Tony Ortega's Blog, page 30
June 19, 2025
Mark Bunker: Clearwater council argues about Florida AG siding with Scientology
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Last night Clearwater’s city council once again took up the subject of Scientology’s domination of its downtown, and Mark Bunker made the scene. He broke down the latest issues facing the city in a conversation we had last night after he got home. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“It will happen in Dianetic running that something in the incident that the pc is running will command them off the incident. This is called a BOUNCER. The pc just bounces right off the incident. The way to handle this is quite simple you simply command the pc to RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE INCIDENT and to move through the incident. Commanding the pc to RETURN TO THE INCIDENT will enable you to get the pc to move through it and the force of the incident will come off. This is quite an interesting piece of tech that has been known and worked since the advent of Book One. It, unfortunately, fell out somewhere along the line and wasn’t being used. It is now being reinstituted and in fact its use is making a tremendous difference in Dianetics running right this very minute.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
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“I think you could probably get a cat to talk with the reach-and-withdraw band of processes. I mean it. I mean it. I think you could get a cat to talk. But how would you go about processing a cat, you see? Well, the same way you tend to process children. Sloppily, hunt-and-punch, no regular sessions, not treating it with the dignity that auditing demands. Don’t you see? You know, a lot of Scientologists’ kids are going to be practically unprocessable in a few more years, if people keep hunting-and-punching processing on them, you know. Grabbing them off as they pass by, and running an assist, don’t you see, and never flattening the auditing command and so forth. I’m surprised, every once in a while, one of my kids will yelp when I say I’m going to give them an assist, you know. They yelp! They’re usually very pleased, but once in a while I will propose something like this, and I’ll get a protest.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 19, 1963
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“To the members of the FB, FSO and FAO: Thank you all — each and every one — for your good wishes on my Birthday. I’m thrilled with the ‘Mad Money for Cassettes,’ and very anxious to see my Mystery Gift. Much love,” — Mary Sue, June 19, 1971
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“I am only on OT2 but in the Freezone we have top end comps almost weekly. There is no doubt that the upper levels of the so called CBR bridge give the OTs tools to operate effectively on all dynamics, not just their own. The wins are mind blowing and it must be what LRH intended. Cause and caseless on all dynamics. So I am doing it, Freezone for sure. The Indies do not offer anything beyond OT8 which we now know is questionable as regards being a fully completed rundown or level.”
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1998: NBC’s news program Dateline aired a story this week on Bob Minton, a critic of Scientology who is funding a variety of cases and opponents of the cult. From a transcript of the show: BOB MINTON: The more I got involved, the more frightening the organization as a whole became to me. JOHN HOCKENBERRY: Are you nuts? MINTON: A lot of people would question my insanity on that score. HOCKENBERRY: Do you have any evidence that they’re really evil and destructive? MINTON: Yes. Shattered lives, broken families, mental fragility. VO: Minton has funded lawsuits, rescued an anti-cult organization, given weary defendants and broken-down activists the means to fight on. To date, he’s handed out more than 1.7 million of his own dollars to some of Scientology’s harshest critics HOCKENBERRY: That’s a lot of money. MINTON: It is. But keep in mind that in this, in this battle with Scientology, I’m the little guy. Scientology are the big guys. VO: Vaughn Young and his wife, Stacy, left the church in 1989, embittered by their experience and determined to start a new life. They rented a house in Seattle and opened a sanctuary for abandoned cats and dogs. But a few years later, the Youngs decided to go public, criticizing the church as a dangerous cult. And they provoked what they say was an all out assault by the church to destroy their lives. STACY YOUNG: They will find your vulnerability and, and use that to try to silence you. VO: In the summer of 1994, a newsletter showed up around the Youngs’ neighborhood, accusing them of things like extortion and promiscuity. Over the next three years, they learned that private investigators were asking suspicious questions of their friends and neighbors and accusing the Youngs of harboring diseased cats. STACY YOUNG: We were about a week and a half away from having to move. We were in a state of catastrophe. VAUGHN YOUNG: He just said, he says, ‘My name is Bob Minton, I read what was happening with your animal sanctuary. And I just want to know if there’s some way that I could help you out.’ VO: Out of the blue, this Bob Minton, this voice on the phone, came into their lives. He bought the Youngs a new house where they could legally keep their animals for $250,000. Incredibly, he saved the animal shelter. Stacy says she’ll never forget the day she picked up her new key. STACY YOUNG: We came to the house, we opened the front door and Bob Minton had a huge bouquet of flowers on the table for us. It was incredible. It was real! It really was real! And we’d never met this guy! And he just said, ‘Welcome to your new house. Congratulations.’ MIKE RINDER: I don’t know what motivates this guy, I don’t know what. But on the other hand if you asked me, do I know what motivated Timothy McVeigh to go blow up a building because his view is that the people sitting inside that building are violating the rights of citizens of the United States, I don’t know why he does that. I, I don’t know that you could– HOCKENBERRY: Now, you’ve just compared Bob Minton to Timothy McVeigh. RINDER: No, motivation. Like, what is it that motivates someone to, to do that? I don’t know. I don’t know how you tell someone does that before they do it. HOCKENBERRY: All right, but you very deliberately compared Bob Minton to Timothy McVeigh. RINDER: All right. HOCKENBERRY: What would it take for you to walk away from this battle? MINTON: The Church of Scientology would have to make some serious reforms. RINDER: Well, it’s all sort of an arrogant view to think that because he has a lot of money to give to people that he is going to somehow get us to change our religion. We’re not. MINTON: There have been emotional times that one really has to question how many punches you wish to take. HOCKENBERRY: Can you take a lot more punches? MINTON: I think so. You know, I am setting an example to show people that this organization is not invulnerable to being criticized. That they cannot destroy everybody, all the time, who is willing to stand up to them.”
