Part 96: Anti-Scientology Protests in Hollywood – The LAPD Undercover Approaches at La Poubelle

Published May 11, 2024. Updated May 14, 2024.

Photo of an anti-Scientology protester on Fountain Avenue at the Church of Scientology Blue Building complex wearing a mask for anonymity by author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

The threat of Scientology legal action unraveled quickly, as with many things in the swirl of social media, once publicized the reality of the matter set in, and the truth came out. The supposed “greeter” named “Mark” from the Church of Scientology in fact was nothing more than an apparent internet troll who would soon have a meltdown on the phone while repeatedly calling me as other protesters recorded. Soon the Scientologists would at the apparent direction of this individual would try to intimidate me! Sending DoorDash deliveries of single cheeseburgers in homage to the nickname given to the alleged hired stalker for Scientology-associated restaurateur Francoise Koster. Calls and texts flooded my new iPhone 15 Pro, “No one cares about your cell phone” the man snarled with frustration at me on speaker.

I told him he just didn’t like my style, and didn’t accept any more of the phone calls. The threat of retaliation from Scientology seemingly diminished, the week dragged on, and I kept going to the La Poubelle Bistro & Bar to see what would happen next. It wasn’t long before it came late in the early morning hours, a man approached the group of protestors, passing 4 others without speaking before turning to me and saying, “you’re going to die bro.” His hat intentionally tilted as he came on camera, with nondescript clothing, the man walked up the street without stopping as the few protestors and myself decided not to chase. Video didn’t reveal a clear facial image of the man, who seemed to have been sent there to directly threaten me for having filmed Koster the weekend prior. The man had seemed so calmly delivering the threat, that my reaction almost seemed muted even as the man appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest.

I had become overexposed. Not only did the people I had been targeting for investigation now have me on their list for retaliation, with Koster’s wealth being unknown, but like the two LAPD detectives and county prosecutor, Reinhold Muller, assigned to investigate and prosecute Scientologist actor Danny Masterson, who now is serving a 30 year prison sentence. I had poked a beast. The many dozens if not hundreds of calls made to authorities to intimidate protesters had continued without any accountability or explanation. According to a source, this is now the subject of an LAPD investigation with an associated Federal task force including the FBI on standby. The vast majority of the 400 plus calls believed to be related to the protest have apparently originated from Canada, with LAPD identifying 16 instances of swatting by them for further investigation, 13 from Canada and several that were triangulated to locations associated with the protest including La Poubelle and Scientology’s “Blue Building.”

What was the connection to Canada other than being out of the jurisdiction of the United States? Is it Scientology, the protestors, or viewers making the calls? Such is the matter of intense public debate with conflicting explanations given by both those protesting, critics and the Church of Scientology. In February, spokeswoman Karin Pouw told Los Angeles Times journalist Noah Goldberg, “Pouw said the protesters have called in bomb and fire threats, ‘costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money, denying important public services for real needs in our community, disturbing the peace and disturbing places of worship.’” Supposedly, according to the same source, the LAPD investigation has been escalated to allegedly include members of LAPD’s Gang and Narcotics Division with the protesters popularly known as the “Squirrel Squad” allegedly being listed in the database as an anti-Scientology hate group. Previously, LAPD has attempted to arrest at least one protester along similar lines that a “hate crime” had been committed against a parishioner. This charge was soon dropped without explanation.

LAPD Media Relations responded to a request for comment by saying: “There will be no comment.” An FBI spokeswoman acknowledged the request, noting that “we don't confirm or deny investigations until and unless charges get filed.” LAPD previously alleged on February 16, that altercations at La Poubelle were the product of “multiple suspects whose actions were planned, organized, and coordinated” including possessing pepper spray for “purposeful use against others upon confronting and baiting them into physical altercations.” At the time from what I had seen, I didn’t believe that night this was true, and protestors stubbornly maintain that the protest is completely non-organized in its occurrence, the product of social media momentum as described by Rolling Stone journalist EJ Dickson over Scientology street recruiter “Sebastian” who went viral. This perhaps might be the most personality driven protest ever!  

Well-known activist William Gude and social media influencer Jessica Palmadessa are perhaps the closest thing to identified leaders the “movement” has and they’ve previously denied the Church of Scientology’s allegations that the protest was behind a January 8 bomb threat, writing “Gude and Palmadessa strongly deny this; [and] the LAPD did not immediately reply to multiple requests for comment.)” The role of the LAPD in both responding to incidents and investigating the protest has been highly controversial. Recently, two officers responding to an assault call against me told me that they always chose to respond to the side of the restaurant rather than the front because of aggression from the protestors. Correspondingly, protestors have accused LAPD of making false arrests to stifle them and not protecting them when assaulted by apparent Scientologists, suspected agents of Scientology and bar patrons at La Poubelle.

