TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Big news from Alex Barnes-Ross this morning as he shares with us a document that lays out a code of conduct for both protesters and Scientology which should head off the church’s request for a draconian legal ban on demonstrations outside its UK headquarters, Saint Hill Manor. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The way to handle auditors who quickie Objectives is a full W/Cing of the subject and a big clay demo of the purpose of Objectives and a big clay demo of what effect Objectives have on running a Drug RD and R3R. Then get the auditor’s own Objectives flattened. Any Drug RD that needs to be repaired or redone must include a careful study of the Objectives to see if they were honestly run and if the valid Objective EPs on the processes themselves were obtained. Where the Objective was obviously quickied just R-Factor the pc you are going to flatten it and do so. If the EP of an Objective was questionable you can ask the pc what happened and if he F/Ns on a real Objective EP fine, otherwise flatten the process. A fully completed Drug RD with Objectives sets the stage for the pc to fly up the Grade Chart so do it right the first time.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977
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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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[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
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“If the child has suffered a great deal of restimulation such as a recent death on the case, and you know that the emotional content of the prenatal bank is very heavy, you could try to get that death out. But you are liable to find yourself back in the prenatal area, into material that the child can’t handle. The best thing to do is just keep a child from getting restimulated. Limit therapy on a child to picking up little odds and ends. Make them happy, give it to them when you think they need it, stay as late in the case as possible, and above all don’t get the case stirred up to a point where it will swamp the child with anything you suspect may be there. Any prenatal bank is full of infamy. It is extremely embarrassing to try to run some little girl back into the coitus chain who doesn’t know what on earth is going on. She only knows that she is uncomfortable. The words and actions are a complete mystery to her. She is flabbergasted. She will get it off by syllables.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 14, 1950
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“We will be here 3 or 4 days. There will be Liberty. The port is reported full of refugees who try to stow away so be careful not to give them a chance aboard as we would have to bring them back. The ship is beginning to shape up. The ‘new’ recruits are getting to be old hands, things are ironing out well. The bookstore should stock up on small gifts, sandals etc. Now we’ve got water save it. Long time between here and next drink. Enjoy your liberty.” — The Commodore, June 14, 1969
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“You don’t give firecrackers and matches to children to play with. The L’s run deep into the R6 bank and can have bad consequences if not done right. I’m open to the idea of sharing materials of the L’s with other highly trained auditors, but not for raw public or making it available to those with a small amount of training. People are like children, and someone is going to try the information on another or on themselves and like the firecrackers/children example, you can get a severe in-balance in the mind which becomes psychoses. Hard to unravel if it gets to that stage.”
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2000: From The Guardian: “France will defy President Clinton’s appeal to be more tolerant of religious sects and introduce draconian laws, including an offense of ‘mental manipulation’ – brainwashing – which will carry a two-year prison sentence. President Jacques Chirac has told Clinton that religious freedom will no longer be a subject for bilateral presidential talks in the light of what has been officially described as ‘shocking’ White House support for Scientologists and Moonies. Alain Vivien, chairman of a French ministerial mission to combat the influence of cults, said many observers believe Clinton was making his peace with big religious movements ‘because they offer an indispensable source of political financing.’ France has waged war against mainly American-sponsored movements, prompting the accusation, particularly by Scientologists, that it is indulging in ‘collective hysteria’ and preparing to ban religious freedoms. Vivien denied that France was acting alone, claiming that Germany was leading the battle, with strong support from Belgium, the first country to produce a legal definition of a sect. He claimed that religious sects, led by Scientologists, were infiltrating U.N. and European human rights associations, financing some of their work and collaborating on reports that condemned France ‘with virulence.'”
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“My dad grew up dirt poor during the Depression and he would eat a jar of pig’s knuckles in one sitting as well as all kinds of other ungodly shit.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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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] Scientology to clear planet with killer new marketing campaign: ‘Are you lonesome?’
[TWO years ago] Scientology fundraising is reaching epic levels of awesomeness, you doubters
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s new hype video is off the charts, kids. Prepare to put the pedal to the metal!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s heyday: When you got golden tickets for past-life therapy
[FIVE years ago] Hanging out with Scientologists going door-to-door in ‘Volunteer Minister’ hazmat suits
[SIX years ago] Scientology trots out new propaganda ploy: Pretending to support journalists
[SEVEN years ago] DOX: Quebec church owes other Scientology orgs heaps, pays its workers peanuts
[EIGHT years ago] Marty Rathbun tries to rewrite the record on Scientology spying. But we have the dox.
[NINE years ago] Scientology claims L. Ron Hubbard chose David Miscavige to succeed him, proving he didn’t
[TEN years ago] Good morning, New York! Paulette Cooper is dishing on Scientology in the Big Apple today
[ELEVEN years ago] L. Ron Hubbard’s mesmerizing lore, and tales of Scientology’s secretive Int Base
[TWELVE years ago] The Fair-Gaming of ESMB’s Michelle “Emma” Sterling
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,295 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,790 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,305 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,855 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,845 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,231 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,726 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,030 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,899 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,453 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,794 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,361 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,280 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,448 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,030 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,289 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,326 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,042 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,606 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,921 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,096 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,778 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,115 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,969 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,084 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,446 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,855 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,251 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,129 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,694 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,205 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,461 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,569 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 14, 2025 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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
