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When Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard decided to get tough with squirrels

[Hubbard in England, 1959]

On Thursday we posted another story about Danny Masterson’s rape accusers — three women who are former members of the Church of Scientology and who say they’ve been going through intense harassment since they came forward to the LAPD in 2016 with their allegations about Danny, a prominent celebrity member of the church.

We find that it’s important to explain to newer readers that Scientology’s harassing style is deeply embedded in the organization’s DNA. Scientology can’t stop surveilling and stalking and playing dirty tricks on people simply because that’s how founder L. Ron Hubbard set things up, and to this day he’s known as “Source,” the ultimate originator of all Scientology policy.

We often tell people that it was between 1959 and 1967 that Hubbard laid down, in writing, the policies for how to harass the people Scientology considers enemies. And when we refer to 1959, we are pointing to a specific document that Hubbard came out with that year, his infamous “Manual of Justice.”

To understand why Hubbard set up such a vindictive, underhanded, cloak-and-dagger style for his organization, it’s important to understand what was bugging him so much in those days. Please keep in mind that when he started things in 1950 with his book Dianetics, the subtitle for that book was “The Modern Science of Mental Health.” Many of his early followers took that literally, believing that Ron had created a new science. And the nature of science, of course, is that its results should be something that can be replicated by others. And so some early Dianeticists and Scientologists went off on their own, forming splinter groups, and claiming to have made their own discoveries and additions to Ron’s “science.”

It drove him nuts. He called these “innovators” by a cute name: squirrels. And he wanted to put an end to it. So it was to shut down squirrels (people who were taking Scientology’s ideas and making them their own), and the press, which had been ridiculing his work, that motivated Hubbard to create his harsh laws of “justice.”

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It’s a pretty important early document in Scientology history, so we thought we’d post it here in its entirety, in case you haven’t read it before. Give it a good look and let us know what you think about Hubbard’s tone, and how he comes off here as he tries to shut down the squirrels and the nosy reporters.

 
Manual of Justice (1959)

HCO assists me everywhere in wearing any of my own hats. One of those hats (whether we like or not it is forced on us) is Justice.

People come to me with ethical problems with their auditors, their husbands, their wives, their bosses. I always try to listen — always try to help.

People get in trouble with the law — without aiding crime, I try to help these people square themselves with the police.

Judges and others have paroled people to me without my asking and have told people to get processed or go to jail.

People attack Scientology: I never forget it, always even the score.

People attack auditors, or staff, or organizations, or me. I never forget until the slate is clear.

All these things add up to a Justice Hat. Whether I would or no, I wear it.

HCO Secretaries therefore are often faced with “Justice Problems.” They should recognize them as such and handle them as far as they can.

“Bring Order” also means Bring Justice. There’s precious little real justice in the world today. So we ourselves should make a start.

Normally I run on the stable datum “Keep the peace and keep them happy.” That’s for run-of-the-mill disagreements amongst people.

But always I try to adjudicate on the basis of the Optimum Solution, “The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number of Dynamics.”

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But to do these things one should have some understanding of Justice itself.

Most executive failures are (1) failure to help staff and (2) failure to understand and use the principles of justice. We should not fail in these matters.

The whole subject of justice subdivides for a Scientologist into four phases. These are

1. Intelligence Activities
2. Investigation of Evidence
3. Judgment or Punishment
4. Rehabilitation.

 
INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is mostly the collection of data on people which may add up to a summary of right or wrong actions on their part.

It is basically listening and filing action. It is done all the time about everything and everybody. Then one day some random data make a summation that can be used. “It all adds up.” But if one never collected data, there would be nothing to add up. Hence, intelligence consists of noting data about the activities of people from all kinds of sources. Joe is now working for the Daily Worker. The State Department won’t give Pete a passport. Isabel left Texas owing money. It’s all grist to the mill of intelligence. Carefully remembered or filed and cross-indexed, such data tells its own story some day. if we had a folder for Joe, we’d scribble on a piece of paper, “Works now (1959) for Daily Worker — a Communist paper.” A few weeks later, another scrap of paper is dropped in: “Taking B. Scn. Course Feb. 59.” A few months later: “Joe moved in to live with Pete.” We look up Pete. Obviously, Pete is a Commie as he can’t get a U.S. passport. September 1959 we learn that Joe is asking for a job in the Seattle Office. We promptly tell Seattle, “Rat-poison. Forget Joe.”

