Vanity Fair just published an article about Shelly Miscavige. It presents part of the story of the Miscavige’s to a wider audience — both David’s violence and ruthlessness and Shelly’s efforts to curtail him only to ultimately become another of his victims. Of course, it cannot cover everything and there are some details omitted or confused.
But there is a fascinating piece of the story Vanity Fair did NOT tell. And it confirms a great deal of what WAS written.
It was only discovered by a strange coincidence….
I was talking with a friend about Shelly and the story being worked on by Vanity Fair. He said, “I have got to tell you a story.”
In 2012 my friend was working with someone who had a lot of false information about Scientology. He corrected him and told him he had been involved in the church for many years and had studied a lot of the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. Instantly he became known amongst the circles he was traveling in as the “Scientology guy.” A couple of days later he was approached by a different man who said to him: “I heard you were a Scientologist.” He responded that this was true, expecting to have to try to respond to the usual ridicule and questions about space aliens and black magic.
Instead, the guy proceeded to tell my friend that he had been employed by a private security company working the detail of “guarding Shelly Miscavige at the Arrowhead property.”
He claimed the company also provided armed security for executives of the church when traveling and at the Hemet property. He and the company he worked for were licensed to carry firearms. At the Arrowhead property, they carried semi-auto assault rifles and semi-auto side arms.
He stated the detail was stationed across the road from the Church property sat Rim of the World in a rented cabin/house. He said, “I guarded Shelly – that Miscavige guy’s wife. For about six months I worked up there. She was there. Never had any contact with her, but we were told she was there and that she was the reason we were there.”
“Everyone hated that detail. 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week and you just sat there. Nothing would ever happen. A few vehicles would come and go throughout the week; the guard shack would alert us via radio. But it was really a boring assignment. But the pay was good; ya took the assignment because of the hours and the extra over time.”
Now, this is fascinating. The guy had absolutely no reason to just tell this story without any prompting. Nor would he have had any reason to even know the name Shelly Miscavige or the location of the Arrowhead property, let alone the fact that she had been there. I had not met my friend yet in 2012, so it wasn’t an effort to feed me or anyone else disinformation. My friend would never have even mentioned it had I not brought up the subject.
So, one must assume the story is true.
And it fits with all the other known information: there is no doubt Shelly “disappeared.” And others have been taken to Mile High. JB reported her mail was routed to CST Mile High in the RTC Comm Center.
But most importantly, it puts the lie to the church’s assertion that Shelly is somehow “doing what she wants” working for the church. The church hired armed PI’s and rented the house across the street from the entrance to CST Mile High property to watch for Shelly trying to escape (and perhaps someone arriving to try and break her out). The property is VERY well guarded already. The main gate has a security booth. There are cameras everywhere and razor wire fences. But still, Miscavige was so concerned about her somehow escaping his clutches that all his internal security precautions were backed up with hired armed security personnel to watch the watchers.
I asked my friend to call this guy and ask if he would speak to Ned Zeman from Vanity Fair. He agreed to talk to the reporter and stated he would “speak to anyone on the record.” He added that he had been well treated by the church (paid well), but he would be truthful about what he had done and what he knew.
Ned Zeman then contacted him and he asked for his credentials, which Ned provided. He then refused to respond to any further calls from the reporter or my friend.
Apparently the church persuaded him it was not in his best interests to talk to the media and tell what he knew about Shelly Miscavige being “disappeared.”
You can imagine why.
But here is what is doubly amazing. This guy is in the midst of a dispute with the United States Government that has gone all the way to the US Supreme Court because HE IS A WHISTLEBLOWER from when he served as a Federal Air Marshal.
You can read about Robert MacLean here.
He is not the first person who was NOT a member of the church to be involved in activities they SHOULD be disclosing. He is not brainwashed. He is not unaware of the facts. But he is either afraid or paid off or both.
Robert MacLean — if you read this, think long and hard about your MORAL obligation to do what is right. The church is doing everything they can to cover up what really happened with Shelly Miscavige. You have relevant and pertinent information that could help uncover the truth. You had the moral fortitude to speak up about the Federal Government. Time to grow a pair and speak up about the truth concerning the disappearance of this woman.
I would love to hear from you (you can email me on this blog or call our mutual friend). Give me the facts straight from the horses mouth or tell me what I have wrong. There are a lot of people who are interested in knowing and I would much rather hear it directly.
Ok. I will pray the lid gets lifted on this , please Lord, would you reveal / expose the truth about what happened to dear Shelley, in Jesus name amen.
Mike, your blog is amazing! This post is great and I am so invested in the Shelly Miscavige abduction. It is an abduction. Even if she went willingly and is brainwashed into thinking she deserves abuse and isolation, it is unlawful to hold someone against their will.
Armed guards with tactical weapons are most certainly an indication of unlawful imprisonment. They can’t argue that she is free to leave anytime when the truth is, her surroundings are indicative of a jail or prison camp.
Bars in jails, and razor wire on prison fences are obviously a physical deterrent. However, they also serve as an intimidation tactic. These visual restraints (as well as cameras, gates, and armed p.i’s, as in Shelly’s case) are a constant reminder that you are on the inside and they are outside able to see and control your every move. Seeing so much security and physical restraints, must be a daily reminder that she is trapped, and it must also reiterate her internal dialogue ingrained by the church, that she is a “criminal”.
Tragic all the way around! The L.A.P.D should be ashamed. If/when she ever comes out and turns on Dave and tells her story, the law enforcement in that county is going to have to face some serious scrutiny. They have allowed the churches lawyers to respond to Leah’s m.p. report saying Shelly is ok and not being in public by her choice. They have taken the scientology reps word for it, rather than investigate and speak to her personally and alone.
I pray for her safety and all the others who are being victimized. I also pray the LAPD will step up and give the community some answers. I also pray for the citizens of that county;
Moral of the story…..
Dont ever go missing out there in la county folks!! Apparently your captors can simply tell the cops that you are ok and chose to disappear on your own, and good ol barnie fife will call it ‘case closed’ and mosy on back to the giant hole in his ass where he keeps his head. If any of his colleagues can dig deep enough to muster up a fuck to give about their citizens, perhaps they could give a little knock knock at arrowhead and see if shelly might want a bite to eat, or a hair cut, or perhaps a drop of sunlight every 11 years. Either way, shame on that cult and all the enablers who are still in it and burrowing their heads in the sand….I’m talking to you barbarino!!
Please write your Senator, Congressman and Governor. This is what I am doing. Fight Back.
You can identify and email your Senators and Representative at congress.org.
Has anyone really seen her? Is all of this “smoke and mirrors” to hide the fact that she was killed? The security guard etc said he was guarding her but didn’t see her??
Mike, my question is, isn’t this kidnapping, or forced imprisonment? How can he get away with this, without the police being involved. I am not a Scientologist but I am a concerned citizen. This woman, may be in serious trouble, we need to find her and validate her safety. Or at least hold David accountable for her whereabouts. This is a sad story. My heart aches for all the families and all the people who have been damaged by this. I watch your show and I see the men and women who have persevered and I applaud them. Fear is a body numbing feeling that can immobilize you. I love seeing them break free and reach out for others that are scared. We can only hope to save more, and stop some from thinking this is a safe place to go. Thank you, for being there for these victims. Rebecca
Please write your Senator, Congressman and Governor. This is what I am doing. Fight Back.
Mike – Shelly looks like a little girl in the photo above. Maybe 12-13 years old and in CMO dress? It’s sad to see this picture of a joyful young girl who probably never had a chance the day she met David Miscavige.
I can only hope she is well and sound today.
Yes, this is when I first met her aboard the Apollo.
Mike- it’s ironic that I have been going back and forth between your page and fighting with people about 9/11 and now my worlds collide. I have been so worried about Shelly and others like her and also about the 9/11 coverup and this guy knows about both it appears. Bad stuff in this country. I have often wondered who Miscavige has bought off in the government. Because he is getting away with false imprisonment and murder.
Rebecca et al.
Here, here!!! Good for Rebecca! It’s about time…..figures, it takes a “girl”; we are the stronger sex (vs. gender).
I don’t understand something about Shelley (I won’t soil her personage nor her memory with using her married name; as an R.C. I haven’t a clue as to what her maiden name is/was in any event) and the story thus far: There was an episode (I should think or maybe I am merging interviews) where Leah spoke very clearly and directly about the course of events up to the ?3rd failed attempt for Tom whatshisname to marry. Whatever floats his boat. I don’t care. I think he is an ass.
