What if I were to tell you
that every year, America's most powerful men, politicians, CEOs,
even presidents of the United States gather at a secret
retreat in northern California to set the agenda
for our nation? In 1878, the Bohemian Club
held their first retreat at a place called the Grove. Over the years, the all-male,
invitation-only retreat has included everyone
from Walter Cronkite to Warren Buffett. I've heard all kinds of crazy
stories about what happens at the Grove, from the
origins of the Manhattan Project in 1942 to
the determination of presidential
candidates since 1900, even that the roots
of the United Nations came out of talks at the Grove. But the members of
the Bohemian Club simply do not talk about what
goes on, so the speculation is endless. Only the members know
what the truth is. But if you tell me that FDR,
Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton
are all members of the same secret
organization, I want to know what this
group is all about. I'm Brad Meltzer. I've spent my life
collecting stories. [upbeat music] The best include signs, symbols,
and codes, secret meanings that are hidden in plain sight. Some have become the
basis for my novels, but I've only scratched the
surface of what's out there. And now, history has
given me the resources to investigate the rest. This is "Decoded." [dramatic music] [upbeat music] BRAD (ON PHONE): Who's ready
to join a super secret club? SCOTT: Hey, what's up, Brad?
- Brad. I am. BRAD (ON PHONE): You are going
to one of the most secret, exclusive places in
the entire world, to the home of Bohemian Grove. The question is, what is
going on in this place? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that is the question. BRAD (ON PHONE): And you know
what the most amazing part is, Mac, is whatever
is going on, you'll never find out because there's
no women allowed in the place. Oh, come on. BUDDY: [laughing] CHRISTINE: Do they
know what year it is? BRAD (ON PHONE): Maybe it's the
world's best funded frat party. But you know what
I care about most, is that no recording
comes out of there. They won't tell
you what goes on. And no one's allowed inside. And you know what that means? I want to go inside. Exactly. [dramatic music] BRAD: However you
slice it, these are some of the men who make the
biggest decisions in America. And they're meeting annually
in the California woods to discuss the future
of our country. Not only that, but
they're extremely vigilant about keeping
outsiders away. People have tried for years
to infiltrate this group with almost no success. So maybe it's just summer
camp for rich people, but even if it is,
why keep it so secret? CRAIG: The Bohemian
Club was started in 1872 by a number of journalists. [dramatic music] It was a club to get
together after work and have a good time. Pretty soon thereafter, it
started to change its character as it let in non-artists, just
patrons, patrons who had money. And artists usually need money. Did they sort of
take over and change the flavor of this thing? Let's take the
motto of the club, "Weaving Spiders Come Not
Here," from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." And that was originally the
motto for an intent to not bring your business here. "Weaving Spiders
Come Not Here?" Yeah, don't come here and
make deals and weave, you know. SCOTT: OK. But when you have
more businessmen, and as we see it eventually
morphs into something where you have people in the
highest levels of major power sectors of society coming there. It's known now for
opportunities for networking that are very beneficial. [dramatic music] BUDDY: You know, I'm not much
of a conspiracy theorist, but I think when you've got
the most powerful people in the world, the most powerful,
influential men who won't let anyone else know
exactly what's going on, gives a little
cause for concern. Craig, how come
we can't go there. If we just wanted to
go in to check it out, why wouldn't we be able to? To be a full member,
$25,000, 15-year waiting list. So it's quite expensive. If you're not an active
member or you're not a guest, you can't get in. [dramatic music] "Weaving Spiders Come
Not Here" is a great motto. I want to steal it for myself. But there's been debate about
what the Bohemian motto means for decades. While some believe that
Heimbichner's assessment is right, others say
that the meaning is completely different. They believe that it
means that lies are not welcome at the club. And that makes
complete sense to me. What isn't in dispute though
is the exclusivity of the club. There is said to be
only 2,700 full members and that the waiting list
numbers some 20,000 people. The thing you have
to remember is that these guys are
ultra-secretive, so information is scarce. And that's when rumors
quickly get started. [dramatic music] So what is the
Cremation of Care? The word "cremation" kind
of gives me the willies. Yes. Cremation of Care is
the big kickoff ceremony that opens up the camp. And it started in 1881. It's now done with the voice
of Walter Cronkite as the owl, but let's talk--
CHRISTINE: What? CRAIG: And he was a member.
- Hang on a second. Hang on a second.
- That is wild. Walter Cronkite's
voice is in an owl? Is the owl. It's a 40-foot owl. It's huge. It's at the owl
shrine in the lake. And what they do is
they get together. They're in red robes. CHRISTINE: He says
matter of factly. BUDDY: (DEEP VOICE)
I'm Walter Cronkite. CRAIG: You have to do
this matter of factly because it's just too
much ripe material. But there's a huge
ceremony, a lot of ritual. And what they talk about is
cremating care, the dull care of the world. So they're going to go
into this big party, and they're going to kind
of put their conscience and their worries
aside, so to speak. They end up investing care, all
their cares into this coffin. And it's burned, actually,
at the foot of the owl. And there's a lot of cheering
and all that sort of thing when it happens. When you say partying
for two weeks though, I still would love to
know what that looks like. CRAIG: All right, what
it looks like, well, you have people peeing against
redwood trees, getting naked. BUDDY: Yes. You have fishnet
stockings, people in drag, Elvis impersonators. You have a lot of
crazy stuff going down. BUDDY: Wait, wait.
