Gerry Armstrong
A former Scientologist, Gerry Armstrong was L. Ron Hubbard's official biographer. As he saw more and mroe discrepancies between the official story of Hubbard's life and the truth revealed in Hubbard's diaries and personal papers, he began to question the need for perpetuating the myths. Eventually, he feared for his safety, and held on to many of the personal papers to preserve his own life. Despite a gag order, he remains an outspoken critic of Scientology.
More about Gerry Armstrong
December 27, 1979: Guardian Order 3031, "The Controller Committee," stresses compliance with the law. Scientology representative Lynn Farny later cites this document as evidence that Fair Game is not practiced by Scientology. However, Robert Vaughn Young testifies that Fair Game DID continue, and says he knows this because he participated in discussions about how to Fair Game Gerry Armstrong.
November 25, 1981: Gerry Armstrong, working on an official biography of Hubbard for Scientology, writes to a fellow high-ranking Scientologist, Cirrus Slevin, expressing concerns about the discrepancies between the official LRH biographies and what he's learning from reading LRH's diaries and other sources: " ... nothing published about LRH, of whom nothing is known, is a fact ... Continuing the claim that [Hubbard] has never erred and never lied is counter-productive. It is an unrealistic position, and too far removed from reality and people for it to be publicly accepted. "
December 18, 1983: Declaration of Gerry Armstrong
October 21, 1996: Scientology OSA staffer Cathy Norman writes a letter to Craig Branch of the Watchman Fellowship containing defamatory information about Gerry Armstrong.
August 23, 1998: Gerry Armstrong creates a declaration regarding an incident in March 1998, when he was stopped by the police on a complaint from an unidentified woman that she had "chased" him.
Gerry Armstrong in the News
|
Date |
Title |
Blurb |
Tags |
|
January 16, 1988 |
The Messianic Con Man |
Gerry Armstrong had been a dedicated member of the Church of Scientology for more than a decade, swept away by its heady promise of superhuman powers and immortality. He had been twice sentenced to long periods in the Rehabilitation Project Force, the Scientologists' Orwellian prison; he had been constantly humiliated and his marriage had been destroyed; yet he remained convinced that L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was the greatest man who ever lived. That is, until 1980 when Armstrong discovered 21 boxes of Hubbard memorabilia inside a secret base set up by Scientologists in the Californian desert. |
Gerry Armstrong, L. Ron Hubbard, Press |
|
December 17, 1986 |
Ex-Scientologist Settles on Fee for Documents |
A former archivist for the Church of Scientology has agreed to return thousands of pages of confidential church documents in exchange for an undisclosed payment as part of a settlement of his lawsuit against the church, attorneys confirmed Tuesday. The documents, which a Superior Court judge said portray church founder L. Ron Hubbard as "virtually a pathological liar," have been under court seal for nearly four years pending the outcome of Gerald Armstrong's fraud and misrepresentation lawsuit. Armstrong was a 12-year Scientologist who said he left the church disillusioned, taking with him more than 10,000 pages of the late L. Ron Hubbard's papers that purportedly proved that the church founder had misrepresented his military heroism and scientific achievements. |
Gerry Armstrong, L. Ron Hubbard, lawsuits, Michael Flynn |
|
December 17, 1986 |
Scientologists Achieve 'Peace' by Settling Suits |
Ending years of bitter litigation, the Church of Scientology has reached a series of out-of-court settlements in a move church attorneys said Tuesday will mean a lasting "peace" between the church and many of its harshest foes. Among the settlements approved last week was a highly publicized fraud case in Oregon brought by former church member Julie Christofferson-Titchbourne, who had twice won multimillion-dollar judgments against the church that were later overturned. |
Gerry Armstrong, lawsuits, Michael Flynn |
|
October 17, 1985 |
Former Scientology Aide Wins Ruling On Church Records |
The state Supreme Court yesterday allowed a former Church of Scientology official to obtain church records in a suit against the group. The action lifts the court's order of September 10 blocking release of the records of "audits," or examinations, of church members, to Gerald Armstrong, who resigned in 1981 as archivist of the church's Los Angeles branch. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Breckenridge has said the church declared Armstrong a "suppressive person," and employees spied on him, assaulted him and hit him with a car. |
assault, Gerry Armstrong, harassment, