Court again rebuffs Scientology's lawsuit

CLEARWATER — 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.

Fair said she has "nothing at all" to do with Anonymous. In fact, she said she went out of her way to avoid the protest because most of her customers are Scientologists and she didn't want to be mistaken as participating.

A St. Petersburg College student, Fair said she was troubled to learn she was one of 26 people listed as members of Anonymous in a Scientology lawsuit filed this week. It sought a restraining order to keep Anonymous members 500 feet from any Scientology buildings in a second round of planned protests tonight and Saturday.

The lawsuit alleged that Scientology churches around the world have been bombarded with harassing phone calls, obscene e-mails, bomb threats and death threats by members of an amorphous, loosely knit group that calls itself Anonymous.

Fair said she was troubled to see her name falsely associated with those kinds of actions.

"My name is on a list with a whole list of crimes that are very violent things, things I've never participated in," she said.

Scientology spokeswoman Pat Harney said "the information we had is that all the people (listed in the lawsuit) were involved with Anonymous in some way," but "if we misidentified anyone, of course we apologize for that."

It points out the difficulty and frustration the church has had in trying to ferret out those responsible for threats they say they are taking very seriously.

"The problem we have is that people are hiding behind Anonymous," Harney said. "We have thousands of people here we have to protect."

On Thursday, Scientology officials say they received threats by phone and the Internet surrounding founder L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, which is today. That led them to ask employees to look for suspicious packages.

An employee found a new, brown suitcase in the alley behind Scientology's Life Improvement Center at 336 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg.

Police closed several streets, evacuated several buildings and called in the Tampa police bomb squad. But when police opened the suspicious suitcase, it contained no bomb — just clothing, personal items and a Holy Bible.

Harney said the threat was just one example of the wasted manpower in responding to a slew of threats.

"We're not going to allow this violent stuff to escalate and get out of control," Harney said.

In a statement given to the St. Petersburg Times this week, purported to be from Anonymous, the group condemned acts or threats of violence that may have occurred and said they were not the work of Anonymous. And they again urged demonstrators this weekend to protest peacefully and legally.

In striking down the church's petition Thursday, Circuit Judge Douglas Baird noted that the church failed to tie any of the 26 named people to the threats detailed in the suit.

"This court is mindful of the anxiety that may be caused by anonymous threats of violence, or as a series of seemingly unconnected incidents, be they on the Internet or otherwise," Baird wrote. "However, the jurisdiction of the court must only be exercised to specifically restrain those known individuals that are shown to have some reasonable nexus to the actual threats complained of in the petition."

Comments on this article

by Desertphile	Mar 17, 2008 2:03 PM
Golly, Scientology Inc. phoning in their own bomb threats AGAIN: they did that in 1998 during the McPherson support picket, and in Gilman Hot Springs in 1999; they also frames Paulette Cooper for the same imaginary crime.

by anonymous1378	Mar 17, 2008 1:59 PM
It's pretty obvious that it was actually the Co$ who called this bomb threat. I hope Fair sues them. She has a very good case against them. Poor girl.

by Transparent	Mar 17, 2008 1:57 PM
Anonymous and Osama - cowards who hide, hack destroy and threat to destroy - as well as reverse the truth and inject falsehoods. Remember - Scientology has stood up against psychiatry and stated that the drugs don't work now the

by I Ain't Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 1:52 PM
Remember, Germany (a member of NATO and a democratic society far older than our own) has classified the COS as a criminal organization. They are very in tune to the deceit of gaining power and controlling(a-la Hitler, Goebbels, e

by el ilegal	Mar 17, 2008 1:48 PM
I came here from a technology website, I guess scientol pissed off some computer people a long time ago and they have a vendetta, they merged with all the other anti-sci people.

by ebaumsworld	Mar 17, 2008 1:46 PM
Anonymous is not an organization and thus cannot be violent. If one anon desides to put a bomb in Co$ front doors there's no one but himself responsible for that. Other anonymous can do nothing but laugh at him. "LoL what an hero."

by Client#8	Mar 17, 2008 1:46 PM
I suspect Scientology is faking the bomb threats. None of the anonymous sites I visit have advocated anything but peaceful protests against Scientology.

by Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 1:46 PM
We believe Heber Jentzsch he is being detained against his will by the Church, possibly at the Hemet, California Gold base Scientology location, which is a secure armed compound. He has not been seen publicly for nearly five years, that we are aware

by Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 1:45 PM
Scientologists lie about threats frequently, just look what they did to Keith Henson who they had prosecuted for making terrorist threats. . . he joked on a newsnet group that he would launch a "Tom Cruise Missile" at a facility in CA.

by DC-10	Mar 17, 2008 1:45 PM
Xenu is retarded.

by Aginst COS Church	Mar 17, 2008 1:44 PM
The fact that CoS was involved 30 years ago in operation snowwhite and operation freakoutmust be told high and loud. They planted bomb threat to themselves. And they still as far as 1996-04 do threaten other people, and web site.

