The Barvarian Illuminati have infiltrated public offices and courts of law. Estimates of the group’s size vary widely – some put the figure at 650, others at 2,500 – but ultimately the secret society was denounced and persecuted. Documents found in the homes of Illuminati like Franx diplomat Xavier von Zwack confirmed their dreams of world domination. The Duke of Bavaria, Karl Theodor, banned secret societies in 1785 and instituted penalties for anyone who joined them. But did the Illuminati really disband?

Robison and Abbot Augustin Barruel, authors of Memoirs illustrating the history of Jacobinism, maintain that the Illuminati survived, after having infiltrated a Berlin literary society and Masonic lodges. Additionally, they point out that Weishaupt was banished but not imprisoned, so he continued to write and work. Barruel even promoted a theory that secret societies, including the Illuminati, were behind the French Revolution.