Caleb Maupin is a LaRouchite patriotic socialist cult founder from the USA who came to national and even international prominence in August 2022 after accusations of abuse (sexual and manipulative) were brought forward by former members of his think tank.[1]
Formation of the Center for Political Innovation
Maupin founded the Center for Political Innovation (CPI), a for-profit business[2] that he called a think tank. This made him the sole owner of the CPI and allowed it to make profits, which wouldn't be possible in an organisation registered as a political party.
Accusations of abuse
Maupin ran the CPI from a hotel room in New York that cost $600 a week, where he forced the new and younger members to live and volunteer most of their time towards fund-raising and canvassing for new members. Members were supposed to provide for themselves during that time and pay for the hotel room themselves, while Maupin was living in his own home and had his own job.
A few years later, accusations of abuse formally came out in an article published by ex-members on Medium.[1]
In the now-deleted (but archived) piece, ex-members of the CPI accuse Maupin of pushing his spanking fetish on them unprompted and without consent. One of the members, identified only as Member 2, explained how Maupin essentially made her lose her job by requiring she give more time to the John Brown Volunteers (the precursor to the CPI), which led to her being fired. Afterwards, he used the 19-year-old's position of vulnerability to push her into prostitution. He seemingly achieved this because Member 2 was, at the time, very vulnerable and had done such work in the past. By admonishing her when she wanted to get a job (such as the math tutoring part-time job she lost), Maupin eventually left her no choice but to return to prostitution. When Member 2 told Maupin she was picking it up again, his only reaction was that he "respects [her] decision".
From there, Member 2 relapsed into heroin and Maupin used that to isolate her from the rest of the CPI, even lying about her addiction to other members (after she got better) so they would not associate with her.
Spanking fetish
Maupin's fetish for spanking is well-documented, and it is something that he brings into seemingly every conversation he has with people for his own sexual gratification.
In the abuse piece, several of his former comrades speak about his spanking fetish and how he'd work it even in texts.
In 2020, he defended spanking (corporal punishment) to Sameera Khan, another noted reactionary/patriotic socialist.[3]
That same year, when allegations of abuse in the Party for Socialism and Liberation came to light, Maupin instantly jumped to invoking COINTELPRO to defend the PSL.[4]
He ran two segments on RT defending spanking and corporal punishment, one in 2016 and one in 2021.
Dissolution of the CPI
After the accusations came out, the CPI decided its own dissolution. Their twitter account was deactivated and their website did not load any page. Maupin himself deactivated his own Twitter account and moved away from the public eye.
Reemergence
In November 2022, Maupin came back to public life. He first posted a video in which he haphazardly "addressed" the accusations (calling them lies and dismissing them on that basis) and then reactivated his Twitter account. He has begun tweeting again since then.
Anti-communist activities
Despite Maupin's claims that he is a communist, he has on many occasions heavily criticized communists for their views when they do not align with his strand of patriotic socialism. He has also been very close to many anti-communists and fascists, trying to cleanse their image to his audience.
In 2014, Maupin was present at the 2nd International Conference of Independent Thinkers hosted in Tehran, Iran. He was on a panel that also featured "Nazi-Maoist" (a short-lived movement in Italy) Claudio Mutti, as well as other fascists who were funded by the CIA during Operation Gladio.[5]
He was present at the Alternatives To Globalization Conference in 2018, sitting next to noted fascist Aleksandr Dugin and speaking alongside him. He defended this decision and spoke highly of Dugin (a mystical, metaphysical author) since that event Notably, it was reported by attendees that the only books sold at CPI events were from Maupin and Dugin.
The CPI hosted a webinar which featured Alfred De Zayas, a member of the German far-right AfD party and noted Holocaust revisionist.[6] As the CPI is Maupin's own business, he is ultimately responsible for this decision.