Historic French Masonic Hall Vandalized for Third Time in Seven Years

Photo: Myriam Tieulent's Facebook page

by Christopher Hodapp

As I've been warning for months, anti-Masonry would doubtless accompany the rise in anti-Semitic rage and hate crimes around the Western world.

Concorde et Persévérance Lodge is a historic lodge affiliated with the Grand Orient de France (GODF). Located in Vienne, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, and founded originally in 1781 under the name "La Concorde," it is one of the oldest lodges in the country. The Masonic hall was vandalized on the night of July 31st. Windows were broken, Nazi swastikas and SS symbols were painted on the entrance, along with anti-Jewish slogans, insults, death threats, the 666 ('Mark of the Beast'), and phrases like "Death to pedos" ("Mort aux pedos"), as in "pedophiles." (Inexplicably, Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's names were also tagged on the building in this pastiche of paranoia and hatred.) In front of the main door to the building, there was also painted a curious symbol and phrase, "The sun will rise."

This appears to be a variation of the Black Sun, or Schwarze Sonne, an emblem used by some radical neo-Nazi, supremacist and identity groups. The symbol originated at the notorious Wewelsburg castle, Heinrich Himmler's private ceremonial center for the elite officers of the SS. It's made up of the stylized double lightning bolt symbols of the SS.

Nazi ideology regarded Freemasons with as much hatred they reserved for Jews. Hitler himself said, "all Jews are Freemasons; all Freemasons are Jews," likely because of the Old Testament Solomon's Temple story that makes up the Masonic degrees. 

According to the www.vivre-villes.fr website, a door was damaged and a window smashed, but the attacker(s) didn't manage to get into the building, unlike in the 2019 incident. Blood was found on the broken window, so at least one of the vandals managed to slice himself. If authorities care enough to spend a little time and money on it, a DNA test might trace the blood to the attacker's identity. If they care.

This same lodge hall was attacked twice in 2019, and again in 2024. In the previous incidents, the building was broken into and furniture and other items were damaged, stolen or destroyed. It's unknown as to whether the two incidents are related, but the attacks all featured anti-Masonic and Nazi-related symbols. Whether the vandal involved is himself a Neo-Nazi, or simply a fanboy of Neo-Nazi hate groups is hard to say. But these are clearly escalating threats and must be taken deadly seriously.

In a statement to the press, local town councilwoman Myriam Tieulent condemned the attack, pointing out that this historic lodge was severely damaged 80 years ago by Vichy pro-Nazi supporters during World War II.

"I am shocked and worried to see that these are Nazi tags," she said. "They [recall] the horror of the Hitler regime, responsible for the genocide of Jews throughout Europe, and have no place in our city or in our Republic." 

"For several months we have been observing the multiplication of racist tags and stickers that defile the walls of our city, she added. "It is time for city hall and the police to act so that our city is no longer stained by symbols of an ideology that led to the Shoah."

Mme. Tieulent was the only local government official to speak out against the attack. Local police are investigating.

Julio Diaz Found Guilty in Arson Fires and Murder of Texas Mason

Photo: KRGV-TV5

by Christopher Hodapp

Julio Diaz has finally been found guilty in the arson fires of two Masonic lodges and the subsequent 2023 murder of Past Master Robert Wise outside of McAllen Lodge 1110 in McAllen, Texas. He now awaits sentencing.

From the KRGV-TV website on August 6th:

The verdict came after the jury deliberated for about 30 minutes. Diaz now awaits sentencing.

Prosecutors called more than two dozen witnesses during the trial. They presented surveillance video, cell phone evidence, and videos they said proved Diaz shot and killed Wise.

The defense called only one witness, a woman related to an elderly family member. Diaz was helping care for her, and she testified about a post-it note the defense said Diaz wrote, which reportedly mentioned the Freemasons and the Anunnaki.

Diaz's case dates back to July 2023. Police arrested him two days after Wise was found shot outside the McAllen Masonic Lodge.

Diaz also faced two arson charges. One is linked to a fire at the McAllen Masonic Lodge a year before Wise was shot. The second is linked to a Feb. 20, 2023, fire at the Weslaco Masonic Lodge, which destroyed the building.

Diaz chose to have the judge decide his sentence rather than the jury. His attorney spoke with Channel 5 News about that decision.

"That is largely attorney-client privilege; there are tactical reasons why the biggest reason is the health information did not come out in trial," attorney Lennard K. Whittaker said.

READ MORE: Phone evidence, claims of 'black magic' presented as state rests in McAllen murder trial

The defense said the jury never heard testimony about Diaz's mental state. Whittaker said a court-ordered neurological expert did not finish evaluating Diaz before the trial began.

"Those delusions were put in place in full view before that jury; unfortunately, we had no expert because he hadn't completed his work in time for this date," Whittaker said.

Throughout the trial, the defense repeatedly asked the judge to delay it, citing the unfinished evaluation. The judge denied those requests, noting the case had already been pending for nearly three years.

The defense will use the coming weeks to gather character letters, mental health and medical information, and other materials it believes could help the judge during sentencing. Whittaker said it is too early to know whether the defense plans to call witnesses at sentencing...

Diaz' sentencing is set for September 21st. He faces between just 5(!) and 99 years in prison.

