Bohemian Grove: America’s secretive men’s club of the rich and powerful.

Bohemian Grove, an exclusive club for rich and powerful men, is in the news after it is reported that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited the retreat with a billionaire friend.

A report by the American investigative news outlet ProPublica revealed that Judge Thomas accepted luxury trips around the world from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, when Supreme Court justices are required to declare their gifts annually. ProPublica, the trips included several on Crow’s luxury yacht and private plane. This included a visit to the Bohemian Grove.

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The exclusivity and secrecy of Bohemian Grove -located in remote Sonoma County, north of San Francisco– have inspired both protests and conspiracy theories.

In the club it is forbidden to talk about business. But reports say some of America’s most powerful men have made deals and hooked up amid a bizarre array of performances and rituals at this 150-year-old venue.

How it began?

The Bohemian Grove was started in 1872 by a group of journalists, artists and musicians in San Francisco. Author Mark Twain was one of the first members.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (Getty Images).

The two-week campout at Bohemian Grove – a rural retreat with 2,700 trees – began six years later as a send-off for an actor moving to New York.

Over time, the club’s artistic roots expanded to include businessmen and politicians. Members are welcome to bring guests, but the meeting is closed to the media and outsiders.

Who belongs to the club?

The list of 2,500 members is secret. However, some information has leaked.

Former partners include US presidents. Herbert Hoover, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixonplus a litany of famous writers, actors, and businessmen.

The club’s motto, taken from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” is “Weaving Spiders Don’t Come Here,” a warning against business talk that has often been ignored.

The planning meeting 1942 Manhattan Projectheld at the Grove, led to the development of the atomic bomb.

Members of the Bohemian Grove in 1967, including Ronald Reagan, Harvey Hancock, and Richard Nixon. (Wikimedia Commons).

What really happens there?

Apparently, the two-week stay includes stage performances, rituals, lots of drinking and open-air urination.

through the yearsanti-capitalist, environmental and anti-nuclear protesters have protested against the eventAlthough a local report from last year pointed out that the protests have been reduced over time.

Journalists have repeatedly attempted to infiltrate the location.

An article published in 1989 in the magazine Spy described the camp as “the most exclusive frat party in the world” and detailed a speech by Reagan, who had just left office.

In the year 2000, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones snuck in and recorded one of the club’s rituals, the burning of an effigy.

He made a documentary full of lurid accusations about grand plots and human sacrifices.

He was accompanied by journalist Jon Ronson, who had a totally different opinion and who later wrote:

“My most lasting impression was of an all-pervasive sense of immaturity… I wondered if bohemians were wrapped up in secrecy for reasons no more sinister than thinking it was interesting.”

The club is currently advertising job openings for bartenders, security officers and other positions for events this summer; what is not known, however, is who the attendees will be.

Source: Elcomercio