"If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through."
Melchett, Black Adder Goes Forth, Private Plane episode, BBC

Inveterate huckster and 'problem child'....

A few words of introduction:

Since the inception of this site, we've NEVER received as much e-mail about any one individual as we have about Mr. Brad Cofield - and it paints a picture of immature behavior, hucksterism, and complete self-delusion. *Brad uses the first part of the previous sentence (the part before the hyphen) on his website. Curiously, he omits the rest. Brad has 'poisoned the {online} well' in ways that many thought were impossible. He's single-handedly (using both his own name and uncountable pseudonyms) made many discussion groups unusable, particularly women. A couple have even closed rather than attempt to deal with his chicanery. Here's our suggestion: if you've feel you've been threatened, we would encouraged you to file a report with your local police department: online harassment is taken by many quite seriously. If you've been chased away from a favorite online place because you couldn't tolerate his 'BS', we can only offer our sympathies. Brad's behavior is 'beyond the pale' - but, sadly, it seems there's little that can be done.

From the beginning...

Barely 24 hours after the announced start of the 'fake Masonry' group, the Grand Orient of the United States, in December, 2007, ONE person leapt forward to identify himself as being a member: Mr. Brad Cofield {then} of California - a person moving into his late-30s. Within less than a year, Cofield had become such a continuous and overbearing presence relative to Freemasonry on the internet, we've created this separate page about him.

During 2006, Mr. Cofield received two of the necessary three degrees in regular/recognized Freemasonry when his progress was halted due to a 'conflict'. (It should be noted that this is a particularly unusual step which may happen to one out of a quarter-million applicants!)

From his perspective, he was the victim of a series of events in which he was endeavoring to serve and help. Others, however, had found his actions to be both duplicitous and disingenuous. From the perspective of his lodge, he was not only disruptive and abrasive but they had seen enough of him to know that he shouldn't be allowed to become a Master Mason. This entire narrative was reported by Brad himself in at least one online Forum where some members actually felt bad that such a problem had occurred. Thinking it some kind of monstrous mistake, they looked into the matter only to find that Brad's ex-lodge had MORE than sufficient cause to keep him from attaining complete Masonic membership. Since that time, Mr. Cofield has become an internet gadfly, daily posting dozens blog comments, forum messages, and more. Mercurial and frequently obscene, his behavior ranges from self-deprecating to belligerent and obnoxious. Immature and self-obsessed are other terms which have been used in describing him. Brad Cofield is nothing, if not greatly impressed with himself.

We found it intriguing that a person some 3,000 miles away from where the GOOFUS-claimed lodge supposedly existed had somehow managed to become a member AND RECEIVE A DEGREE/DEGREES - although to be truthful, we would not have found it particularly surprising. Mr. Cofield, after previously having been banned from several online forums, had returned to tout his membership and the great works of this group (formed just day earlier, remember). We found it curious too that NO ONE from this supposedly active group comprised of so many young, technically savvy individuals arose to challenge Mr. Cofield's claims of membership in any way for months thereafter. (They're all somehow conveniently 'occupied with other things and don't follow such trivia' is the usual excuse - though they seem to do pretty well at other times. Regardless....)

WOW! We were advised by another Mason to 'Google' Mr. Cofield and what we found was pretty darn scary. Give it a try yourself and you'll see! In addition, when one of the first of the many forums from which Brad has been subsequently banned changed their rules regarding online behavior (primarily to avoid the type of conflicts Brad was causing), he had in response - to put it mildly - a total meltdown.

What's particularly sad is that this individual attended (only) TWO "real" Masonic Lodge meetings - and the group that he was trying to support really seems to only exist in the mind of its creator. This rant shown above is not at all unlike ones he'd posted about his (former) Lodge brothers who had stopped him from becoming a Master Mason. For Brad, it seems, every bad situation is of someone else's making.

Mr. Cofield has frequently whined that we've misrepresented him here. Why? Because we haven't contacted him to get his side of the story. Indeed that's true. We assume that someone's own words can be used - and if not, what? Would it be more accurate to accept his lies and obfuscations as a rational explanation? Hardly! Here's an example: read through it (not for the faint of heart) and see for yourself why we've come to the conclusions we have. (Post can be viewed live here.)