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“I’ve seen Oz promote homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and herbal voodoo on his program. He’s Dr Woo-Woo.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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] Scientology meltdown: L. Ron Hubbard 2.0 in crisis after indictments publicized
[TWO years ago] Why doesn’t Scientology want you to see these OTs and their success stories?
[THREE years ago] When Father’s Day reminds you that Scientology has ripped apart your family
[FOUR years ago] Finally, truth in Scientology advertising: What an ‘Ideal USA’ would really look like
[FIVE years ago] Records show that Danny Masterson is a woeful Scientologist — would he turn on the church?
[SIX years ago] Ignore the apologists: Yes, L. Ron Hubbard lied about having an engineering degree
[SEVEN years ago] Stacy Francis goes to Washington: Are we witnessing another Scientology political op?
[EIGHT years ago] Clearwater bar owner under surveillance has a surprise for Scientology: He’s expanding
Scientology goes big with Barnes & Noble and with the Euro 2016 football tournament
[TEN years ago] LEAK: ‘Crappy stories’ about Scientology are driving more people to the church than ever!
[ELEVEN years ago] Paul Haggis, Chill EB, and more Scientology fun in an all-video post!
[TWELVE years ago] LEAK: Scientology’s Script For Softening Up A Crowd
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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 3,300 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,795 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,310 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,860 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,850 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,236 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,731 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,035 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,904 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,458 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,799 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,366 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,285 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,453 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,035 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,294 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,331 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,047 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,611 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,926 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,101 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,783 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,120 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,974 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,089 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,451 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,860 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,256 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,134 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,699 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,210 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,470 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,574 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 19, 2025 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
Trump says Tucker apologized to him, is on board for Iran annihilation
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Trump claims Tucker Carlson called and apologized to him https://t.co/ptn5x75k8y
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 18, 2025
I remember when Trump’s plan for COVID was that it would vanish one day. Guess he is hoping Iran vanishes soon. https://t.co/Bji5GEtmWO
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 18, 2025
“The golden era” https://t.co/EOXyDrhTRT
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 18, 2025
Holy shit. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri just obliterated Trump’s claim that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan—the so-called ‘deal [he’s] most proud of.’ Misri made it clear: Trump had nothing to do with it.
Misri: Prime Minister Modi clearly told President… pic.twitter.com/PesjCij6kA
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 19, 2025
Experts say that the suspect in the shootings of Democratic Minnesota lawmakers this weekend showed clear ties to forms of so-called charismatic Christianity that views abortion as a sacrifice to demons and seeks the end of secular democracy. https://t.co/eF31R0VmEU
— WIRED (@WIRED) June 18, 2025
NEW: I wrote about the immediate rush of post-MN shooting conspiracy theories, and how the new "transgender antifa Marxist" shooter is the old "government gun grab false flag" shooter. https://t.co/CXaJuVHgTl
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd on blu sky) (@rothschildmd) June 18, 2025
Only true MAGA followers will use Trump’s gold android phone pic.twitter.com/YDHPcsY4xs
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 18, 2025
On his now deleted webpage, South Carolina GOP State Rep. RJ May, who was just indicted on federal child sex abuse material charges, described himself as “pro-Trump.” pic.twitter.com/RcSU4NYwSb
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 18, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 19, 2025 at 08:00
June 18, 2025
Scientology ‘arbitration’ ripped apart by trafficking experts in law journal
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We’ve been disappointed by academic types in the past, so it’s really refreshing to see an academic journal take a serious swipe at Scientology and its arbitration scheme, which has been used to derail several lawsuits brought by former church members. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“It came to my attention the other day that Dianetics is being run using the wrong commands and even has some omitted procedure. This was quite a breakthrough to find as it explains some of the trouble that has been showing up with Dianetics throughout the world. When a pc is first made to run an incident he is given the command to move through the incident to some certain time later. On the second run through the pc has been given the command SCAN through to the end of the incident. This second command is incorrect. The pc should be made to move through the incident with each run through.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“We used to be tolerant about [the University of] Chicago. Most of us wanted to go there because you only had to go a couple of years before they handed you a sheepskin and we were bored. But this outfit uttered this asinine statement: ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics and found out it didn’t work.’ Well, in the first place it’s asinine because all the techniques of Dianetics didn’t exist in published form and were not available to them to test, see? So right away, that was nonsense. For instance, I know of techniques that were released at the first foundation in Elizabeth which have never seen the light of day; I have never seen them published or anything else. Matter of fact, I saw three or four splinter groups suddenly start up on stuff that was merely designed to take care of one PC or something like that, and then they decided that this would apply to all PCs and so forth. There are several brands of therapy which are adrift today which simply consist of one technique developed for one PC at Elizabeth. So for any outfit to grandly look down its nose and say, ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics,’ you know? Well, what a statement, see? They haven’t got them to test. How would they even know if they had tested all the techniques? Right away they are irresponsible. And then to say they didn’t work would also be asinine because if they had tested even sloppily, they would have gotten some result someplace, unless they were simply uttering a publicity statement to protect the vested interest.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 18, 1964
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“NEW RUNDOWN: The original Rundown of last November variously called and numbered, is now to be exported to eligible orgs as the New-Life Rundown, to be given in their Dept 10s It is a high-priced successful package. It requires Class IX to Supervise it. It must not be confused with a Life Repair. It literally gives one a new life. It does not supplant any grade or OT level. It has been smoothed out and is highly successful. The Rundowns Flag has been doing lately are above it. It will handle any special case. It’s a doll. Our Dept 10 is grooving in on it.” — The Commodore, June 18, 1971
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“The difference between Free Zone Scientologist and (American) Independent Scientologists: Free Zone Scientologists practice Scientology outside the Church since the early 80s as led by Captain Bill Robertson. American Indies left the church mainly 10 years ago (around 2009) and were indoctrinated into believing that Free Zone Scientologists are squirrels.”