If we kept files like that we’d keep them like that. Some day we may have to. Today we do it by memory. So we listen. We add up associations of people with people. When a push against Scientology starts somewhere, we go over the people involved and weed them out. Push vanishes.

Using intelligence to tell our friends from our enemies and acting fast is why we have stable organizations now where we had shambles before. It isn’t better organization so much as more peace bought by more alert intelligence. We know our enemies before they hit. We keep them out of important positions. When we accidentally put one into a key post and he starts to flub, we shoot quick and get judicial afterwards. And we then add up who his friends and associates were.

Intelligence alertness, even when we have no files, pays off in peace, growth, and progress.

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APA and OCA graphs tell their stories on people. Only the ones whose graphs don’t change their processing have been found to be real menaces to Dianetics and Scientology. They have overt acts and bad intentions against us and they can’t talk to the auditor about them, they feel. So they’re hanged. Every one of twenty known cases who were evidently paid money to smash Dianetics or Scientology organizations, including Hart, Purcell, and van Vogt, had hung graphs. No change occurred in any of these cases for five or more years of known activity, despite all processing! So an unchanging profile over years of processing almost adds up to “dangerous person – has bad intentions toward Dianetics and Scientology.”

Conversely, people who benefit form processing or auditors who get consistently good results on preclears never get snarled up enough to attack us. Therefore intelligence has its bright side. By facts heard plus profiles seen, we know our friends.

Intelligence is therefore that activity which collects data and keeps it adding up so that we know our foes from our friends and so that we can act to separate out the sources of trouble i any given situation.

Organizations with bad consciences usually look on HCO personnel as intelligence people. So HCO personnel might as well realize it, too.

One small HCO hat is intelligence — know our friends and enemies and what they are doing.

 
INVESTIGATION

When things go wrong and we don’t know why already by intelligence, we resort to investigation.

When we need somebody handled we investigate.

Investigation is the careful discovery and sorting of facts. Without good investigation we don’t have justice, we have random vengeance.

When we investigate we do so noisily always. And usually mere investigation damps out the trouble even when we discover no really pertinent facts. Remember that — by investigation alone we can curb pushes and crush wildcat people and unethical “Dianetics and Scientology” organizations. It’s almost funny. We sometimes learn nothing useful and yet because people heard we were investigating their consciences sent them into headlong flight or sudden collapse. There’s power in the question alone!

Here is an example. There’s bad morale in a central organization. We don’t know why. We try everything we can to up units and ease difficulties and yet there’s bad morale. So we investigate noisily. Remember, intelligence we get with a whisper. Investigation we do with a yell. Always. Modern cops don’t really know this. They investigate with whispers. Doesn’t pay. Why sneak up when pouncing is the only thing that serves us? After all, if it hasn’t been whispered to us already and we have to investigate, why keep whispering?

In the low morale matter, we think over the most likely suspects and summon them to see us. We ask them why they’re talking the way they are. What’s wrong anyway? We call them in one at a time. We use the E-meter. “What have you been doing to us?” And you sort it out.

Investigation to us in Scientology is a fine art. It’s like auditing. If they won’t take a meter test, you know they’re guilty. If they do, you can watch that needle dip a “Yes” every time you’re right even when the suspect won’t say anything verbally. You generally find that Joe is hoping to start a clinic in the town and thinks of the organization as a rival — if the central organization got knocked out, this knucklehead thinks, he’d be all set. So he’s been discouraging staff and starting rumours in the town.

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Did you ever realize that any local viciousness against Scientology organizations is started by somebody for a purpose? Well, it is. Look at what we do. Look how dedicated staff is. How hard they work. And yet somebody feels we’re evil? No, rumours aren’t “natural.” When you run them down you find a Commie or a millionaire who wants us dead and his own clinic up or a group member who is also a member of the R.C.

You don’t rest when bad rumours are about. You investigate, you run them down. You find amongst all our decent people some low worm who has been promised high position and pay if we fail. Don’t discount this. In one instance $500,000 was paid in cash to a man to wreck Dianetics. He almost made it. Wichita, Kansas, Spring 1952. (But by intelligence and investigation we cost him his shirt and his spare vest as well.)

In cross questioning people, it is as valuable to know what they’ve been told as what they’ve said. “What bad things have you heard about the HASI?” and “What have you said?” are the usual questions. When you get on a line of data follow it right through

Get the names. Write them down as you get them. Sort them out with what you already know about them.

Also, even in daily actions, remember this: never let anybody EVER say to you “Everybody says” or “Everybody thinks” or “The field thinks.” Demand at once who when, where, and what. “Everybody” turns out to be some nut most people would laugh at and “the field” becomes one sour grape that flunked his HPA two years ago.

In the first place, the mail even as a whole does not reflect field opinion ever. It’s only the opinion of people who write in — and that’s only a small part of the field.

Never permit a source of entheta to be generalized. If it’s entheta, you want who, what, where, when, and you write it down and file it.

The whole field less one man could be wildly for you but staff can believe this silly fool is PUBLIC OPINION.

Public opinion isn’t newspapers or magazines or letters. It is attendance, balance sheets, book sales.

Therefore investigation must always be aimed at the specific person, the time and the place. Else you’ll sink in a morass of generality and get nowhere.

When you have found your culprit, go to the next step. Judgment and Punishment.

 
INVESTIGATION BY OUTSIDE SOURCES

Overt investigation of someone or something attacking us by an outside detective agency should be done more often and hang the expense. It’s very effective. Often investigation by a private detective has alone closed up an entheta source or a squirrel organization. In fact at this writing I can’t remember a time when it hasn’t!

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The reason for this is simple. Of twenty-one persons found attacking Dianetics and Scientology with rumours and entheta, eighteen of them under investigation were found to be members of the Communist Party or criminals, usually both. The smell of police or private detectives caused them to fly, to close down, to confess.

Hire them and damn the cost when you need to.

 
PROCEDURE ON ETHETA PRESS

In the case of a bad magazine article which is signed, use the following procedure.

1. Tell them by letter to retract at once in the next issue.
2. Hire a private detective of a national-type firm to investigate the writer, not the magazine, and get any criminal or Communist background the man has. (Because all subversive activities foolishly use criminals they “have something on” and men who have been paid to attack us, you’ll have data incoming from the detective agency if they do their work well.
3. Have your lawyers or solicitors write the magazine threatening suit. (Hardly ever permit a real suit — they’re more of a nuisance to you than they’re worth.)
4. Use the data you got from the detective at long last to write the author of the article a very tantalizing letter. Don’t give him your data on him. Just tell him we know something very interesting about him and wouldn’t he like to come in and talk about it. (If he comes, ask him to sign a confession of collusion and slander — people at that level often will, just to commit suicide — and publish it in a paid ad in a paper if you get it.) Chances are he won’t arrive. But he’ll sure shudder into silence.
5. Give any new data you have from the detective to your attorneys for their use against the magazine.
6. Don’t let the whole matter disrupt you, take much time, or upset the central organization.

 
INVESTIGATING A SQUIRREL

A person or an organization using Dianetics or Scientology wrongly or without rights, or a wildcat magazine, is best shut down or shut up by hiring a private detective. Tell the detective “We don’t care if they know you’re investigating them for us. In fact the louder the better.”

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Detectives cost dozens of dollars or pounds. They save thousands.

When you get their data, give it to your attorneys for any action they want. Or post it.

 
WHEN TO SUE

Never if you can help it. It consumes time, means little but trouble for you. Suits are basically best as threats.

 
WHEN BEING INVESTIGATED

If you are being investigated or if the Central Organization is — sit tight, don’t co-operate.

Be legal according to the laws of the land in the first place. After that kick investigators or reporters downstairs.

Press interviews usually end up as entheta or they are cover-ups for an investigation. Never co-operate. Be indifferent. Don’t let the central organization co-operate with “press” ever. That’s a lesson hard to learn. Press people are so persuasive. They are going to “help” so much. Look at a newspaper. Is it helping anybody?

Press and other queries are counter-investigation.

Never spook if investigated. And don’t co-operate. Sit tight. Be silent. Make the investigator talk. Gradually put him into session if you can. Put him in birth or get him three feet back of his head. But don’t co-operate or volunteer data. It’s not that you’ve anything to hide. It’s just that investigators cant duplicate. They pervert things they “hear.”