Is there something else that needs be said to explain that type of language and reaction? Is there something that a telephone call will clarify that suddenly makes it all disappear? Can Mr. Cofield PROVE that he's ever once had a message anywhere threatening his employment? (In fact, one wonders with all the time he spends online whether Mr. Cofield even HAS a job....) Is there any proof of the medical condition he alludes to? Not bloody likely. (And that post hasn't disappeared even after nine months....) So what HAVE we misrepresented, Brad?

Oh, and we should note that the two examples shown above are, curiously, inconsistent in their representation of health issues, wouldn't you agree? They are, though, yet more examples of bringing up such matters seemingly for convenience sake to excuse or justify (or take the heat off of) other claims. We've discussed that further here.)

A Great Grand Orient of the US candidate - or not....

On March 18, 2008, the since expelled Grand Master of the Grand Orient of the United States, Aaron Peavey, wrote to us (more on that here) saying:

"Brad Cofield never was and is not a member of the GOUSA.  He had contacted us in the past seeking acceptance, but he did not prove to be a suitable member in the end.  The fact is that he was acting like he was some sort of representative of the GOUSA on forums and blogs, but he was never even a member. Also, he was spreading false information and rumors about us and what we were supposed to be doing."

A couple of weeks after that message Aaron was out as Grand Master. The FOUNDER (and holder of all the marbles despite what the sycophants might imagine) on August 20, 2008 publicly wrote of his hopes that Mr. Cofield would become part of their group. See here for that along with other whines that I misrepresented their organization. So what has happened? Were they tickled that Brad could form an organization (on the internet at least) or have they just figured out that a guy with his pugnacity and duplicity would be a super plus to provide both whining and argumentativeness thus obfuscating their real activities. Who knows....???

The honeymoon is over - but is it? (December, 2008)

Apparently Brad has invoked the ire of the GOOFUS Bulletin Board moderator who's tossed him off for - yet again - his inability to control his behavior. (Their bulletin board has disappeared but only because nobody was using it and their half-dozen members didn't have the interest in keeping it going.) But since there's been no proclamation by the REAL leader, who knows? Brad looks to have a temperament particularly suited for the GOOFUS group so we anticipate big things for his future though his mercurial personality won't bend easily to Mr. Peace's will so....

Growing his own organization

There's more about Brad and his claims here as he posts pretending to be a Freemason but now more often using the moniker of "Magus Masonica" he claims that he's an 'operative Egyptian Mason' - a member of the Masoneria Egipcia del Antiguo Primitivo Rito de Memphis Misraim (M.E.A.R.P.M.M.). He's even created a blog with a header designed to impress everyone but has simply superimposed the name of his group on a picture of the Egyptian Room at the regular/recognized Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, a fact quickly observed by many. It's an unauthorized theft of their graphic and, of course, his imaginary organization has no such room or connection with Freemasonry. For his theft and deceitful behavior, he is unrepentant.

On 24 August 2008 Brad used his blog to announce the following:

The picture was SO alluring: five attractive women posing in front of a large fireplace. Something, though seemed 'not quite right' and, knowing Mr. Cofield's history of lies and fabrication, we decided to check it out.

Well, sure enough: about 5 minutes on Google and we came to The Coven of the Tangled Pines where that very same picture could be seen. The Coven is a group of women in - no, not Washington State as Brad might have wanted you to believe -  but rather in the State of Tennessee some 2400+ miles (3860+ kilometers) away. Had they suddenly changed and become part of Brad's organization? No, of course not. In fact when I e-mailed them to question this supposed affiliation, within less than two hours I had a reply from their Webmistress confirming that they'd never even heard of Mr. Cofield and that they were not part of Freemasonry in any form (irregular or otherwise). She said they would be writing to him to demand that he remove their picture which had been taken during a retreat in 2007 and was quite obviously stolen from their website.

Incidentally, the ladies at the Coven of the Tangled Pines seem very nice and if I travel to Tennessee in the future, I'm going to be sure to say hello in person!           August, 2009 update on the Coven: see below!

