TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Tuesday’s meeting of the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners was not what we might have assumed would be the source of real drama in regards to Scientology’s control of Clearwater, Florida. But that’s what it was, and we’re only now piecing together what happened. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“No matter how criminal an individual is, he will be trying, one way or another, to put Ethics in on himself. This explains why Hitler invited the world to destroy Germany. He had the whole war won before September, 1939, before he declared war. The allies were giving him everything he wanted; he had one of the finest intelligence organizations that ever walked; he had Germany well on the way to getting her colonies back and the idiot declared war! And he just caved himself and Germany right in. His brilliance was going at a mad rate in one direction and his native sense of Ethics was causing him to cave himself in at a mad rate in the other direction. The individual who lacks any Ethics technology is unable to put in Ethics on himself and restrain himself from contra-survival actions so he caves himself in. And the individual is not going to come alive unless he gets hold of the basic tech of Ethics and applies it to himself and others. He may find it a little unpalatable at first, but when you’re dying of malaria you don’t usually complain about the taste of the quinine: you may not like it, but you sure drink it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1981
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“The art of Sec Checking is very, very well established. It’s one of the finest arts that we have. But it is to a large degree an art. It is restimulating the material to be picked up. And then picking it up….All right, now we’re going straight into the questions here, and the first question I’m going to ask you is: Do you know any communists personally?” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 27, 1963
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“Our ship has become rather shabby. We are improving that fast. We are improving our crew appearance. We are getting a lot done. We have a lot to do. We have gone through a period of floods of new recruits. They aren’t new recruits any longer. Do your own job with initiative, snap and pop and we’ll make it all the way. We right now have lots of good, able people. We have a lot of good, effective programmes. We can make a go of it all right.” — The Commodore, March 27, 1969
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“Apparently some OTs have been following the method: Become the planet, pervade it with one’s beingness and decide all is well. Health authorities in Italy indicate that only two people have died of the real coronavirus.”
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2000: The Guardian published an article on the battle on the Internet against Scientology. “August 12 1995 was a Saturday much like any other in the urban sprawl of Arlington, Virginia. Except that an alert went out over email and on Usenet groups to say that 10 people – including two federal marshals, two computer technicians, one a former FBI agent, and several attorneys – were raiding the home of former Scientologist Arnaldo Lerma. Leading the raid was Helena Kobrin, a senior lawyer representing the Church of Scientology. She was well known on the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, due to her frequent postings which insisted on the deletion of files she claimed contained the Church’s copyrighted materials. Lerma was distraught. Many of his personal and business files were kept on his PC. Told that his hardware would be returned the following Monday, he was still waiting weeks later. There had been other raids in the US and further afield, including on an anonymous remailer run by Johan Helsingius in Finland, as the Church pursued anyone it felt was posting ‘secret’ materials. Such confrontations are continuing – albeit in more subtle form – as pro- and anti-cultists struggle for control of the ‘truth’ over the net. On the Church of Scientology’s slick official site you can take a personality test online (although you have to meet someone in person to receive the results) and visit links to more than 15,000 Scientologists. Said one British opponent of Scientology: ‘The battle between Scientology and its opponents has been absolutely transformed by the net.’ As writer William Shaw, author of Spying In Guru Land, explains, the main reason that the Church of Scientology has a large internet presence is the high net profile of its opponents. ‘The CoS is very proficient at the internet now, but I believe that was only responding to very successful anti-Scientology sites on the web in the early 90s.’ Much of the background to the war between Scientologists and their detractors can be seen at Operation Clambake set up by Andreas Heldal-Lund in Norway in 1996. One of the incidents he highlights was last year when Amazon.com dropped Jon Atack’s book A Piece Of Blue Sky, which was critical of Scientology’s teachings. There was a massive outcry from netizens and free speech advocates, and Amazon promptly reversed its decision. The site also outlines how, in 1998, Scientologists were issued with filtering software to prevent them visiting anti-Scientology sites. Roger Gonnet, an anti-Scientology activist running a web site based in France, says: ‘My two sites were attacked three times each, the first with three attorneys in a row, attacking my ISP too. They even tried to attack under the guise of ‘violation of trade secrets’ which is a strong thing for a ‘religion’.’ ‘For many years, the Church of Scientology has taken action to protect its scriptures from abuse,’ says a spokesperson. ‘It is in pursuit of its First Amendment right of free religious exercise that the Church has brought legal action to enforce existing copyright and trade secrets laws on the internet.'”
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“In a country that supposedly has 3 million-plus Scientologists they could only muster a few hundred in Portland. How much more farcical can this crap get before the remaining few wake up and screw?”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, waiting for 2nd Appellate District court to set a hearing date. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence (eligible for parole in two to three more years). Awaiting transfer to state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for March 9.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal, which is now fully briefed. Awaiting the setting of an oral arguments hearing.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Appeal fully briefed. Motion to replace Jane Does’ AI-tainted brief denied by court. Oral arguments hearing on March 3.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, 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] Leah Remini unveils a lovely and fitting tribute to Mike Rinder in Clearwater
[TWO years ago] As David Miscavige restored Scientology’s events, here are the celebs who showed up
[THREE years ago] DA wants Toronto woman to testify as fifth accuser in Danny Masterson retrial
[FOUR years ago] Scientology wants you to forget Laura D got her files because 259 ‘ministers’ had access to them
[FIVE years ago] Why the upcoming ‘prelim’ is a nightmare for Danny Masterson — and for Scientology
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s founder: ‘WE are going UP while the world is coming down!’
[SEVEN years ago] The Mike Rinder bobblehead: Turning the tables on Scientology’s smeary harassment
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s secret vaults get their star turn on the new TV network, and it’s nutty!
[NINE years ago] Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ episode about indie Scientology lived down to all expectations
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s European mouthpiece speaks at DC event honoring Marco Rubio
[ELEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’: Spanky Taylor on John Travolta, Priscilla Presley, and escaping Scientology
[TWELVE years ago] Ryan Hamilton jumps on Narconon’s answer in Nevada drug rehab lawsuit
[THIRTEEN years ago] LEAKED AUDIO: David Miscavige Declares Scientology’s Golden Age at LRH Birthday Event
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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 3,580 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,084 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,590 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,140 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,130 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,516 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,011 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,315 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,966 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,184 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,738 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,079 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,650 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,566 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,733 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,315 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,574 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,326 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,891 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,206 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,381 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,063 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,400 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,253 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,369 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,731 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,142 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,530 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,414 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,978 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,490 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,750 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,854 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 27, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is 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, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
