NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The district attorney has dropped the citations against a man arrested during a scuffle outside the Church of Scientology. Protesters were walking down the sidewalk last month when security guards hired by the church went after them. Those guards were off-duty Spring Hill police officers. A college student said the officers attacked him. He received three citations, but the district attorney just dismissed them.

Anonymous botnet hacktivist faces spell behind bars A US teenager has admitted involvement in a high profile denial of service attack against Scientology websites last year. Dmitriy Guzner of Verona, New Jersey, 19, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of using a botnet of compromised PCs in order to flood Church of Scientology-related websites with spurious traffic back in January 2008. Guzner faces between 12 and 18 months at a sentencing hearing, due to take place on 24 August. Guzner identified ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There are problems with how security for a Nashville Scientology event was handled, and laws appear to have been broken. In a home video, a group of protesters walk toward the Church of Scientology on the day of the church's grand opening and are stopped by security guards, who knock one protester to the ground and have him arrested for criminal trespass. The altercation happened 400 yards from the church, on the other side of the street. Public ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A protest at the Church of Scientology in Nashville led to pushing, shoving, an arrest and the whole thing was caught on tape. The tape, protesters said, proves they were assaulted and bullied by security guards for no reason. A Middle Tennessee State University student doesn't want his name revealed after what happened on April 25 at Nashville's new Church of Scientology on Eighth Avenue. The man is in a group called Anonymous that protests Church of Scientology ...

After publishing this article, supporters of the Church of Scientology sent correspondence to Orbis complaining about what they perceived to be a bias in favor of Anonymous. The fact that they apparently keep such close tabs on media about scientology (Vanderbilt Orbis, after all, isn’t as well-known or as well-distributed as the New York Times) doesn’t do much to further their case that they don’t take… aggressive measures… to silence their critics. In the meantime, the Nashville scientologists have apparently decided ...

It looks like the Church of Scientology will be out in force to protest the upcoming American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco next month. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Scientology's anti-psychiatry activist arm, will apparently be setting up their "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" exhibit next to the Moscone Center for the duration of the convention. How do we know? The flier above was discovered by Anonymous, the masked shock troops who sprang from the Internet over a ...

The Riverside County district attorney's office will not pursue criminal charges against two protesters cited for trespassing at the Church of Scientology compound outside San Jacinto. Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file charges after Mark Bunker and Douglas Owens were arrested and released Feb. 24 for blocking the driveway of Golden Era Studios on Gilman Springs Road. The two men were part of a small protest that formed after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors proposed a no-picketing ordinance ...

PORTLAND, Ore. – Jeff Hawkins is on a mission to expose what he says is a cult. "It's become too abusive," he said. Hawkins is referring to the fast growing, famous and mysterious religion known as the Church of Scientology. He says Scientolgy's California headquarters and other large facilities have turned into work camps for staff members. "They work underground, and sometimes they stay there sometimes for years," Hawkins said. "They're not allowed contact with anybody outside." Protestors demonstrate regularly oustide ...

Picketing law revised PROTESTING: The ongoing demonstrations by anti-Scientology protestors at Golden Era Productions on Gilman Springs Road on Saturday spread to downtown Hemet, where this protester held up a sign at Florida Avenue and State Street. Photo Courtesy of Jim Alvarez HOLDOUT: Supervisor Bob Buster lone dissenter on controversial rule. By CHARLES HAND/The Valley Chronicle Riverside County supervisors Tuesday approved its newest revision of a controversial law limiting picketing around homes over the objections of Bob Buster, the sole dissenting ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART THREE Protests in front of the Church of Scientology's headquarters near Hemet may soon be illegal. Sheriff's deputies keep reminding protestors with the group known as "Anonymous" to stay within 50 feet from the center of the road going through the Scientology compound. Video shown in our first segment shows just how forceful Scientology guards are willing to confront those who get a dozen feet past the line. Last fall, Riverside County Supervisor Jeff ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART TWO An video from "Anonymous" posted on YouTube last year states, "Hello. Leaders of Scientology. We are Anonymous. Over the years, we have been watching you. The extent of your malign influence over those who have come to trust you has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided your organization should be destroyed." It's a declaration of war over the internet. A loose coalition of leaderless web activists calling their group "Anonymous" ...