Update: 28 August 2008:

It was inevitable where this was going: more lies from Brad, of course. Immediately after I had contacted the Coven, their Webmistress and their High Priestess posted messages to Brad's blog noting his deceit. What did he do? He deleted their posts and provided the following 'response':

Now SERIOUSLY: who on Mr. Cofield's "staff" would have stored a picture of these ladies on their computer and WHY?? How could they have accidentally uploaded it to his blog? Didn't the (imaginary) staff know who their new Temple High Priest was? Didn't they or Brad look at it? And why didn't he THEN put up THE RIGHT picture of "Temple High Priest Worshipful Brother Brenda Carnes 94°" as, ostensibly, the picture of those ladies was supposed to be - instead of a picture of a highway? The obvious other question is: since when did Mr. Cofield have a "staff"? The lies just don't quit with this guy. Needless to say, after years, there's never been any further mention of this great "new temple".

Mr. Cofield still has not addressed just how this 'error' REALLY occurred. We've apparently embarrassed him to the point where he's never even whined that we don't know all the facts because we haven't contacted him - as he'd done in other instances.

And as 2009 neared its end, he removed this blog which has been such a disaster. Guess the folks at Temple Sobek-Ra and Magus Masonica didn't really need a web site after all.... It is to laugh!

The Prolific Mr. Cofield

Even after having been banned for a year, he was STILL the third most prolific poster on the California Masonic Golden State Masons site, immediately behind the two Moderators - and that's just ONE example which you can see for yourself on their page near the center close to the bottom. These huge volumes of attention-seeking show in black and white just exactly the type of person who seems compulsively drawn to an organization like the Grand Orient of the United States - and who they, by their founder's own words, look to for up and coming members.

Nevertheless, as we've said on every other page about this group, you are CERTAINLY free to draw your own conclusions and affiliate with whomever your heart desires. You may want to get the 'Brad for Grand Master' bumper stickers now!

One California Mason - a moderator on the Golden State Masons Forum - posted this to Brad:

I wonder how many Masonic message boards you have been banned from.

Then I wonder why you continue to subject yourself to such criticism.

Then I wonder why you have this love/hate relationship to Freemasonry.

Then I wonder if you will ever truly come to terms with the amount of destruction you have wrought in trying to justify your Masonic mythology.

Then I wonder what's for dinner.
__________________

Pasted from <http://www.goldenstatemasons.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479>

More Brad - More deceit!

Yes, it never stops. In April-May, 2009, an individual touting some kind of bogus pseudo-Masonic organization once again flooded Masonic newsgroups with, for want of a better word, 'crap'. He was quickly shut down although he reappeared several times in some with new/different identities. It seems clear that this is an individual who really is not someone any normal person should entrust with much of anything and he CERTAINLY seems incapable of being trusted to protect another's personal information or honor, as Masons pledge to each other.

Meanwhile, we see Brad's fingerprints on yet another internet fantasy under the pseudonym of Raum Sariel: Lodge Napoleon Bonaparte. The site proclaims that "We are guided by our conscious, .... " which is good because it'd be pretty scary to follow someone guided by their unconscious, wouldn't it? Brad has found a new way to shuck and jive claiming that it's SO very difficult to get involved with other Masons that this group will do it on the internet entirely. What's so totally laughable about this whole deal is that he's claiming "You will have access to the most powerful membership web portal that has ever been in the Masonic world. This is no simple calender <sic> with email and a Php message board. This includes a full dashboard, access to hundreds of in depth educational files, case studies, power point educational presentations, recorded and streamed precise alchemical and magickal operations." Pretty big claims for somebody who's only bought their domain name for a year, is using Google Groups for their message board and who are hosted by an ISP that brags you can 'build a website in 60 seconds'. Brad has used their template to do just that! 

You should know by now that there are a LOT of scams on the internet and we've documented other 'be a Mason by e-mail' stupidity (click here for one example). But how do we know that this is Brad's work? It doesn't take a genius to follow the sloppy trail right back to him. On the home page, for example, there's this reference in reviewing the source code: src="http://tiptopwebsite.com/photos4/magusmasonica/thegreat.jpg" Magus Masonica.... Now where have we heard THAT before?