1997: Court documents filed by Janice Hayward were posted this week. Janice is suing Scientology for a refund. Janice also alleges physical force used against her by staff members. “I contracted with the Church of Scientology Phoenix Organization to become a Dianetic Clear and the Special Price was $25,000. I was guaranteed results or my money back. Both written and verbal agreements were broken to extort more money beyond the agreed upon price. John DeNiro, a staff member said that I was ‘a mark’ on 24 Dec. 1991. He meant that they were just out to take my money. In February, 1995, I was told by Karen Mosher, Acting Executive director, and John DeNiro a staff member, that I could not receive the Dianetics program. My contract was broken and I was put out. My financial and counseling records were altered, and I was charged excessively, over and over again, and then kicked out with no refund. Therefore, I ask that a judgment be awarded me in the amount of $67,000 for actual financial harm, plus court costs and attorney fees. In addition, I ask that a judgment be awarded me in the amount equal to three times my actual financial losses as punitive damages for the physical and mental stress I suffered. On or about 21 Dec., 1992 I was assaulted by Wendy Keene, Ethics Officer. Mary Sugher, Secretary, tried to physically force me to stay at the Church of Scientology against my will. She called for Wendy Keen and Kathy Bennett, a Division 6 Supervisor, to attack me. Kathy ran off, but Wendy slammed me repeatedly into the wall in the back of the church for over half an hour. Finally, John DiNero, a staff member, came in and made her stop. I confronted Mary Sugher about the assault. She told me that L. Ron Hubbard’s policy states that it is all right to physically assault people. Since this assault, I have experienced disabling migraine headaches and continuous chiropractic care on my neck. I was harmed so much that my condition has caused me to miss work, and it has affected my ability to work steadily on my job. My condition has forced me to miss work. This situation has ended ultimately with the loss of my job. On or about 19 July, 1991 Jon Luc, the Academy Supervisor, showed me a silver, semi-automatic pistol, of unknown caliber, that was kept by the church to use on people. He told me that ‘people had been taken to the dessert [sic] and shot because they posed a threat to the church.’ My experience with them has made me fearful for my life.”
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“So Kim shoots the ex-girlfriend and her entire performing ensemble and makes the families watch, and then sends them to labor camps. I bet C.O.B. pleasures himself fantasizing he had that kind of power.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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. Leah’s appeal brief due June 3.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
——————–
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology makes it official: New Paris ‘Ideal Org’ is best thing ever
[TWO years ago] Indie Scientologist running for Seattle city council on lingering anti-mask outrage
[THREE years ago] Scientology: Put Bixler case on hold while we hit up the US Supreme Court about ‘arbitration’
[FOUR years ago] Goodbye to a Scientology watcher we will dearly miss: Molly Kell, 1960-2021
[FIVE years ago] How will Scientology react to Danny Masterson being charged with rape?
[SIX years ago] Wise Beard Man on the ballot in Scientology’s mecca? Mark Bunker on why he’s running
[SEVEN years ago] Another sign Nation of Islam members are moving from Dianetics to full Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology caught red-handed breaking government restrictions — and without penalty
[NINE years ago] When you postulate upon a star: L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology’s funny made-up words
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s slush fund: Jeffrey Augustine takes apart the fictions of the IAS
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology fires legal salvoes at the Garcias, and Vance Woodward fires back
[TWELVE years ago] What Scientologists at War Left Out: Some Annotations on Channel 4’s Documentary
——————–
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 3,299 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,794 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,309 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,859 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,849 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,235 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,730 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,034 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,903 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,457 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,798 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,365 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,284 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,452 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,034 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,293 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,330 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,046 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,610 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,925 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,100 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,782 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,119 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,973 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,088 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,450 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,859 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,255 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,133 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,698 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,209 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,465 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,573 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 18, 2025 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
As Trump threatens the unthinkable, Q patriots insist, ‘Let him cook!’
