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.
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Published on Monday 17th March 2008
Nearly 300 demonstrators jammed the sidewalks out front on March 15, many of them young computer geeks in plastic Guy Fawkes masks honoring the 16th-century British subversive. Some hid behind party masks and bandanas. They hoisted signs: “Religion is free, Scientology is not,” “They want your money and your sanity,” and, in a reference to a string of mysterious tragedies involving members of Scientology, “How many more must die?”
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.
News › Activism, Anonymous, Europe, Great Britain, John Travolta, London, Manchester, New York, protest, Tom Cruise, United States of America
Published on Sunday 16th March 2008
Last month more than 7,000 Anonymous recruits picketed Scientology bases in 93 cities including London, Manchester and New York.
They were on the streets again yesterday, protesting outside recruitment centres around the world.
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.
The torrent of alleged harassment and threats was the underpinning of two church lawsuits filed Tuesday and Wednesday in Pinellas Circuit Court, each seeking to bar Anonymous members from coming within 500 feet of Scientology buildings in Clearwater during a planned protest this weekend.
Tuesday’s suit, a petition for an “injunction for protection against repeat violence,” was denied Wednesday afternoon by Circuit Judge Linda Allan, who ruled the relevant Florida statute does not apply to corporations.
Just hours before Allan ruled, the church filed a separate, nearly identical lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order. The second suit seeks protection under a different Florida statute. No decision has been made on that suit.
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.
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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.