You can run, Brad, but your deceit is so blatantly obvious that it's going to get exposed time and time again. Why not just give it up and get a life?

Post-Modern Freemasonry and the 1613 Nation

Yep, yet ANOTHER of the Brad Cofield scams is this whole bunch of stupidity. "We hear-by issue in a new era." Right: and if that makes sense to you, then you and Brad really belong together. Heaven save us!

Let's be very clear here: there is NO SUCH THING! It's that simple. No use in wasting even a few seconds contemplating: it's another bunch of Brad's internet scams. Lodge Napoleon Bonaparte, Lodge Hera, Lodge of the White Rose, Logia Jose De San Martin, Loge Liberté chérie-1613 Nation, Lodge Morganrote, Lodge Circumspect, Lodge Human Stone (which he claims is in Israel!), Lodge Ptah (supposedly in the back yard of the GOOFUS boys in Georgia), Lodge Artemis, Lodge Sanctum Sanctorum claiming to be in (don't fall on the floor laughing) Scotland and the many other creations which are lies and deceits and nothing more than Cofield's mental onanism.

As of the first part of April, 2010, Brad seems to be creating fantasy lodges at the rate of about one every other day. His 1-2 sycophants laude him for his 'achievements' and he sends praise to himself through his sock puppets. It's amazing what a 35 year-old can do to waste his life....

On some of these many sites, Brad railed about the evil of Freemasonry as it is commonly accepted. (Here's a great rant! ~ Now gone: domain expired as explained below.) Now if you're 15 and excitable, this may sound really cool. If you've got even a modicum of maturity, you'll recognize it for what it is: anarchy....  Well, it would be anarchy if it were actually more than just the little fantasies flowing around in one immature individual's head.

What's also absurd (but certainly not unexpected) is that he also creates pseudo-identities while having others who similarly play make-believe Mason cheering him on as if the whole charade were real. You can see that here in a forum inhabited nearly entirely by Brad's fantasy creations and non-recognized/non-regular individuals who pretend they're Masons. (Forum now closed because the Admins didn't want to spend their lives sparring with Brad's many pseudonyms.)

Bro. Christopher Hodapp (author of "Freemasons for Dummies" and more) has posted an excellent summary of Cofield's proclivities. It adds information to what we've posted here and is a well-written exposition of the immaturity and stupidity which is Cofield's forte.

Thanks to the many who've sent e-mails about Brad's fantasies - as well as documented examples his attempts to deceive them individually.
PLEASE be careful of predatory activities like these when you're online, folks!

Still battling the demons - mostly of his own creation...

As of October, 2012, all of Brad's "lodges" have left the internet. The domain names have expired and are available if anyone wants to start their own 1613 fantasy. In addition, Brad's flirtation with the ridiculously bogus MEAPRMM (Egyptian Freemasonry of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm) of Frank Ripel has now come to an end as well with Brad being the petulant, sulking child and Mr. Ripel finally waking up to the fact that no matter HOW badly he needed sycophants, Brad was certainly not the person.

Of course, Brad at first ignored his 'firing', saying that because it was motivated by others who were jealous of him, he'd proceed along. Then apparently the hammer hit and he's now taken to disparaging the man who, just a couple of years ago, he was praising to the hilt.

Below you can see what's on Frank's website about him....  The simple fact is, folks, that there are some REAL fruit-cakes in this world and if you believe what you read on their websites, you're asking for trouble. Ah: Frank's Vampires will be knocking on Brad's door any time now. Hopefully Brad will have been practicing with Plants Versus Zombies so he'll be able to deal with it all without too much whining.

As 2014 ends, Mr. Cofield is a no longer even a footnote in Freemasonry. A farce from the beginning, he nevertheless continues his scam behavior with websites like the one here. What a waste of a life....

Parts of the above were previously included on the page for the GOOFUS group. This separate page created 27 August 2008.
Updated 28 August 2008, 20 December 2008, 20 June 2009, 17 August 2009, 26 November 2009, 6 April 2010 and 17 October 2012 with visions of Dave in the Plants Versus Zombies program being vaguely similar to Brad. Added link to Chris Hodapp's blog post and scam link in November, 2014.

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