Anonymous Members Stage Protest Outside Church of Scientology

Sunday morning saw an unusual gathering in front of Phoenix, Arizona’s Church of Scientology. Members of a protest group that calls itself ‘Anonymous’ stood outside the church with placards and signs. The protesters, attired in black and wearing purple gloves and facemasks were there to protest against the church.

The protestors, numbering about 60, were there as it was the birthday of Lisa McPherson, a woman who died in 1995. Her death had caught the attention of the media and resulted in the filing of a civil wrongful death lawsuit against one branch of the Church of Scientology.

The members of Anonymous say the group is an Internet-based outfit and has no organization or leadership structure. A report in the Fox News 11 of Los Angeles in July said they caught the attention of the nation when they managed to hack into a number of Internet sites.

The group targeted the Church of Scientology this January, an assault that proliferated over the Internet and triggered off protests across the world. The Church of Scientology has chosen not to comment on the protests outside the church in Phoenix, instead issuing a press release stating that Anonymous was a cyber-terrorist group.

The statement issued by the Church of Scientology said, “Anonymous is perpetrating religious hate crimes against Churches of Scientology and individual Scientologists for no reason other than religious bigotry.”

None of the protestors were willing to reveal their identities, though all of them said their introduction to Anonymous was over the Internet, through websites that dealt with the death of Lisa McPherson and were anti-Scientology.

Protestors outside the Church of Scientology were standing around holding signs that read “Honk if you think Scientology kills”, and a cheer rose up from the protestors when a number of cars passing by honked at them.

The protest itself had remained peaceful. Members of the Church stood outside in silence, though they did not venture near the protestors. According to Phoenix Police detective Troy Bartlett, the protestors were allowed to stay for the duration they wanted and that the protest was a peaceful one without incident.