Part 89: What Makes A Suppressive Person? The Church of Scientology and the Practice of Social Victimization

Published March 22, 2024.

Mar 22, 2024

Photo of the moon over “Blue Building” complex occupied by the Church of Scientology in Hollywood, California by author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

It’s a fact! The protests in Hollywood, which have now stretched for months, are a heretical act, both towards the Church of Scientology, and the broader social structure that takes offense to the very idea of recording in public. At the start of the now viral protests, and in the first major news outlet article on the story, Rolling Stone journalist EJ Dickson wrote about Scientology Street recruiter “Sebastian” that viewers “are building a “‘parasocial relationship’” with him — a term used to describe intense emotional investment in social media influencers.” Sebastian hasn’t been seen regularly as before earlier in the protests, nor has Scientology’s street recruiting operation returned to Hollywood Boulevard. Sebastian probably won’t be saved, but the idea of mockery, or heresy even from within the Church is a constant fear within the organization.

To say that the Church of Scientology is under siege might be an overstatement, but as I watched Church members scatter back across L. Ron Hubbard Lane next to the controversial sect's “Blue Building” location between Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue, one thing became clear: the Church is afraid. I’m not sure I even fully captured this moment on camera, as I’ve strived to capture so much else the last few months on Hollywood Boulevard, but it was telling. Often controversial because of their aggressiveness, and the fact that almost all interactions are live streamed and recorded for future viewership across TikTok and YouTube primarily, creates a significant fear factor for members of the alleged cult. More than the average person, the idea of having their beliefs challenged openly scares the Church of Scientology, so much so that they have responded with fear tactics, designed to show demonstrators that not only will the authorities not protect them, but that tangible harm can happen for being resistant.

As defined by the Church of Scientology, a Suppressive Person (SP) is someone who “seeks to suppress other people in their vicinity” and more bizarrely, “will goof up or vilify any effort to help anybody and particularly knife with violence anything calculated to make human beings more powerful or more intelligent.” To give examples, according to the Church, notable SP’s include “Napoleon, Hitler, the unrepentant killer and the drug lord.” Paging Charles Manson and Pablo Escobar? None of these individuals ever belonged to the Church, which was founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1953, nonetheless, Scientology says that “To be declared a Suppressive Person is extremely rare and results in expulsion from the Scientology religion.” Nor does Scientology even mean specifically only those who are members, they note that “As anyone can think of many examples of a Suppressive Person, this concept is not limited to Scientology.” In short, what Scientology does is a form of social victimization (SV), targeted behavior to harm one’s social status and relationships.

I don’t think that anyone agrees that there are bad people, but Scientology goes far beyond this in literally seeking to destroy its opponents, which right now include those former members who have left after expulsion, as well as the so-called “Squirrels” who have taken up protest against the group in perhaps the biggest pushback against the group ever. On a nightly basis, Hollywood has been turned into a battleground, a “war” as William Gude described according to a Los Angeles Times report by Noah Goldberg late last month. What happened on Tuesday night though into early Wednesday morning was a new escalation, we’ve seen violence at locations in Hollywood as well as elsewhere such as Denver and Chicago as the organizations response to the challenge. Scientology says in regards to its response to Suppressive Persons, that “Similar practices have been part of religious communities for thousands of years and have been recognized by courts of law as a fundamental right.”

Church critics claim that the protestors are the source of the conflicts, but what I saw on Tuesday night was something new. A man named “Henri” last week attempted to follow and threaten one juvenile protester in Hollywood after instigating an incident last week with the “Defender of Ants” as he’s known per his handle, only to return on Tuesday night. Henri could first be seen following a male protester in his Silver Prius near Hollywood and Vine, before returning to the La Poubelle Bistro & Bar opposite Scientology’s Celebrity Center. There I watched as protestors attempted to speak with him, and one even gave him a hug in an attempt to defuse the situation. It didn’t work, as they left he was waiting at the Gelson’s Market next door, so we escorted each other to our vehicles and departed.

