 investigation into Rajneeshpuram . Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked , in Portland , Oregon , but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home . After spending multiple nights watching Turner 's house , the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work , or in front of his home . Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza in Portland , Oregon . In an affidavit given to the FBI , conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location : " Shanti Bhadra [ Catherine Jane Stork ] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off . "   The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner . According to informant statements to law enforcement , one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble , and the others would then approach Turner with their guns . Informants later told law enforcement officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful . According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group .   = = Prosecutions = =   = = = Investigation = = =   On February 28 , 1985 , Congressman James H. Weaver gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon . At a series of press conferences in September 1985 , Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes , including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan , a Jefferson County district attorney , and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations . The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram . Turner was never physically harmed , and had retired by 1995 .   The Oregonian was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz , an investigative journalist who had written a 20 @-@ part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon , was on a " hit list " which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer . Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case ; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte . Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer . He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be " a clear and present danger to public officials " . The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh ; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers . Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns .   Joseph Greene , a U.S. immigration agent , testified in court that FBI agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program . Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela , Dianne Yvonne Onang , and Alma Peralta . The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police . Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner 's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh 's arrest and deportation from the United States . Weaver stated " These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment " of Rajneesh . " There were not simply plans , but at least one ( assassination ) attempt , " said Weaver at the hearing .   A grand jury investigation led by Turner brought charges of " widespread immigration fraud " against members of Rajneeshpuram . Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985 . In December 1985 , 21 followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges .   = = = Arrests and convictions = = =   Chief criminal assistant U.S. attorney Baron C. Sheldahl was assigned to prosecute the charges of federal wiretapping , and a special team from the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division was tasked with prosecuting the murder conspiracy charges . Four of the perpetrators were arrested in September 1990 . Catherine Jane Stork and Richard Kevin Langford were arrested in West Germany , Ann Phyllis McCarthy was arrested in South Africa , and Susan Hagan was arrested in England . In September 1990 , Alma Peralta pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder
Ġinvestigation Ġinto ĠRaj ne esh pur am Ġ. ĠTheir Ġplan Ġwas Ġto Ġshoot ĠTurner Ġin Ġthe Ġgarage Ġof Ġthe Ġfederal Ġoffice Ġbuilding Ġwhere Ġhe Ġworked Ġ, Ġin ĠPortland Ġ, ĠOregon Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġconspir ators Ġalso Ġdebated Ġwhether Ġto Ġmurder ĠTurner Ġin Ġdowntown ĠPortland Ġor Ġcloser Ġto Ġhis Ġhome Ġ. ĠAfter Ġspending Ġmultiple Ġnights Ġwatching ĠTurner Ġ' s Ġhouse Ġ, Ġthe Ġconspir ators Ġdecided Ġon Ġthe Ġparking Ġgarage Ġbecause Ġthey Ġfelt Ġit Ġwould Ġbe Ġtoo Ġrisky Ġto Ġmurder Ġhim Ġon Ġthe Ġdrive Ġto Ġor Ġfrom Ġwork Ġ, Ġor Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġhis Ġhome Ġ. ĠTurner Ġhad Ġa Ġreserved Ġparking Ġspot Ġin Ġa Ġfederal Ġgarage Ġunderneath ĠTerry ĠSchr unk ĠPlaza Ġin ĠPortland Ġ, ĠOregon Ġ. ĠIn Ġan Ġaffidavit Ġgiven Ġto Ġthe ĠFBI Ġ, Ġconspir ator ĠAlma ĠP eral ta Ġdescribed Ġhow Ġthe Ġperpetrators Ġdecided Ġon Ġthe Ġfederal Ġparking Ġgarage Ġas Ġthe Ġlocation Ġ: Ġ" ĠSh anti ĠBh adra Ġ[ ĠCatherine ĠJane ĠSt ork Ġ] Ġsaid Ġthis Ġseems Ġlike Ġa Ġgood Ġplace Ġto Ġbump Ġthis Ġfellow Ġoff Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġconspir ators Ġpracticed Ġdifferent Ġways Ġof Ġmurdering ĠTurner Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto Ġinformant Ġstatements Ġto Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġconspir ators Ġwas Ġto Ġpretend Ġthere Ġwas Ġcar Ġtrouble Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġothers Ġwould Ġthen Ġapproach ĠTurner Ġwith Ġtheir Ġguns Ġ. ĠInform ants Ġlater Ġtold Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġofficials Ġthat Ġthe Ġconspir ators Ġintended Ġto Ġhide Ġout Ġat Ġan Ġinternational Ġnetwork Ġof ĠRaj ne esh Ġcommun es Ġif Ġthe Ġplan Ġwas Ġsuccessful Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto ĠThe ĠOregon ian Ġthe Ġassass inations Ġwere Ġnot Ġcarried Ġout Ġbecause ĠMa ĠAn and ĠShe ela Ġbecame Ġdistracted Ġby Ġpolitical Ġpower Ġplays Ġwithin Ġthe ĠRaj ne esh Ġcommun e Ġand Ġother Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe Ġorganization Ġwho Ġwere Ġtrying Ġto Ġremove Ġher Ġfrom Ġher Ġposition Ġwithin Ġthe Ġgroup Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPro sec utions Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠInvestigation Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠFebruary Ġ28 Ġ, Ġ1985 Ġ, ĠCongressman ĠJames ĠH . ĠWeaver Ġgave Ġa Ġspeech Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠHouse Ġof ĠRepresentatives Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġasserted Ġthat Ġthe ĠRaj ne es he es Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġthe Ġbi ot error Ġattack Ġin ĠOregon Ġ. ĠAt Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġpress Ġconferences Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ1985 Ġ, ĠRaj ne esh Ġaccused Ġseveral Ġof Ġhis Ġrecently Ġdeparted Ġlie uten ants Ġof Ġinvolvement Ġin Ġthis Ġand Ġother Ġcrimes Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġpoisoning Ġof ĠMike ĠSullivan Ġ, Ġa ĠJefferson ĠCounty Ġdistrict Ġattorney Ġ, Ġand Ġasked Ġstate Ġand Ġfederal Ġauthorities Ġto Ġinvestigate Ġhis Ġallegations Ġ. ĠThe Ġassassination Ġplot Ġwas Ġuncovered Ġby Ġfederal Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġthe Ġensuing Ġinvestigation Ġinto Ġactivities Ġat ĠRaj ne esh pur am Ġ. ĠTurner Ġwas Ġnever Ġphysically Ġharmed Ġ, Ġand Ġhad Ġretired Ġby Ġ1995 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠOregon ian Ġwas Ġinformed Ġin ĠOctober Ġ1985 Ġby Ġfederal Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġofficials Ġthat ĠLeslie ĠL . ĠZa itz Ġ, Ġan Ġinvestigative