- So it's like a-- Was J. Edgar Hoover a member? William Casey was a member. It's like a barbecue
at your house. [laughing] This is my kind
of party, cross-dressing, urinating-- CRAIG: Get on the list. You got $25,000? BUDDY: These are the people who
shape the way we think, what we purchase, whether we go to war. Right. CHRISTINE: How our
taxes are spent. That's right.
SCOTT: Who's elected. CRAIG: That's right. BUDDY: So what about
infiltrating the Grove? [chuckling] That's
pretty tough to do now. Security is really tight there. You can't just walk in. BUDDY: That doesn't
mean we won't try. CHRISTINE: Just makes
me want to do it more. SCOTT: More determined. You tell her something she
can't do, she wants to do it. [dramatic music] BRAD: We all know that
secrets are hard to keep. So it amazes me that these
guys have been able to do it so well for so long. Now there are some things we do
know about the Bohemian Club. The owl, which is
their mascot, is said to represent their thirst
for knowledge of all things. [dramatic music] The origins of the
name "Bohemian" are also extremely interesting
and not what you think. The patron saint of the
club is St. John of Nepomuk. He was a 14th
century Czech priest who was the queen's confessor. St. John was martyred when he
refused to divulge the secrets of the confessions to the king. And the original name for the
area that became Czech Republic was Bohemia. [upbeat music] BUDDY: All right, we should
just chat with some folks. CHRISTINE: Stop here.
It's a coffee shop. BUDDY: Information happens
at coffee shops, right? SCOTT: Hello. We're trying to find out a
little more about the Bohemian Grove. Do you know if it's around
here, anything about it? CHRISTINE: She doesn't
want to talk to you. Apparently not. BUDDY: We're just trying to find
out about the Bohemian Grove and maybe how we can find
our way there and get in. WOMAN: No way.
BUDDY: OK. SCOTT: Do you know anybody that
belongs or anything like that? WOMAN: No. Do you know anything
about Bohemian Grove? Being local, there's a lot
of people that work there. And it's all hush-hush. BUDDY: Wait, so even the
employees are sworn to secrecy? Probably. How do the locals
feel about the place? I can only speak for myself. There's a song out
that says, "I don't want to gain the whole
world and lose my soul." BUDDY: [chuckles] Wow. Really, you feel like those
are the kinds of people that come to this?
- Absolutely, absolutely. CHRISTINE: They have the
whole world but no soul? Yeah. OK, you might think that
the locals are afraid to talk, ooh, spooky,
someone got to them, but maybe they're just
playing this smart. Every July, there's a
huge infusion of cash into this small, little town. And the residents might not
want to bite the hand that feeds them. Still, Buddy, Mac, and
Scott need to find out the other side of this story. [dramatic music] BUDDY: You know, it's weird. Only two weeks a year,
the thing is ongoing. And then what happens
the rest of the year? I'm wondering how tight can
security be on this place. CHRISTINE: Yeah, exactly. There's no one there now, so
we should be able to get in. But here's the deal, guys. If there are no
trespassing signs, we have to be careful
because if we pass those we could end up
getting arrested. But this is research.
It's different. We're not trying
to steal anything. All right, how hard can it be? [dramatic music playing] BUDDY: Whoa.
CHRISTINE: No trespassing. SCOTT: Not through
road, no trespassing. CHRISTINE: Violators
will be prosecuted. Yeah, but on the other
hand, there's a parking place up here. And the gate is not shut. SCOTT: OK, you guys ready? We're going to go for it,
just a little further. CHRISTINE: Yeah. [dramatic music] BUDDY: Oh, there's a
video surveillance sign. CHRISTINE: Oh, whoopsie. [dramatic music] BRAD: The Grove is among
the most well hidden places in America, and its
location is no accident. The redwood tree
canopy is so thick, the place might as well be
covered by a concrete dome. The first piece of the
Grove was bought in 1899, and it was made up of 160
acres at the beginning. By the 1960s, Bohemian
Grove had grown to the 2,700 acres it is today. So what's it worth? A woodlands preservation group
recently paid $4,800 an acre for land that was nearby. That would place the value of
the Grove for the land alone at $13 million. [dramatic music] - I'm Buddy.
- How are you? My name's Greg.
- Good. Good to see you.
- Nice to meet you. - Scott.
- Scott, nice to meet you. We can't take a look? No, it's private property. Are you a ranger? No, I work for the
people that own this. CHRISTINE: We can't even just
go right there and peek in? No. - Seriously?
