Yesterday testimony began in the Danny Masterson trial when the prosecution called alleged victim Jane Doe 1 to the witness stand.
As Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller asked her questions about the social group she was a part of, which included not only Danny Masterson but also Lisa Marie Presley and other young Hollywood types, she explained how insular this group was because they were all Scientologists.
For us, it seemed pretty natural to be curious about how these young Scientologists saw themselves and saw outsiders. And Jane Doe 1 explained that outsiders were called “wogs” by Scientologists, and that they were kept away because there was a “no fraternizing with the enemy code.”
This set off a series of objections by defense attorney Philip Cohen, and a stern rebuke from Judge Charlaine Olmedo. On October 4, Judge Olmedo had produced a lengthy ruling (much of which we published here) explaining how she would allow a limited amount of testimony in the case about Scientology, but only in order to understand the state of mind of the alleged victims and why they had taken so long to report to police.
For some reason, Jane Doe 1 explaining that she was part of a social group that was defined in part by Scientology crossed that line.
Cohen seemed particularly unhappy that Jane Doe 1 had used the word “wog,” but as we pointed out in our video report from the trial yesterday afternoon, that word has come up in this case before. At the preliminary hearing in May 2021, we distinctly remember Judge Cohen herself being amused by the word, and pointing out that it was the Scientology equivalent of a “muggle” in Harry Potter’s world.
As for the order against fraternizing, Cohen was also very unhappy that Jane Doe 1 had referred to it, and Judge Olmedo admonished Mueller for bringing in too much Scientology too fast.
Mueller certainly needs to watch the boundaries that Judge Olmedo laid down, but we don’t have to. We talk about Scientology here all day and we’re going to continue to.
And so we thought we’d provide some context for Jane Doe 1’s reference to fraternizing. Late last night we recorded a special Underground Bunker podcast episode with Chris Shelton, who explained the origin of the phrase, and why it’s common among Los Angeles Scientologists in particular. We’ve sent out the podcast as a separate email (we’d rather embed it here, but Substack wouldn’t allow us to). Here’s the direct link to the podcast episode. The episode, like this story, is for all of our readers, whether they have a subscription of not.
Also, here’s the video we sent out to subscribers yesterday at the conclusion of the court session. What a day! And this morning it starts up again. Be prepared for our reports from court!
Also, just a minor note. During his opening statement yesterday Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller recounted that Jane Doe 3, when she reported her rape to her Scientology ethics officer at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, was told that “you can’t rape your 2D.”
“2D” is very common parlance in Scientology, referring to “second dynamic,” which is your spouse or partner. We’re hearing from readers that other news organizations reported it incorrectly as “2B,” and we’ve been asked if the “pool reporter” got it wrong for everyone.
We just want to point out, our duties as pool reporter ended once the jury was seated. At that point, the rest of the press corps were let into the courtroom and everyone was responsible for their own notes. Any story reporting it as “2B” simply misheard what Mueller was saying, and it had nothing to do with us, ha!
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“Why do people buy big, flashy inefficient automobiles? They have in these automobiles thousands of pounds of active metal—roaring monsters of MEST that respond to the touch of a little finger. They will work thousands of hours and go without all sorts of pleasures in order to acquire one of these expensive-to-operate toys. If they were really properly adjusted to their environment, they would walk!” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951
——————–
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 as trial begins and Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
——————–
THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
— The Underground Bunker Podcast
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial
[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19
— The Underground Bunker Podcast on YouTube
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley
——————–
“The Eighth Dynamic is really infinity stood upright. And it simply means infinity. Now, you can come along and say, ‘Well, you also mean the Supreme Being?’ No, we don’t particularly mean the Supreme Being. How do we know that you aren’t, collectively, the Supreme Being. See? That’s probably much more closer to truth. There are gods around of various kinds. There are some wind gods over in India; there are various savage gods of one kind or another. But if you give them a good quizzing you find out that they’re just a thetan and they behave most remarkably like you would if you hadn’t thought that you ought to lay aside all the power you had, too.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 19, 1954
——————–
“NOTES FROM HCI: In spite of Sea Watches, Drills and docking the following completed courses yesterday: Al Bornstein, Lookout Specialist; David Ziff, HDG; Dekki Le, SO SS; David Ziff, HSDC; Sharon West, SO SS; Liz Ausley, OOD Specialist. Very Well Done. It’s great to see thetans making things go right.” — The Commodore, October 19, 1970
——————–
“Cabal bases on Mars surely exist. The secret Earth conspiracy is just a small part of the larger agenda to suppress the rest of the universe.”
——————–
1996: German TV aired a story this week, including an interview with OSA head Mike Rinder and footage from the Scientology compound in Hemet, California. “They interviewed Scientologists in the CC. Mike Rinder said that ‘Caberta is like Goebbels.’ Later the team traveled to Hemet. Their security measures remind me of the Berlin wall. They kept on insisting on this point. ‘Are you really saying the Kohl government are Nazis? And Caberta?’ The confirmative answer was repeated several times. Voice over an explanation about flame-baiting: accuse a person of exactly the point you know he is sensitive about. What also made a nice impression was the fact that the TV crew was very surprised to notice that THEY were filmed during the interview, with three cameras (I guess the Germans had only one, how many cameras do you need for a simple interview?). When asked, the Scientologists responded: you have to make sure, you know.”
——————–
“I asked vaLLarrr the Sci troll one time if any new OT levels were released, and they didn’t include Hubbard’s handwriting on some level, would s/he consider them genuine and s/he said ‘no’.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Luis Garcia steps in to help Danny Masterson’s accusers: Scientology ‘arbitration’ is corrupt
[TWO years ago] Danny Masterson’s attorneys back in court in rape case today while he’s in Wyoming
[THREE years ago] Let’s help Scientology actor Danny Masterson name his new wine venture
[FOUR years ago] Richest Scientologist in the world is one of the donors behind offensive Arkansas radio ad
[FIVE years ago] Raid in Hungary: Scientology’s Cold War tactics are colliding with 21st Century data privacy
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s biggest lie: That it will teach you to take control of your own life
[SEVEN years ago] Would you buy a used car from this man? Scientology and refunds — a primer
[EIGHT years ago] Marty Rathbun on being ambushed at LAX by raving Scientologists: ‘It was insane’
[NINE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY DROPS A BOMB ON MONIQUE RATHBUN’S HARASSMENT LAWSUIT
[TEN years ago] When L. Ron Hubbard Rocked the World: The OT 8 Release!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s ‘Disconnection:’ Lori Hodgson, Ex-Church Member, Kept from Scientologist Son After Serious Wreck
——————–
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 2,822 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,327 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,877 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,867 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,758 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,063 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,933 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,038 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,511 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,827 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,393 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,312 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,480 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,060 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,322 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,358 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,073 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,638 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 953 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,128 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,679 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,810 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,148 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,003 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,122 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,478 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,781 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,887 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,285 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,161 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,744 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,239 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,493 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,602 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on October 19, 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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
