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Michoacan state officials said 38 people were conducting
tactical training with mostly replica weapons, but did not
release identities of the suspects or the charges against them.
The group had one handgun, 19 replica firearms, knives and
tactical equipment, officials said.
La Luz del Mundo, which was born in Mexico's central Jalisco
state, has congregations across the United States and has come
under the scrutiny of law enforcement for years.
A Michoacan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak about the case,
confirmed that all of the 38 people arrested were members of the
religious group.
The arrests came just a day after the group’s leader, Naasón
Joaquín García, pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges in
a New York federal court, where he is charged along with his
79-year-old mother with sexually abusing generations of young
followers.
García was accused of using his position as head of the church
to sexually abuse children and women. The indictment said his
father and grandfather, both deceased, did the same before him.
García is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in
California where he was convicted of sexually abusing female
followers who accused him of making them sex slaves.
As leader of La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World), Joaquín
García was considered the “apostle,” and church members were
taught that he would punish and condemn eternally anyone who
doubted him, did not follow his teachings, or defied him,
prosecutors said in a court filing that successfully argued
against bail for Joaquín García’s mother.
Attorney Alan Jackson, who represents Joaquín García, described
the indictment as the result of “a reckless campaign of
government overreach.”
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