When he was arrested and questioned back in July 2023, Julio Diaz told investigators that  Masons were "devil worshiping Illuminatists." A Facebook commenter said Diaz had previously posted anti-Masonic comments on social media, claiming the lodge "had put a curse on him." A year before the killing, the McAllen lodge was vandalized with graffiti that read: “Sorcery against the Holy Spirit and the human race must all be stoned to death.” Whether or not Diaz painted that message, it was followed by his arson attacks on the lodge and on the nearby Weslaco lodge building. And then he shot Robert Wise in the head at point blank range as members were leaving an officer's installation. 

Diaz was so proud of his actions that he captured the shooting on video and posted it on his Instagram account. The jury saw this video in the course of the trial.

According to the myRGV.com website, he told his attorney that "he didn't see Freemasons as human beings or as being of the human race." He believes Masons are reptilians. "On social media, Diaz had also said that people who are suicidal should kill Freemasons before themselves, saying people could save millions of humans depending on the degree of the witch, sorcerer or Freemason they killed."

It cannot be emphasized enough that Masons must take any and all vandalism and anti-Masonic messaging deadly seriously and report every single instance to local law enforcement. That includes threatening messages mailed to the lodge, stuck in car windows outside of meetings, or posted on lodge doors. Brother Wise's distraught family brought a million dollar lawsuit against the lodge for purchasing security cameras and outdoor lighting equipment and failing to install it in the wake of the vandalism prior to the murder. 

This admonition is not a mercenary one, but one of responsibility to our members, families and visitors. The toxic nature of anti-social media these days helps to percolate this kind of anti-Masonic sentiment, and violence is everywhere. Moreover, the alarming rise in anti-semitism that's sweeping the Western world catches Freemasons in the same net. Religious fanatics have associated Masonry with Judaism for more than two centuries, along with accusing Masons of Satanism and worse. We can ascribe these kinds of insane hatreds to madness, but madmen aren't any less dangerous just because they believe ridiculous things.

France: Verdicts Are In on the Athanor Lodge Case

Image: Le Parisien

by Christopher Hodapp

In mid-July, after more than three months of hearings and roughly 600 hours of debate, a special Paris assize court wrapped up the long-running “Athanor Affaire" trial, one of the largest criminal trials in French history.  Seventeen of the 22 defendants aged 30 through 73 were convicted of crimes tied to members of a former Masonic lodge. What appeared at first to be widely isolated incidents turned out to be part of a shockingly wide-ranging crime cell run by a tiny group of rogue Masonic lodge members who hired others to eliminate, intimidate or murder business rivals, debtors, or just annoying inconveniences. 

The most serious charges included aggravated violence, attempted extortion, murder, and attempted murder by an organized gang—which all turned out to have been plotted for wildly trivial reasons. Sentences ranged from six months suspended to 30 years’ imprisonment – heavy time for the actual organizers and the ringleader, lighter or suspended sentences for lesser roles, and five full acquittals (including the accused gunman in the 2018 killing of a race driver named Laurent Pasquali and others). Some sentences came in below the prosecution’s requests, which a few observers called a partial setback for the case.

Back in 2022, several of the alleged criminals were discovered to be members of the now defunct Athanor Lodge 759, a lodge chartered under the Grande Loge Alliance Maçonnique Française (GLAMF) and located in the Puteaux neighborhood of the Hauts-de-Seine area, about five miles west of Paris. The case blew open in 2020 when two hired hit men were arrested just before they could successfully assassinate a business competitor of a lodge officer. By the time investigators tracked down all the various business and lodge connections and associated crimes, the related criminal activities dated back to at least 2016 with the beating of a politician in Val-de-Marne.

At the center of the network were four key figures who belonged to Athanor Lodge. Clients paid, the organizers recruited enforcers and hit men (including low-level intelligence agency personnel and others), and in some cases spun elaborate fairy tales that the jobs were part of top secret state work for the DSGE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, which translates to the Directorate General for External Security, the French intelligence agency analogous to the American CIA). The four principal members were: 

• Frédéric Vaglio (ex-journalist and communicator turned economic intelligence investigator), the mastermind of the gang who actually brought in the contracts, was sentenced to 25 years. He had ordered Daniel Beaulieu to arrange the murder of Marie-Hélène Dini, a competitor in Vaglio's consulting business, in 2020. 
• Daniel Beaulieu (former interior intelligence/DCRI-DGSI officer) was the chief organizer of the Athanor gang. Before retiring in 2009, he spent most of his career as a police officer in general intelligence (RG), eventually rising to be Deputy Head of Division at the DCRI (Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence, now DGSI). According to press accounts, the judge stated: "The court considered that you were the linchpin without whom nothing would have been possible." He received the toughest sentence at 30 years, and the fact that he had been a former police officer contributed to his harshest term. Throughout their trial, he and Vaglio had blamed each other for their crimes. Beaulieu, 73, is in poor health after attempting suicide last year while awaiting trial in prison, which left him disabled and with "impaired concentration." 
• Sébastien Leroy: (Past Venerable Master of the lodge) was "the muscle" involved in the most violent acts, from beating elected officials all the way back to the 2018 murder of a race car driver, Laurent Pasquali (whose body was later found buried). Beaulieu passed Dini's hit contract to Leroy, a private security officer, who recruited two young DGSE guards, Pierre Bourdin and Carl Esnault. The guards believed they were being recruited to carry out authorized homicide operations for French intelligence by pretending it was a secret intelligence mission against a Mossad agent for "national security" reasons. Leroy was sentenced to 27 years in prison, five years more than the prosecution had requested. 
• Jean-Luc Bagur: found guilty of complicity in the attempted murder of Dini and sentenced to 16 years. Investigators eventually connected a link in the case to Bagur, 69, who was a rival business consultant to Dini and the Venerable Maitre (Venerable Master, the French equivalent to Worshipful Master) of Athanor Lodge.
  These four core members allegedly abused the structure and 'secrecy' of the lodge for what prosecutors called a “PME du crime” — a criminal small business providing paid “services” ranging from intimidation and industrial espionage to assault and murder. 