by Mark H	Mar 17, 2008 12:27 PM
Anyone defending the so called church of scientology hasn't seen the other side to this cult. After growing up in a family which half where followers, I've seen first hand what these people are capable of for them to be afraid of Anonymous

by Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 12:25 PM
Any Anon claiming that no Anon has ever threatened violence is just trying to help, though misguidedly. As an anonymous group, we have no way of knowing or regulating what is said. However, the majority of Anon do not condone acts of violence here.

by Dave	Mar 17, 2008 12:23 PM
Scientology is just an MLM in the form of a cult, like Amway except worse because you don't even get the crappy detergent to use.

by Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 12:23 PM
Google "Paulette Cooper"

by Slowpoke	Mar 17, 2008 12:20 PM
Hey guys, did you hear? Anonymous is making fun of scientology!

by RobotAnonymous	Mar 17, 2008 12:19 PM
I wonder how many of the people here are truly part of anonymous cause last I heard Anonymous is an uncaring monster.

by Linda	Mar 17, 2008 12:19 PM
Throughout history there have always been threats made to others under the cloak of anonymity. Why would it be different now?

by Agnostic	Mar 17, 2008 12:17 PM
Most of the bad things you hear about Scientology are made up to discredit the uncovering of the biggest racket in the history of time, the legalized distribution of narcotics for mental health. The same people that protest give their children speed.

by Agnostic	Mar 17, 2008 12:17 PM
Personally, religion of any kind is not for me. It definitely has its place in society for many people who benefit from it. In my experience meeting people of many religions, Scientologists are generally more sane, decent people than any Christian.

by Chris	Mar 17, 2008 10:37 AM
I am confused. The police officer refers to not allowing "violent stuff" to escalate, but there was no violent activity reported in the article. This is how peaceful protest gradually is inadvertently painted as inappropriate or dangerous

by	Mar 17, 2008 10:23 AM
she probably wont sue them, they said theyd take it back and apolgize, and the last thing she needs is the churches famous harrasment.

by Anonymous	Mar 17, 2008 10:23 AM
"anti-scientologists are really biased." It's absolutely hilarious to read the comments by scientology-plants for this article. Your retardation does a better job at discrediting you than anything.

by Lord Xenu	Mar 17, 2008 10:21 AM
A cult acting as science, acting as religion, pathetic. Scientologists over-loaded my G-Meter, the gullibility needle is stuck in the red. "If you want to enslave people, offer them total freedom" - L Ron Hubbard.

by Leif	Mar 17, 2008 9:38 AM
Well Bill, for one thing the Inquisition was 800 years ago not 30 and the negative aspects of Scientology should be called out by sane thinking peoples for the sake of the Scientologists as well as the general public. Good luck with your case.

by Rick	Mar 15, 2008 2:56 PM
Anonymous thinks we evacuated the building, scared the staff & students so we could get an injunction to keep Anonymous from bugging us? We don't bug ourselves so you won't. Anonymous -your illogic is showing!

by anonymous	Mar 14, 2008 11:21 PM
September 2007, Belgium - A Belgian prosecutor on Tuesday recommended that the U.S.-based Church of Scientology stand trial for fraud and extortion, following a 10-year investigation that concluded the group should be labelled a crimin

by Rick Ashtley\	Mar 14, 2008 11:20 PM
<sarcasm> yes, Bill, the inquisition was 30 years ago. </sarcasm> All Anon's saying is that it is kind of suspicious that Co$ (having fabricated bomb threats multiple times in the past) is now claiming a bomb threat again.

by xenus4	Mar 14, 2008 11:19 PM
a little paranoid are we?

by Anonymous	Mar 14, 2008 7:38 PM
Fact: Only people arrested for assault during the protests on the 10th of February were SCIENTOLOGISTS, check youtube for actual proof, not the speculation and lies of Scientology.

by Anonymous	Mar 14, 2008 7:38 PM
Re: Why are you bringing up cases from 30 years ago? Every since the 60s, the Church of Scientology has been doing this crap. They've been caught at it repeatedly, but always weaseled their way out, either by throwing out the persons directly

by Mambo	Mar 14, 2008 7:36 PM
Hey, Don't Tase Me L Ron. Don't Tase Poor Rosalie Either!

by Anonniemouse	Mar 14, 2008 6:25 PM
Law enforcement needs to look into the COS for calling in a fake bomb threat, that is a crime.They are doing this to have anon. investigated. Remember L.Ron said do all you can to have the critic investgated, not the COS. Logic says the COS did this.

by bill	Mar 14, 2008 6:25 PM
The anti-scientologists are really biased. Look at them invoking 30-year old cases. That's like telling someone to Google the Inquisition in response to a 2008 issue. scientology may have flaws and problems but it also does good. prov

by Butterflygrrl	Mar 14, 2008 4:45 PM
Your article should specify "alleged threats" because the cult of scientology has a history of sending bomb threats to themselves. Google "Operation Freakout" for the truth.