Posted on 05/10/2007 10:41:03 AM PDT by TChris
On Friday, Arizona police arrested a 64-year-old man — a fugitive since 2001 in a bizarre war that mixes free speech, copyright law, and the Church of Scientology.
Keith Henson’s journey began seven years ago while innocuously watching another critic mock the group on an internet newsgroup. In a gonzo discussion about procuring a "Tom Cruise missile," they’d joked about working with "Secret Agent 99, wearing a stunning black leather biker outfit." Other posters joined in the internet discussion, asking whether Tom Cruise missiles are affected by wind. "No way," Keith joked. "Modern weapons are accurate to a matter of a few tens of yards."
The police were informed of his "threatening" posts, and Henson was arrested.
The police tipsters were the Scientologists themselves, who had already been the targets of an annoying picketing campaign by Henson over the death of a woman near their complex. Besides Henson’s inability to acquire long-range missiles, his wife notes bitterly that it would be impossible for any church members in the complex to feel threatened by the internet posts, since they aren’t even allowed to access the internet. Scientology officials have also claimed Henson followed their employees home — though Henson counters that "the same people who claimed to have been 'terrorized' by the picketers offered to take them to lunch on June 25, 2000, evidently to distract them from the death scene being cleaned up."
Though Henson was found innocent of long-range missile terrorism, for his activities he was convicted of interfering with a church — a California hate crime for which he received a six-month misdemeanor prison sentence. But Henson said he feared his life would be in danger from Scientologists if he were imprisoned - and he fled to Canada in 2001.
He was already bankrupt from an earlier ruling that he’d infringed on Scientology copyrights. But Henson continued picketing Scientologists in Toronto, and they apparently retaliated by informing Canadian police of his presence. (Henson believes the Scientologists told police he was a terrorist and bomb maker.) L.A. Weekly reported two unmarked vans pulled up and "a handful of emergency-services task-force officers — Canada’s version of a police SWAT team — spilled out, wearing body armor and carrying submachine guns." Describing the event, the EFF reported Henson was "arrested in a shopping mall parking lot, by a heavily armed paramilitary unit."
EFF Executive Director Shari Steele argued that Free speech was at stake in his case: "This trial seems intended to punish Mr. Henson for his opposition to a powerful organization using the barest thread of legal justification to do so."
His wife added in an interview with a Canadian newsweekly that "It’s horrifying to me and to his friends how they’ve managed to twist his words."
Henson was ultimately released from a Canadian jail after filing an application for political asylum — reportedly the first ever accepted for review by the Canadian government, and for the next three years he lived as an expatriate in Canada, awaiting their decision.
When asked to describe life in Canada, he replied "colder." As the years rolled by, Henson explained his picketing strategy evolved out of a desire to have a real impact. In a 2005 interview he argued that heavy-handed legal tactics intimidated police from acting against the organization, and "Starving Scientology of new members is perhaps the best we can do."
But when Canadian officials reached a decision in 2005, Henson was suddenly filled with concern. The hearing could result in his deportation back to the prison where he feared for his life. He reportedly said, "I’m not going to be shoved across the border into the hands of Scientologists," Henson slipped out of Canada, returning to fugitive status, and joked that he was hiding in the Mortmain Mountains — the treacherous range in Lemony Snicket books.
For 17 months he lived on the lam. Yesterday, in the small town of Prescott, Arizona — the law finally caught up with him. Henson had been driving his wife’s car, and when stopped by police, was soon informed of the outstanding warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody, and faces extradition back to the California prison he’s feared for the last six years. Saturday morning Henson’s wife, identifying herself as a "soon to be widow," issued a plea asking the public for legal help, publicity — "anything but the usual Scientology private eyes who have harassed her for years."
Henson has a long history of activity within tech culture. He was one of the founders and leaders of the L5 Space Colony movement in the 1970s. (California’s new Attorney General, Jerry Brown, was also in the L5 orbit when he was Governor of that state.) He was a close associate of K. Eric Drexler while Drexler was conceiving nanotechnology. He has also been active in the digital encryption movement, and has been associated with the Transhumanist movement — particularly Extropy Institute.
Former Extropy Institute members and other well wishers have already created a legal defense fund. There is also now a "Free Keith Henson" blog where people can keep track of new developments. Henson has many friends and late Friday night one supporter even called the jail, according to a Usenet post, and spoke to a prison staffer.
"I asked if he’d tell Keith that Tory sent her love. And I asked him to please watch after Keith."
If his information about Scientology were inaccurate, then Scientology wouldn't be so eager to shut him up. They could simply prove him wrong - if he were wrong.
Scientologists, through their treatment of Henson, have demonstrated that Henson's characterizations of the cult are true and not mere stereotypes.
It would be best if you look up his fan website and address that issue yourself.
True story. Someone I know, who operated in the gray areas, was deciding on opening up his own business. He was choosing between a private day school, an employment agency, and a store-front church. He ended up choosing the employment agency and did very well.
I often wonder if a science fiction writer, on a bet, decided to start a religion, and made money on it....wait, wait, that’s already been done!
I didn't know that summer vacation started so early.
???
“As a Scientologist, I find your source unreliable.”
How much have they soaked YOU for thus far...???
~~~~~~~~
On a lighter note,
Did you hear the one about Xenu and the lizard skinned aliens.....???
~~~~~~~~~
GET HELP.
If he made no actual threat, then I hope a jury clears him.
Are all nutbag scientologists as talented as yourself?
Hand knitted tinfoil hats are all the rage.
Have you ever riden on John Travolta’s private 707?
Actually, it sounds like he was anything but ignorant about $cientology - I’d say the politicians who gave the “Church” of Scientology status as an official tax-exempty religious organization, and the members of the legal profession who are doing their bidding, are the ones that are ignorant about the true nature of ol’ L. Ron’s creation.
He was naive to think he could attack these pricks without them using every quasi-legal means available to them to screw him over, though.
I find everything that comes out Scientologist’s mouths to be unreliable. What the heck are you even doing here?
“Hmmph... A nutbag scientologist pasting pages of linebreaks...”
....NEGATORY...!!!
That was a exact quote of everything LEGITIMATE about Scientology...
"If"??? He was talking about "Tom Cruise Missiles". Is there any possible way that was a real threat?
Let's be honest here. This is pure, undiluted strong-arm intimidation of a person the church of Scientology finds annoying.
As far as I can see, he has done absolutely nothing that warrants an arrest. He should sue the police department and each individual officer involved in the arrest, forcing them to disclose the information they used to decide to arrest him. From there, either the police should be prosecuted for false arrest, or the person who lied about him should be sued for slander.
In America, you can't just go around having people arrested and thrown in prison because they make you angry.
Last time I checked, picketing a church was a First Amendment activity. So is being 'ignorant' and 'stereotyping'. If they were not, most of the Democratic Party would be behind bars. Why should Scientology enjoy special legal rights to silence its critics? And why is it getting special cooperation from Gov. Schwarzenegger and our own Gov. Nappy?
Don’t do that.
What's your Thetan level?
Do you really believe that space aliens were flown to earth on space ships that looked like 707s and that their souls take over human bodies?
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