For those in the press and online with a bone to pick against the Freemasons and who want to use this sensational case to smear the whole fraternity: When lurid allegations regarding the lodge were first brought to the attention of the Grand Lodge, it was immediately dissolved and its accused members suspended or expelled. These were individual criminal convictions. The court judged specific people for specific acts. Neither Freemasonry as an institution, the GLAMF, nor every member of the former Athanor lodge was on trial or found guilty. One small group of individuals allegedly abused their lodge connections for private criminal profit. That does not make the Craft, or French Masonry generally, responsible.

The case covered acts mainly from 2018–2022, including:

• The 2018 murder of rally race driver Laurent Pasquali, whose body was later found buried). The alleged assassin was acquitted over lack of concrete evidence; the couple who had purportedly approached the Athanor group to kill Pasquali over a bad debt was also acquitted because the court found they had not provably ordered his killing.
• Failed assassination plots against business coach Marie-Hélène Dini and union activist Hassan Touzani.
• Various assaults, a vehicle arson, theft and espionage-style jobs, and related conspiracy charges.

An investigator asked Vaglio how many murder contracts he had been involved in. "The total number can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and only one murder actually came to fruition."

The activities were revealed after two DGSE-linked men were arrested in 2020 near Dini’s home while preparing her assassination. The core Masonic group preyed on public misconceptions of what Masonry is. What became clear throughout the trial was the way the Athanor lodge group abused Freemasonry's teachings of secrecy as a symbol of honor to convince gullible men that it was a recruiting front for the French espionage services. One of the most alarming aspects of the case was that the legitimate DGSE agency did not immediately get in front of the story and deny that it really was plotting the killing of a female Israeli Mossad agent, especially on French soil. They seemed just as content to keep up the public perception that they were engaging in murderous espionage as the Athanor Lodge group was to promote their own phony image as spooky spy masters.

For regular Freemasons, the takeaway is straightforward and unflattering: a handful of people in one lodge used the fraternal setting and membership contacts as cover and recruitment ground for a for-profit crime ring. French Masonry as a whole was not on trial, but the episode has already fueled the usual “secret society gone rogue” commentary. There were just enough members of Athanor Lodge in the law enforcement, security and intelligence-gathering world to furiously stoke the fires of the "dirty cops in the Freemasons!" media headlines and the conspiracy monger universe. 

The lodge itself is gone, the convictions are on the books, and it's only a matter of time before we see the effects on the fraternity and on public perceptions of Masonry.

About Athanor Lodge 759 and the Grande Loge Alliance Maçonnique Française (GLAMF)

Athanor Lodge 759 was legitimately chartered by the Grande Loge de l'Alliance Maçonnique Française (the Grand Lodge of the French Masonic Alliance, or GL-AMF), which was created in its present form in 2012. At the time, that grand lodge was largely formed by some 15,000 disgruntled Masons who had split from the Grand Loge National Français (GLNF) over a massive internal power struggle involving then-GLNF Grand Master Stifani. (see HERE for beginnings of that long tale). The GLNF is the French grand lodge overwhelmingly recognized throughout the world as regular, and the 2012 incident was an enormous upheaval at the time. It took years for the dust to settle, and the GLNF was never able to return to its former size.

The GL-AMF today has about 15,400 members in 684 lodges, and a strong argument can be made that they are perfectly regular in origin. In other words, it's not some small-time, bogus grand lodge masquerading as something it isn't. Like all regular, recognized grand lodge obediences, they admit only men, require a belief in God, and work accepted rituals. So, Athanor Lodge started out as a legit lodge of Freemasons. But like the old P2 lodge scandal with gangster/terrorist Licio Gelli in Italy back in the 1980s, it got twisted into someone's private hideout for criminals.

When these stories began to hit the news six years ago, I'm told that GL-AMF Grand Master Fred Picavet suspended the lodge and all of its members, including two of those currently indicted. Online chatter in France is that the lodge's Venerable Maitre, Jean-Luc Bagur, was suspended back in 2020, even before any of these stories came out, for non-payment of dues, and that he went right on running the lodge meetings, ignoring the order. My understanding its that all of the former lodge members accused in the Athanor Affaire case were suspended by the Grand Lodge or the Grand Master and will be subsequently be tried for expulsion now that the verdicts are all in from the court case.

Ontario Masonic Hall Vandalized With Anti-Masonic Graffiti

by Christopher Hodapp

Authorities in Burlington, Ontario are seeking information regarding an unknown tagger who vandalized the local Masonic hall Sunday early morning by spray painting a phony Albert Pike 'Luciferian' quotation on the side of the building.

From the BurlingtonToday.com website today:

On the wall of the building that faces Maria Street, an unknown tagger left a message for the group that some believe to have powerful connections.