Your whole answer to anyone is “This is an institution that has s definite high standing throughout the world. Why don’t you see our attorneys?” This kills press and cops alike.

I’ve seen an outside investigation of a guiltless organization put the whole place in a flap and cost it two days’ work or more. I’ve seen an organization fall apart by suspending operation for ten days while it permitted itself to be investigated. So don’t co-operate. If you don’t scare or cringe, the menace fades away.

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People feel when they’re investigated they must have done something wrong even when they haven’t. If it’s wrong to honestly help people then we’re wrong — not otherwise. So never spook.

 
JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT

None of us like to judge or to punish. Yet we may be the only people on Earth with a right to punish — since we can undo the damage we do in most cases. Therefore never punish beyond our easy ability to remedy by auditing and restoration.

Judging must be done on the basis of clear-cut evidence and the person to be guilty must be guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Only then, punish.

Guilt is established by a person’s actions and statements, by witnesses and written evidence and by an expertly run E-meter. A person can be guilty without realizing he did wrong. What criminal ever does realize how wrong his actions are?

 
POINTS TO ESTABLISH

1. What is the crime? This must be established first. It must be something that can be phrased in a sentence or two. It must be unacceptable to the general good of all. It must contain actual injury to someone or something. And the criminal is usually rewarded in some fashion by someone or even by perverted satisfaction.
2. Who is guilty of the crime? Is it the person himself or an associate he aided? An associate or even a silent non-participant who knew but didn’t warn the victim can be judged guilty of the crime.
3. Who are the accusers? In this case it is usually us. But you’ll get ethics cases where it is another. What do they accuse the person of?
4. Who are the witnesses? Crimes don’t always have witnesses but when they do, it helps to question them. Witnesses are no whole answer to anything. They lie, they don’t observe well, they have prejudices. But some weight can be given to their testimony. They can almost be safely omitted if you’re in a hurry and have an E-meter.
5. What happened? This is so important that most trials spend much of their time on it. It is ridiculous sometimes who prejudice and vengeance and plain lack of the ability to confront confuse the story. “Getting the facts” is a police idea of investigation. They seem more interested in the script than in what crime and who did it. To speed evidence, be a good auditor — question closely and rapidly. What did he or they do or say and where?
6. Weigh the evidence and decide if the crime was actually committed and by whom.

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7. Establish the importance of the crime in terms of damage done or threatened.

 
PUNISHMENT

Our punishment is not as unlimited as you might think. Dianetics and Scientology are self protecting sciences. If one attacks them one attacks all the know-how of the mind. In caves the bank. It’s gruesome to see sometimes.

At this instance there are men hiding in terror on Earth because they found out what they were attacking. There are men dead because they attacked us — for instance Dr. Joe Winter. He simply realized what he did and died. There are men bankrupt because they attacked us — Purcell, Ridgway, Ceppos.

So punishment almost takes care of itself. However, there is an immediacy necessary at times in some matters which makes punishment necessary.

Where a certified auditor attacks the central organization or flagrantly breaks the code, punishment is simple: suspend his certificates. Any HCO Secretary has authority to do so.

Where an employee acts in a corrupt or bad fashion, fire him or suspend him or her.

When a squirrel organization sets up, suspend the certificate of everyone who joined it. Cancel the certificate of the person who started it.

Use civil authorities when absolutely necessary, as in embezzlement or mayhem, but try to operate without calling in local law. We always do better ourselves or with private detectives. Local law today means reporters and cases tried in the press. Keep our name good.

And always punish quietly but publicly. Post it on the Public Board for a day. Never put it in a magazine or write the field letters about it.

Remember this: We are a theta line. Leave the entheta to others. Act on entheta but don’t add to it. Remember, orderly justice as described in this booklet also brings order. Be as happy if they’re innocent as if they’re guilty. But don’t neglect rumours, squirrel organizations and publications or Commie or criminal personnel. Be just. Don’t voluntarily put a head on a pike unless it’s the right head. But remember that there are times when it’s vitally necessary to put some head, any head, on a pike to quell rising disorder. Just remember that justice is an action to deter disorder and secure the public safety. But if you do put the wrong head on a pike, he sure to put it back on the body again as soon as the need for its being on a pike is over. Justice is not always the matter of an individual. It is a short-term method of bringing order and it is needed for all dynamics.

