[imgright]http://www.religiousfreedomwatch.org/images/extremists/arnie-lerma-lrg.jpg[/imgright]As the world moves into the 21st Century there is a strong need to promote tolerance, human rights, non-discrimination and religious freedom as expressed in the universal declaration of human rights.
As a matter of religious conviction, members of the Church of Scientology fully support human rights. Unfortunately there are still those in any society who fear others improving themselves or possibly becoming more powerful and are therefore diametrically opposed to any betterment activity and can’t countenance a tolerant approach to human relations. Instead, under various guises, they put out a steady stream of hate filled lies, half truths and propaganda slanted toward the ultimate destruction of some targeted race or religious group, often in the name of “patriot” or some other high sounding cause. While leading pitiful lives themselves, they are yet dangerous because of the hatred that they create in a society through a steady stream of defamatory hate propaganda and lies.
Intolerant authoritarians create hate against targeted minorities and have spread prejudice throughout man’s history. Today this is frequently done through the Internet as an instantaneous way to reach like-minded extremists and gullible, not-too-bright individuals inclined to be taken in by fanaticism and prejudice. It does not take a brave individual to hide behind a computer with an Internet connection and spew vitriol without ever having to face a real human being and worry about the consequences of making derogatory slurs to his face. The subject of this publication is one such self-anointed “patriot” named Arnaldo “Arnie” Lerma, whose specialty is hiding in his house in Arlington, Virginia and posting derogatory messages and putting up web pages with fanatic slurs against Scientology and Scientologists and sending out unsolicited postcards containing defamatory anti Scientology rants in hopes he will create enough prejudice to destroy Scientologists’ right to freely practice their religion in peace. On the surface and in his postings and web pages on the Internet, Lerma holds himself out to be a bad-ass freedom fighter. In truth he lives in such fear of Scientologists that his life is dominated by a belief that he must destroy Scientology and its members before they get him. No Scientologist has ever said or intimated that they are out to destroy Lerma. It is a figment of the delusion he lives in which has caused him to become such a physical and mental wreck that he infrequently goes out of his house, can’t trust any new person (for fear that they are a Scientologist) and routinely and falsely accuses anyone who is critical of him of working for the Church. He sees a Scientologist behind every bush.
Connections
Like any fanatic anti religious extremist, Lerma associates with other similarly minded individuals who tend to confirm his own distorted, paranoid view of the world. For “public relations” purposes Lerma has denied his long-term close association with Neo-Nazi Willis Carto. However, there is much evidence to the contrary that conclusively lays bare Lerma’s longtime support of Mr. Carto and his anti-Semitic and anti- Scientology prejudice. Lerma was a member of the Board of Policy of Carto’s anti-Semitic and anti- Scientology mouthpiece The Spotlight and he spoke at the The Spotlight – Liberty Lobby National Convention. Lerma also assisted with articles in The Spotlight until its closing in 2001.
Lerma supports and defends the Neo-Nazi movement of Willis Carto. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have both condemned this group. Nazi hunter Yaron Svoary, quoted in the Hartford Courant on November 7, 1994, said about Carto:
“The most notorious Nazi in the world is not German but Willis Carto.”
Lerma tries to keep quiet his connection to Carto and his racist organization, as demonstrated by this extract from an email Lerma sent to an associate:
“I was asked to speak at the 40th anniversary convention of Liberty Lobby… I suggest that we don’t promote my relationship with Willis Carto … We have the full support of Willis Carto, and the ‘patriot’ movement in the United States.”
Many people will remember Willis Carto for issuing the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) $50,000 reward if anyone could offer proof that the Jews had been gassed at Auschwitz. Lerma published this unique public relations spin in defense of Carto and his bizarre theories:
“Carto’s Institute for Historical Review had just held its first international revisionist conference, at which it posted a $50,000 reward for proof that Jews had been gassed at Auschwitz. This offer was made in light of the fact that standards of proof for murder at the Nuremberg military tribunals do not meet non-wartime standards. The IHR basically wanted proof that would pass review in a peacetime criminal court of law. Although those who challenged the IHR won legal successes, the IHR won the moral victory. For this its founder, Willis Carto, was and continues to be vilified by fanatics.”
Bemoaning the demise of The Spotlight, the nation’s leading anti-Semitic newspaper, Lerma reported:
“Thus, the IHR came to be publicly referred to as ‘the spine of the international Holocaust denial movement.’ Of course, a steadfast deprivation of trust on multiple fronts can predictably result in loss of status, money, privileges and liberties previously enjoyed. Although Carto’s integrity as a journalist kept him basically intact, he and the many people who benefited from his speciality (sic) news over the years lost a source of inspiration.”
Whereas Lerma has tried to deny that he is completely in league with Carto, investigation has revealed that Mr. Carto gave numerous boxes of files and documents – his personal anti-Semitic and anti-Scientology hate propaganda files – to Lerma, some of which he made available on the Internet purporting it to be “truth” in order to defame Scientology and Scientologists. Further information regarding Lerma’s associate Willis Carto, can be obtained in abundance from the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. For information about Lerma and Carto’s Neo- Nazi, racist, and anti-Semitic and anti-Scientology hate propaganda see www.ReligiousFreedomWatch.org
Lerma’s Stint Posing as a Scientologist
Mr. Lerma embellishes his stint as an on again off again Scientologist and his short-lived career as a staff member of the Church in order to make himself appear to be more important and knowledgeable. This is a pattern that he developed early on of using the good name and reputation of Scientology to try and gain some personal advantage for himself. However, the facts are much different than Lerma’s own portrayal of his time as a Scientologist and staff member of the Church. For example:
A Scientologist is expected to act ethically and within the laws of the land, yet after he supposedly became a member, Lerma was found to be engaging in behavior unbeknownst to fellow Church members which lead to his be being arrested for possession of narcotics. He was also involved in stealing cars. Despite being given a chance and signing a statement that he would not continue to engage in taking drugs, Lerma simply lied and was caught several more times for continuing to smoke marijuana.