“The doctrine of Freemasonry is to be maintained in the Luciferian doctrine at high degrees,” the graffiti reads, crediting the words to Albert Pike, a 19th century American poet and lawyer who was also a Mason. The graffiti also suggests that Pike predicted the World Wars. . .

These bogus lines are widely circulated on the Intertubz and falsely attributed to Pike. They are, in fact, taken directly from the infamous 'Taxil Hoax' perpetrated by 'Leo Taxil' (whose real name was Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès), a rabid French anti-Catholic and anti-Mason in the late 19th century. Taxil made a tidy profit peddling propaganda about the Masons for many years. 

Taxil singlehandedly invented the whole 'Luciferian Freemasonry' fable and gleefully went on to later admit it was all a hoax in a very public appearance on April 19, 1897. (For what it's worth, Albert Pike wrote precisely one passage in Morals & Dogma that explained the origin of the name 'Lucifer' and how it came to be attributed to 'Satan" over the centuries.) 

The truth about Taxil's hoax has been quite openly known for 130 years, but that hasn't stopped its wide dissemination on the web since the 1980s and 90s. Meanwhile, Pike's so-called 'world wars' prediction is a more relatively recent addition to the anti-Masonic repertoire and is a complete fabrication. It's not true, either. (For more details about Taxil and his hoax, see Tall Tales of Leo Taxil HERE)

The story continues:

Halton Regional Police told BurlingtonToday that the suspect was observed at 3:05 a.m. (July 5) with spray paint, and is described as a white man, medium build, wearing a straw cowboy hat, a dark jacket, white tee shirt, and shorts. He was also riding a bicycle.

VandenBerg said this is not the first time that the building has been tagged, but it is the first time to his knowledge that the Masons were specifically targeted in the message.

“We have been tagged before but that has been just generic graffiti that could have happened anywhere,” he said.

Documents and sacred texts have been dropped in the lodge mailbox, even being laminated at times, VanderBerg said, including an encyclopedia of Jewish texts that was left at the back door of the building. The building has been egged, and many more instances of vandalism came to mind for VandenBerg.

He added that the group added a stone marker to the outside of the building which has been urinated on previously, but he is unsure if that was related to the organization.

“Maybe it was the same person,” he said. “Maybe that was the first thing they did and now they are back to spray paint the building a few months later.”

Despite the long history of Burlington Masons' commitment to serving their community and contributing to local charities, this is the sort of idiotic attack that sometimes discourages lodges from being more public faced. And as we've seen in recent years, certain extremely unhinged anti-Masonic zealots are known to escalate their attacks on members and lodge halls. The McAllen Lodge incident in Texas is a horrifying example of what can happen when anti-Masons taken their paranoid hatred to the worst extremes.

If your lodge is vandalized in any way, especially if you suspect the motive was anti-Masonic in nature, you should report it immediately to local authorities. Attacks against Masons and lodges need to be on the radar screen for police and well documented because, as we've seen, the true nuts are sometimes fully capable and motivated to come back again.

Anti-Masonic Texas Murder Suspect Charged with More Arson Attempts

by Christopher Hodapp

Julio Diaz, currently awaiting trial in the murder of a Freemason outside of a Texas Masonic hall, along with prior incidents of damaging that same lodge building, has just been charged in two more arson attacks against a different lodge.

Diaz is accused of shooting WB Robert Wise outside of McAllen Lodge 1110 in southern Texas following an officer's installation on July 10, 2023. He is also accused of attempting to set fire to that building in 2022.

Llano Grande Lodge in Westlaco, TX (Google Earth photo)

According to KRGV-TV5, Hidalgo County authorities have now brought more charges against Diaz regarding two additional arson attempts in February 2023 at the Welasco Masonic temple, located about 20 miles east of McAllen. The Welasco hall is home to Llano Grande Lodge 1173.

Fire damage in 2023. (KRGV-TV5)

After his initial arrest, sources familiar with the investigation said that Diaz believed Masons are "devil worshiping Illuminatists." A Facebook commenter said Diaz had previously posted anti-Masonic comments on social media, claiming the lodge "had put a curse on him."

In April, the judge in the case expressed frustration with Diaz' defense attorney regarding the numerous delays they've requested since his initial court appearance. His tentative trial date is now in early August, but they may request additional time now that these new charges have been brought.

Wisconsin Couple Charged in Massive Theft of Lodge Funds

by Christopher Hodapp

A shocking case of (alleged) betrayal has rocked the Masonic community in the Milwaukee area. Tyler Kristopeit, 39, former treasurer and officer of the George Washington 1776 Masonic Lodge in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and his wife Katie, 37, both of Muskego, were charged last week in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with conspiracy to commit theft in a business setting exceeding $100,000 and conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court filings and news reports, the couple is accused of siphoning somewhere between $400,000 and $600,000 from the lodge over several years, with funds allegedly diverted for luxury cars, personal expenses, debts, and other items.

As I understand it, the thefts reportedly escalated around the time the lodge sold its building. Proceeds from the sale, along with additional escrow funds intended for a new lodge hall, were wired to accounts controlled by the lodge where Tyler served as treasurer. When lodge officers requested financial records after removing him from his positions, incomplete documentation was provided, raising immediate red flags about missing investments and hundreds of thousands of dollars unaccounted for. The money was laundered through accounts linked to Katie, ultimately funding two Mercedes autos and other luxury items for the couple.