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Just another day living with a mentally deranged president… https://t.co/QEJC8iRrLw pic.twitter.com/BByeHqK8eC
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 17, 2025
Following Q and QAnon is supposed to be about how you saw behind the curtain and understood how the world really works to the point that you could tell your normie friends what was about to happen and shock them with your knowledge. Now QAnon is all "Give it 48 hours please." pic.twitter.com/a03UUzu5QN
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 18, 2025
Trump’s just trying to get everyone’s attention before shutting down the Adrenochrome farms. All the Iran war stuff is kayfabe to scare the normies. The copium knows no bounds. pic.twitter.com/XjRQ6yjD7S
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 17, 2025
ICE agents disappearing a mayoral candidate for asking for a judicial order, per his wife and campaign https://t.co/nkoNn5GWXt
— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) June 17, 2025
How Minnesota police triggered an insane conspiracy theory about alleged assassin Vance Boelterhttps://t.co/xguvyIVrfc
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) June 17, 2025
MAGA is desperately sharing this image to claim Vance Boelter isn’t one of their own. The picture on the right is a different person altogether. pic.twitter.com/cIlcbPNwHG
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 18, 2025
On Monday, MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell texted Rolling Stone: “Awesome win! MyPillow 100% innocent!!!!”
It was an odd victory lap since moments earlier, a jury ruled that Lindell had defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems executive.
Story: https://t.co/rkZzpmTt4G pic.twitter.com/PZVfgV33Rx
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) June 17, 2025
😂🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/NuDuXzDcNe
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 17, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 18, 2025 at 08:00
June 17, 2025
Scientology’s most notorious dirty PI, and the chaos caused by his cop son
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: For Scientology watchers, former LAPD cop Eugene Ingram is a legendary figure. For 30 years he was the chief operator in the church’s retaliation schemes. Nearly a decade ago we tracked him down in retirement. But now it’s his son who is causing chaos, and in a surprising place. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“My current concern is tech quality over the world. Whereas the majority of auditors do a good job, there are some who don’t, and it is these who have our reputation at stake. The general outness has been traced (as usual) to out TRs and metering. Lack of a Cramming in Qual Divs and even lack of Qual Divs is what has brought this about. TRs and metering are out of the view of a C/S. He only sees what is written on the Auditor Report. A Cramming should exist in every org and every bog should cause the auditor to be sent to Cramming on the material missed.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
——————–
THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
——————–
THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
——————–
“I recall a patient encountering such a somatic where it seemed like mother had gotten the crabs. He complained about these crabs for about two weeks, and had scratched himself practically raw during that time. But he was held in that engram and had been there most of his life! That is what is known as getting crabs for 40 years.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 17, 1950
——————–
“BIG WIN: The Adelaide Ban is to be repealed according to the Attorney General at the Adelaide Labour Convention. This is a GO victory. The A/G there Tom Minchin did it. He is being made a Kha Khan. So the tide rolls back the way it came. A lovely birthday present for Mary Sue. The Telex arrived in the first few minutes of her birthday today.” — The Commodore, June 17, 1971
——————–
“I met John McMaster in 1984. He was very bitter about and critical of LRH. He lived in squalid degraded conditions and became involved with a weird offshoot group called ‘Avatar.’ He did not demonstrate a deep understanding of the tech and in my opinion was not competent to develop Power Processes. As far as S&D goes, from my conversations with McMaster, he was going at a very oblique angle and didn’t understand S&D but was looking at an entirely different rundown unconnected with PTSness.”
——————–
1996: News posted this week that US First Lady Hillary Clinton was fooled into a public demonstration of support for a Scientology front organization. Excerpts from two St. Petersburg Times articles. “So, there was a smiling Hillary Rodham Clinton. There were the foster families from Pinellas County. There was the ‘Hands of Hope Quilt’ decorated with 250 brightly colored hand prints. And there on the quilt was … a quote from Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Clinton or her staff, the group greeted warmly by the first lady last Tuesday is headed by two Scientologists and promotes Hubbard’s controversial beliefs as part of its promotional literature. ‘We were not aware that it is affiliated with the Church of Scientology,’ Lisa Caputo, Mrs. Clinton’s press secretary, said Monday upon hearing of the group’s connections. ‘It was a very quick hello.’ After that quick hello, the president of the Hands of Hope Quilt project put out a news release that took note of Hubbard’s works and reported that one of the White House visitors had presented Mrs. Clinton with a copy of one of Hubbard’s books. Describing the quilt, the news release says: ‘A quote from the renowned humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard runs through it, ‘A good stable adult with love and tolerance in his heart is about the best therapy a child can have.’ Her press secretary, Lisa Caputo, said afterward that Mrs. Clinton and her staff didn’t know the controversial organization was associated with the quilt group. Not so, insist the Scientologists. ‘There was no intention whatsoever to be deceptive in any way,’ said Sue Taylor, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology International in Washington. After the Times reported the visit Tuesday, Taylor showed a reporter a letter sent to Mrs. Clinton’s scheduler a few weeks earlier that clearly linked the quilt effort and the Church. The letter from Hands of Hope president Marsha Friedman mentions that the Church of Scientology opens its Clearwater auditorium to foster children each year for a Christmas party. The letter also notes that the quilt the group planned to present to Mrs. Clinton includes Hubbard’s quote. Caputo said last week that she couldn’t find the letter.”
