Church of Scientology denied injunction against Anonymous

March 13, 2008

The Church of Scientology's second petition for an injunction against online protest group Anonymous was denied by Judge Douglas Baird of Pinellas County, Florida. The first petition, filed Tuesday, against Anonymous was denied yesterday by Judge Linda Allan. The injunction sought to prevent members of Anonymous from coming within 500 feet of Church of Scientology buildings. At time of publishing, the Church has not responded to a request for comment.

The ruling reads: This Petition has been filed against twenty-six individuals alleged to be associating as a group referred to as 'Anonymous'. The Petition contained no specific allegations of wrongdoing against the individuals named as Respondents, nor is it alleged that any of the said named Respondents are responsible for any threats, phone-calls, or specific wrongful acts sought to be enjoined. The Petition fails to allege that any of the Respondents have interfered with or have attempted to deprive the Petitioners of any cognizable right. Further, the Court finds that the Petitioner's certification of notice is insufficient to justify the issuance of an injunction without notice to the Respondents.

Member of Anonymous' response
The last protest was peaceful, do you expect the 15th to be the same?
 * Member of Anonymous: Absolutely. There's no reason to believe the success of the 10 February protest won't carry over to this weekend's.

Do you believe the threats the Church mentioned in the injunction filing came from members of Anonymous?
 * Anon: No. They have a history of fabricating these things, and I have no reason to believe this is any different a situation.

How have Anonymous defended themselves in court?
 * Anon: Well, there's been no need for any kind of defense. The restraining order has been rejected by every judge the church has brought it before and furthermore, there's no reason to believe any of the names on their court filing even consider themselves Anonymous. They appear to be completely made-up by the Church of Scientology.

Do you view this as an attempt by the Church to stop peaceful protest against them?
 * Anon: Absolutely. They've used the courts to stop free speech before, they're doing it again. Public protest draws attention to the Church's human rights abuses, so they'll do anything to stop them.