This is a stark reminder of the importance of financial oversight and transparency in any fraternal organization, including Masonic lodges. Trusted positions like treasurer carry significant responsibility, and when that trust is allegedly abused, it not only harms the lodge but can erode confidence across the broader Masonic world. Lodges everywhere rely on member volunteers acting with integrity – cases like this highlight how a single breach can impact decades of goodwill and philanthropy.

The couple has been released on $10,000 signature bonds and ordered to avoid contact with the lodge (Phew! THERE'S a big deterrent, Yer Honer!) As the criminal case proceeds, the Masonic fraternity in Wisconsin and beyond will be watching closely. For Freemasons committed to the principles of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, this story underscores that true brotherhood demands not just honor, but vigilance, accountability, and a renewed commitment to protecting the shared resources that support our shared values.

Another Courtroom Delay in Texas Mason's Slaying

Photo: KRGV-TV5

by Christopher Hodapp

Julio Diaz (allegedly) shot and killed Freemason Robert Wise outside a Masonic lodge in McAllen, Texas almost three years ago. But the murder case against him has been delayed multiple times, most recently on Monday.

McAllen is a small town right on the Mexican border in the southernmost tip of Texas, just west of South Padre Island.

On the night of July 10, 2023, Brother Wise was leaving an officers’ installation ceremony at McAllen Lodge 1110 (he had just been installed as Junior Deacon) when Diaz reportedly drove into the lodge parking lot, approached him, and opened fire at close range. Witnesses inside the lodge heard gunshots and rushed outside to find Wise gravely wounded; he later died at a hospital. Authorities quickly identified Diaz as a suspect, aided in part by the video he allegedly filmed and posted online, bragging to an acquaintance about it in a text message. 

After his arrest, sources familiar with the investigation said that Diaz believed Masons are "devil worshiping Illuminatists." A Facebook commenter said Diaz had previously posted anti-Masonic comments on social media, claiming the lodge "had put a curse on him."

The lodge was previously vandalized in March of 2022, when an unknown person tagged the location with graffiti reading, “Sorcery against the Holy spirit and the human race must all be stoned to death.” It's not known if Diaz was responsible for that incident, but he also faces a separate arson charge from an incident in September 2022, when he had attempted to set the McAllen Masonic hall on fire. Interior surveillance footage recorded him at that time breaking in by smashing the glass front door, pouring gasoline on the floor, and lighting a piece of cardboard on fire. Diaz admitted setting that fire to investigators after his arrest in connection with Wise’s death. Investigators obtained and examined Diaz’s camera and found evidence that also linked him to a separate February 2023 fire at Llano Grande Masonic Lodge, located about 20 miles west of McAllen in Weslaco, Texas.

The shocking nature of the crime has made the case particularly unsettling within the fraternity. Despite the seriousness of the charges, the case has been repeatedly delayed, prompting visible frustration from the court. During a hearing Monday, presiding judge J.B. "Bobby" Flores sharply questioned why a case now more than two years old has yet to go to trial, demanding, “When do we try this thing?” The latest postponement came after the defense requested more time to review a large volume of newly disclosed evidence and to pursue medical and psychological evaluations, including questions about Diaz’s competency and a reported brain condition. Diaz has also faced scrutiny over prior incidents, including alleged arson attempts involving Masonic properties, which prosecutors may use to establish motive or pattern of behavior. Ongoing disputes over evidence and mental fitness have created a procedural logjam, leaving the court, the victim’s family, the lodge brethren, and other observers still waiting for the case to finally be resolved.

Lodge Facebook page

Robert Wise leaves behind his wife, five children, and eleven grandchildren, along with brothers, sisters, numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. 

In a separate civil case, Wise's family filed a lawsuit against the lodge itself for failing to take security precautions that might have protected him, or at least discouraged Diaz. The lodge had purchased outdoor lighting and surveillance equipment months before the shooting occurred but failed to install them. Further, the suit pointed out the rise in recent years of attacks against lodges and individual Masons should have made the local lodge more vigilant and protective of its members' safety. The suit was settled out of court.

The judge in Diaz's case has scheduled his next hearing in August to give the defense more time to examine evidence and medical reports. Maybe then Brother Wise and his family will finally be able to receive the closure that's been so long postponed.

Rogue French Freemasons On Trial for Bizarre Murder Plot

IMAGE: STEFAN GLERUM FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE

by Christopher Hodapp

There's a bizarre story blowing up across French and European media this week, and it has the potential of being a public relations nightmare for the entire fraternity the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. Newsfeeds everywhere are blaring headlines about Freemasons! Mafia! Murder plots! Not since the old P2 (Propaganda Due) story in Italy in the 1980s has there been a tale so convoluted, bizarre and seriously sinister involving a group of rogue Masons. And the press is having a field day with it.

Back in July of 2020, COVID lockdowns were going on in full force all over the world. Marie-Hélène Dini was a 60-year-old business coach living in the Paris suburbs when police knocked on her door and informed her that she had been the target of an attempted murder plot being hatched by 'The Freemasons.' What unfolded was a story so bizarre, so unbelievable, so downright goofy that she couldn't believe what she was hearing. It seemed like a creepy prank cooked by imbecilic teenagers with vivid imaginations. But as it turned out, this was no ridiculous gag.