——————–
“People bandy about the term ‘Satanist’ in relation to L. Ron Hubbard somewhat disingenuously. Aleister Crowley didn’t consider himself a ‘Satanist’ and Hubbard was a dilettante poseur playing at what he perceived to be ‘Satanism.’ A goodly portion of the Internet sites I’ve encountered in my readings and ‘research’ in the last five or so years that try to paint LRH as a some kind of serious Satanist have been Born-Again Christian sites, so they definitely have an agenda. Hubbard was about as much of a ‘real’ Satanist as Anton LaVey was. It was all part of the geek show for the rubes.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
——————–
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Bruce Hines: Scientology is one strange journey, sailor
[TWO years ago] PODCAST: ‘Chicago Fire’ star Christian Stolte on his Scientology experience
[THREE years ago] Scientology is bursting with news about its aging cruise ship, which is totally not sinking
[FOUR years ago] Private investigators stalking Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez: The complete texts
[FIVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
[SIX years ago] Mike Rinder returns to Scientology’s secretive Int Base! Well, sort of.
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology scores with political conservatives in Europe using the ‘religious freedom’ gambit
[EIGHT years ago] Paul Haggis: Marty Rathbun is using private info I gave him against Lawrence Wright
[NINE years ago] Maryland county explains why (don’t call it Scientology) can take a hike
[TEN years ago] Another document trove on L. Ron Hubbard’s troubled son, Nibs, the Scientology flip-flopper
[ELEVEN years ago] LISTEN: Rare tape reveals how L. Ron Hubbard really came up with Scientology’s space cooties
[TWELVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGISTS AT WAR, the Channel 4 Documentary
——————–
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 3,298 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,793 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,308 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,858 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,848 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,234 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,729 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,033 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,902 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,456 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,797 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,364 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,283 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,451 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,033 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,292 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,329 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,045 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,609 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,924 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,099 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,781 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,118 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,972 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,087 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,449 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,858 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,254 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,132 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,697 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,208 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,464 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,572 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 17, 2025 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
As Trump tells Iranians to flee Tehran, Q patriots get more and more nervous
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Trump just posted: "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!"
So reckless. So dangerous. So irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/tzKR0kpaPr
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 16, 2025
Everyone who spent 2024 telling people there was no difference between the GOP and the Democrats can pound sand. The GOP fully embraces QAnon. The President and sitting members of Congress openly support them and the media and our political class does not care. This is madness. pic.twitter.com/ytu6wBD4bj
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 17, 2025
The coping is getting really intense. Keep Trusting The Plan guys! pic.twitter.com/fKrZ89miK5
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 17, 2025
MAGA is turning on Trump pic.twitter.com/x7BmfmOnTq
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 17, 2025
Tulsi Gabbard in 2019: “Trump seems determined to go to war with Iran” pic.twitter.com/TRN2Bob4bT
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 17, 2025
Video of Trump backing out of the Iran Deal in 2018. The deal would have allowed inspections to ensure that Iran wouldn’t develop nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/nEcIuDt3Vy
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 17, 2025
Trump’s Chick-fil-A operative is stuck in Israel. Michaelah Montgomery delivered a viral moment for MAGA, but is “now stranded with no clear path home.” pic.twitter.com/tWt9J2BgXv
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 17, 2025
Trump's new focus on "remigration"—an idea borrowed from the European ultra-right that means forcing non-white people, even legal citizens, out of the country—portends something sinister. I discuss with @GregTSargent on the Daily Blast: https://t.co/YLsJHw8jQH
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) June 17, 2025
REALITY:
Suspected Minnesota shooter Vance Boelter was an evangelical preacher, registered Republican, voted for Trump, and watched Alex Jones' Infowars.
MAGA/FAR-RIGHT:
"He'S a VioLEnt DeMocRatiC LefTISt aNtifA DeEp STate PsyOP"https://t.co/0RwJJSqa8w
— David Gilbert (@daithaigilbert) June 16, 2025
BREAKING: Jury finds MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company. https://t.co/6HCHiihegR
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 16, 2025
NEW: MyPillowGuy Mike Lindell found liable for defamation for his statements about Dominion Voting Systems executive Eric Coomer. Federal jury orders Lindell to pay $2.3M, far less than the $62.7M requested by Coomer’s attorneys.