We had missed something though, unbeknownst to us, another female protestor had arrived and sat in the Gelson’s parking lot watching the two exchanges. Returning to his Silver Prius, “Henri” began to immediately follow her in his vehicle, setting off a high-speed chase from Hollywood to the San Fernando Valley on the 101 Freeway. Exiting onto Woodman Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, they did circles, not quite donuts, in the middle of the broad roadway. This was all watched by viewers on YouTube who attempted to call 911 for the woman as she fled, streaming herself the entire chase, and capturing him doing the circles. Eventually, she was able to flag down passerby as he watched and called 911 who then directed her to the Van Nuys Police Station. It was only by the strokes of good luck, that no one was hurt.

Leaving Hollywood, after watching this unfold for a minute like everyone else, I zoomed up the empty freeway and arrived as she sat in front of the closed station, with a single LAPD officer with his SUV on standby whom she had managed to flag down. She was shaken from the pursuit, and soon other officers arrived. Eventually, I was directed to stop filming, and compiled so that a report could be taken. The officers all emphasized that “stalking was among the hardest crimes to prove.” Attempting to explain the situation must have come off like something right out of a movie, none has been made of the Danny Masterson rape case yet, but I hope that someday it will if only to highlight the dangerous, scary and quite illegal tactics that the Church of Scientology employs. La Poubelle owner Françoise Koster had driven by earlier that evening while we spoke with “Henri” and in her grey Tesla SUV we saw her head swivel before we noticed her and she took off speeding up Bronson Avenue over the speed humps and off into the Hollywood Hills.

Koster, whom had supported well-known actor Masterson through his trial, including harassing his victims both inside and outside of the Courthouse, despite him having drugged Jane Doe 3 in her blue-signed establishment before sexually assaulting her at his mansion compound up Bronson Ave at the base of Hollyridge Drive, clearly fears losing her business. I’m not sure though simply being protested makes you a victim, nor does it justify engaging in other criminal acts, much less hiring people to do them on your behalf. Last night, patrons at a celebration of life for a well-known Scientologist actress, who had passed away during surgery, attempted to tell me the history of the establishment, while also harassing me for having stood there with the protestors even after identifying as a journalist.

I don’t wear a press pass, I find it makes me less effective at dealing with people, and more of a target. If Koster is a target for protest, that’s lawful, and even as she failed to secure restraining orders this week in Superior Court against “Defender of Ants” and activist William Gude, better known by his handles “Scientology Audit (Streets LA)” and “Film The Police LA.” The filings made by Koster were pretty rich, and I see no need to quote at length from them here as I haven’t reviewed full copies, but as Gude exclaimed to me at his favorite spot along the Gelson’s parking lot wall, “what a gift.” Gude is confident he’ll secure compensation for his lawyer’s fees, and continues to effectively defund Koster until she’s forced to give-up La Poubelle, noting that she’s believed to be establishing an additional LLC in order to secure more financing due to the loss of business from the protest.

Last night, I’m sure the press pass wouldn’t have made much of a difference, the only other journalist on scene these days appeared shaken as I arrived, having been harassed by the same patrons of the establishment. A veteran reporter of protests, his pass was displayed, and it had made no difference. Soon the drunken man accompanied by female companions and other following male were growing more agitated. They passed protestors fake $100 bills as a form of diminution, sneered drunkenly, and when I attempted to break off contact, the lead male followed me menacingly down the sidewalk. Eventually we left, and went to the “Blue Building” with me hopping into an SUV to escape with protestors from the scene as the drunken patrons joked that it was a “sad sight.” Mostly, I feel sad for them, so threatened by the very idea of Suppressive Persons, “Squirrels” as L. Ron Hubbard and his followers term them that they literally made fools of themselves in their odd attire.