Two armed men had just been arrested near Dini's home in possession of a stolen car, guns, knives, body armor, and a tracking device. The men claimed to police that they were on a secret mission for the French intelligence service (the Directorate-General for External Security, or DGSE) to kill the lady because she supposedly worked for the Mossad, Israel's crack secret service agency. 

In reality, Dini had no connection to espionage, crime, or Israel—she ran employee coaching companies and had never even visited Israel. Police quickly ruled out the Spy vs. Spy aspect of the story, but the incident left her deeply traumatized. She installed alarms in her home, hired a bodyguard, and eventually moved away from Paris, describing the event as feeling like stumbling into a “mafia-style” world driven by power and money. 

As the investigation unfolded, police uncovered a much, much larger criminal network. 

Six years later, some twenty-two people between the ages of 30 and 73 are now standing trial at the Paris Court of Assize, between March 30 and July 17th. It is one of the largest criminal trials in French history. Few of the suspects have any sort of prior criminal record, and they come from wildly different backgrounds: four soldiers from the DGSE, three police officers, including a retired financial crime investigator, six business leaders, a building caretaker, an engineer, a medical biologist, a gunsmith, a sports coach, and a couple of gullible security guards. What appeared at first to be isolated incidents turned out to be part of a shockingly wide-ranging crime cell run by a core group of rogue Masonic lodge members who hired others to intimidate or eliminate rivals, debtors, or just annoying inconveniences. 

And here's where this story REALLY goes off the rails. Many of the alleged criminals were discovered to be members of Athanor Lodge 759, located in the Puteaux neighborhood of the Hauts-de-Seine area, a residential suburb about five miles west of Paris. The area snuggles up next to La Défense, one of Europe's' busiest financial districts where you'll find some of the tallest buildings (and wildest architecture) in the Paris metropolitan area. Now the group is accused of organizing or carrying out a wide range of crimes. The most serious charges include aggravated violence, attempted extortion, and attempted murder in an organized gang—which all turned out to have been plotted for wildly trivial reasons. 

At the center of the network are three key figures who belonged to Athanor Lodge: Frédéric Vaglio (53, a former journalist turned private security entrepreneur), Daniel Beaulieu (a 72-year-old retired DGSI intelligence officer working in economic intelligence), and Jean-Luc Bagur (69, a coaching industry executive and union leader). They allegedly used their connections to sub-contract “missions” ranging from beatings and intimidation to contract killings. Beaulieu admitted to investigators that Vaglio had ordered him to arrange the murder of Marie-Hélène Dini, pretending it was a secret intelligence mission against a Mossad agent. Beaulieu then passed the contract to Sébastien Leroy, a private security officer, who recruited the two young DGSE guards (Pierre Bourdin and Carl Esnault). The guards believed they were being recruited to carry out authorized homicide operations for French intelligence.

Investigators eventually connected a link to Bagur, 69, who was a rival business coach to Dini and the Venerable Maitre (Venerable Master, the French equivalent to Worshipful Master) of Athanor Lodge. But the alleged crimes went beyond the Dini case. From an article in the U.S. Sun Monday:

The leader of the hit squad, Leroy, told cops he or his associates carried out most of the assaults, robberies and murders for the Athanor mafia, including the 2018 killing of racing car driver Laurent Pasquali.

His body was found in a forest after he allegedly failed to pay a debt to one of Vaglio’s friends.

Crimes ordered by the organised crime group escalated with time, beginning as petty revenge attacks and escalating to homicide, according to the investigation.

One of the charges relating to industrial espionage alleged that Leroy’s gang assaulted a businesswoman in the street and snatched her computer.

In 2019, the car of one of Bagur’s associates was set on fire after she found evidence of financial fraud within his company.

Leroy, a security guard, told investigators he was under the impression he had been acting on behalf of the French government.

He claimed Beaulieu had “manipulated” him using the idea of him becoming an informant for the DGSI domestic spy agency.

Jean-William Vezinet, lawyer for the targeted business coach Dini, said his client had been “terrified” that “people who are supposed to act for the good of society” were the key figures in the crime.

It remains unclear what evidence the prosecution has gathered from their interviews with Beaulieu, the accused ringleader.

He allegedly made an attempt to commit suicide in police custody.

Participants later claimed they had been manipulated or believed the jobs were legitimate French intelligence operations. The defendants frequently accused one another of lying or exerting toxic influence, with Vaglio described as particularly charismatic and controlling. The case highlights how personal, professional, or financial grudges—sometimes trivial—escalated into extreme violence within a network blending Freemasonry, private security, and former intelligence operatives. Ultimately, they abused the privacy of the lodge and trust between brethren, violating their obligations, and twisting the honorable symbolism of Masonic secrecy into a criminal enterprise.

If convicted, Vaglio, Beaulieu, Bagur and Leroy are all facing life sentences, along with 19 co-defendants. And of course, the European press is stressing the Masonic part of the story.

There's an old joke that, if you lock three French Masons in a lodge room together, they'll start arguing and form six new grand lodges...

The French Masonic landscape is enormous, confusing, and difficult for regular, recognized Masons to keep track of. There are at least 15 or more grand lodge-like governing bodies in France, but only one that is recognized as regular by the greatest number of Masons the world over—the Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF)—and it's not even the largest obedience in that country (that would be the Grand Orient de France, or GOdF). Consequently, there's little chance of the press having a firm understanding of its details when it comes to tedious and arcane details of regularity, recognition, and Masonic legitimacy.

