Shivangi Sinha
Eligio Bishop, also known as NatureBoy, began becoming visible on social media around 2017. At the time, he was living in Costa Rica and invited African Americans to join him in a lifestyle he described as pure and free from the oppression they had experienced in the US. He attracted a number of followers, but over time the situation began to change. Amid allegations of cult-like control and other accusations against him, the group went through a turbulent period that drew national attention. Hulu’s ‘The Cult of NatureBoy’ presents the full timeline, detailing the rise and fall of the group that authorities pursued across different locations around the world.
Eligio Bishop Worked as a Barber Before Moving Out of the Country to Start a Group
Eligio Lee Bishop was born in 1982 in Harlem, New York. He has given a vivid account of his childhood and said that his mother had a dependency on drugs, allegedly, and his father was quite old. He said that both his parents passed away when he was very young, and he and his brother were sent into foster care. He claimed that he had allegedly faced mental and physical abuse and detailed his supposed life with one of his foster parents, alleging that they considered him “unclean” because of his skin color. In his teenage years, he reportedly ran away many times and admitted that he was sent to multiple detention facilities as a juvenile. At the age of 16, he was transferred to East Jersey State Prison, where he allegedly attempted to take his life and was sent to a psych ward.
Eligio enrolled in the military after his release, but he said that he was let go because of his alleged psychiatric history. He then went on to work as a barber in Atlanta, Georgia, and was also working as a model, stripper, and porn actor to supplement his income. By 2011, he was the father of two kids and was living with his then-girlfriend, Maisha Evans. After an incident with her, he was charged with aggravated battery, but Evans reconciled with him, and he took a plea deal, which required him to serve probation and pay a $1000 fine. In 2015, he uploaded a video on YouTube from his bedroom titled ‘Natureboy How I Live & why.’ In it, he spoke about the injustices faced by the Black population and said he was moving out of the country and starting a new life of his own in nature.
In 2016, after posting about the shooting of Alton Sterling, Eligio moved to Honduras and settled at a rental property near Trujillo. It has been reported that at the beginning, three people followed him, and one of them allegedly handed over around $300,000, which funded their lives in a new country. He had about 10 followers and started posting pictures and videos of a life that seemed to be very much in sync with nature. However, by early 2017, they had moved to Costa Rica and continued their videos. The people who continued to join him were allegedly made to deposit their debit cards and hand over all their money to support the group’s finances.
Eligio Bishop Had a Daughter With a Woman He Claimed to be His Chieftess
Everyone who joined the group was given a different name by Eligio Bishop, and he himself went by NatureBoy. He presented his lifestyle as a vegan, environmentally conscious way of living, in which people lived in tents and used the outdoors as toilets. The group started going by the name Carbon Nation, and the main idea behind it was that melanin has supernatural powers that can be enhanced by the sun, and that African American people should live in tropical countries to amplify these powers. There was an ideological grounding of moving away from the West for liberation and finding it on one’s own terms. This is what attracted many people at a time when the population felt marginalized and targeted in the country’s broader political context.
The group of people who followed him alleged that his behavior changed over time. What started out as a group leader allegedly started presenting himself as a messiah or God himself and began exercising strict control over the group. They alleged that there was no room for questioning, and small things like romantic relationships within the group were also allegedly determined by Eligio. He even declared Velvet Rodriguez, also known as EJ, his “chieftess,” who later had a daughter with him. They only married in August 2010, but she alleged that she was constantly abused by him both in private and in front of the group.
Eligio Bishop and His Group Were Deported From Most Countries They Lived In
In October 2017, Eligio Bishop led his large group on a road trip in Costa Rica, and many of them reportedly had their visas and documents expire. They alleged that their self-proclaimed leader told them not to submit to authorities and to continue living without proper documentation. When the police caught them near Limón, Eligio livestreamed the entire incident on social media and claimed they were being targeted because of their race. Eventually, the authorities removed the group from the country, and they moved to Texas. They continued relocating over the years that followed to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Nicaragua. The group alleged that Eligio eventually made all the women stay with him in one house and all the men in another. The women said that they were allegedly abused and manipulated during the time they were with him.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit and quarantine measures were in place, Eligio decided to take his group to Hawaii. However, shortly after, they were all arrested for violating the state’s quarantine rules. Eligio spent time behind bars and ultimately pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 90 days. When he and his followers agreed to leave, the sentence was suspended. The group was deported from most of the countries they stayed in and were ultimately in Atlanta, Georgia. By then, a number of web sleuths had started raising an alarm about the alleged abuse of both men and women seen in their videos. The group’s presence also shifted online. At one point, after promoting a natural lifestyle, they were livestreaming fights between NatureBoy’s “wives,” disagreements among members, and other clickbait content that generated revenue for them.
Eligio Bishop is Serving a Life Sentence in Georgia Today
On the night of March 27, 2022, a small gathering took place at the house where the group lived in DeKalb County. Jenaé Newell was one of the members of the group, and she alleged that other women punched him, after which Eligio assaulted her and posted an explicit video of her online. She filed a report of revenge porn against him, and he was arrested at his house on April 13, 2022. Additional charges of rape and false imprisonment were also added. His trial only started in February 2024, during which he maintained his innocence. Velvet Rodriguez also testified against him and alleged that she had been abused physically, sexually, and emotionally.
Eligio was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment, and three counts of sending sexually explicit electronic transmissions without consent. He was handed down a life imprisonment sentence plus an additional 10 years. After his arrest, the group disbanded, though some still reportedly claim him as their messiah and demand his release. Several former members have spoken about their experiences and alleged that he exercised coercive and absolute control over their minds and bodies, along with claims of abuse and assault during their time in the group. He is now around 45 years old and is being held at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Georgia. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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