Editorials › Activism, Andrew Morton, Anonymous, Atlanta, Australia, bomb, Brussels, California, Canada, celebrity, David Miscavige, Dublin, Europe, Great Britain, Ireland, Jenna Hill Miscavige, John Travolta, London, Melbourne, New York, Police, protest, Tom Cruise, Toronto, United States of America
Published on Tuesday 25th March 2008
But it was two recent events that propelled the members of Anonymous to act. Sources told ABCNEWS.com that they were initially intrigued by the publication of Andrew Morton’s biography of Tom Cruise, which was highly critical of Scientology. That drew them to the Internet for more information where they came across the leak of several church videos on YouTube featuring Cruise’s wildly enthusiastic praise of Scientology.
Editorials › Activism, Andrew Morton, Anonymous, Australia, California, celebrity, Clearwater, David Miscavige, disconnection, Europe, Fair Game policy, Florida, Fort Harrison Hotel, Great Britain, Hemet, Hollywood, Katie Holmes, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Marie Presley, Lisa McPherson, London, Los Angeles, New York, Office of Special Affairs, Paulette Cooper, Police, protest, psychiatry, Sea Org, South Park, Suppressive Person, tax, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Xenu
Published on Tuesday 18th March 2008
After an embarrassing string of high-profile defection and leaked videos, Scientology is under attack from a faceless cabal of online activists. Has America’s most controversial religion finally met its match?
Clearwater is prepared for its enemies. It’s a warm, if overcast, Saturday in February, but all the storefronts lining the sidewalks of this sleepy town on […]
About 40 people wearing masks and birthday party hats gathered Saturday afternoon to protest the Battle Creek Church of Scientology.
It was conducted Saturday in concurrance with worldwide protests around Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s March 13 birthday.
One Battle Creek man was arrested for wearing a mask and defying a police officer.
The Church of Scientology was told again Thursday it could not have a court order restraining Anonymous protesters this weekend, largely because the church’s foe is as elusive as thin air.
But in its zeal to identify those who threatened the church, Scientology misfired, according to one woman who says she got fingered just because she works at Starbucks, near the church’s headquarters.
Rosalie Fair, 19, said she had simply come to check her work schedule on Feb. 10 when a group of about 200 protesters from the Internet activist group Anonymous demonstrated in downtown Clearwater.
The report of the suspicious package came this afternoon at about the same time Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird denied an injunction the church sought to stop the Internet-based group Anonymous from protesting outside Scientology’s headquarters in Clearwater this weekend.
Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Linda R. Allan denied a similar request Thursday.
Several people who claimed to be either members of Anonymous or agree with their views told the Enquirer the group is non-violent and they believe the threats were made by the church.
“I think it is a fake threat by the Scientologists to discredit their critics,” said Tony Meman, 27, of Lansing.
Mike Delaware, minister of the Battle Creek church, said while the local office has had prank phone calls since January, they had no problems today.
With the Internet activist group Anonymous threatening a second round of protests against Scientology this weekend, the Clearwater-based church went to court late Tuesday, filing a petition for a temporary restraining order.
The petition was filed just before the close of court Tuesday afternoon, and the St. Petersburg Times could not obtain a copy of the petition.
Pat Harney, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater, confirmed the church had filed a request for a temporary restraining order, but on the advice of counsel, she refused to provide a copy of the lawsuit or discuss who it seeks to restrain.
News › Activism, Anonymous, Australia, California, Canada, celebrity, Europe, Florida, Great Britain, John Travolta, Keith Henson, Kirstie Alley, L. Ron Hubbard, London, Los Angeles, New York, Norway, Oslo, Paulette Cooper, Police, protest, Sydney, Tom Cruise, Toronto, United States of America, Xenu
Published on Tuesday 11th March 2008
On Saturday, March 15, the surprisingly upstart, leaderless movement known as “Anonymous” will be holding its second worldwide anti-Scientology protests at Hubbard sites in more than a dozen countries.
The grassroots, Internet-based group seemed to materialize out of thin air just a few weeks ago, and it’s difficult to tell whether the surprising success of its February 10 rallies - which were held from Oslo to Sydney - will spark even more rallies beyond this weekend. The February protests featured a lot of twentysomethings, for the most part, carrying anti-Scientology signs, and wearing masks to protect their anonymity (Guy Fawkes masks were popular) in places like New York, Boston, London, and Toronto. This time, they say, they’re bringing cake and candles.
Luke Lirot, a First Amendment attorney in Clearwater who represented Lonsdale in 2006, said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of his death.
“He was a pretty energetic and driven individual,” Lirot said. “He was intelligent, and I thought he had a firm grasp on his constitutional rights. He was an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology and had every right to do the things he did, I felt.
“I hope there is a very thorough investigation into the circumstances of his death.”
Shawn Lonsdale, whose one-man crusade against Scientology made him a public enemy of the church, was found dead at his home over the weekend in an apparent suicide. He was 39.
Police discovered Lonsdale’s body at 12:20 p.m. Saturday after neighbors reported a foul odor. They found a garden hose stretched from the exhaust pipe of Lonsdale’s car into a window of his home at 510 N Lincoln Ave., according to Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts.