Athanor Lodge 759 was legitimately chartered by the Grande Loge de l'Alliance Maçonnique Française (the Grand Lodge of the French Masonic Alliance, or GL-AMF), which was created in its present form in 2012. At the time, that grand lodge was largely formed by some 15,000 disgruntled Masons who had split from the Grand Loge National Français (GLNF) over a massive internal power struggle involving then-GLNF Grand Master Stifani. (see HERE for beginnings of that long tale). The GLNF is the French grand lodge overwhelmingly recognized throughout the world as regular, and the 2012 incident was an enormous upheaval at the time. It took years for the dust to settle, and the GLNF was never able to return to its former size. 

Understand that the GL-AMF today still has about 15,400 members in 684 lodges, and a strong argument can be made that they are perfectly regular in origin. In other words, it's not some small-time, bogus grand lodge masquerading as something it isn't. Like all regular, recognized grand lodge obediences, they admit only men, require a belief in God, and work accepted rituals. So, Athanor Lodge started out as a legit lodge of Freemasons. But like the old P2 lodge scandal with gangster/terrorist Licio Gelli in Italy back in the 1980s, it got twisted into someone's private hideout for criminals.

When these stories began to hit the news six years ago, I'm told that GL-AMF Grand Master Fred Picavet suspended the lodge and all of its members, including two of those currently indicted. Online chatter in France is that the lodge's Venerable Maitre, Jean-Luc Bagur, was suspended back in 2020, even before any of these stories came out, for non-payment of dues, and that he went right on running the lodge meetings, ignoring the order.

By early 2021, the main figures in the case turned against each other while in police custody. Daniel Beaulieu later suffered a serious head injury in prison (possibly from a suicide attempt) and now has memory problems—he may not be able to testify at his own trial. Marie-Hélène Dini survived her ordeal, battled cancer, and wrote a book about her experience titled It Was Not My Time, though she has struggled to find a publisher. 

As can be imagined, the press in the U.K. is eating this story up with a spoon. It plays right into their ongoing paranoia over Freemasons in police departments that has been stoked for the last couple of months. And the Italians are attempting to brand the story as a 'Masonic mafia.'

Meanwhile, the upcoming long trial will attempt to untangle the truth from the many conflicting stories in this sprawling and often absurd criminal enterprise.

There's a certain tragic irony to be found in the name of Athanor Lodge. In medieval alchemy, an athanor was a sealed stove or furnace that gave off slow, constant heat. It was used to slowly transform and refine matter, to improve it beyond its original state. Sadly, the men who joined Athanor Lodge failed to let Freemasonry refine them, improve them as men. 

Oh, they were transformed, all right. But not in the way Masonry tried to teach them. 

Rise In Anti-Semitism May Bring More Anti-Masonic Attacks With It

by Christopher Hodapp

Weekend vandalism at the Oleeta-West Dade Masonic Center in Miami Springs, Florida, is a stark reminder that Masonic buildings—and the Brothers who gather in them—are increasingly becoming targets in today's volatile climate.

Late last week (Friday night into early Saturday morning), surveillance video captured a young man climbing onto a low roof ledge to reach and badly damage two exterior signs at the Masonic center. The footage, shared by WSVN-TV7, shows the suspect pulling himself up to get at the sign and twist one expensive sign off the wall. Damage has been estimated at around $3,000. 

Thankfully, Miami Springs police acted quickly: 20-year-old Brian Guanche was charged with one count of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and one count of criminal mischief. He's since bonded out, but the incident is under investigation.

This wasn't some random act of mischief—it's part of a troubling pattern. Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable uptick in violent attacks, arsons, and vandalism against Masonic buildings around the world, with more than a few tied directly to antisemitic motives. We've seen lodges targeted in places like Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and even Vancouver (where one arsonist hit three buildings in a single morning, causing millions in damage). Overseas, halls in Ireland and Greece have faced similar assaults, and doubtless there have been many more that simply have not hit the news services. Some perpetrators have acted out of bizarre delusions—like believing Masons placed curses on them or controlled minds—while others have been fueled by outright hatered.

That hate often bleeds over from the dramatic and alarming rise in anti-Semitism across the United States (and beyond) in recent months, especially since the outbreak of the war involving Iran. Unfortunately, Freemasonry is getting swept up in the crossfire. Our symbolism—drawing from ancient Jerusalem, King Solomon's Temple, and Old Testament imagery—has been twisted into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories since the 19th century. It doesn't help when historical figures like Pope Leo XIII, influenced by the admitted hoaxes of anti-Catholic prankster Léo Taxil in the 1880s-90s, lumped Masons in with phrases like "Synagogue of Satan" (originally from the New Testament letters, referring to persecutors of early Christians who falsely claimed Jewish identity). Leo clearly bought into the nonsense that a bunch of middle-aged Protestant gentlemen cosplaying as Old Testament figures in ritual were somehow undermining the Church. That old canard still echoes today.

And right now, it's getting amplified by noisy voices with big platforms. Candace Owens, who has somehow amassed nearly three million YouTube subscribers by peddling increasingly outrageous claims, has ramped up her attacks on Freemasonry. Owens (a recent convert to Catholicism) is a certifiable attention-seeker at this point, jumping on every fringe theory that drives clicks and eyeballs—whether it's moon landings, celebrity deaths tied to "sacrifices," or wild Masonic plots. 