It's one thing to be a Suppressive Person, but is it another to be a victim? To have fallen into the trap of either being within an institution that dozens if not hundreds with direct experience have declared to be abusive, dangerous and even conspiratorial. Reportedly, things aren’t going well for Leah Remini’s lawsuit, but according to journalist Tony Ortega that isn’t the case, and in fact “malice” has been found in the harassment of the well-known actress. “Leah Remini still has a major lawsuit that will seek to show that Scientology uses its ‘Fair Game’ policy to destroy former Scientologists who dare to speak out,” Ortega writes in describing the case's progression. Sitting in front of LAPD’s Van Nuys Station, the words “Leah Remini” came off of the victims tongue and eventually, LAPD took a report over the pursuit. The victim would go a day later to the Hollywood Police Station in an attempt to make a further report for a Restraining Order, as directed, only to encounter the usual resistance from officers at that station, who clearly are not happy with the protestors.

What Makes A Suppressive Person? I’m not sure yet still, despite having my own journey, but seeing that unfold it can’t help but make you wonder, should we all just become Suppressive Persons? What happens when society encounters such an “extreme” organization, as I sat last night talking about this with ex-Scientologist Lara Anderson, better known for her music as “Lara FM” she perked up at the word as I characterized the embattled religion. The Church of Scientology has repeatedly denied all allegations, and through its spokeswoman Karin Pouw has made clear that it’s not interested in any discussion about how it treats defectors, much less protestors. Earlier this week, I spoke with esteemed journalist David Cay Johnston, and he was unsurprised at the aggressive response from the Church of Scientology towards these protests. Long ago, he had covered LAPD, and needless to say, it’s not breaking news that the Church of Scientology acts this way, and that should be concerning to all of us, whether Suppressive or not.

In a country that values freedom and democracy, the Church of Scientology can seem incompatible. I’m told that Germany has even banned the group, much like they’ve tried to ban Hitler, and even the Nazi salute. I asked Anderson if Scientology was essentially a corporatized religion, she didn’t disagree, and as her dog played on the patches of grass around the “Blue Building” we sat there on the pavement late into the night, and eventually her dog toppled me over onto L. Ron Hubbard Way with a jump. Suddenly, I was unbalanced, and un-Suppressed, toppling and catching myself, self-stick and iPhone 8 with cord draping to a battery pack in hand. I wasn’t the victim of anything though, and it was all in good fun, and we can only hope that the Church, which keeps her parents away from her one day, relents. The next morning the “Defender of Ants” was back out on the street with no parking, yelling, protesting in the hope that one day a daughter will see her father again.

“Scientology is a cult,” the side of his van reads, like a controversial assertion. Much like last week when I released 911 recordings from three occasions made to the Los Angeles Fire Department, it’s pretty obvious. It’s now been determined that 2 of the recordings are from Scientology’s “Info Center” on Hollywood and McFadden, and 1 is from the Blue Building complex. Despite numerous other calls being logged, LAFD has yet to provide additional recordings, and now we’ve got the voice up on YouTube and TikTok, it’s only a matter of time. “The fire is literally on a gas line right now, like right underneath it,” the unknown caller says in one of the recordings. Some have speculated that it’s one of the organization’s security guards, and that his accent is Canadian, or northern border adjacent. One thing is for sure it’s someone! The LAFD Public Information Office, the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office of Karen Bass, Council President Paul Krekorian, and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez all did not return requests for comment on the recordings, obtained using the California Public Records Act.

California Penal Code § 148.3 PC – Making a False Report of an Emergency is a misdemeanor crime, and is punishable by up to 1 year in county jail. California Penal Code §646.9(A) – Stalking is a wobbler offense, and can be prosecuted as both a misdemeanor and a felony crime, with punishments ranging from a year in county jail up to 10 years in state prison with aggravating factors such as Criminal Threats and is a “Three Strikes” penalty eligible offense. Victims of crimes are often afraid to report, and sadly a report is needed to secure restitution. Recently, I was privileged to watch a webinar from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Victims Services Bureau, those resources are shared below in the hope that they will be of assistance to victims, whether of the Church of Scientology, or more broadly. There is help, and you can file for up to 7 years, and assistance is also available with making claims with the Victims Compensation Board after a determination is made that you’ve been a victim of a crime.