Ġjournalist Ġwho Ġhad Ġwritten Ġa Ġ20 Ġ@ - @ Ġpart Ġseries Ġon Ġthe ĠRaj ne esh Ġmovement Ġin ĠOregon Ġ, Ġwas Ġon Ġa Ġ" Ġhit Ġlist Ġ" Ġwhich Ġalso Ġincluded ĠTurner Ġand ĠOregon ĠAttorney ĠGeneral ĠDavid ĠFro hn m ayer Ġ. ĠAssistant ĠU . S . ĠAttorney ĠRobert ĠWeaver Ġprosecuted Ġthe Ġcase Ġ; Ġthe Ġcharges Ġwere Ġfirst Ġdetailed Ġat Ġan ĠOctober Ġ1985 Ġbond Ġhearing Ġin ĠNorth ĠCarolina Ġafter ĠRaj ne esh Ġand Ġhis Ġfollowers Ġwere Ġarrested Ġat Ġan Ġairport Ġin ĠCharlotte Ġ. ĠWeaver Ġsaid Ġin Ġcourt Ġthat Ġfollowers Ġof ĠBh ag wan ĠSh ree ĠRaj ne esh Ġhad Ġplotted Ġto Ġassassinate ĠTurner Ġand ĠFro hn m ayer Ġ. ĠHe Ġsaid Ġthese Ġallegations Ġwere Ġreasons Ġwhy Ġreleasing ĠRaj ne esh Ġand Ġhis Ġfollowers Ġfrom Ġjail Ġwould Ġbe Ġ" Ġa Ġclear Ġand Ġpresent Ġdanger Ġto Ġpublic Ġofficials Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġguns Ġpurchased Ġby Ġthe ĠRaj ne esh Ġfollowers Ġfor Ġthe Ġassassination Ġplot Ġhad Ġreportedly Ġbeen Ġdumped Ġin Ġa Ġlake Ġat ĠRanch o ĠRaj ne esh Ġ; Ġthe Ġlake Ġwas Ġsearched Ġby ĠU . S . ĠNavy Ġdivers Ġ. ĠSc uba Ġdivers Ġsearched Ġthe Ġlake Ġfor Ġtwo Ġdays Ġbut Ġdid Ġnot Ġfind Ġthe Ġguns Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠJoseph ĠGreene Ġ, Ġa ĠU . S . Ġimmigration Ġagent Ġ, Ġtestified Ġin Ġcourt Ġthat ĠFBI Ġagents Ġhad Ġlearned Ġof Ġthe Ġassassination Ġplot Ġfrom Ġa Ġmember Ġof Ġthe Ġorganization Ġwho Ġwas Ġin Ġa Ġwitness Ġprotection Ġprogram Ġ. ĠGreene Ġsaid Ġthat Ġmembers Ġinvolved Ġin Ġthe Ġassassination Ġplot Ġincluded ĠMa ĠAn and ĠShe ela Ġ, ĠDianne ĠY von ne ĠOn ang Ġ, Ġand ĠAlma ĠP eral ta Ġ. ĠThe Ġassassination Ġplot Ġwas Ġinvestigated Ġby Ġthe ĠFBI Ġand Ġthe ĠOregon ĠState ĠPolice Ġ. ĠInform ants Ġtold Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġthat ĠMa ĠAn and ĠShe ela Ġhoped ĠTurner Ġ' s Ġdeath Ġwould Ġprevent Ġan ĠImmigration Ġand ĠNatural ization ĠService Ġinvestigation Ġwhich Ġshe Ġthought Ġcould Ġlead Ġto ĠRaj ne esh Ġ' s Ġarrest Ġand Ġdeportation Ġfrom Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ. ĠWeaver Ġstated Ġ" ĠThese Ġattempts Ġto Ġassassinate Ġpublic Ġofficials Ġwere Ġbecause Ġthey Ġwere Ġpresenting Ġan Ġimmigration Ġcase Ġthat Ġmight Ġresult Ġin Ġimprisonment Ġ" Ġof ĠRaj ne esh Ġ. Ġ" ĠThere Ġwere Ġnot Ġsimply Ġplans Ġ, Ġbut Ġat Ġleast Ġone Ġ( Ġassassination Ġ) Ġattempt Ġ, Ġ" Ġsaid ĠWeaver Ġat Ġthe Ġhearing Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġgrand Ġjury Ġinvestigation Ġled Ġby ĠTurner Ġbrought Ġcharges Ġof Ġ" Ġwidespread Ġimmigration Ġfraud Ġ" Ġagainst Ġmembers Ġof ĠRaj ne esh pur am Ġ. ĠWire t apping Ġcrimes Ġwere Ġdiscovered Ġafter ĠMa ĠAn and ĠShe ela Ġhad Ġfled Ġthe Ġcommun e Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ1985 Ġ. ĠIn ĠDecember Ġ1985 Ġ, Ġ21 Ġfollowers Ġof ĠRaj ne esh Ġwere Ġindicted Ġon Ġwiret apping Ġcharges Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠArrest s Ġand Ġconvictions Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠChief Ġcriminal Ġassistant ĠU . S . Ġattorney ĠBaron ĠC . ĠShe ld ahl Ġwas Ġassigned Ġto Ġprosecute Ġthe Ġcharges Ġof Ġfederal Ġwiret apping Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġspecial Ġteam Ġfrom Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠDepartment Ġof ĠJustice ĠCriminal ĠDivision Ġwas Ġtasked Ġwith Ġprosecuting Ġthe Ġmurder Ġconspiracy Ġcharges Ġ. ĠFour Ġof Ġthe Ġperpetrators Ġwere Ġarrested Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ1990 Ġ. ĠCatherine ĠJane ĠSt ork Ġand ĠRichard ĠKevin ĠLang ford Ġwere Ġarrested Ġin ĠWest ĠGermany Ġ, ĠAnn ĠPh yll is ĠMcCarthy Ġwas Ġarrested Ġin ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġ, Ġand ĠSusan ĠH agan Ġwas Ġarrested Ġin ĠEngland Ġ. ĠIn ĠSeptember Ġ1990 Ġ, ĠAlma ĠP eral ta Ġpleaded Ġguilty Ġto Ġconspiracy Ġto Ġcommit Ġmurder