What’s the truth? Allegedly the man who had threatened me was a member of the Gangs and Narcotics Division. The delivery had been so calm and pointedly delivered I thought it was another Scientologist hire. To date, despite publicizing video, audio and image of the incident the man has yet to be identified. And just what is going on at La Poubelle? Both William Gude and activist streamer Scott Hochstetter, known as the Defender of Ants. He had been previously served with notice to appear at hearings for a temporary restraining orders by Koster. According to Gude’s X account, as recently as April 27 the negotiations over this matter were ongoing after having prevailed in an initial hearing. The current status of this is unknown. Palmadessa has stopped protesting at La Poubelle citing concerns over lack of efficacy against Scientology and prior altercations.

Koster’s wealth is unknown, but the restaurant first opened in 1969 was inherited from her parents. She told Los Angeles Magazine journalist Daniela Galarza in 2023 that she had “learned to ride my bike out front as a kid.” Koster’s total wealth is unknown but is believed to be substantial, and her attorney Leah Saffian did not respond to a request for comment about the current status of the temporary restraining orders. The last time I saw Gude at the restaurant, he indicated that he was unable to remain long for fear of Koster and Scientology’s associates engaging in an attack on him. The culpability of Koster, much less the LAPD in supporting and facilitating suppression attempts of the protest are unknown. Neighbors and businesses adjacent to La Poubelle have similarly attempted to keep protesters from entering and attempted to discourage their presence when engaged on numerous occasions.

They view the protest as a threat to their customer base and businesses. People haven’t stopped going to La Poubelle even as on certain nights foot traffic appears to be down. Koster is reportedly offsetting this loss by holding additional private events inside the establishment, which includes an offset private event space. The many regulars to the establishment from what I observed had little shame at being informed of the Masterson case’s relationship to Koster even as others would turn around. It’s unknown just how much La Poubelle is still bringing in nightly. The establishment is known for attracting celebrities, and Koster herself briefly dabbled in cinema. Reportedly Koster now primarily arrives at opening, having primarily delegated operation of the establishment to manager Trevor Zank. When the protest arrived, Zank pleaded with me to go protest “Big Pharma” instead and lately has taken to giving a nasty response to the protesters as well as myself for filming him.

Most people don’t like to be suddenly filmed, even in Hollywood. Critics allege that the protestors are engaged in baiting and harassing patrons for content, including the LAPD in its press release announcing arrests. LAPD has allegedly used search warrants to obtain video, audio and financial records related to protesters from the establishments in the area. Whether LAPD will attempt to make cases against any of the protestors for orchestrating the boycott of La Poubelle remains to be seen, much less any actions in relation to the Church of Scientology. The broad protections of the First Amendment to free speech and assembly doubtless will provide a powerful shield, with Gude and Hochstetter’s attorney having reportedly filed Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) in rebuttal to Koster’s restraining order.

One other individual has taken legal action against William Gude seeking a restraining order against him after allegedly having his public information posted. Protestors have alleged that these actions, as well as others including still pending criminal charges against one protestor in relation to a January incident with an individual believed to be aligned with the Church of Scientology. Protestors have a constant debate over whether individuals they encounter, including a man believed to be a possible suspect in the February attack on YouTuber Confident Chris are a response to the protest itself. Whether Scientology has resorted to entrapment, much less violence remains unknown. LAPD when called in regards to the suspect indicated that he was incarcerated during the attack, but protestors now allege that he’s in fact associated with Scientology. The dynamic of the livestreams, now primarily on YouTube, but also TikTok as well, provide a constant stream of dramatic content keeping viewers up late.

Recently, two protestors including Hochstetter were arrested for disturbing religious services by using a bullhorn to protest by LAPD. The arrests have undoubtedly been a boon to the protestors as far as celebrity and fundraising even as they’ve had to endure terrible conditions in Men’s Central Jail and being shuttled to station jails far away from Hollywood. Whether LAPD has a deliberate strategy to crush the protests is unknown, even as it’s classified the protestors as a group against their desires stating that they “are known for violent ‘protesting and carrying pepper spray and knives, willing to engage in fights, screaming in people’s faces to attempt to get a point across” and according the briefing swatting themselves in Los Angeles as well as in other municipalities in California. Swatting has also occurred in other cities. Some have maintained that internet trolls are responsible, particularly from the IP2 streaming website in relation to a particular activist who at one point made an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility.