To get back to my point (I have a rather….distinct manner of writing, so try to bear with me), after the “dustup” at the wedding in Italy, Leah asked where Shelley was. An innocuous enough question, one would think. But it seems down the rabbit-hole, one is to know intuitively NOT to ask after the leader’s wife? I think a number of people had suspicions and a few possibly knew. Leah – I LOVE that she perseveres and perseveres (trust me, it’s the ONE thing that will make a Psycopath’s façade break; and what a joyous sight it is to behold!)
So Leah filed the Missing Person’s Report. The authority in that jurisdiction (Canadian & proud of it!) as I understand it from that interview, those police (insert American term here) did their due diligence with the quite odd, non SOP of NOT ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO HER (???? $$$$$$$), rode back into town and reported that ?I won’t put words in Leah’s mouth, but to all intents and purposes, the authorities were satisfied…that she wasn’t missing….that hey this gold bullion is heav-y! So no clear answer was given as it sounds as though none were sought.
But Michael, surely with Scientology “circling the drain”, the actual truth of what the psycopath COB did will come out???
In closing, (finally!! a cheer goes up) I think that until the crack or someone shows some moral fortitude or grows a pair (as Michael suggested, rightly so), nothing will be known.
I take heart in truth being spoken out loud after well so much pain, broken relationships, … a real clusterf**k! Things will continue to be known.
Maybe DJT & COB will crack at the SAME time? What a sight to see!
Cheers all! Stay well!
Please, if any public Scientologist is reading this article and the comments, I can only ask you not to put yourself in the soup anymore. This may seem scary and difficult and it can be mentally. But just stop. I did that and yes, I went through a hard time for a while, feeling scared or anxious but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. You can leave and you will be okay. Believe in yourself and your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. There are a lot of good people out there and the world is not the evil place we are indoctrinated to believe.
People are imprisoned both mentally and physically on church properties. It’s time to face that fact and not ignore it. My 12 year old son was taken off course at one of the premier orgs and locked in a guarded room for over four hours, bullied and hounded to sign a Sea Org contract. This was done repeatedly before I found out about it and made it stop. My son thought that Scientology was a good thing, and respected the staff at the org. Think if they would take advantage of, and abuse a twelve year old, what kind of group and mindset are we dealing with here. A very sinister one, I think.
Indeed. The current CofS in no way represents what I signed up for. I am finding a far more sane and vibrant field of Scientologists outside of CofS. Scientologists who intend to and actually are helping people (and not just the wealthy ones!).
Mr. MacLean has worked in an environment where guns were a part of the day to day attire. Shirt, boots, belt, gun, check, check, check and check.
To have moved in to armed security work is like an athlete becoming a coach.
Mr. MacLean what I think is very much been voiced by Mike but one specific point is emphasized here – for this world of people, as in, the Church of Scientology world of people the mere fact of having armed guards where you were in CA and on detail with top level church execs alone IS the big deal. No one is expecting you to lie or be in possession of details about a person you were to guard and whom you never met.
You have demonstrated your willingness to walk down a path of righteousness tenaciously in order to stand up for what you knew was wrong, breaches of security protocol and endangering orders to civilians for stated cost-cutting purposes. Your integrity is not so different than Mike’s or so many who support him in wanting to make something we know to our bones is bad and wrong not only per our own religious tenants but per human rights period.
There was never any intention to bait or mock or sacrifice or humiliate you Mr. MacLean. You agreed to speak on the record and then your lips sealed up like a clam. If you knew what we did about the man married to the woman you were guarding you would understand why you’ve been called out to the extent that you have.
You know in our world to simply have you confirm that you were on armed guard detail for Shelly just might be the final piece of information that a family member needs to successfully get a loved one out from under the spell of the charismatic leader of what so many of us who have escaped have come to know well as a cult.
If you knew what Mike knew and what so many others who lived nearby that very environment you did armed detail at you too would be pursuing exposure of it rigorously. Please just understand you’re not being asked to do anything but tell what you do know.
Gayle
Brava Gayle Brava!
I agree great job Gayle. Words could not be said better.
Another missing person whose disappearance I find quite disturbing is that of the founder´s daughter, Diana Hubbard. Where is she? When was she last seen? Isn´t it strange that she is never present at any Scientology events?
Hubbard dedicated his book “Science of Survival” to Diana. This was written on the front page of the book. Now it´s missing. Removed by DM. At the same time he´s claiming that all the books are now exactly like LRH wanted them. How can that be true?
She is a scriptwriter at Gold. She too has been beaten (not physically that I am aware of, but emotionally) into a state of complete submissiveness. Steve Hall has written many times about her as he worked with her on scripts. That she is LRH’s daughter doesnt make her anything unless you believe thetans pass “thetan genes” to their offspring. She has red hair. That’s about the extent of it. BTW, SOS used to also have a dedication to Freud and Socrates, Descartes and many others.
I’ve thought about this overnight, and I remain unsure whether this latest revelation — though certainly interesting — really tells us anything useful or important.
We already know, for example, that Miscavige likes to assuage his paranoia and to project a raw, crude sort of power by hiring private security operatives.
We already know that Shelly is living in involuntarily confinement at the Twin Peaks CST compound.
We DON’T know anything about Shelly’s state of mind — whether she is content, or resigned to her fate, or rebellious and anxious to escape. But I don’t see that this new information sheds light on that. I’d suggest it tells us much more about David’s state of mind: his hunted-animal terror that dangerous enemies are all around him, threatening his control of his domain (which includes Shelly among much else).
I would interpret Mr Maclean’s responses simply as an indication that he is mildly freaked out by suddenly finding himself at the center of a sordid controversy which — as Mike gently points out — he knows absolutely nothing about. Imagine having a writer from Vanity Fair call you out of the clear blue sky, asking questions about some casual, mildly indiscreet conversation you had a couple of years ago. The guy is probably flustered and slightly embarrassed, and is striking out defensively — but in truth, he’s got nothing to tell us beyond what we’ve already heard: his firm was hired to guard the compound because the Leader’s wife is inside. Crazy, but it’s a job, and the overtime is good. He’s got no whistle to blow here.
Nonetheless the revelation, such as it is, is a welcome thing, in that it adds to the general picture of a paranoid, lying, secretive and distinctly sinister organization whose highest-ranking members are being held — without or without their acquiescence — behind razor-wire fences policed by armed guards. That’s a pretty damning story, even without whistleblowing.
One point to note. He was NOT called by Vanity Fair out of the blue. He was called by my friend and ASKED IF HE WOULD TALK TO THE REPORTER. He said he would and that was why his number was given to Ned Zeman. He apparently changed his mind AFTER agreeing to be interviewed.
Richard, I agree. He’s got no whistle to blow. He was there doing security work-watching the installation. I think his statement to Mike’s friend was the extent of his knowledge. Given his current legal struggle, I doubt he has the time or energy to get himself involved with another issue-particularly trying to rescue a person who may or may NOT be want to “escape”. Also, there may not have been any “payoff” or intimidation involved. Let’s say Maclean gives the OK to talk to a reporter and belatedly starts really looking into Scientology on the net. It probably wouldn’t take much to convince him that this is not the right time for him to be saddling up the white horse and calling out this bizarre and litigious organization.
If he has read anything about this case, he knows the police department has said Shelly is ok and not in captivity. He probably has not seen or heard anything which would justify his questioning that conclusion and has no personal investment in “rescuing” her. I see no reason to find fault with him.
Even if Shelly and the others still have the ability to see that they are under extreme suppression and realize that they are imprisoned and will never be free and able to rejoin the group, even if they realize DM is a psychopath and know they want out… where do they go? With no money, no spouse, no family, no “home,” no transportation, no phone, no assets, no resume, no experience with the modern world, 40-50-60-70+ years old with no knowledge of any type of safety net – what is “out here” for them?
Leonore, I’m very tempted to give a wise-ass remark to what these folks could do when they get out as oldsters with no money, etc….. BUT …. the truth is, as I noted in an “open comm” to Kathy O’Gorman recently (she of 40 plus years in the GO/OSA) … there would be any number of people who would be happy to help these folks make a decent and ultimately happy transition to “the real world.”
Mike’s Afterwards Organization would, I am certain, be more than willing to assist these folk in their tradition back into sanity.
There is obviously no end to The Church of Scientology´s “religious practices” and what your fees buy. Wonder why no new people are interested in Scientology´s special brand of “eternal freedom”!
All I´m saying is, I´m glad I finally woke up.
Nothing I say on this particular post by the way justifies in any way the outrageous act of keeping people imprisoned, guarding them, fencing them in, etc. It is disgusting and horrible and needs to be publicized as much as possible and maybe one day Miscavige will have to answer for it.