- Yeah. I mean, honestly,
I mean, just why? How come? It's owned by a private
group of people that don't want to have any cameras in there.
- Don't want us. No. How about just us
without the cameras? No. Buddy's got $100. [laughter] We're wondering,
in the meantime, maybe just a look-see
at the 40-foot owl. No. BUDDY: No? CHRISTINE: He's
got backup, guys. SCOTT: How did you
know we were here? - Somebody told me.
- Oh, they did? They dropped the dime on us?
BUDDY: A little owl? CHRISTINE: Who told you?
- A little owl told you? No.
[laughter] CHRISTINE: And are you going to
now really, truly kick us off? Uh oh. SCOTT: OK, listen. Nobody's saying anything. We've obviously caused a
little bit of a stir here. CHRISTINE: Yeah, that was weird. BUDDY: I mean, within minutes. SCOTT: They don't want us
in there, really badly. Clearly.
CHRISTINE: Now I feel-- I mean, now I feel like,
yeah, there's something really interesting going on. BUDDY: OK. SCOTT: All right,
let's see what happens. I think it's time for
us to get out of here. What do you think? BRAD: OK, before
everyone gets all uppity, this doesn't mean that the
Bohemian Club members are trying to eat your babies. But it is a pretty
good indicator of how the folks at the
Bohemian Club operate. Greg, the security guard,
he was real friendly. He was real pleasant to
Buddy, Mac, and Scott, right? But he wasn't being completely
straight with them either. Before Greg came out
to talk, he'd already called the local police on us. So of course Bohemian Grove,
it's private property. They're well within their rights
in preventing trespassers. But for the first time,
we saw the iron fist that sits inside that velvet glove. [dramatic music] We're in Monte Rio, California
investigating the Bohemian Club. It's one of the most exclusive
and secretive societies in the world. Every summer, the
club holds a retreat at a place called the Grove. And many at the club are
some of the richest and most powerful members of our country. We're talking about presidents,
cabinet members, CEOs, generals, even
Hollywood celebrities. The club has a strict policy
of never revealing what goes on behind the gates of the Grove. So think of it like "Fight
Club" for rich people. And you know rule number
one of "Fight Club." There are a variety of
stories about what happens at the meetings, including
decisions about-- if you want to believe this-- who even gets to
run for president. [dramatic music] No big surprise, we've
already been turned away at the gates of Bohemian Grove. So now Buddy, Mac, and Scott are
about to meet with Mary Moore. She's a local activist
who's been protesting the club and the Grove
since the early 1980s. [dramatic music] MARY: I could care less
that they're dancing around in tutus, having sex with each
other, having sex with hookers. I don't really care. [dramatic music] There are a few people
on a global level that are pretty much profiting off
of what a lot of other people are in misery about,
wars, rearming America. So what, they want to
have a private conversation? Well, the fact that
these are public policy talks without the public
being privy to them. [dramatic music] They actually brag
about the fact that the Manhattan Project was
conceived at the Grove in 1942. The Manhattan
Project, of course, is what led to the atom bomb. Another thing that's just come
down through the oral history, Richard Nixon and
Ronald Reagan had a talk there about who was going
to run for president first. SCOTT: And obviously,
Richard Nixon won that. MARY: Right. And often these talks
are indicative of what's to come in the next year or so. For example, in 1981
Caspar Weinberger, who was then secretary of
defense in Reagan's cabinet, spoke on rearming America. And if you know your
history, that was the time that the arms buildup happened. BRAD: What Moore is
referring to is in the 1980s, Reagan led a plan to
refortify the US Armed Forces. Reagan had pledged
during the 1980 campaign to restore our military
supremacy over the Soviet Union. It was a fantastic plan. And many point to the
Weinberger speech at the Grove as the beginning of this. So you see what happened? It was spoken
about at the Grove. And then it happened in reality. [dramatic music] Moore seems to be
angrier about the how than the what in this case. You know what? I don't blame her. OK, shouldn't these guys who
are in charge of these things be talking about this stuff? I mean, seems like
they should be. Sure. I've said all along,
not that they care, make these lakeside talks public
so we can know, you know, what you're planning. And we'll go away. Turn it into a
town hall meeting. MARY: Sure. Government, as we
all know, does not operate the way we learned it
in civics, at least the way I learned it in civics long ago.