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) June 16, 2025
Photos of South Carolina GOP State Rep. RJ May, who was indicted on federal child sex abuse material charges, with Moms for Liberty. pic.twitter.com/cLE7iTB3VY
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 16, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 17, 2025 at 08:00
June 16, 2025
Scientology is still buying up properties to create its Florida ‘Vatican’
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: While Scientology leader David Miscavige’s effort to take control of a short street near the Flag Building in downtown Clearwater, Florida has been temporarily foiled, that doesn’t mean that his plan for making Clearwater the first ‘Scientology City’ isn’t still on his mind. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“I recently took over the C/Sing of a case on a Dianetic Assist and found that F/Ns were being neglected as reads. This pc had a Dianetic list listed out that gave an F/Ning item. All the other reading items were handled with the exception of this F/Ning item. An F/Ning item is a reading item. An F/N is only a read when an item F/Ns at the end of you calling it. The F/N would occur instantly upon calling the item. So what does this mean that an F/N is a read? A read means there’s charge there to handle. It means there is force connected with that significance that is available to the pc to view and run. An F/Ning item means there’s charge there as the F/N means something just keyed-out so there must be charge there for there to be a key-out. After all what is keying out?” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
——————–
THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
——————–
THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
——————–
“The individual is in contest with his environment. We’ll just take off from that point. Now, that’s a very true observation. Particularly, if we qualify that observation just a little bit further and we say that a contest is not necessarily a battle of fisticuffs….Once umpty-skillion years ago I got swatted, and sat there very, very immobile, being right. I went on being right for quite a little while. See, by permitting myself to be immobilized, it made the other fellow wrong. It wasn’t really doing anything to him, taking no action, absolutely no forward thrust of any kind whatsoever, no outward motion, no outward flow of any kind, not even a thought of an outward flow and yet that was the method of handling the environment. So the way we qualify this is the method is not necessarily smart.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 16, 1964
——————–
“A Comm Ev was ordered by Telex on the non-SO auditor at Asho (Sheila Aldrich) for evaluating and feeding cognitions and all but destroying tech. Pokras and Eltringham on the US Station Ship were ordered transferred to deck for 6 months for neglecting to report or put right area out tech. Another Comm Ev has been ordered on the Broadbents for fostering the situation. This was what had Asho stats down so long! So it’s time we got sharp and drilled up and put our own house in good order.” — The Commodore, June 16, 1970
——————–
“John McMaster was certain that LRH wanted to take over the planet. Today it is clear that the world under LRH is a far more ethical scene than the world under Angela Merkel in Germany or the Clintons in USA, or under the rule of third world country dictators and their drug ridden ‘shitholes.’ Germany is now on the verge of extinction as a country. McMaster was not seeing into the future. LRH was. Clearly very few besides LRH confronted the future track of this prison madhouse planet.”
1995: NPR’s All Things Considered aired a 30-minute story on a.r.s vs. Scientology this week. “The raid on Dennis and his litigation was discussed in detail, including the fact that they walked away with totally irrelevant documents. The description of the raid did not make the scienos look like the soul of propriety. I think Leisa Goodman was next, with her defense of the litigation. That was followed (or preceded) by Klemesrud explaining how it was impossible to monitor everything that passed thru his BBS, and why. He gave what I thought was a good explanation of the issues, in a way easily understood by the lay person. Following all this was an interview with a person whom I think was identified as a Georgetown law professor, coupled with some discussion of the recent Prodigy ruling and the efforts in the US Congress. The gist of the professor’s position was that the Scienos didn’t have a case, the Prodigy ruling argued for less, rather than more, monitoring by providers so as to avoid the publisher label, etc etc.”
——————–
“There are no theologians in Scientology. No one is allowed to interpret or tell a student what they think L. Ron Hubbard meant.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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. Leah’s appeal brief due June 3.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
——————–
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] When Father’s Day 2024 reminds you that Scientology ripped apart your family
[TWO years ago] THE WITNESS: Damian Perkins opens up about how the case against Danny Masterson began
[THREE years ago] Valerie Haney facing new court hearing: why hasn’t Scientology ‘arbitration’ happened yet?
[FOUR years ago] Scientology has been desperate to produce results in Texas for a very long time
[FIVE years ago] Buffy goes Clear, and other signs that Scientology has survived the coronavirus
[SIX years ago] While Scientology shrinks, its ‘Ideal Orgs’ pretend they are booming
[SEVEN years ago] The trauma of leaving Scientology: ‘Who wants to believe they’ve thrown away their best years?’
[EIGHT years ago] Marty Rathbun’s project becomes clear: Someone’s worried about Scientology & the IRS
[NINE years ago] Our money maverick dives into Scientology’s latest financial house of horrors
[TEN years ago] O Canada! All eyes in the Scientology-watching world will be looking north next week
[ELEVEN years ago] LEAKED: The slick campaign Scientology had planned for UK expansion!
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: When David Miscavige Made RTC Look Like The Matrix
——————–
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 3,297 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,792 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,307 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,857 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,847 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,233 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,728 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,032 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,901 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,455 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,796 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,363 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,282 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,450 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,032 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,291 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,328 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,044 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,608 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,923 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,098 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,780 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,117 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,971 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,086 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,448 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,857 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,253 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,131 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,696 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,207 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,463 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,571 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 16, 2025 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
You watch, experts say: Q patriots will turn themselves into pretzels to disown this guy
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});BREAKING: The man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and killing one of them has been caught, a source says. https://t.co/mSy2fAInmJ
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 16, 2025
They disowned the Pizzagate shooter. They disowned the QShaman for January 6th. They'll disown this guy as well. Nothing he says will matter, he's a Deep State sleeper that was activated to make MAGA look bad and was never truly one of them. They are never to blame for anything. https://t.co/YZmKjC1otJ
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 16, 2025
important to note that these guys aren't actually that dumb, they know the killer was a right winger