Re: Shelly herself. Cooper may indeed have made a valid point about her possibly being satisfied where she is. I don’t know her. But it is hard for me to believe that in over 7 years she has NEVER had access to a phone where she could have called 911. Like Heber who was at his son’s memorial and could have walked away, or called Karen, etc. I understand the effect of mental brutality of course, a la Patty Hearst, when she never walked away from her captors when she had the chance on numerous occasions.. Of course, Patty was not an “OT” or aware of being aware, nor had she done the PTS/SP course multiple times.
Possibly LRH’s greatest single point about getting someone up the line is that a being is happier, healthier and more causative in life the more that being takes responsibility for what has and is occurring in one’s life and elects oneself the cause point.
Call it karma, overt motivator or whatever. Shelly Miscavige was right there with hubby helping him enact every single bizarre and terrible act he enacted. She was an enabler and his valued assistant in his crimes. What’s more, when you read Marty’s stories, it is clear that she also KNEW that Dave was kinda nuts and she went along with him. She is as guilty.
So ….. like Heber, she has tried herself, found herself guilty and sentenced herself to her own prison. That’s HER decision. She’ll get out when she decides to…. if ever.
Joe — I agree with you. Shelly and others ARE in their own prison. The difference is that they cannot see it and we can. Change in this organization comes about by outside pressure. The stopping of enforced abortions has nothing to do with internal considerations, it is only outside pressure. The changes for people in the Hole has nothing to do with what Miscavige really wants, but only public relations concerns. If there was not some doubt in his mind about Shelly, she would have been set up with a puffball media interview. Still may happen — but that could be an opportunity for her to wake up and walk away.
Yes Mike, completely agree with your take on this.l
I believe that as Mike said Shelly is in her own prison. As Mike and Leah have said many times when you are in Scientology it is your WHOLE existence because that is what one is taught to believe. If one is told they are being punished then they are taught in their mind it is their fault and they need to be punished. Shelly by now may or may not believe she deserves this by this time but we all know that she does not. Many of you who have mentioned the authorities should be involved also or that they should be ashamed that they are not. One day they may be just that ashamed that they did not step in at the right time or on time.
Also, remember what Leah and Mike said would be a big help is writing our governor’s and the IRS and keep going up the line. The more people who do so the more that may get done.
Correction: My mistake. It was not the LA County Sheriff’s office who interviewed Shelly Miscavige but rather the LAPD.
Also, Twin Peaks is in the juristiction of the San Bernadino Sheriff’s Department. I’m not sure how deep the COS has “penetrated” them.
Tony Ortega said on his site today regarding Leah’s claim,
“An LAPD lieutenant told us his detectives had personally talked with Shelly, but when we asked if that conversation occurred in the presence of church officials, he told us that information was ‘confidential’.”
How can that information be “confidential” since it is so pertinent as to whether she was under undue influence while being interviewed???!
Does anyone have any idea as to the probable success of a Freedom of Information request? This is a string which should be pulled. Might catch a big one.
Maybe the new Interim LA County Sheriff could be interested in revisiting Leah’s missing person complaint and investigating the situation properly by interviewing her privately, in person, in a space completely out of DMs control?
Mike,
I’ve just read all thru to the last comment and I am gobsmacked. What an amazing scoop you’ve got here and all by sheer coincidence, which makes it even more powerful.
I think your measured 2 way comm with Mr. Maclean was very correctly done as I think he needs time to process and sort thru and decide what his best course of action should actually be.
He may very well be in overwhelm now as it is very likely that not he but an attorney wrote what he posted here. This also means that either he and/or his attorney are reading this blog.
I postulate that he begins reading your blog and others, doing his own personal research on David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology.so that his ultimate decision is an informed one.
I am inclined to not assume that Mr. Maclean’s attorney is from CoS, but in order to best advise his client, whoever the attorney is now has to find out everything there is to find out about Shelly Miscavige’s actual current situation and the Church of Scientology’s role in it.
No doubt there are other people like Robert MacLean that were assigned to this detail of guarding the guards of Shelly Miscavige in her California Tower of London. I am sure more of these guys will show up at DM’s door step for the “gravy train” of pay-offs for “wanna-be” informants or whistle blowers.
Get your dwindling check book out, DM. And, remember: new whales in the Church need excellent PR or they give nothing… Zip…. Nada….
Your income is down. Your expenses are up. There is no end in sight. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said:
“Hasta la vista, baby”
This is a fascinating discussion. I wanted to make one more comment. It’s about a story that LRH shared on a taped lecture. He claimed there is a place in Africa where fish are herded into shallow waters as they flee the shafts of light/darkness cast from the shadows of things being pulled along on the surface.
The fish reportedly react to the patterns of shadows in the water as if the shadows are real barriers. They are only barriers in the fish’s minds though.
It seems LRH applied this basic psychological knowledge to control his religious prison, creating “bars” that from the insider view look pretty darn solid (and are in many cases) such as sec checks, RPF, disconnection, declares, ethics, storing of confidential information, and all the other things that cults in general do. These things are all powerful social conventions that may look inconsequential from the “outside” but are definitely powerful from the inside.
And the Church’s threats have not just been metaphorical. They have tried to utterly ruin and destroy people. One former Guardian’s Office (predecessor office to OSA) person hinted that they had gone as far as actual murder. The “bars” around Scientology are not just imaginary.
That quote re the shadows, the fish and Lake Tanganyika (I think) is also in one of the first chapters of Self Analysis.
Great points!! In addition, the mountain of paperwork shoved each members way and forced to sign are a part of the shadow prison created by LRH. That billion year contract, for example. Has anyone ever attempted to challenge a Freeloader’s debt in court, for example? With the Masterson case in mind, it seems that the legal curtains that DM’s been hiding behind are become more translucent.
Well, at least the cat is out of the bag about “armed guards watching Shelly Miscavige”..
DM will try to plug this leak, but this and other efforts to stem the tide of “discovery” will only make matters worse.
From Tony Ortega’s article on the same subject:
“At the Arrowhead property, they carried semi-auto assault rifles and semi-auto side arms.”
Sounds more mafia like to have armed men nearby. Reminds me of the movie “The Godfather” and the compound with all the guards. It certainly doesn’t seem like a religion and a place where religious activity is occurring.
Well of course this isn’t new. Believe it or not I was in the RPF’s RPF’s RPF. I was held prisoner at Charlie Chaplains old house, (old EPF quarters) in the attic, I think Lake st? And then in the basement of the complex (basically still a hospital at the time) for about two months. Lots of details involved. Won’t get into all that now. But I will tell you, that if I ever run into Diane Marple again, she’ll definitely know it.
For those in favour of the voluntary confinement theory (she’s in a prison of her own making), please consider this definition of emotional violence:
“Psychological/emotional violence involves trauma to the victim caused by acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics. Psychological/emotional abuse can include, but is not limited to, humiliating the victim, controlling what the victim can and cannot do, withholding information from the victim, deliberately doing something to make the victim feel diminished or embarrassed, isolating the victim from friends and family, and denying the victim access to money or other basic resources” (CDC, 2007).
https://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/glossary/p/psychologicalemotional-violence-definitions
Then consider this article on emotional abuse:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/20/signs-of-emotional-abuse/
Shelly Miscavige’s prison was made for her, and violence was used to put and keep her in it. You guys with your “she could just walk out if she wanted to”, you’ve no f**king idea what you’re talking about and are still running Scientology’s ingenious system of traps (pulled it in, no real harm is being done, she just thinks she’ll lose her eternity/let down mankind crap). Cut it out!
But is that the criteria the FBI uses?
Has it been ruled out that the guards may be there to protect her? Isn’t that what he will claim? Any possibility “in all the broad universe” that it’s true? Partly true?
Oh yes, that could be trrrrue…. And, the Tower of London might be where you protect your estranged wife. Yeah, rrrrright…kinda makes sense….I’m still thinking about it….mmmmm
Nah… not in all the broad universe, as you say.
You keep your estranged wife in the Tower of London, not for conjugal visits or to protect her.
Guards outside are for keeping people out.
I am no expert, but I have had yearly small arms training from my employer. A whole day is spent on Rules for the Use of Deadly Force. These rules were created and extensively fine-tuned by lawyers.
MacLean and companions had similar and perhaps more extensive training on those rules, I guarantee it. No employer is going to send out an armed employee without the confidence that his weapon will not be used except to defend against threat of death or grievous bodily harm.
If they were outside the gate at Rim of the World they were there to provide security from an external threat, real or imagined. They were no threat to Shelley, IMO.
It sounds like Chris Guider was her RPF twin.
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/keepin-it-real-on-fathers-day/
Or maybe he was doing her sec-check and she tried to “blow”?
“wow, HAVE a great baby!
I have only good wishes for you and Chris.
Chris, in my opinion, was a damn good auditor, on the Int RPF, when he was the Int RPF In Charge.