CHRISTINE: Right. But public policy and
policymaking decisions, they're made on golf courses--
- Yeah. --in country clubs,
stuff like that. MARY: Again, and this is
a golf course on steroids. And it happens to be
extremely private. These are not, you know, your
soldiers in the military. These are the generals
and the admirals. Several of them had
spoken up there. These are the Republican
presidents, the Fortune 500. Is it overstating
things to suggest that the members of
the Bohemian Grove are the people
running the world? It's not like they're
up there saying, you know, what can
we do now to make the world a horrible place? It's more of greed,
and power, and ego-- Mhm. MARY: --kind of run amok. Mostly they're getting
drunk and all the things that they're infamous for. [dramatic music] Mary has spent the last
30 years investigating the Bohemian Club. And you know why
she cares about it? Because it's right
in her own backyard. BUDDY: Oh, this is very cool. OK. OK. Um, gosh, I don't
know what to show you. These are the programs
for the Cremation of Care for within the Grove. This is, again, smuggled out
to us by some of the help. But you can see from the
covers that they are very much open to interpretation. I would say. And it's why the
Cremation of Care has taken up so
much speculation. Mary, can I take that
picture down for a second? MARY: Sure. So this is the Cremation
of Care ceremony? Right. SCOTT: Oh, that's a
real photograph of it? MARY: That's a photograph.
- Big deal. SCOTT: Look at the owl. BUDDY: The owl is huge.
MARY: That's the owl. Oh, it's a 40-foot--
SCOTT: 40 feet. MARY: --40-foot stone owl. Wow. Like god, you know. It says, bohos in drag. MARY: Since no women are
allowed to be members up there, they put on plays every year. CHRISTINE: OK. And so they have to take
the part of the women. CHRISTINE: Of the women. SCOTT: Mary, what is this? MARY: This is a
schedule of events. I think that's from '86. See, this is my proof-- SCOTT: Right. MARY: --that I can tell
you who is speaking when-- SCOTT: Oh, [inaudible]. MARY: --and what
their subject is. And that's what I've done here. I've just put 20 years
on one piece of paper. Here's an interesting one. The topic was the problem
of big government. I bet you would want to
hear what that was about. I want to hear what
all of them are about. SCOTT: I really would like
to talk to somebody who's been inside. The secrecy that surrounds
this thing is unbelievable. I mean, we've been
to the CIA, and it doesn't seem like the
security is as tight as it is at this place. [upbeat music] BRAD (ON PHONE):
What's interesting to me is it sounds like this
Cremation of Care ceremony that has been going on for over
100 years, that has to mean something. And I think it's worth finding
out, what does it really mean? I want to know what it means. I want to know what multiple
presidents are watching for over 100 years. See if you can find
us another way in. Let's see if we can
get in this place because sometimes it's
just a matter of asking the right person.
- Yeah. BRAD (ON PHONE): But I
really would like to get in. SCOTT: We're on it. We'll get back to you. [dramatic music] BRAD: To my knowledge,
only one man has ever snuck into the Grove
during their July event. In the year 2000,
Alex Jones actually managed to covertly record the
Cremation of Care ceremony. And while I want to hear how he
interprets what he saw there, what I'm really hoping is he'll
tell Buddy, Mac, and Scott how he got inside. ALEX: Other members of
the press have gotten in, but they've always been arrested
and had their film confiscated. And in July of 2000, I snuck
in and shot some hidden video, the only video to ever
get out of the Grove. [dramatic music] SCOTT: How did you
manage to sneak in? ALEX: I basically
came to the main gate and crawled down through
the swamp, and then went up and got into the
main parking area where they have these big,
open-backed trucks that come in and take the members in. And I basically just
climbed onto the truck with some other members, had
a conversation with them. And then they stopped us
at an internal checkpoint. And some security people
climbed on, asking us what group we were with. And I knew enough about
some of the club's names inside to tell them I was
part of the Hillbillies, which is the Texas delegation, the
Bushes and their friends. BUDDY: And your accent worked. And yeah, I got to say,
you kind of look the part. BRAD: So Alex Jones actually
sneaks into Bohemian Grove with a video camera. And he shoots the
footage of what he saw. Legally we're not allowed to
show it to you because he broke the law in obtaining
it, but I've seen it, and it is pretty
compelling stuff. SCOTT: Did you ever think you
were going to get found out, Alex, while you were in there?
