1977: The FBI simultaneously raids Scientology organizations in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, hauling away busloads of evidence of criminal activity. It is said to be the largest FBI raid in history at that time.
1979: L Ron Hubbard’s wife Mary Sue and 10 other top Scientology officials are indicted, tried and convicted of conspiracy charges, and sent to federal prison. L Ron Hubbard goes on the lam from the law, traveling with a dedicated group of loyal sea org members, hiding out in disguises, never staying in one place for too long.
1980: The “All Clear Unit” is formed as a sea org group headed by David Miscavige, which had the purpose to remove Hubbard’s criminal liability as the founder of Scientology.
1986: Hubbard dies in Creston, CA, while living out of a Bluebird mobile home on his own land, as his huge ranch is being built for him. David Miscavige has taken over Hubbard’s role and is running the Church of Scientology.
1993: Less than 7 years after his death, Miscavige announces that Hubbard’s Church of Scientology, and all of its front groups, are granted tax exempt status by the IRS in a secret deal that no other religious organization has ever been given, and which remains secret to this day – despite many court cases challenging it.
Isn’t that curious?
The story everyone is told repeatedly – especially by people like Mike Rinder and Tony Ortega – is that Scientology “blackmailed” the IRS to get its tax exemption.
But can you really blackmail an IRS Commissioner who has lunch with the head of the FBI, who raided and prosecuted top Scientology officials, and sent them to prison less than 15 years earlier?
Think about it.