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Senator Klobuchar Seeks Federal Investigations of Fatal "Spiritual Warrior" Incident

October 26, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar is asking for a federal investigation of an October 8 “Spiritual Warrior” incident in Arizona that killed a Minnesota woman and two others.  Those who died were Liz Neuman of Prior Lake, Minnesota; Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York; and James Shore of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Klobuchar is asking both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the circumstances related to the “Spiritual Warrior” program run by motivational speaker James Arthur Ray.  Klobuchar serves on both the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees.

“People came from all parts of the country to attend an event which they believed would enhance their lives,” said Klobuchar.  “Instead, three people died, 18 were hospitalized and dozens more were traumatized.  Mr. Ray neither enhanced their lives nor protected their safety.”

According to news reports, at a cost of $9,685, approximately 60 people attended the five-day “Spiritual Warrior” program in Sedona, Arizona.  At the conclusion of the program, after 36 hours of fasting, they were crowded into a hot, small, low-ceiling enclosure covered with blankets and plastic tarps.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Klobuchar urges the Justice Department, in addition to any ongoing state investigation, “to review Mr. Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” program, determine whether any federal laws were violated, and take any appropriate action.”

In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Klobuchar asks the FTC “to take a close look at the marketing and advertising practices of Mr. Ray’s ‘Spiritual Warrior’ program and similar activities offered by other individuals and companies.”  Klobuchar also told the FTC that, “Consumers should not be lured into purchasing unsafe and potentially deadly products or services based on false or misleading claims.”

The full text of Klobuchar’s two letters are below:

October 27, 2009

Jon Leibowitz
Chairman
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

Dear Chairman Leibowitz:

I write to you today about an incident in Arizona where three people, including one of my constituents, died earlier this month and more than a dozen were injured after spending nearly two hours in a hot, crowded, low-ceiling enclosure with approximately 60 other people from around the country.  As has been reported in the press, the enclosure – essentially a tent about 24 feet wide and 4 ½ feet tall – was poorly ventilated, there were no medical staff on site, and the participants were not well-hydrated.  Obviously, there may be criminal and civil investigations at the state or federal level related to these tragic deaths and injuries, but I am writing specifically about the possibility that false or misleading marketing may have played a role in this incident.

The participants had signed up for a week-long program called “Spiritual Warrior,” which was organized and run by James Arthur Ray.  As posted on Mr. Ray’s website, this program offered participants a chance to achieve a “technologically-enhanced form of meditation” and to become “privy to the techniques that [Mr. Ray] searched out in the mountains of Peru.”  Nowhere on Mr. Ray’s website did it mention that his program carried with it any health risk.  

Given the safety issues at stake, I strongly urge the FTC to take a close look at the marketing and advertising practices of Mr. Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” programs and similar activities offered by other individuals and companies.  Stated simply, consumers should not be lured into purchasing unsafe and potentially deadly products or services based on false or misleading claims.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

   

October 27, 2009

Eric Holder
Attorney General
950 U.S. Department of Justice
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I write to you today about an incident in Arizona where three people, including one of my constituents, died earlier this month and more than a dozen were injured after spending nearly two hours in a hot, crowded, low-ceiling enclosure with approximately 60 other people from around the country. 

The participants had signed up for a week-long program called “Spiritual Warrior,” which was organized and run by James Arthur Ray.  As has been reported in the press, after spending 36 hours in the desert without food or water, the participants were crowded into the enclosure, which was essentially a tent about 24 feet wide and 4 ½ feet tall.  News reports have also indicated that the enclosure was poorly ventilated, there were no medical staff on site, and the participants were not well-hydrated.

I know that state authorities are investigating the circumstances relating to these tragic deaths and injuries, and I also urge the Department of Justice to review Mr. Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” program, determine whether any federal laws were violated, and take any appropriate action. 

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

 

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