Similarly, Shawn Ryan has leaned into kookball anti-Masonic conspiracy content on his show, hosting guests who push debunked nonsense about "Masonic Bibles" and secret influences. Countless lesser imitators follow suit online.

I don't care where you fall on the political spectrum—left, right, or somewhere in the never-never land in between. Spreading this stuff is dangerous. My wife and I wrote a book on conspiracy theories years ago, and Owens is a textbook example of madness given a megaphone and free rein on the internet. There's no filter of responsibility anymore: anybody can launch a podcast, build a persona, and attract an audience of the credulous or the angry by using sensationalistic 'made you look' tactics. There are no qualifications required. People who swallow her brand of "research" don't just nod along—they act. We've already seen real-world consequences, including threats, violence, attacks on our buildings, and worse. 

Texas Freemason Robert Wise was murdered outside of his lodge in 2023 precisely because of this delusional thinking. His killer told police that he shot Wise because Masons were "devil worshiping Illuminatists."

With geopolitical tensions boiling over and antisemitism surging, we have to be vigilant. Masonic temples aren't fortresses, but Brothers and lodge officers need to take practical steps: review security cameras, lighting, and alarms; coordinate with local law enforcement; avoid leaving valuables or regalia visible; and report suspicious activity immediately. Most of these incidents happen at night when buildings are empty, so proactive measures can make a real difference.

Freemasonry has endured worse for centuries, and we'll keep doing what we do—meeting in peace, practicing brotherly love and relief, and building better men. But ignoring the threats won't make them disappear. Stay aware, stay safe, and let's look out for one another.

If you're a Mason reading this, talk to your lodge about security. If you're not, but you value fair-minded institutions that promote charity and moral improvement, know that the same bigots targeting synagogues and Jewish communities are increasingly turning their gaze toward Masonic halls too.

Australian Masonic Temple Destroyed in Arson Attack

by Christopher Hodapp

Two suspected arsonists were arrested after an historic Australian Masonic temple was severely damaged by fire early Wednesday in New South Wales. The temple was home to Northern Rivers Lodge 77. According to several reports, the 1920's-era brick lodge building itself was severely damaged after the roof caught fire and collapsed. The interior is likely gutted, but the facade is still standing.

The two suspects appeared in court on Thursday. Christopher Andrew Mayne (age 32, from Nimbin) and Cameron Robert Surtees (age 36, from Lismore) were released on bail.

From ABCNews Australia:

Richmond Police District crime manager, Detective Inspector Grant Erickson, said the fire was being treated as arson.

"We have a 36-year-old male from Nimbin and a 32-year-old male from Nimbin ... [who] were arrested at the Lismore Central shopping centre at 11am," he said.

"At this stage it's too early for me to say what the cause and origin of that fire is, but we are definitely treating it as suspicious."

Detective Inspector Erickson said the damage done to the building was "catastrophic".

"It's a beautiful building. It's a landmark in Lismore," he said.

The blaze broke out around 4am in the Magellan Street building, which sits across the road from Lismore's library.

It has been the home of Freemasons in the region for almost 100 years.

The Worshipful Master of Northern Rivers Lodge No. 77, Allan Ridgewell, said Freemasons had been gathering in Lismore since the mid-1800s and had built the lodge in the 1920s to 1930s.

"We've done so much for Lismore over the years; it's just so sad to see it happen," he said.

A wooden building that housed as dance studio and a theatre group behind the temple was completely destroyed by the fire, according to NSW Fire and Rescue acting duty commander Fraser Hindry. 

Photo: Nathan Kelly

The Lismore Masonic Temple before the fire

"[The fire spread] to the roof of the main building, which is a masonry building, and unfortunately the roof collapsed," [Hindry] said.

"The contents of the lodge are pretty well damaged."

Mr Hindry said there was no-one in the building at the time of the fire and there had been no reports of injuries.

While the ornate facade of the building is still standing, the back of the building and another structure behind the main hall have been destroyed.

From a 2011 photo of the lodge room. The lodge was largely submerged
under the flooding in 2022.

The lodge had already suffered a terrible loss just a few years ago. The town of Lismore was devastated in 2022 by a major flood that destroyed most of the lodges's original furniture, records, and more. Four days of torrential rains caused the Northern Rivers to rise almost 40 feet, flooding the town and displacing 31,000 residents. 

The town of Lismore was submerged under almost 40 feet of water in 2022.

Local donations from other lodges and the community were instrumental in restoring the building enough for the Masons to move back in recently. The future of the lodge is now unclear.

Suspects Surtees and Mayne have been charged with 'aggravated break and enter' and 'committing a serious indictable offense.' They have not yet pleaded, and both were granted bail with 'certain conditions.' They are due to reappear in Lismore Local Court on November 26th. According to the Daily Telegraph, Surtees is reportedly under a Community Treatment Order (CTO), indicating he is considered mentally ill under law. He is said to be overdue for a required medication and in urgent need of treatment.

When Magistrate Janet Wahlquist released Surtees and Mayne on bail Thursday, she did so, in spite of saying she was "concerned" about Surtees' mental health. But she DID stipulate as part of his bail restrictions that he must stay away from lighters and matches, and stay away from the Masonic lodge - that he had already burned down.

Really. I couldn't possibly make that up.