 
REHABILITATION

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Rome destroyed herself by failing to follow (or know) the necessity of rehabilitation. Russia is caving in for the same lack. Every modern nation at this writing makes more criminals than it captures — hence Hitler’s criminal rise to power.

When you punish a man you punish also his family and friends. Even if you slayed the man, you would then still have his friends and family as your enemies. If you slay everyone he knew — why, they have friends and families, too — and at least you’ve a whole populace against you.

You punish a man. He goes away to join the ranks of the squirrels. You swell the opposition. Don’t do it.

Shoot the offender for the public good and then patch him up quietly. That isn’t even mercy. It’s good sense.

 
THE BASIS OF ALL CRIME

You have to know this about offenders against Scientology, its organizations and people. ARC Breaks can be caused by an overt act against us. If a person does something bad to us (even when we did nothing to him) he now has an ARC Break with us. Without our knowing is he is a little bit of an enemy of ours.

So he now, having an ARC Break, again offends against us. He is more our enemy. And so he goes until at least he can’t rest until he kills us dead.
That is the route of crime and criminals. They rob, they hurt. The more they do, the more reason then think they should have to do so. They dream up motivators madly, seeking to justify their acts. This in the field we see as entheta. We do precious little to hurt people. Therefore when they do something against us they have to lie and scream to justify it.

Factually then when they start this they’re on their way out. Offenders against us get ill because they can never truly justify it.

It is mercy to put the padlock on such a person’s activities. Every word he says or writes against us, every plot he enters into, alike push him further and further down.

How bad can it get? We have evidence in a book Dr. Winter wrote. He knew it consisted of stolen ideas and entheta lies. Every copy it sold killed him a little mroe. And one day he died. He couldn’t even be audited since he had tried to damn the thing that had almost saved him, his marriage, his children.

So it is mercy, not revenge, to prompts our justice. (1) We must not neglect it and (2) we must not fail to rehabilitate.

Put the culprit on the E-meter. Ask him as a repetitive command “What have you done to us?” Cover the HASI, the staff people, HCO, myself, anything you can think of, rephrasing the question each time the last version is flat.

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Only when all this is off will what we have done to the culprit free.

If the case is a true criminal case — totally hardened down to no-guilt for anything — you would have to run “Recall a time you have done something” for a long long time before you could release the specific overts against Dianetics and Scientology.

When he’s turned loose again he will not try to wreck you. He will have regained his ethic level — providing you balanced the case out with motivators “What has been done to you?”

It’s relief to a bad case to be punished. Sometimes they choose us for their executioners — worse luck. More often than not you as my representative get selected as teh person to wield an axe and a criminal-type will try and try to get you to use an axe on him. It would feel so proud to be punished after lives of crime. Axe him — but rehabilitate him too.

 
WHOM TO SUSPECT

Suspect people who have the following:

1. Criminal connections of backgroud.
2. Communist membership or leanings (they attack all “source”).
3. Low OCA/APA graphs
4. Auditors who get bad results on preclears.
5. People low on the tone scale, particularly physiologically (physiology not always reliable).
6. People who don’t pay their bills and who want it all free.
7. People who tell you you could reach so many people if only you’d help them or their friends.

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8. Press.
9. People who can’t work.
10. People who break up machinery or Mest.

If you simply swept all these out of every central organization, you’d be a real winner. (Never consent to a post being filled with a bad person because the post is empty. An empty post is better than one badly filled, always.)

 
WHOM TO TRUST

Trust the following:

1. Auditors whose good results you have actually seen on graphs (never by “repute” the “best auditor in town” — this is press agentry not results).
2. People who are able to work.
3. People who get a job done easily
4. People whose Mest is in good shape.
5. People who are routinely in good health.
6. People whose cases run easily.
7. People with high OCA or APA graphs.

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8. People in general.

 

 
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Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.

