Has my ex been indoctrinated by a cult or is he being radicalised??

[Whatthecluckinghell]

Just that really.

Back story.
ExDp has always been a conspiracy theorist of some sort, various conspiracies over the course of our relationship, some where utterly ridiculous but this latest one is becoming downright dangerous.

So as we all know Covid has come and turned everyone's lives upside down however my exDp has now (recently) come across the conspiracy of the vaccine and covid as a whole subject, bare with me, il ramble because its so hard to articulate this without sounding like a loony. He has suddenly decided to believe that everyone who has had the vaccines will die in 6 months to 3 years (you've probably already heard that because thousands of other people believe it too) and that eventually there will be forced vaccinations of children and if you don't allow it they (the army/police/medical staff) will forcefully remove them from your care and if you as an adult refuse the jabs you'll be dragged kicking and screaming to a 'quarantine camp' where you either have the jab or they will kill you..he believes the army has been brought back from Afghanistan to enforce this, and bring in martial law. Now every single person he talks to online are filling his head with the fact he's on the right track, he's woken, he's onto the truth and he must spread the word. Now as far as conspiracies go whilst it's very worrying he believes that it gets alot worse... he recently suggested he was going to buy weapons and suggested he would kill anyone who tried to forcefully vaccinate our children/him, he has been watching bitchute videos almost none stop from the minute he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep, even when he's at work he's 'researching' between tasks, the videos he is watching are all horrific and they all push a narrative of being prepped to harm/kill those who have taken part in this covid stuff ie the vaccinators/the government/the elites/the police/the army. Now its not just him who has been sucked into this as thousands upon thousands of people all over the globe share the exact same thought process/beliefs. He is a member of loads of Facebook groups/online groups that all peddle this stuff and make people believe them.

Now I am very very concerned about all of this, at first I wasn't bothered because who is he realistically hurting? Nobody UNTIL he started on about getting weapons (he hasn't got any...yet) his own parents think he is in a cult, I fear he is being radicalised, I'm worried he will harm someone even though it is not in his usual nature, I don't know what to do or where to turn.

I used to think conspiracy theories where relatively harmless but this one is proving otherwise. Its got worse over the space of 2 months, we are broken up, I don't believe in what he's saying, but he's got the voices of many many people behind him telling him he's right and every else who questions or shows concern are the enemy and sheep.

Is there any way I can help him? For what it's worth he knows if he shares these views with any mental health professionals/person in power he would be most likely sectioned/put on medications/locked up so he downplays it or just Denys it all but it's all over his social media the dangerous views albeit a watered down version of them, I'm scared for him, I'm not scared of him, I'm scared for him and what this means for him, and our DC.
Sorry for the ramble there's probably more but i can't think straight about it as my brains gone gaga trying to work out what to do.

I work with someone who has gone down this rabbit hole. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would think you were making it up, it is terrifying. I'm sorry no help but you have my sympathy, at least my colleague isn't involved in my children's life.

If he's talking of buying weapons to kill people, you should contact the police for advice.

Are you in the UK?

@tintodeverano2 I'm not sure the police will do anything as so far no crime has been committed

@Scarby9 yes

@MissMarpleTheMurderer I really wish I was making it up because it would make one heck of a novel but I'm not unfortunately this is all real and its terrifying and knowing that there are thousands others who believe the same is terrifying as well

I don't think he needs to have committed a crime 're radicalisation. I don't think they will arrest him, just investigate

Do you think he could be a danger to your children?

That's so scary. Mental health provision at the moment is terrible. Could you speak to his GP?

@Buttons294749 I don't want him to be arrested I want him to have some help, because this is not healthy for him or anyone who is down the rabbit hole.

@PolytheneRam I don't believe my children are in danger currently but if he tries to radicalise them then that's where the danger lies' I imagine. I know he would never physically harm them he adores them

That’s really scary OP. The internet has really been the worst thing to happen to people prone to these sort of conspiracies. I imagine he’d be potentially vulnerable to the q anon/alt right/incel conspiracy pipeline as well.

Does he have your kids unsupervised? If so you need to think carefully about how you’re going to keep them from absorbing any of this stuff.

Hopefully someone will have some helpful advice but I just wanted to say you are absolutely not wrong to be worried about this.

You should contact [email protected]
They are the ones who deal with people being radicalised into terrorism.

Sounds very worrying. Another vote to contact Prevent in some form - this link to Act Early might be useful?
Act Early

act.campaign.gov.uk/

Prevent is open to reports of radicalisation.

@Birdkin no he doesn't as he lives with his parents.

@Opentooffers would they deal with this as I'm not sure it's terrorism (I may be nieve as whenever terrorism is mentioned its blowing people up/9-11/etc)

That's terrifying! I know a couple of people who are anti vaccine and I'm aware of conspiracy theorists but I didn't realise it was so bad.
No advice, but much sympathy.

Maybe have a look at the Prevent website - looks like there's advice there for people in your situation. www.ltai.info/spotting-the-signs/

This is worrying. He sounds like he is being radicalised. Councils have teams who work in PREVENT departments which deal with this issue. My advice would be to speak to someone and get advice on how to help.

I don't believe you'll stop him or get help for him. For you own sanity you need to stop worrying about him and what he'll do to others and let him does what he wants.

I would do two things - report on a web form to the police re weapons. Keep a close eye on contact and quietly ensure it's with others (perhaps MIL/FIL) where possible.

As others have said, contact the police. They’ll be able to give you advice and hopefully put him on a watch list. It’ll also give you evidence if you’re in a situation where you need to stop him having contact with your children

Lots of people via work have received prevent training, exactly for this situation, I have.
This is a mental health issue. I can imagine it would be very tricky to deal with as their paranoia stops them listening to reason and any attempt to change their will, re-enforces that others want to control them.
He does sound like he could become a danger, you know you would feel terribly if something happened and you had done nothing about it when you could of. Take this seriously, contact prevent, then you have done your bit and it's up to professionals to take it further as this is going to be too big for you to sort out.

Hi @Whatthecluckinghell sorry that you are dealing with this, there are sources of help and support and clearly he needs help. I think that you are right in taking this seriously, trust your gut instincts, the reference to weapons etc is particularly concerning and this is a form of radicalisation. Whilst your kids may not be at risk now if it escalates they may be... especially if he feels he is saving them from a 'worse' fate. If I were you I would ring the Prevent helpline asap You can also call the national police Prevent advice line on 0800 011 3764

There is advice here: www.npcc.police.uk/CounterTerrorism/Prevent.aspx

Your local council will also have a policy and support pathways in place for example I live in Kent: www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/strategies-and-policies/community-safety-and-crime-policies/contest/prevent

I hope that this helps and I wish you all the best.

As well as contacting PREVENT I’d be starting a dated log with screenshots of all his posts. Sorry to say you may in the future find you get to a point where you need to evidence why your children are no longer safe with him.

@Whatthecluckinghell think about it, terrorists are often loner misfits who obsess over watching falsehoods on the web. They connect with others and form groups which makes them feel more important and a part of something, which is attractive to a lonely person who hates how their life has gone.

My friend who had a breakdown due to extreme stress, ended up having a borderline psychosis attack where she believe a well online dna company had come and taken her dna in the night. She truly believed it for months too and it was really worrying. Trying to get health from the mental help professionals was awful. The difference here is though, he is on about harnessing an arsenal of weapons. I think you should have a word with the police. What if he actually goes and hurts someone and then they knew you had the knowledge he was already talking about it but did nothing? Right now this needs nipping in the bud. He might need sectioning. My friend nearly did.

This was after she'd seen a video online and she was never like this before or afterwards.