Overall the nightly Tuesday – Friday protest at La Poubelle Bistro & Bar is not what it used to be in numbers, with a dwindling number attending with its leaders sidelined or withdrawn. The ability of a social media movement to sustain itself long-term, even for the mightiest of causes, opposing an alleged cult relies on more than just entertaining content, but also messaging. Fans of the movement are quite devout, and fill the YouTube and TikTok chats with internet culture and most especially trolling as part of the group. I could tell my end was coming near. The culture of online bullying is alive and well, with many nasty messages surrounding the incident despite repeated requests to cease and desist. The gang cop approaching though was the final nail in the coffin, I just had to know what was really going on with the protestors.

Flipping the script, I was furiously condemned only to immediately pick-up a new source with valuable information. Accordingly, the LAPD file on my activity at the protest as a journalist concludes that this Substack is in fact “slanderous” toward both LAPD and the Church of Scientology in its coverage. While I’ll be the first to admit that getting comment back from LAPD has proved next to impossible despite repeated requests, I’m not sure my publication alone could sufficiently slander the Church, which has many critics. Without knowing when or if the curtains would come down on such a controversial “movement” as it has been described. Palmadessa told Rolling Stone in her January interview, “We’re not doing anything illegal.” Whether LAPD will take any action against the protesters, or any of its personalities remains to be seen, but I have seen enough up close.

My time was up. The late nights on the Hollywood streets have slowly started to fade. If the protest at La Poubelle was spelled by a certain darkness from the imminent threat of violence from drunk patrons much less a crew believed to be working for Francois Koster seemingly with the tacit support of the LAPD. Reportedly, Koster and employees recently met with the LAPD as part of its update process of files used in its standard information system for restaurants and bars in Los Angeles. Koster is believed to have ties with both the LAPD and FBI in Los Angeles that could prove powerful should the authorities ever gain sufficient evidence to pursue prosecution of any of the involved individuals. Simply put, I have no desire to be prosecuted for having covered much less allegedly joined a protest turned into a “hate group” in the eyes of the LAPD as that would compromise my independence.

Walking a dangerous line in journalism, much less the sort of undercover journalism of spelling a protest for months on the edge of being radical is both dangerous and exhausting. A number of my fellow protesters were undisturbed by my encounter with the alleged LAPD undercover, much less my desire to stop essentially shuttling protestors into a known situation. A rather clever and brilliant endeavor, the revenues earned overall on social media platforms by the content creators, slash independent journalists who participate in the streaming party-like protest environment is unknown. The protest in Hollywood is increasingly an occupation on L. Ron Hubbard Way, whether LAPD will allow such a movement of the vehicle encampment from Fountain Avenue remains to be seen. With all the eyes on college campus protests against a war, the well-fed occupation seemed almost like it had been an afterthought in Los Angeles.

Soon a reminder of the fearsome nature of Los Angeles and the forces aligned against the protesters would come with two attacks in one day. First a masked man and a dog following a protester on L. Ron Hubbard Way before later that same day four men circled and then attacked the freshly laid out tables of hotdogs on the red brick road. Those bricks reportedly placed by children totaling 150,000 bricks. The Defender of Ants was shaken by this attack and following it announced one week off. Soon other protesters reassembled vowing to maintain the occupation. Had the LAPD sent the men? They’re response seemed deliberately slow, only following the arrival of paramedics to check the shaken man. At least one of the assailants was a past participant in the Church of Scientology’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. It’s unknown how much money has gone to funding for Scientology to operate such programming, much less how far and deep it goes down the rabbit hole.

Link: Scientology tried to ‘derail’ star’s rape trial by harassing prosecutor, suit says; church calls claim ‘false’

Link: ‘There’s a war going on’: L.A. anti-Scientology protests bring arrests, attack allegations

Link: Three Arrested at Scene of Protest NR24067ti

Link: How TikTok Accidentally Created a Scientology Heartthrob

Link: FilmThePoliceLA X Post on Koster TRO

Link: What's in a Name? Talking Trash in Hollywood

Link: Scientology children built the red brick road, "L. Ron Hubbard way" in Los Angeles for Scientology.

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Zachary Ellison is an Independent Journalist and Whistleblower in the Los Angeles area. Zach was most recently employed by the University of Southern California, Office of the Provost from October 2015 to August 2022 as an Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant supporting the Vice Provost for Academic Operations and the Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost among others. Zach holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. While a student at USC, he worked for the USC Good Neighbors Campaign including on their newsletter distributed university-wide. Zach completed his B.A. in History at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon and was a writer, editor, and photographer for the Pasadena High School Chronicle. He was Barack Obama’s one-millionth online campaign contributor in 2008. Zach is a former AmeriCorps intern for Hawaii State Parks and worked for the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation. He is a trained civil process server, and enjoys weekends in the great outdoors.