I forgot that Chris was a Class 9.
Chris did my final final routing off the Int RPF (Happy Valley, November 2000) Security Check (I transferred from the Int to PAC RPF at that time, and the demotion to the PAC RPF required a Sec Check to leave the Int RPF, sheesh, first by an RTC approved Int Base Sec Checker, and then a final final sec check by Chris who was the Int RPF I/C), and surprisingly, that sec check was probably not like ANY of the crap shit harsh sec checking gang bang stuff done by people in earlier and later years. Chris was very decent, very smooth, not even the tiniest spect of the invalidative “swinish suspicion” misapplication FAD that had creeped into so much of people’s sec checking repertoire. Chris, thankyou for that final sec check, I appreciated your auditor beingness, and I forgot you were a Class 9, a good one in my opinion from the auditing I got from you.
Have a great new life you guys!
Best to you and Chris!
Good for you guys!
Chuck Beatty”
I think this shot to the bottom and is out of context.
I feel bad for Shelly. When I knew her she was A-OK. Many years ago, when I was in the RPF, I was escorting another RPFer off base, and we ran into her. She knew we were in the RPF and we were definitely of a lower pay grade even when not in the RPF, but she came right up and starting chatting with us as if we were best of friends. It sucks that David Miscavige has dehumanized her in this way.
http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/talon-sec-cos.htm
Re: Talon Security – Co$ Spammers?
This is fascinating stuff. Hope someone tells Leah Remini.
Devil’s Advocate sez: Maybe they were guarding her to protect her from some threat to her and or DM? Like Salman Rushdie under police protection?
Knowing the Church’s history and RPF and such, that seems unlikely to be the reality. But it seems possible that the Church would say, “Yeah, so what? Mr. and Mrs. Miscavige were getting death threats. It was too much for her and she decided to work from a remote location that was well guarded.”
Then again, it’s likely that President Obama, like all US presidents, gets periodic death threats and his “Shelly” (Michelle) does not go into hiding.
So what would happen if Shelly just decided one day that she had had enough and walked out the frontgate?
Would the armed PIs just gun her down? I don’t think so.
Miscavige has likely gotten her to sign away marital claims against “his”asset, whether legally enforcable or not.
No, Shelly’s indoctrinated state of mind is her prison.
Buttons72. How would she? There must be a way. I hear the Victoria Secrets mail is not opened. How how how? Well if M & M can fly over CW and completely ruin DMs ‘event’ spiel they will figure out this one or someone will. I feel for her also.
You don’t have the f##$ing pay grade to ask about Shelly!!!!
Well DM doesn’t have the pay grade in my books to even ask for a drop of water
if he was dying of thrust.
Probably a smart move on DM’s part to keep Shelly under armed guard. She was not a typical base staff member who rarely went anywhere. She had gallivanted around the world with DM for many years to all the hot spots. She got a good taste of the good life riding DM’s coattails. Being cooped up at CST is probably not her ideal scene and some of DM’s cleverness must have rubbed off on her over the years. (Make no mistake, anyone who does not know DM personally, he is very clever. Evilly intentioned but clever as hell.) Going on 9 years of sec checking from Antonella Tisi, Shelly is probably about in the same shape today as Guillaume, Yager, Ray, et al, i.e., barely sentient.
“Basically, the social personality wants others to be happy and do well, whereas the antisocial personality is very clever in making others do very badly indeed.” LRH
I agree with you about the shape she is in, also with John Doe “Shelly’s indoctrinated state of mind is her prison.” It would be nice if she did leave and speak out, and who knows?
For now, we have good press and that will help awaken more people to the organization and abuses. Most people love a good mystery and DM is providing this one, with the help of the curious who really care.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Miscavige has PI’s following Lebow, Abelson, Allender and all the other operatives that he thinks are still on his side but might turn.
Breaking my vow of silence (smile): Well Done!!!
🙂
IAS: What your donations buy – hiring PI’s to wet nurse DM’s insecurities
No, they are physically held against their will. Read about the stories of the Hole escapees over at the ex-scientologist message board. Sneaking down a gulch in the middle of the night, etc. The razor wire isn’t to keep people out, ’cause who the hell would want to break in? It’s too keep people in.
Bryan, That ALL depends on how much they threaten. Those who threaten to go to the police and press crim charges are let out.
Like the Berlin Wall.
i doubt there is much more this guy would have to say that could change things. he’s already stated he didn’t have any contact with her whatsoever.
they could have hired armed security and all that, but still it means nothing if SHE claims she is there by choice. does SHE feel like she is being held against her will? if she doesn’t then even if there were a militia guarding the compound it would mean nothing.
she is being held, that is a fact. but is she being held against her will?
we all know that whether she is content or not, the likely hood is that if(when) asked, she will say she is there by choice. and that’s the end of that.
Shelly, Heber, LeServe………all of them in the hole……….they are in a prison of their own mind. it’s up to them to decide to get out, only then can outsiders help.
Mike, Marty, Cook and a number of others were in the hole and got out……..but only because getting out started with them wanting to.
but it sounds like she is a true believer and so her own beliefs prevent her from getting out.
on a side note.
she probably doesn’t realize it but she has leverage on miscavige. she could say “get me out of here and post me where i want…….give me mine…….. or i will make certain claims.”
from everything I’ve read about miscavige, i feel pretty confident that deep down he is a coward, he does feel fear and has no back bone, no real guts underneath it all.
believe or not, you can break miscavige if you make him scared enough. that is his “button”.
he is a ruthless son of a bitch and shelly has just enough of a lever to be a ruthless bitch back to him and win…….she can get out from under and still be part of the group………but that’s just for talk sake, she’s never likely to do it.
he has to control everything because he is afraid of everything.
Now i’m just gonna ramble a bit about some speculation that’s run through my mind at times…….like one of those “what if hitler’s mother had miscarriage” kind of things.
way way back……Mike, Marty, Heber, Jessie Prince…….whoever really……….you people missed the boat in a way………you could have taken that little creep out early on….once it became clear he was insane…….that things are breaking down and he is just ruling by whim……….just a couple of you could have staged a coup……….i know he has security but it could have been overcome.
you could have forcibly locked him in a closet………like when Prince confronted him with a semi-auto and miscavige went pale….an incident like that shows there was room at some point in time to lock miscavige in a closet some where and keep him there indefinitely……..with him incommunicado…….you all declare him an SP and post his Golden Rod…….in the mean time you round up support from the actual exec strata…….as the big News shocks and reverberates threw the flock and things begin to cool down they will see everything is ok, nothing has gone out of control, they’re not facing any threats and in fact are feeling a bit empowered with him out of the way……….at the same time you keep talking to miscavige, you give him a severe reality adjustment, you lay it all down……he has been declared…everyone knows it…..there is no going back……sign what needs to be signed and had over the keys or you are Never getting out of here.
you do whatever it takes and however long it takes to get him to sign over everything……..after enough convincing he would have taken a large settlement and left.
he would never have gone to the police……..and so he actually never had or has today, any actual protection from anyone who just wants to take his shit.
and that is something i think miscavige realized early on……….that none of these people will ever call the cops on me, i’ve got them by the balls…..all i have to do is fuck them up before they get a chance to do it to me.
i’m sure he thought of everyone as just a “bunch of pussies”. why? because in his mind they could be as ruthless and aggressive as he was and yet they weren’t.
none of you would ever have gone to the police and miscavige used the power of that fact more than anyone else.
i think it could have been done and it could have worked. and it wouldn’t been immoral or wrong.
it was (is) the condition of the playing field, those are the rules all of you were playing by, it was how he put a yoke on all your lives…..to throw off that yoke would have been just.
WhiteStar – love your way of thinking – all is fair in war. Unfortunately, this great scenario to take DM down goes under the – could of, would of, should of category in life.
If she is still “with the church”, which likely the case, she could state she appreciated the extra security her husband had provided her.
So far, much ado about nothing.
Wow wow wow, and the castle in the sky comes crumbling down, to the ground, music CD? TO?
Love it Mike ~ thank you for posting…. the truth comes marching on….
Anyone else get the feeling that a cult attorney wrote Robert MacLean’s comment ? That was my very first thought when I read it. What a pity.
Funny, but even knowing that DM will pay & pay & pay, MacLean doesn’t look like the kind of guy to bow to a 5’5″ lunatic. Here MacLean’s got the chance to do so much good but, judging by that comment, I’ve got my doubts.
Shannon”MacLean doesn’t look like the kind of guy to bow to a 5’5″ lunatic.”
Dwarfenführer isn’t 5’5″. According to a report I trust, on a good day, he’s maybe 5’1″. He IS a lunatic, IMO, though.