Although Lerma claims to have held positions of responsibility in his staff positions within the Church, he carefully leaves out how he went AWOL from his staff position on multiple occasions and went back to taking such drugs as LSD, marijuana, bella donna, hash, opium, thorazine and Freoa and selling small amounts. His actions were so contrary to the ethical standards of the Church that he was excommunicated, but Lerma again managed to worm his way back into the Church by conning those in charge with assurances of his good intentions. Lerma was eventually accepted back and given the chance to rehabilitate himself , which he of course didn’t do and once again departed.
Hate Speech
Although Lerma portrays himself as a champion of free speech frequently making reference to, “I’d prefer to die speaking my mind that live fearing to speak,” in his hate filled fanatical writings on the internet, when it comes to other’s right to free speech, Lerma has zero tolerance for the opinions of others if they differ from his own. Despite his assertions, as soon as anyone speaks favorably toward Scientology, or mentions how it has helped them or others, Lerma immediately verbally attacks them. He harasses and tries to intimidate them with unsolicited hate mail. He also runs an underground anti Scientology hate channel on the internet where a cell of his extremists gather to plan deluded acts of mindless destruction against the Church of Scientology and its parishioners. They pat each other on the back for their fruitless attempts to destroy the good that Scientology is doing while they pretend to each other that they are stopping what has become a rapidly expanding global religion. Because Lerma cannot create anything and can only destroy – particularly those who are doing their best to help others – Lerma cannot tolerate anyone who espouses tolerance. Thus if you are on the chat group that he controls and you say anything favorable about Scientology or do not express hate toward Scientology to Lerma’s satisfaction, he will immediate kick you off and ban you from the chat channel so as to destroy your freedom of speech. Too cowardly to debate in full public view, Lerma uses authoritarian means to destroy freedom of speech of others and while trying to destroy freedom of religion for Scientologists.
In furtherance of a black campaign to create hate and intolerance toward Scientologists, Lerma has organized and participated in hate demonstrations – some of which have been known to become violent. Although he professes his innocence, some of the hate demonstrations that Lerma has organized attracted various Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists and Anarchists.
One of these Lerma associates who showed up for one such hate demonstration was William White, founder and spokesperson for the Utopian Anarchist Party, the leading US anarchist organization that seeks to destroy governments and create havoc for law enforcement agencies in order to prevent then from doing their jobs.
Conspiring to join forces, Lerma and White worked together to orchestrate anti-Scientology hate demonstrations. Of note is that White has a criminal record which includes arrests for battery and the carrying of a concealed weapon. White has, like Lerma, also contributed articles to Willis Carto’s anti-Semitic and anti- Scientology publications. In January 2002, White formalized his relationship with Willis Carto by entering into Carto’s paid employment. This announcement was made on White’s webpage with the following statement:
“I met Willis Carto today. Nice guy, a little wacky, but mostly pretty intelligent and pleasant. Definitely has a Hitler thing, but I can overlook that…
“…We reached a deal where I will begin writing 750- word pieces for his latest publication…
“There may be some who wonder if my acceptance of this deal represents a great ideological change, but it doesn’t. I will be choosing my own topics for writing, and the bottom line is that he offered me pretty good money to write ’em…”
White’s alignment with Lerma and their association with Carto’s Neo-Nazi agenda sheds further light on the true intention behind Lerma’s extremist intolerant propaganda to destroy a religion like Scientology, which helps millions of people on a daily basis. It is evidently based on a deep seated fear that Scientologists may find out and expose what they are really up to.
Lerma is not being incorrectly maligned. There is no excuse for aligning with someone, like White, who in March 2005, after the murder of the husband and mother of a Federal Judge who had ordered a white supremacist group to stop using the name World Church of the Creator, wrote on his website, “I don’t feel bad that Judge Lefkow’s family was murdered. In fact, when I heard the story I laughed.” This is exactly what White did. These callous comments were reported in the Roanoke Times: White Supremacist Comments on Case.
Lerma’s Final Solution for Scientology
In his hate writings against the Church of Scientology, Lerma encourages other anti-Scientology fanatics with these words
“…we must continue our work until done and then sow the ground with salt.”
This is a reference to the manner in which the Roman Legions massacred the Carthaginians, demolished their city and harbor, and then sowed the ground with salt so that nothing would grow on their lands again. Left unopposed to his own devices and given enough wherewithal this is the future that Lerma plans for any Scientologist simply on the basis of their religious beliefs.
As defenders of human liberty and the rights upon which this country was founded, we feel that the best disinfectant is the subject of exposure and thus have created Religious Freedom Watch. We hope that anyone who may feel swayed by some of the hate literature published by Mr. Lerma will look beyond the anti Scientology clichés and created misunderstanding about Scientology and its beliefs and practices and not get caught up in forwarding intolerance and prejudice.
Religious Freedom Watch investigates and exposes individuals who breed racism and anti-religious intolerance through hate speech. Should you observe anything illegal or peculiar from the extremists featured in this publication report them to your local authority.