 
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Source Code

“Take any given action. Let’s take kissing a girl, just take that as an action. I don’t know whether you’re familiar with this action or not, but — kissing a girl. All right. Now, let’s take a look at the various societies and their various regards of it. And you find out it’d be very interesting. The Marriage Counselors Society of Los Angeles. Of course, this is a very laudable action and therefore you are a very evil man if you don’t kiss a girl. If you’re not the type of man who kisses girls, then you’re an evil man. That’s according to the mores of the marriage counselors. Because of course the more girls that get kissed, the more business they have. Elementary. Elementary. All right. Now, let’s take the Sex Is Evil Society of New York City. The Sex Is Evil Society. All right. Every time you kiss a girl, you see, you are evil. So you’re an evil man because you kiss a girl. Now, you go down to Hollywood, for instance, and kiss a girl, they think you’re crazy. I didn’t mean it as a crack, and so forth. I didn’t mean it as a crack, a derogatory. In the first place, it couldn’t be derogatory because you can always explain cracks about Hollywood on the same basis, ‘It isn’t critical — it isn’t a critical thought because it’s true!’ You hear that?” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 16, 1962

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

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“The factor of income-outgo is that one must have more income than outgo for an org to live at all. This is the primary thing that EOs and staffs overlook. It is the only thing really that can wipe out an org. ASHO in November ran at less income than outgo (loss of $3,000) which is why there is an effort to combine ASHO and AOLA. In management this factor — the income-outgo ratio — is just something that can’t be ignored as it can destroy an org and is, by experience, the only thing which can. It is also the hardest thing to get across to ECs. One has to increase income to exceed outgo and also decrease outgo so it is less than income — both actions are usually necessary. I doubt there is a more important management datum than this. Or one which is more consistently ignored in orgs.” — The Commodore, January 16, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I doubt LRH will be back. Probably doing exactly the same elsewhere. You don’t just sow one seed and hope it will grow. You gotta sow many. That’s what the Class XIIs were for, to ensure the technology is preserved and used. Even now many of them have strayed off course in one way or another. Gone off source, beholden to Miscaviage, caved in, gone 1st dynamic or hell bent on revenge. They were meant to continue the upward thrust. All I can do is try to ensure that a pocket of the tech does not get diluted or squirreled.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: The Marin Independent Journal reported that a California court has found Gerry Armstrong in contempt for speaking out against Scientology. “Marin Superior Court Judge Vernon Smith ruled that Armstrong, a former Scientology archivist, violated an earlier settlement agreement that he stop criticizing the church and discussing the experiences he had within the organization. Smith also issued an arrest warrant for Armstrong, who did not attend yesterday’s court hearing. Reached at his home in British Columbia, Armstrong said he intentionally stayed away from court for fear he would be thrown in jail. Armstrong said he also has no intention of curbing his criticism, which most often takes the form of writings he posts in Internet discussion groups. ‘This is about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, the whole gamut. I will fight this to the ends of the Earth.’ In making their case for a contempt order against Armstrong, attorneys for the church submitted a sheaf of messages Armstrong had posted on the Internet between March 1998 and last July. Quiros, the Scientology spokesman, said ‘We’ll probably never see a dime from Mr. Armstrong,’ he said. ‘And I doubt he’ll do any jail time because he will probably never come back to California.'”

 
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Random Howdy

“Steve Allen and Johnny Carson hated Scientology.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29.
‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for January 18.
Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference January 22 in Los Angeles
David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Next hearing February 15.

Civil litigation:
Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

 
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] More proof that governments are aware of how Scientology abuses its own members
[TWO years ago] Lawsuit filed in death of man shot by police at Scientology’s Inglewood ‘Ideal Org’
[THREE years ago] Another elderly victim gets soaked by Scientology, is talking to law enforcement
[FOUR years ago] Leah Remini and Mike Rinder cite Scientology interrogations as they support Paul Haggis
[FIVE years ago] What Scientology is telling its members: Things have never been better!
[SIX years ago] Atack: What I meant when I said Scientologists suffer from arrogance when they leave
[EIGHT years ago] High crimes and misdemeanors: Jefferson Hawkins on Scientology’s bizarre criminal code
[NINE years ago] TONIGHT: Nancy Many’s Story of Scientology Spying and Interrogation on ID at 10 PM
[TEN years ago] Did You See a Scientology Ad This Weekend?

 
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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,547 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,052 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,572 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,592 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,483 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,790 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,658 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,432 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,763 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,236 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,552 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,118 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,037 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,205 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,786 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,047 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,083 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,798 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,323 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 678 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,853 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,404 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,553 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,873 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,728 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,847 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,203 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,506 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,612 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,010 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,886 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,469 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,964 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,218 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,327 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 16, 2022 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 

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