Edit; doesn’t give payouts… Apologies
I guess our wonderful USA government to give payouts to whistleblowers to shut up like the Church of Scientology does .
Mike, I think “P.I.” is a misnomer. This sounds more like Mercenaries – trained ex-military armed with legal versions of military firearms.
Mike H: What happened to your moustache?
I would think if McClean has the cojones to blow the whistle on a Fed agency, doing the same with the Church might be simpler. Unless he is using this scandal as leverage to get more money from the church to support himself during these trying times in his life. This sword can cuts both ways.
That is a possibility. He is called by a reporter and contacts the church and lets them know and gets some additional cash for his loyalty. Definitely one way it could go down.
Because cover-up, shut it down, seal-it-shut, secrecy, stealth, “need to know” is in the very DNA of the culture, this evasive no answer is par for the course. The sound of silence is deafening.
Mr MacLean made the same post on The Underground Bunker. It was quickly erased. I am glad that can’t happen here.
Actually, Mr. McLean’s post wasn’t “quickly erased.” Tony Ortega quickly turned it into a new blog post at http://tonyortega.org/2014/02/07/report-man-was-hired-to-keep-shelly-miscavige-from-escaping-scientology-base-near-la/#more-13139
His comment appears in the body of the article, so it is not lost.
Dave is really pulling it in. He must be having a nuclear meltdown, worse than all his other tantrums. Can’t wait to get up tomorrow morning and read more about the demise of this criminal, human rights abusing organization.
I don’t understand, as we get more of a daily drip of devastating news about this guy in the wog world, why his nearest current underlings don’t finally get broken by what must be tremendous violence and blow. He must be far, far worse these days, than he has ever been… He’s losing on many fronts, very, very quickly, and the house of cards seems ready to finally collapse.
This info and the post at the Underground Bunker brings up more questions. Armed guards “watching the watchers”… what were their instructions if they saw Shelly trying to escape, shoot her? Shoot anyone helping her escape? No one has admitted to actually seeing her (LAPD does not count since they have a history of being corrupt). What kind of condition is Shelly in, mentally and physically? IS SHE ALIVE?
I just hope that when he does go down that there is something left in order to make restitution to those who have been cheated and lied to over the decades. David Miscavige’s epic Ideal Org swindle and gagging of Scientologists through wide spread SP declares and forced disconnection. (Putting a gun to the head of people with families and connections) Thats the situation. Unfortunately a MUTINY is the only leverage public Scientologists have on their own church. If every Scientologist agreed amongst themselves and vowed that: that until Miscavige released a full accounting of funds to the IAS, they would no longer attend course or auditing, or recognize SP declares on people who were EVER Scientologists, or agree to Disconnect. Demand an open dialogue with those who have been declared so their side of the story can be heard. What I’m saying is a person should never be ostracized or attacked or declared for demanding information that is being withheld them, especially from their own “church”. If enough people did it, if everyone eventually did it, I think even staff would eventually side with them. Just stop agreeing and stop participating until enough people are on the side that is demanding TRANSPARENCY.
My thoughts on this area has been a point of disagreement although I havent pushed it much. Sometimes it seems like you guys are saying people are physically held against their will (by armed guards in this case). My thought has been that if you really wanted to leave you could just walk out. Someone in “The Hole™” behind barred windows and locked doors could just say “ok, game over, I dont want play anymore” and walk right out the front gate (I assume).
However, I do realize it is a mental prison. It’s the way Miscavige controls others I guess. It’s a deeply psychological phenomenon. Maybe it has elements of the Battered Person Syndrome. He also has something to hold over the person to control them- their deep seated belief in Scientology. a threat that they could lose thier “spiritual eternity”. That is a very powerful thing.
The mental chains are an important part of things, but not the whole picture. The security at Int base, where the Hole is located, is particularly difficult to overcome. Understand that Miscavige’s enforcers apparently do not hesitate to use physical violence to keep someone under control. Knowing this, the simple presence of a menacingly large and ruthless individual can be enough to restrain people. Trying to leave a sec-check or a fund raiser, at a regular Org, has been impossible for many people, because they were physically restrained or confined with locked or blocked exits. You don’t go to the police, because your church is important to you, and they consider that an unforgivable crime. This happens exponentially at the Int base. Declaring your intention to leave is, in the cult’s terms, declaring yourself insane. As people who “care about you and your spiritual well-being” the handlers who deal with you have a “duty” to hold you back from a self-destructive decision. They are highly motivated not to fail in their “mission” for fear of winding up on the receiving end of these actions themselves. This leads to behaviors that would be ludicrous in normal circumstances. It adds up to a truly dangerous environment for confrontational statements or acts.
Beyond that, there are the widely reported security fences, motion-detectors, locked gates, guard booths and surveillance cameras. And an entire security team drilled on retrieving those who “blow”. Read Marc Headley’s story. He left Int base on his motor cycle, and security ran him off the road to stop him. If he had been seriously injured, they likely would have put him in their vehicle and taken him back to base. Fortunately, only his bike was seriously damaged, and sheriff’s deputies arrived on the report by a passerby of an accident. They escorted Marc and his crippled bike away. Otherwise, he never would have made his escape, and the lengths he had to go to in order to get his wife out after him are ridiculous.
Reading firsthand accounts from the folks who lived it is the best way to understand. Marc’s story is particularly edifying, but there are many others. Jeff Hawkins wrote of his experiences in the hole, and how he left. His account of this is easily found online or in his book. Mike Rinder, our host here, has described how he finally got out. It is easy to say what we “would do” in a given situation. But, you don’t know until you live it. The people who have lived it have said a lot about why it is no easy thing to leave. I am reminded of the fellow on the Freewinds, I can’t recall his name, who had to make a roller, and escape by zip-lining down one of the ship’s ties to the dock, where he was promptly chased, and had to make his way home without a passport.
Yes. Leaving the cult can be quite difficult indeed.
+1
Well said!
Don Jason
Yes. I agree with you. Even though I was just a guest on the Freewinds, I was horrified when they rounded us ALL up on a Tuesday night and started a fundraising event and blocked the doors so that nobody could leave unless we donated something. It was disgusting. Horrifying to watch. I tried to get out, they wouldn’t let me. I was afraid for what else they might do to me if I openly rebelled. Finally they assigned a staff member to me who took me out because he knew how much I hated it. I had paid for my own suite, so they thought I would be good for more $$ … and they were not too cross with me. However… I went there twice and they did that each time.
I remember seeing a man dressed in a greasy jumpsuit and he wouldn’t talk with me. Cognative dissonance. I couldn’t imagine who he was or why he was there. “What in the world….?” I thought. Then he got off silently and disappeared. Now I realize that he was on the RPF. I thought at the time that if anyone working on the ship wanted to leave, they would be in deep doo-doo. The regges are NOT nice people. They are like attack dogs.
I saw one man come on board while I was there being regged by the reg. He turned from me and started laying into this new man to get another several thousand dollars from him. The man was insulted, angry. And I watched as he got angrier and angrier… then he stood and stared down the Reg and said, “That’s it. I’m leaving.” And he walked away. I assume that he left the ship. I was astonished. And the Reg turned back to me as though nothing had happened and continued trying to wrestle more money out of me for something… the police in Columbia? IAS? Fresh cookies from the galley? Another class? Nothing? Like a shark… all he knew to do was cruise around and eat things. I hope he never gets off the Freewinds. That’s his karma.
Thank you.
So much of this reminds me of domestic abuse – with victims terrified of testifying against their abuser or brainwashed into thinking they deserve it, etc. — the “mental chains” …
It is my understanding that there are some domestic cases that can be prosecuted without the victim’s testimony– I’m not a lawyer so I don’t know if this is something that only some states do — but am just wondering if that approach could be applied here.
Could witness statements from people who have left be at least enough to begin the legal process as a domestic violence case?
Gosh, Chris, no, you can’t just walk out.
You can’t get out of the trailers first of all. If you tried to sneak out when someone brought food for example, there are many others in there who might see you and call you out immediately and drag you back in. Because of their own mental state as prisoners. The guards wouldn’t even need to lift a finger. Who knows what would happen to them all if someone did get out of that building–they’d be treated even worse until someone coughed up what happened.
So let’s suppose the person got through the door and hid in some nearby bushes or somewhere. If it’s daylight he can’t be seen by any of the cameras (he doesn’t know where they are set up) or else other guards on motorcyles would grab him up in a second. Let’s say he can sneak among bushes or something towards the one gate that is the closest to the hole that gets him outside the fence. It’s about 150-200 feet possibly to the west. Now he really has to beware of the camera because there are several trained on that one gate 24/7. The gate is locked, and the only way you can get in and out of that gate is by an intercom to the main guard booth. If you’re OK to come in or go out, the guard on duty pushes a button and the big iron gate with barbs on top of it slides open slowly.