- Oh, the whole time. And I basically just
sat behind a building on the grass for the next
two and 1/2 hours or so. And then as it got
dark, I then went out to witness the Cremation
of Care ritual. I'm wondering why
you wanted to get in there in the first place. ALEX: Well, I had begun to
research Skull and Bones, Skull and Bones at Yale. Bohemian Grove is where
they all get together. BRAD: People love blaming
things on Skull and Bones. The rumors run rampant about
the legendary secret Yale fraternity. They've been accused of stealing
the bones of Geronimo, Pancho Villa, and even our eighth
president, Martin Van Buren. But none of that has
ever been proven. The club taps members
of the Yale junior class to join its ranks. And past members have included
William F. Buckley, John Kerry, both presidents Bush, and of
course, the late president William Howard Taft. And it was William
Howard Taft, the president who came here to the Bohemian
Grove, who, of course, was a high level Skull and Bones
member who first began to talk about a world government, a
league of nations, which was then picked up a few years
later by Woodrow Wilson. And so this whole
system is their plan for a world government. And it is based on a
Germanic death cult. And you've got all
these world leaders and all these powerful
people together before they have the ritual beneath these
giant redwoods in this huge-- Hall of the Mountain
King is what it's like. It's scary. You're talking about
a new world order. You're talking about
a big conspiracy, about these people getting
together and talking about stuff that's going to
basically bring us all down. And we're still here. I know the direction these
guys are taking this in. It's undemocratic. You've got all these CIA
directors, attorney generals, vice presidents, presidents. Going head to the Grove? You have the former German
chancellor, Helmut Schmidt. He says we have our own
Druidic Groves in Germany. But my favorite place to go--
and he calls it Druidic-- is northern California. [dramatic music] Groves have held a sacred
place in the lore of Druids for centuries. This mysterious order
of Celtic priests have performed both human
and animal sacrifice in their groves in
ancient England. And historically, similar
orders, Romans, Greeks, Scandinavians, also all consider
groves to be sacred spaces. What happened once
the ceremony began? It was so creepy. I had snuck in. I'd seen the 40-foot stone owl. I'd seen the black altar in
front of it during the day. Then as it got dark, to watch
over 1,000 prominent people march down the little
pond in front of this idol and then to see the
ritual unfold from there, I was thinking one
thing, get the footage and get out of here. [dramatic music] BRAD: Some of the wealthiest
and most influential men in the country are meeting to
discuss some of the biggest ideas not just in
America, but worldwide. Are they making
handshake agreements? Come on. I don't think US presidents
are meeting in secret to plot against us. But I do believe that there
are people out there who would benefit from hanging
out socially with a president. So the question is, how
far would those people go? [dramatic music] We're in California
investigating the Bohemian Club. In the year 2000,
Alex Jones actually managed to covertly record the
Cremation of Care ceremony. Anyone could have
busted him any second. It reminded me of that scene
from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where the
non-body snatchers are trying to blend in with everyone else. When he gets to the spot where
they do the Cremation of Care ceremony though, it
suddenly gets real dark. It's a scene that looks
like a crowded amusement park at night, you
know, when everyone's standing around
shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the
fireworks to start. As the ceremony
begins, people are dressed in what looked like long
robes, like a monk would wear. They're carrying
flaming torches. They start walking on and off
some sort of stage set in front of this giant owl. [dramatic music] SCOTT: What are we seeing here?
- Is that a person? I mean, it looks like
a cross or something. That's a person. It's a herald. And he's saying, for behold,
here is Bohemia's shrine. And holy are the
pillars of this house. This is their temple,
these redwoods. And while all this is going
on, a black carriage comes out, an old-fashioned
hearse led by horses. And there is a body,
an effigy there. The owl is saying,
there's only one goddess that can help us,
only one true deity. And they bring fire. And the owl starts
speaking to them, saying, you've got to burn all care. And it's an effigy of a
child-sized human figure. So then care says,
no, you're not. And a thunderbolt
is thrown down. BRAD: And what looks like a
comet shoots through the air and at the stage. Alex says it was an
elaborate pyrotechnic show, and that was it. That was the Cremation
of Care ceremony. And I can tell you it looks
no better, no cooler than what they have in a
fraternity, but just with really good pyrotechnics. SCOTT: Oh, I got you. BUDDY: So this is part
of the pyrotechnics. ALEX: Yes. And then the owl starts
speaking and said, listen, you got to give me that effigy. You got to burn it right now. And I'll take care
of all your problems. [dramatic music] A word of caution
here, and this may be the most important thing
I say in this entire episode. It is very dangerous to
try to interpret something from the outside. It's as if someone
unfamiliar with Christianity stepped into a Catholic
church and heard a priest in the middle of
Holy Communion say the words, this is the body of Christ. This is the blood of Christ. Without knowing the
context, a ritual can seem strange or unusual,
even a little frightening. The same goes for
the Cremation of Care or any other
unfamiliar ceremony. Without context, we cannot
possibly know what is going through the mind of
the Bohemian Grovers. The only problem,
they're not talking. Alex, have you had any
ramifications for having snuck into this place? ALEX: Right after
we shot the footage, I was trying to send
it out to the media. And in three separate instances,