By Nathan Baca News Channel 3 PART ONE It's a full blown war you've likely never heard of. There is a battle between leaders of the Church of Scientology and a group of activists with both sides sworn to fight to the end. This is war; in the shadow of a cross, and behind the gaze of a mask. Like any war, there is violence; there is rage. There are politicians in the middle of it, and there are partisans fighting ...

PART ONE It's a full blown war you've likely never heard of. There is a battle between leaders of the Church of Scientology and a group of activists with both sides sworn to fight to the end. This is war; in the shadow of a cross, and behind the gaze of a mask. Like any war, there is violence; there is rage. There are politicians in the middle of it, and there are partisans fighting on our streets. Both the Church ...

The Crown Prosecution Service has decided that anyone who attacks Scientology can be prosecuted under faith hate laws. The move will for the first time provide the controversial Church of Scientology – described by some as a cult – the same protection as other mainstream religions. Critics of the organisation, whose members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta, attacked the decision last night, saying it would encourage Scientologists to push for official recognition in Britain. The Mail on Sunday understands the ...

RIVERSIDE — Despite a lashing from critics, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance to restrict residential picketing to 30 feet or more from a person's property. In a 4-1 vote — with Supervisor Bob Buster dissenting — the board formally adopted the measure, which went through at least three revisions and repeated debate after board chairman Jeff Stone first introduced it in November. “This ordinance has been vetted many times,” Stone said just prior to the ...

[...] Dianetics does, indeed, work: There must be some reason that Dianetics was on the New York Times bestseller list twice. Get a copy, sit down in a comfortable chair some evening and find out for yourself. Missing from all the criticism is any indication that Dianetics doesn't work. It, in fact, does work, as millions of people around the world have discovered for themselves. Yes, I'm a Scientologist and have been, going on 40 years. Those many years ago, I ...

By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Riverside County supervisors Tuesday adopted restrictions on residential picketing despite opponents and Supervisor Bob Buster saying the ordinance could lead to costly litigation. The ordinance, supported by Supervisor Jeff Stone and representatives of the Church of Scientology, prohibits protesters within 30 feet of the property line of a residence they are targeting in unincorporated Riverside County. The rules are scheduled to go into effect in 30 days. "I can't support this ordinance," said Buster, the only ...

The measure requires anyone protesting near private residences to remain at least 30 feet from the property line. Critics contend it violates free speech. By David Kelly 10:10 PM PST, March 3, 2009 Reporting from Riverside – Protesters targeting a Church of Scientology compound near Hemet now face stricter limits on how they can conduct demonstrations, according to a new ordinance adopted Tuesday by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. The measure, which critics say violates the 1st Amendment and gives ...

10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Opponents of proposed picketing restrictions supported by the Church of Scientology raised questions Tuesday about Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone's relationship with the church's lawyer, Samuel Alhadeff. Stone has pushed supervisors for months to approve an ordinance that would limit protests targeting residences in unincorporated Riverside County, including dormitories at the church's compound near Hemet. Alhadeff has championed the ordinance on behalf of the church at several meetings. ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Riverside County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved an ordinance Tuesday to restrict residential picketing to 30 feet or more from a person's property. In a 4-1 vote – with Supervisor Bob Buster dissenting – the board accepted the final draft of the proposed measure, which is expected to be formally adopted next Tuesday. "This ordinance reduces the risk of a violent confrontation and the likelihood of residents becoming captives in their own homes, where they should enjoy ...

By JULIA GLICK The Press-Enterprise Riverside County supervisors will reconsider today residential picketing restrictions that they suspended and sent back for revisions last month. The amended picketing ordinance set to be introduced today differs from the earlier one in that it would limit protests targeting residences in unincorporated Riverside County to 30 feet from the property line instead of 50 feet from the property line. Supervisor Jeff Stone has pushed for the ordinance, supported by the Church of Scientology. The church ...