Dutch Milo—who went by the online username ReligionOfPeace—was a deeply troubled man. While best known as a moderator for a pornographic forum on Reddit, he was also the owner of a website called Lake City Quiet Pills, which on the surface hosted, you guessed it, more pornography. However, a deep dive into the site’s code revealed a still-unsolved mystery that to this day haunts the internet.
The Announcement of Milo’s Death
News of Milo’s death arrived in 2009, when a Reddit user named u/2-6 made a post entitled, “The End of ReligionOfPeace. He Died Today.” The post revealed that Milo was a 79 year-old veteran who worked in IT at the time of his death. His death renewed public interest in his oddly named website lakecityquietpills.com. At one point, users began digging into the site’s code.
Within the site’s code, users found a hidden forum. The forum contained vague job listings that seemed to be for hired assassins. This led to speculation regarding the name Lake City Quiet Pills: did “quiet pills” refer to bullets, and did “Lake City” refer to the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri?
Did Lake City Quiet Pills Users Take Part in the Assassination of Mahmud al-Mabhouh?
Things got even stranger when a post made in the forum seemed to correlate with the real-life assassination of Mahmud al-Mabhouh, who was wanted by the Israeli government for the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers in 1989, as well as for purchasing arms from Iran to use in Gaza.
On January 19, 2010, Al-Mabhouh was found dead in a Dubai hotel room. He was paralyzed with a muscle relaxant then suffocated with a pillow. But what does this have to do with Lake City Quiet Pills? Well, to start: Interpol released a list of top suspects in the assassination. 17 of these suspects were found to be using Mastercards branded by Mehta Bank of Storm Lake, Iowa, less than an hour’s drive from Lake City, Iowa.
Suspicious Forum Posts
But the strange coincidences don’t stop there: a post in LCQP’s hidden forum announced a “birthday party” for the recently deceased Milo. The details of this party seemed to correlate with the assassination of Al-Mabhouh.
“Hapy new year, everyone.
Were having a birthday party for the old man on the 19th. Party starts at 1500 at the usual. Send your rsvp to shade. Fyi, were booking a room for 3 days for anyone coming from out of area, and overnight for locals.
Come hoist one for dutch milo!”
The “party” starting at 1500 lines up with the time that Al-Mabhouh was flying into Dubai. But the coincidences do not stop there. The post went on:
“We got 38 rooms in the marriot on 46. Shade has the key cards for locals (pick up at the party). Give your travel name to the desk and that’s it. No id needed since were covering the bill. Keep the room service under 500, okay? The phones there are not secure.
Bus from the hotel leafs at 1330. Car service vowchers for return trip when your ready to crash. DONT DUI!!!!”
Many questioned, “What kind of party rents 38 rooms in a single hotel?” It was indeed a strange post. And over the next few months, the site continued posting vague, ominous “job listings.” However, as soon as the greater internet began making a connection between Lake City Quiet Pills and the assassination of Al-Mabhouh, the hidden forum was suspiciously encrypted, all posts now written in a series of numbers and symbols.
Was Lake City Quiet Pills All a Hoax?
Skeptics were quick to point out that Lake City Quiet Pills had all the makings of an ARG, or, an alternate reality game. An ARG is defined as, “a type of game that mixes real-world elements with gameplay. Most of these games are based on the idea that there’s something bigger happening in the world that nobody but the players realize.
To play an ARG, the player must stumble upon hidden messages leading them to a website or other locations with further clues, riddles, and puzzles that help explain the story. In many ways, an ARG is like a complex scavenger hunt with complex puzzles.”
Our Takeaway on the Lake City Quiet Pills
It would make sense that LCQP was just an elaborate ARG. Firstly, we have no proof that the user known as ReligionOfPeace was actually Dutch Milo. Furthermore, we don’t even have proof that Dutch Milo existed in the first place, let alone died. Also, the connections that were drawn between LCQP and the assassination of Al-Mabhouh were, at best, a bit reaching.
Lastly, one can’t help but wonder, why would actual assassins be posting job listings on a surface-web pornographic website. Yes, it was in a hidden forum, but clearly it wasn’t hidden that well.
Lakecityquietpills.com is now defunct, but screenshots of the hidden forum can still be found. While it remains one of the internet’s most curious oddities, there is just not enough proof to say for certain that it was an actual job board for assassins.
Do you think that Lake City Quiet Pills was more than a mere ARG? Let us know in the comments!