we would copy the tapes, have them, check them, mail
them, and they would be erased. They didn't get
lost three times. They got erased three times. Right when I got home about a
week after, we would get death threats routinely where they
would say, I'm watching you, I see the little
chihuahua in the backyard, and in a very mean voice
like out of a movie say, I'm going to cut your head off. SCOTT: Oh, jeez. Alex, you're the most familiar
with the place that we know of. What's another way
to get in there other than through the gate? Well, they do arrest
people if they trespass. I mean, it happens all the time. It is a high surveillance area. I saw a lot of cables
going up into the trees and saw cameras
all over the place. And the security, since I snuck
in, it massively increased. You might be able to
get in a little bit, but if you actually try to
infiltrate all the way in, the handcuffs are going on you. If we try to go in there,
would you go with us? Oh, yes, this will be
my fifth time being there. And I know exactly where it is. I mean, I can lead
you right to it. But if you guys want to go
in, the risk is up to you. [dramatic music] BRAD: The Bohemian Club
didn't become exclusive just by being secretive. In fact, I'm fascinated by all
the people who are members. This membership list is
closely held, and very few people have access to it. But you know why they
call this show "Decoded?" Because we actually
managed to get the list through an anonymous source. And it reveals quite a bit
about the make up of the club. [dramatic music] BUDDY: I suppose
the most shocking find was this bizarre confluence
of sort of quirky people. I mean, Jimmy Buffett is a
member, the Rockefellers. They aren't necessarily people
that you would expect to be hanging out at the same party. [dramatic music] BRAD: OK, here's where we are. Buddy and Mac are dying to
get a look inside the Grove. And obviously walking
through the front gate has no way of working,
but there is another way. The Russian River
runs past the Grove. And good news for them,
it's public property. So now it's time to think
about a water approach. Could be done. [dramatic music] SCOTT: So what did you find out? BUDDY: Well, I tell you what. In looking down the 2010
Bohemian Club members list, what's remarkable
is the number of them that are among the top 200
richest men in the world, not just in America,
in the world. And they're here, what,
throwing off their dull care for a couple of weeks and
transforming into something other? It's very strange to me. And they start it off
with a weird ritual. My question is, beyond the
Cremation of Care ceremony, beyond the lakeside talks,
what else are these guys doing? Tell me they don't talk
a little bit of shop after the lakeside chat is over.
CHRISTINE: They have to. They have to. After the play is over
and they're pounding booze, we've heard,
something's coming out. [upbeat music] CHRISTINE: I want to get
in the Grove even more now. Talking about the sacred
space, I want to feel it. If it's truly a sacred
space, I kind of just-- I want in. I want to see how it feels. So how are we going
to get in there? It turns out I've reconnoitered
an alternate route down the Russian River that gets
us directly to a swimming hole bordering on the edges of
the Bohemian Grove property. Nice. So I think we can take
boats, paddle our way right to the fringes of
the Bohemian Grove, and see what we can find out. I like that. We couldn't do it by land. Let's try it by sea.
- Yes. - Absolutely, I'm game.
- OK. Let's paddle into
the Bohemian Grove. Let's do it. Absolutely. [dramatic music] These guys are obviously
determined to get inside, but they have no
idea what they'll find when they get in there. [dramatic music] The secret of Bohemian Club is
among America's most exclusive. The biggest secret is their
2,700-acre retreat in northern California that they
call simply the Grove. The ultra-hidden spot is home to
a variety of summer ceremonies. And outsiders are
prohibited from entering. Peter Phillips wrote his
doctoral dissertation on Bohemian Grove. This guy has actually
spent time at the Grove as a guest of one
of the members. And he was able to observe
what really goes on inside firsthand. [dramatic music] CHRISTINE: We've tried to
talk to people that we know that have friends
who are members. We've tried to talk to people
in town about the Grove. And we've just been shut down. How did you get
them to talk to you? They respect academics. My PhD dissertation was
on the Bohemian Grove. And you know, after
a couple of years they trusted that I was sincere
and wanted to portray the club accurately and honestly. [dramatic music] I studied the Bohemian Grove
for two years, collecting data, and actually visited
the Grove in '94 as a guest of the
Silverado Squatters camp and spent three
and 1/2 days there. I remember a fellow
dressed up like Mark Twain. And he was doing readings. There were plays. There was poetry readings. There was music throughout
the camp at various groups and bands. You could walk in, there'd
be banjo players singing. So it was-- it was a lot of fun. Do you think they're
making decisions there that impact all of our lives? PETER: Oh, absolutely. Or they're in the position to.
CHRISTINE: Right. They don't have
meetings at the Grove to make decisions
about specific things. But the members there are able
to access powerful people, people that can, you
know, make things happen for them in society. So what did you find
when you were there and you interviewed them? What was the sociological
significance? Since I'll never
be able to visit, what can I compare it to? The same men go every year
and spend two weeks together. And there's an intimacy
there that they call the spirit of Bohemia. You know, they
really cherish that. So there's a personal privacy. So when they had this
Cremation of Care ceremony, they're honoring the intimacies
that they find there. So what's really
happening here? Is this good for these guys? Is it good for us? It's a concentration
of powerful people in one place at one time. CHRISTINE: Mhm. PETER: Are they doing
anything nefarious? No.
