The Rajneesh cult takeover is perhaps one of rural Oregon's most bizarre claims to fame. Watch this Aerial America clip for a soaring view of the place where it all began. http://bit.ly/2Kzdz62 | Smithsonian Channel

Today — 36 years ago — Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh landed in Central Oregon and kicked off one of the most bizarre chapters in the state's history. | OPB

Rajneeshpuram: The Cult That Took Over an American Town 🔥 In the 1980s, a man from India came to the American desert preaching peace, pleasure, and enlightenment. But behind the red robes and Rolls-Royces… was a story of control, betrayal, and one of the biggest bio-terror attacks in U.S. history. They didn’t just build a commune — they built a city. They took over the local government, poisoned salad bars, and tried to rewrite democracy in their image. It started as a dream. It ended as a war

They called it utopia — but it became one of the wildest cult stories in American history. 😳 In the 1980s, thousands of followers of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh moved into a tiny Oregon town called Antelope… and took it over. They wore red, preached “free love,” and built their own city in the desert — but behind the peace and meditation was a storm of power, manipulation, and control. Then came the shocking twist: a bioterror attack, hundreds sick, and the dramatic fall of a so-called p