USA v. OSHO: The true story of OSHO in Oregon

A close associate to an Indian mystic, who established a controversial community in central Oregon in the 1980s, will speak Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the University of Idaho. Philip Niren Toelkes, the attorney for Osho (better known as Bhagwan Shree Rashneesh) from 1981 to 1991, will tell about his efforts to defend Osho and the city of Rajneeshpuram against international intrigue and U.S. government efforts to prosecute him. His talk, titled “U.S.A. v. Osho: The True Story of Osho in Oregon,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium, 851 Campus Drive. It is free and open to the public. Doors to open at 6 p.m. The community of Osho’s followers, known as Rajneeshees, was started in 1981 in remote eastern Oregon, near the town of Antelope. It was disbanded in 1986 after state and federal authorities began scrutinizing the community’s structure and finances. Niren was involved in defending Osho until the mystic’s death in 1991. Niren has gathered more than 25,000 pages of documents describing the community’s legal and political history. He was a key figure in the Netflix documentary “Wild, Wild Country,” which received an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. His presentation will be followed by a closed question-and-answer session. The program is sponsored by the U of I College of Law, Department of Politics and Philosophy, and School of Journalism and Mass Media, as well as these student clubs: J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Student Bar Association, ACLU, the Critical Legal Studies Journal, Criminal Law Society, OUTLaw, and the Multicultural Law Caucus. ### For more information: Joel Fromm, from0221@vandalsuidaho.edu https://www.facebook.com/events/1136665266481866/