So the guy has to wait for someone to come in or out so he can sneak out at the same time. He’ll be seen by the driver and the cameras, but, he makes a run for it down the only road there is. He can only run west, away from the property. If he runs east he runs further into the property area with the road cutting it in half and runs right past the main guard booth. So he has to go west.
There is nothing down that road except semi-developed land, not much shrubbery and desert for miles. No one to go to for help. He’s got no food or water or additional clothing or money. He would need to start hitchhiking. But after he got only a few steps out of the gate the guards would be onto him immediately on motorcycles and would physically drag him back in. He wouldn’t be able to fight back much because he’s physically run down from no nutrition and extreme mental abuse and probably physical too.
If he didn’t try to get out of the gate and tried to climb the fence instead, he’d have to accept getting his body ripped up pretty good from those 6″ long (or longer?) pointed razor blades on the top of the entire stretch of fence. He’d have to put something next to the fence to climb on to get tall enough to do it. And the fence has motion sensitivity so if he touched the fence that would also alert the guards.
There are several stories you can read about attempts to escape the hole in particular –Russ Belin trying to get over the fence and got caught, Marty on a motorcycle he hid in the bushes somehow.
Just sayin’…it is not easy to walk away and say “Hasta la vista, hole.”
Wow. Thank you for this amazing description. It is a prison labor camp!! It really needs to be investigated by the FBI. !! Human rights associations. Human trafficking organizations. Hopefully the church will cave soon and free these poor people.
I get the impression that for a very few, it really is a physical prison.
Yes, buttons72, it sounds like both a mental and physical prison.
I appreciate the calls for law enforcement to investigate, but I know the culture inside the Church. All the people on RPF would most likely lie convincingly that there was nothing wrong and that they were doing what they wanted to do voluntarily.
Why would they do this? For one thing, they would hope it would show strong group loyalty that might get them out of their “degraded” status with the Church. After all, they would be “striking a blow at the enemy of the Church” (and any law enforcement asking questions of cult members in the cult compound would most assuredly be seen as enemies, not liberators).
In the great descriptions above, one element was not mentioned (unless I missed it). There is an armed rifle nest up on the hill with another “guard” up there with an eagle’s eye view of everything. Would he shoot at a person trying to escape? He probably will never have to. The mere presence of the nest is a deterrent.
The people who are “stuck in” are not weak, stupid, or foolish. They have been manipulated. It is easy to control humans by pulling the strings of their social nature and desire for peer support and approval. Layer on a gooey slick slice of threats to eternity and you have … a church.
To take a mundane example, think of an intense time share sales presentation if you have ever done that. People hate them, but they endure them for the “reward” even though there are no locked doors and despite the intense “regging” that can go way past the promised time. We humans are that malleable in general. Add heavy indoctrination, cult beliefs, threats of cut ties to family and friends, reality of having no money, etc., and you would end up with a time share sales gang bang like this:
— You surrender your wallet, phone, credit and debit cards, and any cash at the door.
— You turn over the keys to your car.
— You give over your passport if you had one.
— You give up the numbers of all your financial accounts.
— The doors are locked or blocked.
— You are sleep deprived. You have perhaps averaged a few hours of sleep per night for weeks, months, or years.
— You are “in the present moment” living in a bubble of time out of context with the rest of your life.
— Your friends and family who are not in there with you have been portrayed as bad people and you do not feel you can count on them even if you could get a message to them.
— Your friends and family who are in there all appear to be loving the experience, as you are supposed to be doing; you cannot talk openly to them are you will all get interrogated, plus if you try to leave, you will lose your relationships with all of them
— Your nutrition is horrible; you may have lived for weeks, months or years on beans, rice, and Ramen, making “tomato soup” with ketchup
— Your dental and medical health is horrible; you may not have had regular cleanings for some time; you have no insurance (does the church give you coverage? LOL); you are smoking like a chimney — you need the nicotine drug (and caffeine) to keep you going on such little nutrition and sleep; if you do get ill, that could land you in trouble (who are you PTS too?)
— Your ability to have a physical relationship with anyone is curtailed and controlled; if you have a partner, you will rarely see him or her and virtually never have free time together; sex will become a quickie before you pass out exhausted after midnight, knowing how early you have to get up the next day; and if you don’t have a partner, good luck getting approval (yes, approval!) to start a relationship with anyone
It sounds like hell, doesn’t it? But remember this: you feel convinced that this is the only way out for mankind, and the whole agonized future of every man, woman, and child depends on what you do here and now in and with Scientology.
In a way, this is all humankind’s fumbling for religious meaning redux. But keep in mind that this particular church started with the promise of being the _modern_ _science_ of mental health. To that claim it has utterly failed. Having failed it succeeded at starting a religion — not a very grand or positive achievement given the history of human religions.
For those who don’t mind reading about psychology, the infamous “Stanford prison experiment” might give some further insight into how badly the mental states of both prisoners and their guards are affected – even when they are only college students randomly assigned these labels in an experiment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
The effects were so unexpectedly severe and damaging that the experiment had to be halted in mere days.
To live in a real prison-like environment – even if you’re told you can simply walk away (while knowing in truth you really can’t)…it’s terrible to imagine
Karen de la Carriere’s Surviving Scientology YouTube channel has a video interview of her with Mark Bunker about BEING INCARCERATED. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXTTSB4_IPE&index=46&list=PL97bG9F7T-UfJygfPkD4YnxqLlcr8nZNc
The Scientology system is set up so you can’t just “walk out”. Marty made an escape by riding a motorcycle out an automatic gate behind someone who had a keycard. Mike R made his getaway because he was out in the real world on business for the church and decided to never report back.
Every time someone successfully gets away, more severe actions are put into force to ensure a person can’t escape that way again. Why do you think Karin Pouw has vanished?
The fact that Miscavige hired a PRIVATE, ARMED SECURITY FIRM to keep Shelly incarcerated tells me that Miscavige has fewer and fewer “trusted” people inside the church to do his dirty work.
And that leads me to rhetorically ask “WHAT ARE YOUR DONATIONS BUYING?”
+1
The fact that Miscavige hired a PRIVATE, ARMED SECURITY FIRM to keep Shelly incarcerated tells me that Miscavige has fewer and fewer “trusted” people inside the church to do his dirty work.
Not just Shelly. He does not trust anybody, armed security guards at Gold ,CC Int etc. etc whenever he travels, must be lonely at the top
“My thought has been that if you really wanted to leave you could just walk out.”
Only a “mental prison”??
See here what happened to a staff member of the International Headquarters of the “Church of Scientology” who wanted to leave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrazhaNR5Xg
This is only one story of a staff member who had to ESCAPE!
Another one: Marc Headley is also describing in his book “Blown for Good” how he fled on a bike, was followed, run off the road and then escaped because somebody called the police which escorted him to safety.
Another one: Here another escape from Don Jason who was illegally imprisoned (this could be used for a movie script of an action movie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR-SikcjiY0
These are only three escape-stories. There are more …
Chris, I think it’s has been well documented both here and other places on the internet that the Blow Drill to recover Scientologists (staff or public) that attempt to walk away, is VERY physical. It is NOT just a mental prison. Most all trained Scientologists have drilled “8C techniques” to physically force people to do what they might not want to do.
How much training is involved in exercising the Blow Drill? I am sure Jackson, as head of security, could enlighten us.
Shelly is in a physical prison.
I just pray that Mr. MacLean can help this poor girl. If she was allowed to just walk away, on her “own free will” with no fear of the 20 man Blow Drill chasing her down or other 8C techniques, she would hold her head up high and walk away. There is nothing wrong with Shelly. There IS something terribly wrong with her husband, David Miscavige.
Mr. MacLean seems like a man with a brave history and background.
I suspect that he may have been “reminded” of nondisclosure agreements that he probably signed during his employment by the Church.
Admittedly, just a guess on my part.
Well, this line stuck out for me. “Because of their own mental state as prisoners. The guards wouldn’t even need to lift a finger.”.
I don’t believe there is anyone in this scenario who is not enabling their “captors”. I’m not saying they are not victims. They are victims of a suppressive sociopath and an insane group. But they are choosing on some level to be a member of this group and participate in the insanity. They are saying “I can’t leave because…, I can’t walk out because….
They are creating their own mental prison.
Some 8C might be used. Some heavy persuasion, peer pressure, threats of being declared etc. It all sucks and is wrong. But I am unconvinced that anyone is being held captive by force or threat of physical harm such as being shot. Do you guys really think that if Shelly said “I’m done open the gate” that the guards would shoot? I think they were probably there to observe and prevent people from reaching her? Maybe they would follow her if she left? It’s wrong and creepy, but there is a line there of imprisoning someone by physical force. If that line has been crossed and anyone is being held captive and are not themselves participating in it then that’s something else.
