We’ve all had those nights before a big event.
The night before a birthday.
The night before the start of a new school year.
The night before a big test.
The night before an important game
The night before a first date.
The night before a trip to somewhere special.
The night before a wedding.
The night before the birth of a child.
*****
Some of those nights are filled with anxiety – and maybe even a little fear – of what will happen the next day.
Others are filled with impatience for the next day to arrive.
All are filled with uncertainty.
*****
For many, tonight is one of those nights.
Because tomorrow, Keith Alan Raniere – AKA The Vanguard – will go on trial.
Tomorrow has been a long time in the making.
At least 20 years – maybe even 30 or more.
But, at long last, Raniere is being called to account for some of his crimes.
Certainly not all of them – but enough to change his life forever.
*****
Many thought tomorrow would never happen.
Raniere was undoubtedly one of them.
And why shouldn’t he have felt that way?
His con game had gone on for more than 30-years, albeit under different names, without any major problems.
He had control over vast sums of money.
He had numerous women who fawned over him – and who were always available to satiate his sexual desires.
He had women followers who procured other women for him – several of them under the age of consent
He had male followers who stepped aside to let him have sex with their partners.
He had mothers who willingly let him ravish their daughters.
He had no boundaries or limits – until suddenly he did.
*****
There are still a few unanswered questions as we await the start of Raniere’s trial.
Who will testify on behalf of the prosecution?
Will Rhiannon – the woman he raped 50-60 times when she was 12 and 13 years old – be one of them?
Will Raniere put on a defense – or simply try to undermine the prosecution’s evidence and witnesses?
Will anyone appear to testify on his behalf?
Will Raniere take the stand to testify on his own behalf?
*****
Tonight, Raniere is back in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY (According to sources, that’s where he’s going to be housed throughout his trial).
Tomorrow morning – and every day of the trial – he’ll be awakened very early if he needs to be awakened at all.
He’ll then be given whatever breakfast is being served that day – or a styrofoam cup full of cheerios, a carton of milk, and an apple (That’s usually MDC’s brown bag breakfast for prisoners being moved before breakfast is served).
He’ll then be allowed to put on his “goin’-to-court clothes” – and transported to the U.S. District Court House in Brooklyn (In order to ensure he’s there in time for the start of the trial each day, MDC will likely deliver him there by 7:30 AM or so).
At the courthouse, he’ll be placed in a holding cell – and held there until his attorneys arrive.
After meeting with his attorneys in a small private room, he’ll be brought into Courtroom 4D South by members of the U.S. Marshals Service – and seated at the defense table.
And then the rest of his life will be determined by twelve strangers.
*****
Sleep tight, Vanguard, and don’t let the bedbugs bite.