomas Ethics Scandal​

ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attended Bohemian Grove at least six times as a guest of billionaire Harlan Crow — none of which were disclosed on Thomas's financial disclosure forms as required by federal law. In 2019 alone, Thomas flew to Indonesia on Crow's private jet for a cruise on Crow's superyacht (estimated value: over $500,000) and attended Bohemian Grove, neither of which was disclosed.

Seven ethics-law experts told ProPublica that Thomas appeared to have violated federal law. The revelations contributed to what was described as the Supreme Court's biggest ethical crisis in the modern era, ultimately leading the Court to adopt a code of conduct for the first time in its history — though the code has no enforcement mechanism.

The Thomas-Crow-Bohemian Grove connection illustrates exactly how the Grove functions as a deep state networking hub: a sitting Supreme Court justice, secretly hosted by a billionaire political donor at an exclusive retreat, with no public disclosure and no accountability.

Why Bohemian Grove Matters for Deep State Research​

1. Off-the-Record Elite Consensus​

The Grove provides a space where the most powerful men in government, military, intelligence, finance, and media can interact informally, build relationships, and reach consensus — all without any public record, press coverage, or democratic accountability. Sociologist Peter Phillips, in his 1994 UC Davis dissertation A Relative Advantage: Sociology of the San Francisco Bohemian Club, estimated that approximately 200 attendees sit on boards of directors or manage major investment firms.

2. Policy Formation Outside Democracy​

The Manhattan Project planning and the Nixon-Reagan deal demonstrate that consequential national decisions have been made at the Grove. The "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" motto provides plausible deniability while the actual behavior contradicts it.

3. The Secrecy Itself​

Bohemian Grove is one of the few places in the world where such a large, high-level gathering of elites occurs without press coverage or public scrutiny. No other institution brings together sitting presidents, Supreme Court justices, CIA directors, Fortune 500 CEOs, and military commanders in a single private venue with a blanket secrecy policy.

4. Ritualistic Bonding​

The Cremation of Care ceremony — whether viewed as harmless theater or something more sinister — serves as a powerful bonding ritual that creates shared experience and mutual obligation among the world's most powerful men. Shared secrets create loyalty and cohesion within elite networks.

5. Cross-Network Integration​

The Grove brings together people from every deep state layer documented in this project: intelligence (CIA directors), military (Military-Industrial Complex executives), finance (Federal Reserve chairs), media (Operation Mockingbird legacy outlets), think tanks (CFR/Trilateral/Bilderberg members), and government officials. It is, arguably, the physical location where these overlapping networks converge.

Key Quotes​

"If I were to choose the speech that gave me the most pleasure and satisfaction in my political career, it would be my address to the Bohemian Committee in 1967. Because this marked the first milestone on my road to the presidency." — Richard Nixon, in his memoirs

"The Bohemian Grove, that I attend from time to time... it is the most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine." — Richard Nixon, recorded White House conversation, May 13, 1971

"You don't need to be combative to make a strong case. Bohemian Grove is an ideal place to discuss issues." — Colin Powell, reportedly about the Grove's networking value

Criticisms & Counter-Arguments​

  • "It's just a camping trip" — Defenders characterize the Grove as an innocent retreat where powerful men relax. The theatrical ceremonies are described as artistic traditions, not occult rituals.
  • "No business is conducted" — The official motto prohibits deal-making. However, the Manhattan Project meeting and the Nixon-Reagan deal directly contradict this.
  • "Alex Jones exaggerated" — Mainstream media and some attendees argue Jones' "Luciferian" framing of the Cremation of Care is sensationalized. The ceremony has been described by other observers as a "glorified frat party."
  • "It's a private club" — The legal right to private association is not in question. The concern is that public officials making policy decisions in secret violates democratic accountability.
  • "The leaked list is unverified" — While the 2023 membership list was confirmed by at least one member to The San Francisco Standard, the Club has not officially acknowledged or denied the list.

Other Coverage Worth Reading​

  • Edward Snowden: NSA contractor who proved the surveillance state was real — exiled for exposing what elites discuss privately at places like the Grove.
  • Catherine Austin Fitts: Former HUD official who traced $21 trillion in missing government money to networks of unaccountable insiders.
  • Whitney Webb: Investigative journalist connecting Epstein's blackmail network to intelligence services and the same elite circles that populate the Grove.
  • Tucker Carlson: Prime-time host who named the intelligence community as the real power in America — and lost his platform for it.

Sources​

This information was compiled by Claude AI research.