If that is happening we need to go down there and get the police to go in a free her.
If anything like that is happening and this Robert MacLean guy isnt coming out with it I think he is exposing himself to some very serious criminal liability.
You know what- the Int Base and the upper management of scientology is completely insane and just needs to stop. Miscavige needs to be in prison and this stuff just needs to stop. So my argument is probably splitting hairs.
I’m assuming basd on what ive read and my own experiences in Scientology and on ClassV staff. I’ve never been in the hole or in the SO.
I was in the OOT program at Flag for 6 months. I wasnt doing well on the Metering course and I knew something was wrong. Later I found out the definitions of Instant Read and FN had been changed and the Tech films were incorrect. I routed myself to the MAA and told him I was leaving. They wouldnt let me leave and if they did I would have to find my own auditor to do a sec checks to route out which was an impossiblity. I worked with them for a few weeks and then I just left. There was a strict schedule and I had to plan it. There were security guards at the berthing and I almost got caught by one of them. I felt like I was escaping, but in hindsight I was limiting my self and making barriers in my own mind. I could have just walked out and left, but I devised an elaborate escape and it was terrifying. I realize this is not even the same league as being in the Hole or in the SO, but thats my experience.
They even knew how I was traveling and called me at my destination when I arrived. It was creepy as hell.
I think the church has already gotten to him with their threats of Fair Game. He didn’t realize what he was getting into when he opened his mouth. Now he does. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
They ARE trapped… both physically and mentally. At one point I assume that they just drop into Apathy. I read somewhere that Heber Jentsch told his brother that he just “expected to die there.” Apathy. You have no idea of the pressure you get from all around. And the young people in now are like Nazi Youth… they just pound in the letter of “the law”… which is CI (Command Intention from DM.) It is truly inhumane.
Dear Mr. Mike Rinder,
I never witnessed nor do I have any knowledge of wrongdoing or criminal activity associated with current or former members or officials of the Church of Scientology.
There is one item that is true: most ALL security work is extremely boring.
Respectfully,
Robert J. MacLean
Dear Mr. MacLean,
Thanks for responding.
I did not accuse you of criminal activity or knowledge of wrongdoing.
However, when someone like Shelly Miscavige “disappears” and the church claims that she is just working as normal on projects for the church, the fact that armed private security were paid to observe her 24/7 makes a mockery of that assertion. This was my point. If you had the impression I was accusing YOU of some wrongdoing or criminal action, I apologize. The only thing I accused you of was having information that had relevance to the situation of the disappearance of Shelly (someone I have known since she was 12 years old) and being unwilling to confirm this for the media.
I note you do not deny the specifics of what I said in my blog post. Is there any FACT that is untrue?
I appreciate you writing.
Mike
I pray that ONE person who can, will speak for Shelly and the others held as prisoners. It does not appear that Mr. MacLean has such courage when pressed. That is more than disappointing.
Correction… Obviously, you, Mr. Rinder, have spoken out, among many others. I should clarify and say that I pray that one person, who witnessed this and is a credible outsider (a guard(s) or others of that ilk), would stand up and speak out. As with Monique Rathbun, a never-in or a hired outside contractor, would be more impervious to the criticism and usual attack methods of the COB. Anyway, I did not mean to sound disrespectful. I realize that people such as yourself have had to give up an entire lifetime to speak out.
Dear Mr. Mike Rinder,
My comment already addressed all of the pertinent facts. With all due respect sir, you are barking up the wrong tree in the wrong orchard. I really hope that you are not attempting to use my very public 10-year case with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) — which has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — as a means to further an agenda regarding a your dispute. Your grievance should brought before the civil court system or prosecutors.
To others:
Questioning my courage is laughable considering my very publicized war exposing high-level government wrongdoing and violation of law. Do not anoint me as your pawn in this.
I wish all of you the best. This is my final comment — my plate is full…
Respectfully,
Robert J. MacLean
Dear Mr. MacLean,
I don’t think you have any idea of the orchard, or even the trees, that are the subject of this blog. I don’t think you really know the first thing about the Church of Scientology or more particularly about the sociopath that runs it.
Your failure to address any of the specific questions, but rather deflection off onto other subjects, is enough confirmation for me that what I reported was 100% accurate.
You didn’t address a single relevant fact. To wit:
I reported you had told someone you worked on a security detail in a house across the road from the CST property at Mile High. That this was a 24/7 operation. That you and the others were armed. That your assignment concerned Shelly Miscavige.
You have not refuted a single one of these facts.
That is of course your prerogative, but the very fact of you attempting to create the impression you are refuting the claims without doing so smacks of the same sort of statements the church of Scientology makes when pressed for answers about their activities.
You have taken the time to write on this blog twice now. You could quite easily have flat out denied you were ever hired to do this job. You could easily have said “I have no idea who Shelly Miscavige is and have no idea what you are talking about.” You could easily have said I” was never in a house anywhere in the the Arrowhead/Rim of The World area.” But you didn’t. And in some ways I appreciate this as it has protected you from any repercussions while effectively confirming what I said.
Probably smart of you not to outright deny it in any event, as you have no idea what other evidence may have escaped the net. Or even if there was someone else who had the same assignment as you did and is now talking.
I wish you well in your suit against the government. I believe whistleblowers should be afforded the full protection of society. Without them, dictators, despots or simply evil people can get away with figurative or literal murder.
Believe me, if there is anything I can do to assist you in making it safe for yourself or others to tell the truth about dirty deeds going on behind closed doors, please ask.
Mike
I think that was posted by a Church lawyer or OSA
Or maybe posted by Mr. MacLean at the direction of Church attorneys either by threat of legal action or he was paid off, or both.
“Questioning my courage is laughable considering my very publicized war exposing high-level government wrongdoing and violation of law.”
Bobby, You don’t have the balls you claim you have. You don’t have a problem pointing the finger at others. Yahoo for you.
But when it comes time for you to own up to something you perceive might be taken as wrong doing, you slide right under a rock.
It doesn’t take a lot of courage to point out other’s mistakes. I don’t know why you think that takes such bravery. Just turn up the volume louder and louder, that is what you have done.
But when it is time to cough up some of your OWN secrets, and only “possible” misdeeds, like aiding in false imprisonment, you get sudden amnesia and slippery tongue.
Worse, you put forth an effort to discredit Mike Rinder. That is injustice you are dabbling in.
Deny deny deny. Sounds familiar. For whatever reason, you are back peddling. And it isn’t because you are Captain Courageous.
Just keeping it real.
Chris Mann, I think you are right, the lawyers dictated his comment. Only the church lawyers reduce the horror ex-members of the church went through to a “dispute” with the church. Do church women who were forced to abort their babies have a “dispute” with the church? Do ex-members who were beaten by Miscavige or imprisoned by him have a “dispute” with him? Of course they do. The lawyers reduce their whistle blowing to the level of a dispute in order to morally justify their defense of the church’s actions. If Hitler was brought to justice today in the US, you can bet that his lawyers would try to diminish the claims of concentration camp victims by stating they were just disgruntled Jews who had a “dispute” with the Nazis.
mr. maclean. you are perfectly ok with fighting the feds but are scared of the co$? and don’t give me the usual co$ runaround by answering my questions with questions. if you are subject to a nda, then say so. admitting the existence of such is not a violation of the nda. however, you play the co$ game of answering in riddles, circles and other questions. what the heck are the rest of us supposed to think of you? i know. you are a weak, frightened little girl that has been bought and paid for by the co$. plain and simple.
I seriously doubt flaming the guy is gonna do much good. Calling someone a “scared little girl” and saying “you don’t have the balls” sometimes works on the playground, but most adults don’t respond to that kind of antagonism. The quacks and assholes are supposed to be on the other side of the fence.
Hopefully Robert will learn more about Miscavige and the “church”, and come to fully understand the level of evil we’re dealing with here. The dude has been fighting the government for years, give him some time.
By the way, can someone quickly tell me what the situation is with Shelly’s family? I know that she was from a Scientology household, but does she not have any relatives on the outside to potentially go to bat for her and raise hell with law enforcement about the possible false imprisonment of their family member? Sounds as if Leah Remini may be the closest thing to family she has left.
greetings, schutzstaffel! you are mistaken in that i am calling him that in order to goad him into providing more. he clearly is not going to say more. therefore, you have your opinion regarding what maclean is and i have mine. he is a scared little girl that is too frightened to talk now. as rinder said, maclean agreed to do the interview and then backtracked 180 degrees once the reporter got a hold of him. now, what do you honestly think happened? either the co$ paid off maclean or they frightened him, or both. either way, he is a scared, frightened little girl that has abandoned his principles (he once was in the military and swore an oath of allegiance to the u.s. constitution and its citizens) and morality in exchange for money and fear. a scared, frightened little girl? exactly. cheers!