they'll lie about this until it blends in with the other disinformation and you're too exhausted to keep correcting it https://t.co/EJMz2RY96i
— Neb | 🏳️🌈 (@NebsGoodTakes) June 15, 2025
Don’t fall for Trump’s head fake. He is still targeting farmworkers. pic.twitter.com/2WpJVCHRlK
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 15, 2025
Trump this morning: “I do a lot, and never get credit for anything…” pic.twitter.com/3iNODNfYiB
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 15, 2025
Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene appear to have two very different definitions of 'America First' pic.twitter.com/K48WS08oi3
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 16, 2025
Sign: “No Kings, Only Queens” pic.twitter.com/Flv5EfKlh7
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 15, 2025
This individual is painting their roof blue because they heard on the internet that the color blue repels “direct energy weapons” which they believe are responsible for wildfires. https://t.co/ah3hB0rrRU
— Travis View (@travis_view) June 15, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 16, 2025 at 08:00
June 15, 2025
When Father’s Day 2025 reminds you that Scientology ripped apart your family
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It’s Father’s Day 2025 here in the US, but for many Scientology families, it’s only a reminder that church leader David Miscavige sadistically rips apart families for political leverage. Geoff Levin tells us what this day means for him. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“It has been found that the reason Word Clearers cease to be Word Clearers and blow Word Clearing and the reason Word Clearing drops out in orgs lies in the failure of the Word Clearer to clear the words on himself at the same time he was clearing them on the preclear. This is done without losing one’s presence as an auditor or Word Clearer and without winding up with the student word clearing the Word Clearer.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
——————–
THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
——————–
THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
——————–
“The Romans were very kind; the early Christian was very, very cruel. So now we find out the Romans were very cruel and the early Christians were very kind. But the records don’t bear this out. Now, as far as survival is concerned, if you want to survive, I guess, be cruel. I suppose that’s the most short-term method of survival. But it’s not any long-term method of survival. But being kind and being ineffective, of course, is a fast way to the electric chair; it is a fast way to insolvency; it’s a fast way to bankruptcy of all kinds and descriptions; it’s a fast way to the death chamber and the cemetery. And more important to us, it is a fast way to oblivion on the whole track, being very kind.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 15, 1961
——————–
“We have an overnight trip to our next port and arrive at 0700 hrs. Wake ups to be done at 0615 hrs so that ALL Condition I are on post by 0700, not just my Org Officer and I. A rapid turnout is expected. As it usually takes us more than an hour to enter, dock, neat up lines and secure to breakfast, Dept III must arrange to have coffee and rolls ready, at 0615 for Cond I to give ’em some vittles so they can lift hawsers and fenders. Have a good day.” — Lt. N.F. Starkey, Captain Apollo, June 15, 1971
——————–
“There is one other State of Being above OT – it is a True Static. So stay the course as things are about to change and all the hopes and dreams of what we once believed – in and with Scientology – are not only about to be realized but be surpassed.”
2001: Leipziger Volkszeitung reported that Norbert Bluem accepted the Leipzig Human Rights award for his activism against Scientology. “Bluem received the ‘Leipzig Human Rights Award’ in the Old Stock Exchange. He was honored for his involvement against the Scientology Organization. Bluem was the only federal minister so far who had gotten publicly involved with Scientology’s ‘new totalitarianism,’ as the sect commissioner of the Berlin-Brandenburg Church, Thomas Gandow, read in the decision. Rev. Gandow is a founding member of the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA. This committee is active against new totalitarian movements and functions as the body responsible for the award. Bluem has already been attacked both verbally and in court by the Scientologists. So far without success. That never stopped him in Spiegel magazine, for example, from accusing the Scientologists of ‘psychological warfare’ or getting an order to stop them from running private employment agencies, Gandow remembered. He said that Bluem was the only high-ranking federal politician who had expressed himself publicly against the religious community. It said in the award basis that the the distinction should help support politicians in their
efforts ‘to put an end to the human rights violations that are being committed by the Scientology organization in the USA and in Europe.’ Leipzig was chosen by the Citizens Committee from among several European candidates for the award site. ‘A totalitarian regime has already once been brought to collapse from Leipzig,’ stated Solveig Prass. For that reason the award continues to have a picture of the Nikolai Church.” The text of Bob Minton’s award presentation was posted to a.r.s. Some excerpts: “When Leipzig was selected as the location for the presentation of the award, the experience took on added significance, both for the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom and for me. Leipzig is the place where freedom was reborn in the former East Germany. We are standing in the shadows of the St. Nikolai Church, where the call to freedom in East Germany began with a handful of people, then grew to hundreds and finally to hundreds of thousands in the streets surrounding this Stock Exchange Building, all demanding freedom. Those events that occurred in Leipzig not so long ago confirm that obtaining freedom is always hard work that requires courage and sacrifice. We also know from history that once freedom is attained it must be cherished, nurtured and protected from those who would strip it away. Dr. Bluem, you have been a visionary politician and leader who has demonstrated a keen sense of history. It was more than 20 years ago, when almost all the problems with modern sects and cults were regarded as purely individual or psychological in nature, that you stated we were dealing with a political challenge. Many people, particularly politicians in the United States, have yet to comprehend your very important message. But it is the duty of all of us here to follow your example and help our politicians to understand the simple fact that Scientology is an aspiring totalitarian political movement. Who, in 1981, made the following statement: ‘The enemy of freedom is the one who today is himself calling for freedom and tolerance. Such calls for freedom are only masks for slavery and terrorism. Even religious groups, or those who call themselves such, could be totalitarian; therefore I hear their messages of world government initiatives and world salvation with suspicion, primarily because they are connected with efforts for commercial power. We want to remain a free society.’ Yes, I believe we all guessed correctly that it was Dr. Bluem who made those remarks. When you introduced the concept of totalitarianism early on in the debate about destructive cults you enabled your contemporaries to understand that the objective of these entities was the transformation and subjugation of human nature itself. This is not acceptable in a democratic society, because we can only be equal members of society on the strength of our collective decision to guarantee ourselves mutually equal rights. Through your example and your protection, you have enabled others to express themselves openly and critically. The members of the committee and I are also grateful to you for being the patron of the Eastern European seminar at the Berlin Dialogue Center in 1996, which played an important role in creating awareness of the new threat of cults in the post-totalitarian environments of middle and eastern European countries. You have openly demonstrated many times that you believe public office and civic involvement belong together of necessity, and your involvement and patronage of that seminar was particularly important to many of our friends and partners in Russia and eastern Europe. Dr. Bluem, you are a protector of freedoms and democratic ideals who has distinguished yourself by your selfless public service to your country and constituents, by your clarity of thought and your insights into the dangers we face, and your courage in speaking openly about the destructive cult issue when no one else was doing so. We humbly thank you with this award, which is an expression of our utmost respect for all that you have done to further the cause of freedom and to protect the human rights of all citizens.”
