Arnaldo Lerma
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The American writer Arnaldo (Arnie) Pagliarini Lerma (b. November 18, 1950) is a former Scientologist, and critic of Scientology, who has appeared in television, media and radio interviews.
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[edit] Personal
Arnie Lerma was born at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He was raised in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and attended the Gordon Jr. High School and Western High School. He attended the Northern Virginia Community College, taking courses in electronics technology.
Arnie Lerma was a member of Scientology for ten years, seven of which were spent in the Sea Organization. He reached the status of Scientology "Clear" (clear #3502) a goal expressed to members when they first join.
He and Suzette Hubbard, (daughter of L. Ron Hubbard and his third wife, Mary Sue Whipp) planned to marry in Clearwater, Florida in 1978, but the couple's plans were discovered. Arnie Lerma was interrogated by the church and was allegedly offered "safe passage out of Florida with all of his body parts" if he called off the marriage to Suzette Hubbard. Arnie Lerma subsequently left Scientology.
[edit] Controversy with Scientology
[edit] Usenet postings and intimidation
Arnie Lerma first came to the usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology in 1994. The newsgroup became a vehicle for free speech as Lerma began to post court documents as the Washington Post described, "testimony from former church officials who describe Scientology as a dangerous cult that brainwashes and blackmails its members and harasses defectors and critics." In November of 1994, representatives from Scientology began to intimidate Lerma, by visiting his home to ask him to sign a declaration of wrongdoing, and to admit to denigrating Scientology. On the same day, he received an anonymous fax machine message stating no further action would be taken if he were to cease and desist activity against the church.[1]
[edit] RTC vs. Lerma
Lerma was also the first person to scan and post the court document known as the Fishman Affidavit which included the Xenu story to the Internet Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology in August, 1995:
- "The dispute in this case surrounds Lerma's acquisition and publication on the Internet of texts that the Church of Scientology considers sacred and protects heavily from unauthorized disclosure. Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, the Scientology religion attempts to explain the origin of negative spiritual forces in the world and advances techniques for improving one's own spiritual well-being. Scientologists believe that most human problems can be traced to lingering spirits of an extraterrestrial people massacred by their ruler, Xenu, over 75 million years ago. These spirits attach themselves by "clusters" to individuals in the contemporary world, causing spiritual harm and negatively influencing the lives of their hosts."
(Memorandum Opinion of October 4, 1996 by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema; Religious Technology Center v. Arnaldo Lerma) [2]
Lerma's home was subsequently raided by federal marshals and lawyers from the Church of Scientology, alleging he was in possession of copyrighted documents. [3]
A lawsuit was filed against Lerma and his Internet service provider by the church's Religious Technology Center, (RTC), claiming copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation.
The Washington Post and two investigative reporters were added to the lawsuit, as an article written about the raid contained three brief quotes from Scientology "Advanced Technology" documents. [4] The Washington Post, et al were released from the suit when USDJ Leonie Brinkema ruled in a memorandum on November 28, 1995:
- "When the RTC first approached the Court with its ex parte request for the seizure warrant and temporary restraining order, the dispute was presented as a straight-forward one under copyright and trade secret law. However, the Court is now convinced that the primary motivation of RTC in suing Lerma, DGS and The Post is to stifle criticism of Scientology in general and to harass its critics. As the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric of its briefs and oral argument now demonstrates, the RTC appears far more concerned about criticism of Scientology than vindication of its secrets."
(Memorandum Opinion of November 28, 1995, by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema; Religious Technology Center v. Arnaldo Lerma, Washington Post, Mark Fisher, and Richard Leiby)
The Memorandum Opinion acknowledges what critics believe Scientology practices to this day: the "Fair Game" policy, a written directive by L. Ron Hubbard that encourages harassment of anyone who speaks out against the church.
A Memorandum to the court on January 5, 1996 gives details on how the RTC did conduct this lawsuit. [5]
In conclusion, the court awarded RTC the statutory minimum of $2,500 for five instances of non-willful copyright violation. The RTC claimed to have spent over 1.7 million dollars on the case. Judge Brinkema also made it clear that Lerma's right to criticize Scientology would not be limited, nor would his right to make "fair use" of small portions of Advanced Technology, if done in the context of criticism or comment. The negative publicity they received ultimately did them far more harm. Their attempt to squash the Fishman Affidavit drew a great deal of attention from the internet community at large, and created a group of critics from people who previously knew little or nothing about Scientology, such as David S. Touretzky. The Xenu story has thus been mirrored extensively on the World Wide Web. See Scientology versus The Internet.
[edit] Lermanet
Arnie Lerma started a website "Lermanet" which concentrates on news about Scientology and on documenting lawsuits by Scientology. This resulted in further harassment by Scientology.
Arnie Lerma hosts on his Lermanet site also the website of journalist Joe Cisar who translated German articles about Scientology and reported investigations. On this site, there are detailed investigations about the involvement of Scientology with Liberty Lobby, Willis Carto and The Spotlight including in the documentation some holocaust denial and pro-denial materials. [6] [7] This unknown author came during his investigations into contact with the antisemite Willis Carto because was investigating the involvement of Scientology and describes a visit to him.
Arnie Lerma is also noted for discovering an altered picture on a Scientology website on New Year's Eve in 1999, one that grossly inflated the number of members attending a millennial event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California. He posted the pictures to his website identifying the alterations, with the most prominent feature being the "man with no head." The story appeared on national television and in the press. [8]
[edit] Citizens Against Corruption
Arnie Lerma founded the organization Citizens Against Corruption (CAC) in December, 2000. [9] Projects have included: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard's fake military history [10]; education of public and government officials around the world; newsletters; consulting.
Mission statement: "To reduce the burden to society of fraud, waste and corruption."
[edit] Quotes
- "I would prefer to die speaking my mind than to live fearing to speak."
- "The only thing that always works in Scientology are its lawyers."
- "The internet is the liberty tree of the 90's."
- "If the Borg were to breed with the Ferengi you'd get Scientology!"
- "The only real product of Scientology is more Scientologists. That is the etiology of cancer."
[edit] Writings
- The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90's
- Copyrights and Why Scientology Hates Arnaldo Lerma
- Scientology Gag Agreements - A Conspiracy for Silence
- The art of deception, 1996
[edit] External links
- Lermanet.com: Exposing the con (Arnie Lerma's Website) Media, Documentation and Pictures of 1995 Raid
- Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet CNN, Washington, August 26, 1995
- Affadavit by Arnie Lerma dated September 6, 1995.
- Brinkema, Leonie M. Civil Action No. 95-1107-A: Memorandum Opinion Alexandria: US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia-Alexandria Division, November 28, 1995
- alt.scientology.war by Wendy Grossman, Wired Magazine, December, 1995