“David’s violence and ruthlessness and Shelly’s efforts to curtail him only to ultimately become another of his victims.”
“4. A characteristic, and one of the sad things about an antisocial personality, is that it does not respond to treatment or reform.” LRH
Shelly probably had no idea what she was really up against but God bless her for trying.
“12. The antisocial personality has a bad sense of property and conceives that the idea that anyone owns anything is a pretense, made up to fool people. Nothing is ever really owned.” LRH
Anyone needs to be careful when they enter into Dave’s circle. After a time you will lose your right to come and go, your will lose your right to state your opinion, your time, skills and personal wealth is subject to confiscation. Nothing you arrived with was ever really owned.
Dave has a bad sense of property. People are not objects to be held in either double-wide trailers or mountain compounds under the guard of men carrying high caliber weaponry.
I think it’s safe to say that Dastardly Misscabbage is a high-spectrum sociopath, therefore, the only ‘person’ is himself (‘the Precious’), all other human beings are more like objects or chess pieces to be moved and used – even Lou. NO! It would indeed be a high crime to Miscavige is *he* was the one confined in a double-wide. He’d certainly agree with you there, he’d just disagree that there is a population in the world higher than 1.
These are serious crimes. Kidnapping, unlawful confinement and everything is covered up with lies. You are going down Davey!
Yes. Tick Tock Tick Tock
Yo Dave,
Joan speaks sooth! Prepare for mutiny ……………..
Oh, and false imprisonment is just another crime. I don’t think David gets worked up about these things. He has created prisons to keep people in for YEARS. He has NO REGARD for what is “legal”. He was just busted for destruction of evidence, non compliance and false reports to the state in Texas.
Obviously someone hasn’t told him that it is illegal to submit a false report to a government authority.
As a true Sociopath, wanton disregard of laws are a trait…. he is above the laws and has no fear of breaking them to suit his purposes. “The Sociopath Next Door” by Martha Stout lays it all out. If he ever were about to go to prison, he would probably flee and hide. If he ended up like Sadam Husseim living in underground bunkers in filth and imprisoned, where money can’t do you any good, it would be too good for him.
My guess used to be that David would not divorce her because then he would have to lay out his financials for the court.
But considering the way he had recklessly perjured himself in Texas with false reports and non compliance to the state, I must admit I was wrong.
Assault rifles… PI’s… security cameras… razor wire… bullet proof SUV’s… 24 hour surveillance -Maybe this is just what a committed Ecclesiastical Leader has to resort to these days to see that happiness and spiritual freedom is available to all under his care.
Right! I always get the spiritual warm and fuzzies from razor wire.
Miscavige is such a major crim. His days are definitely numbered. Too bad Shelly can’t/won’t just call 911, then divorce his ass. I’m sure he worth millions and she would easily get half.
I don’t think 911 is an option for her, Sheldon. Look at what happened when the LAPD “investigated” this situation. If she wanted to get out and they really did talk to her, that would have been the time for her to go. Either (a) she doesn’t want to leave or (b) they never really contacted and spoke to her in person and just later said they did. This report from Mike’s source is a bombshell and hopefully will spark a REAL investigation by REAL police officers or federal officials who won’t be pandered to or bribed by Scientology.
The good news is Lee Baca left office (or would have been removed) and he was on the payroll of DM, so maybe now his successor isns’t so dirty and we can file a new missing person’s report and see what the new guy does about it. Great scoop Mike. You are doing such good work to help so many people. We really need to free Shelly and Heber and all.
Several issues come to mind. Shelly may actually like her options in that she has a roof over her head, three squares (of varying possible quality) and an activity that keeps her busy that is acceptable to her. That would be the ‘bright side’ of the possibilities. I could see DM setting that up to keep her from wanting to leave and go public.
On the issue of the PIs, I think one has to follow the money or the potential for it. The company Robert works for could be pressured to keep him in line due to the potential loss of further work from the church. This would be in addition to any direct remuneration offered to him from the PI shush fund.
Re “Either (a) she doesn’t want to leave or (b) they never really contacted and spoke to her in person and just later said they did.”
Or (c) they spoke to someone who falsely identified herself as Shelly Miscavige.
But gosh, would the most ethical group on the planet do something like that?
Absolutely!
The people working at Gold (Int Base) don’t have access to phones. They can’t have cell phones. If they’re allowed to use “the outside phone”, a toadie from Security has to be sitting next to them so they can hang up the phone if they start crying for help. All phone calls are monitored and recorded electronically as well. At a satellite facility WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE IS SECRECY AND ISOLATION, access to phones would be even more restricted.
And “getting divorced” in the Sea Org is the bullied signing of legal papers that don’t result in any money or property settlements.
That’s right, Sheldon, it could be the divorce that’s the problem for DM, that is, if she’s still alive; for example, having to disclose his financial assets and holdings.
Very interesting Mike, and thanks for putting it out there. I would have to wonder how much he really knew though. I expect he was told very little from the church and just did his security detail and collected his pay check, but I could be wrong.
awesome Mike !!! DM belongs in prison and Robert Maclean you need to come forward and do the right thing!
Yet again — heart stopping news.
One has to wonder — HOW did the COS know that McClean was going to be interviewed by Vanity Fair?
I can only assume that McLean has been subjected to wire-tapping/surveillance since he left Miscavige’s employ AND/OR your friend is being subjected to the same.
Most likely the COS has employed Putin to watch everyone once employed or vocal about abuses closely … they share similar traits … like foot in the mouth disease …
“On Thursday, a top Russian official may have unintentionally revealed that security crews are watching hotel guests’ showering habits while he was commenting on a lack of water conservation.
“We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day,” said deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak, according to the Wall Street Journal.”
This is really a bombshell but, most of all, is outrageous. It is not fair, it is an injustice to keep Shelly, or any body else for that matter, deprived from her freedom.
DM you have gone too far, just too far and this has to change. Honest people will fight for this and you better let her go UNDAMAGED or your life will get even worse that it already is. Enough mister, your crimes will come to light, it is just a matter of time.
I hope you’re right, Silvia.
You are so right Silvia. He will reap exactly what he has sown. ‘“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this will he also reap.’ Tick tock 🙂
what everybody seems to forget is that she most likely doesn’t want to leave. why do you people assume that? she is a fully brainwashed scilon and in all likeliness she is ok to be there and be a good little scilon. people can walk out when they want to as many have done. guards or no guards. they can’t tackle you and imprison you. you do that to yourself.
Sets Guy, are you kidding? They have tackled and imprisoned people. They drove Marc Headley off the road and he only escaped because he had a police escort. Where is Shelly’s voice? Let her say she wants to stay. Whether Miscavige likes it or not, she is a public figure, and still his wife. Has he announced publicly she is no longer a leader of the church? No. That means any Scientologist has the right to know she is ok. Let him announce publicly what has happened to her. And, by the way, do you really think that a small woman could by pass dozens of guards and find her way back to a town without a car from that lonely place?
I don’t think Shelly Miscavige would turn down a chance to see her friends, and have the even the limited freedom she used to have. If she divorced Miscavige, she would be entitled to one-half of his property, including offshore bank accounts under California’s community property law if she retained a good divorce attorney. Imagine what Gloria Allred would do to Miscavige. Perhaps that is the reason Miscavige has her locked up, he does not want any divorce court to have access to his personal books. What a threat Shelly is to him! She knows where he has buried all of the bodies (both figurative and real), and she can haul his tiny butt into divorce court and open up his offshore bank accounts and real estate property holdings to the light of day.
Fantastic scoop Mike!! I wish that some law enforcement agency would seriously help Shelly and those in the hole escape. It makes me sick to know that so many are imprisoned in private prisons on the basis on niblet’s whims.
Wow! The plot thickens. The length that this midget will take to keep his wife hostage. She knows too much. i sincerely hopes that one day she snaps out of it, escapes and goes straight to the FBI. Here husband would be in cuffs before he can take another hit of imported scotch
How in the world would she escape from that situation? Good grief, I feel so sorry for that woman’s wasted, lonely life. I don’t see how she will ever be able to get out, even if she tried every moment of every day.
Just wishful thinking on my part.
Her life is much better now that she is removed from the midget believe me.
You are a good man, Mike Rinder.
Alanzo
second that!
third that!
fourth that!
Greta
fifth that!
Wow
Shelley is dead. LA police never lie, they could not be bribed? Please.