- Right. But are there results from
what happened in the world because of these men's power--
CHRISTINE: Yeah. --and what they're
doing in the world, yes. Military adventures
worldwide, globalization and privatization, and
wealth concentration. And in that context, I think
we need to call them out. [dramatic music] So just how exclusive
is the Bohemian Club? It's got a $25,000 initiation
fee for just two weeks a year, plus a 15-year waiting list. We're talking America's
real power elite. But I think what Peter says
makes a huge amount of sense. There is no question
these guys are powerful. But there's also no question
that people will be more likely to leave them alone
if they just did away with the secrecy that
shrouds Bohemian Grove. In fact, it's that
secrecy that's drawing Buddy and Mac to
want to get inside and see for themselves. After rolling up
to the front gate and getting stopped by
security, Buddy, Mac, and Scott were warned not to come back. And I have to tell you,
I'm not sure if it's smart, but if they do get
inside you better believe I want to
know what they find. Filmmaker Alex Jones, who
snuck into the Grove himself, has shown them how he got in
and has offered to show them how to ride the public
Russian River past the Grove. [dramatic music] Now this is a famous river. It empties out to the ocean. And you had a lot of Italian,
Russian, German, Spanish immigrants here. And then when the railroad
came here in the 1890s, that's when the elites
of the East Coast began coming out here. And they developed what
is now the Bohemian Grove. [upbeat music] BRAD: So who has what rights
when a public waterway flows through private property? First of all, anyone has the
right to be on the river. That's not an issue,
because navigable rivers and their banks are
held in public trust. The tricky part is what
happens when someone steps onto the river bank. The courts have ruled that the
boundary between public rivers and private property
is what they call the ordinary high water mark. But Buddy, Mack, and Scott have
no way of knowing whether it's higher than usual. So to know when
they're trespassing will be anyone's guess. BUDDY: Here's the question. Will there be cameras
near the swimming hole? When I snuck into
Bohemian Grove a decade ago, there were cameras and
motion sensors everywhere. And they knew we were coming. - Really?
- Yeah. So I don't know what's
going to happen. [mysterious music] SCOTT: We thought we were in
really good shape going in in this weather. It's pouring rain. I can't imagine anybody's even
standing outside expecting anybody to come. ALEX: You could see it from that
one observation point, right? BUDDY: Oh, this is it?
SCOTT: Yeah. OK, everybody ease up.
Everybody ease up. BUDDY: OK, but listen--
SCOTT: Sh, sh. CHRISTINE: Let's go to the left.
Buddy, left. SCOTT: Everybody stop paddling.
Stop paddling. [dramatic music] CHRISTINE: Why aren't we going-- Listen, I don't see
a no trespassing sign, so I don't think we're doing
anything wrong by landing these boats right now. [dramatic music] So at this point,
the only sign says there's no lifeguard on duty. We're fine with that. Here's the deal with
a no trespassing sign. If you didn't see it,
it's not posted properly. So if you end up going up over
here and you didn't see it, you didn't see it. Did you see it?
CHRISTINE: I don't see one. Let's go.
- OK. We're going to go off and
take a look at the woods. I want to go up there. ALEX: That's the only way up. You go up, there's
a bridge across, and you're in the main area. OK. [dramatic music] SCOTT: There's a cop up there. There's a cop up there. [heartbeat pounding] CHRISTINE: [bleep]. Here he comes. Get-- go, go, go. Go. Go, Alex. Get Alex out of here. SCOTT: The whole
mission blew up. It was chaos. The cops came. They're still up there. I think they're
getting arrested. I don't know what's
happening to them. You know, these
guys are my friends. I'm really worried about them. I hope they're OK, but I have no
idea what's going on right now. Let me tell you
how this played out from my end of the phone. My phone starts ringing. Don't forget, they're
on the West Coast. I was on the East Coast. So it's almost midnight. And when the phone is
ringing at midnight, you know something
bad has happened. [dramatic music] We're in northern California
looking into the Bohemian Club and their ultra-secretive
retreat, the Grove. Mac and Buddy were
going up that hill. They're searching. They're trying to
find any signs. They can't find anything. And then the security guards
started screaming at them. And that's when the
real trouble began. [dramatic music] CHRISTINE: [bleep]. Here he comes. Get-- go, go, go. Go. Go, Alex. Get Alex out of here. BRAD: We had absolutely no
clue where they've been taken or even if they were
OK for nine hours. We were terrified. Finally, we got the call that
they were at the police station in Santa Rosa, 30
miles from the Grove. Scott was the one
who bailed them out. And we're about to hear for the
very first time what happened to them. You're here. Our lawyer. Our lawyer's late.
Let's just put it that way. God. We just started climbing up
because there was this bridge. And there was all this
interesting stuff. And I just kept
thinking, oh, we're here. We're really here. And who's going to be out here? You know, certainly we
can wind our way in there. And then we saw this
little sort of house thing, like, I guess a guard
house or something. And then I just saw a truck. And then-- It's always scary to be
stuffed and cuffed, when you're a relatively large fellow,
in the back of a police car. And it was very foggy. And so we couldn't see so well. It was all rather ethereal
and a little bit spooky. We were printed. I had my mugshot
taken, seriously. And we were in there
in the holding, you know, in holding with
some interesting people. Buddy made friends
with everybody, like seriously made friends with
every single person in holding. BUDDY: Here's the thing. Clearly the worst part
of this whole experience is having to depart the
Sonoma County adult detention center in, like, the world's
worst bowling outfit. Our clothes were wet. - We're so wet.