——————–
“Miscavige became emperor through the Hubbard-approved Roman rules of ascension which he achieved by his control of the Praetorian guard of the Sea Org, the CMO. Once becoming Caesar how could he smash his name into the history books of his hermit kingdom? He can’t add to the ‘tech’ so all that is left for him to do is BUILD BUILD BUILD. It’s all about the ruinous runt’s ego.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing June 16.
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. Leah’s appeal brief due June 3.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
——————–
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology’s outlook is grim, but the church never gives up with its real obsession
[TWO years ago] Pete Griffiths on the unbearable rightness of being Scientologists
[THREE years ago] Ukrainian refugees might think twice about Scientology offering ‘help’
[FOUR years ago] What lessons from the Nxivm prosecution should Scientology watchers take?
[FIVE years ago] DONE SIR: Scientology leader David Miscavige caught flattering himself for virus PR ploy
[SIX years ago] Spend hundreds of thousands on Scientology, and the rain will part for you!
[SEVEN years ago] First person: In Scientology, children are punished for being kids
[EIGHT years ago] Marty Rathbun, Victoria Britton has a question for you about Scientology and judges
[NINE years ago] Wacky scenes from Scientology’s ‘Battlefield Earth’ launch on Hollywood Boulevard
[TEN years ago] The Scientology spy who came in from the cold: Len Zinberg, who apologized to Paulette Cooper
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Valley rocks as the fundraising rolls ever onward
[TWELVE years ago] OT Powers: Jon Atack on Scientology’s Promise to Make You Superhuman
——————–
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 3,296 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,791 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,306 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,856 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,846 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,232 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,727 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,031 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,900 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,454 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,795 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,362 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,281 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,449 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,031 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,290 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,327 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,043 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,607 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,922 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,097 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,779 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,116 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,970 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,085 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,447 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,856 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,252 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,130 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,695 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,206 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,462 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,570 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 15, 2025 at 07:00
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Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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
Saddest parade ever overshadowed by Trump fan assassinating Dem lawmakers in Minnesota
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});DEVELOPING: Minnesota lawmaker and husband were killed, another injured in what Gov. Walz called a “politically motivated assassination.” The suspect remains at large. https://t.co/YQUWXDrfUS
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 14, 2025
I've obtained a copy of Vance Boelter's resume, which touts his "emotional intelligence"https://t.co/hDZ4Z0ugHH
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) June 14, 2025
And there it is.
The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend. pic.twitter.com/9w5KuZ09uI
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 14, 2025
Minnesota shooter Vance Boelter:
“God is going to raise up apostles and prophets in America to correct his church, and those that are connected to the body, they will come through this mess and they will be strong again.” pic.twitter.com/tiIlhqgGpa
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 15, 2025
5 things Trump did this week:
1. Fenced off the Washington Monument
2. Threw a White House garden party
3. Allowed war to break out
4. Triggered massive protests against himself across the country
5. Forced his cabinet to watch his low energy, low attendance birthday parade pic.twitter.com/AkZBGcjYl5
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 15, 2025
This is the saddest event in history 🤣 https://t.co/I3w4lWc2te
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 14, 2025
When nobody shows up to your birthday party https://t.co/ncnxtBKWRQ
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 14, 2025
So to recap: This week, MAGA claimed June 7th somehow is the day before June 11th, the right-wing, Christian nationalist, anti-abortion, registered Republican, Trump voter who shot Democratic lawmakers is actually “far left,” and Trump’s tiny parade magically drew 250,000 people.
— Brett Meiselas 🇺🇸🦅 (@BMeiselas) June 15, 2025
Trump's expensive military parade was brought to you by some of the same MAGA operatives who planned the Jan. 6 rally.@dfriedman33 and @noturtlesoup17's latest scoop: https://t.co/HmH6732LUf
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) June 14, 2025
🚨🚨 Wow. Trump just gave the middle finger to his own supporters.
Amid growing backlash over his decision to drag the U.S. into another Middle East war, Trump now says that “America First” means whatever he says it does—while falsely claiming he invented the term. pic.twitter.com/xKbucoCiJq
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 14, 2025
QAnon thinks Trump is Patton's son or is Patton reincarnated or maybe even a clone of Patton. Point is they love Trump and Patton so they have created fanfiction about the two being connected somehow. pic.twitter.com/oMdRljns9I
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) June 15, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on June 15, 2025 at 08:00
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