- Our clothes were wet. That's hot. The only way I would go
back to the Bohemian Grove would be as an invited guest. And I'm guessing that
my options for that have limited themselves
significantly. We had--
- Let's go get you guys dry. We had the exit strategy,
and we kind of jumped it. I know.
I just, I thought we had to. But we've had a
hell of an experience. SCOTT: All right, well--
CHRISTINE: We have nunchucks. SCOTT: --what lessons have
we learned from this, OK? BUDDY: [laughing]
CHRISTINE: Being in jail sucks. SCOTT: When you-- when you--
BUDDY: Oh, god. [upbeat music] BRAD: Buddy and Mac
clearly paid a heavy price for their curiosity. Without endorsing
breaking the law, I do understand why they did it. When you shroud
something in secrecy, people are going to want
to rip back the curtain and know the truth. [upbeat music] BUDDY: Oh, my god. That was intense. They are not playing around.
CHRISTINE: No, they're not. BUDDY: Oh, my god. When we were first cuffed and
in the back of the cop car, and we knew at that point we're
going somewhere in this vehicle but we don't know
where, and it's so foggy and rainy that
the windows are fogged up, and I'm thinking, I'm going to
get a ride through the Bohemian Grove. And I started-- I just
leaned over and started just rubbing my cheek
against the window to get a little view out. It was kind of
pathetic, you know. Well, and I-- at that point,
we had done little hand signals to-- I was saying, you
look out that side. I'm looking out this side,
because at least we might need to know our way back. And they were hauling
ass through the forest. CHRISTINE: They
didn't want us to see. SCOTT: But see, that was
the scary part for me, is I had no idea what was
happening to you guys. And frankly, with some of
the creepy stuff we've heard, I really didn't know.
CHRISTINE: It scared me too. I did start to think, you know,
as we get further and further into the forest and down dead
ends and stuff, I thought, that's-- That you'd never
be heard from again. I-- I don't want to sound
paranoid, but that is-- that was a thought. Great writers like
Henry David Thoreau pushed things and broke rules
in the interest of learning more about our own society,
our own culture. And so I think we did a little
bit of that on this trip. They were both
extremely brave, Brad. They had their game face on. It took a while,
but we got them out. And we are ready to get
back on mission here. BRAD (ON PHONE): Did they
charge you with anything? CHRISTINE: Yes.
BUDDY: Trespassing. BRAD (ON PHONE): And
everyone is truly OK? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm scared straight, basically. BRAD (ON PHONE): Listen, this is
what happens when you're doing the things that we do. And when we get knocked down,
then we get back up again. [mysterious music] BUDDY: Sometimes I think you
do get too close to the fire. And I'm feeling a little
bit like that here. So guys, any regrets
about the methodology that we tried to use to-- I had nine hours
of incarceration to think about this. The more I thought
about it, the less I was bothered by the Grove,
even though they had just arrested me. I sort of felt like,
they're allowed to do this. It's their property. And if they want to
continue to have presidents, and Saudi princes, and
military leaders come here, they need to promise those
guys that they'll be safe. Everyone we talk to
has said the same thing over and over again, but
in slightly different ways. Yes, this place is a confluence
of affluence and power. Power, right. I don't think we can
really argue with that. SCOTT: And don't you think
that's what really scares people about it? I mean, the exclusivity
is what scares us. Right. You're not letting me in. I don't get to see
what goes on there. So it's got to be bad. And honestly, there's a
part of me that's like, damn, I want in because they
won't allow me in. But there's also a
larger part of me that feels like people
are allowed to gather with the people they choose. And they're allowed to gather-- you know, freedom of
assembly, right to privacy. Those are bigger concepts to me. SCOTT: It's nothing deeper. There's nothing
weird going-- well, I wouldn't say there's
nothing weird going on here, but there's nothing
nefarious going on here. It's just like you
said, Buddy, a bunch of businessmen in a men's club. It's a serious,
serious fraternity that happens to be some players. BRAD: Looking in
from the outside, no one can deny that there are
powerful men getting together, forging bonds that
potentially can be used in the outside world. But when it comes to what
Buddy, Mac, and Scott just said, let me respectfully disagree. Sure, I love that people
are getting together to discuss vital issues
in an informed, civil way. The world needs more of
that, especially now. And I know there are great,
honorable men in this club. But what gets under my
fingernails about the Grove is that gnawing feeling
that, in secret, some people in this
country are having more say than others, as if the rest
of us are somehow clueless. This country wasn't
founded in secret. And when a small group, be
it Democrats or Republicans starts acting like its
own little monarchy, they shouldn't be shocked
when there's an uprising. To be clear, this
is a great club. And breaking laws isn't
a way to get into it, but a bit more disclosure,
a bit more transparency would go a long way.
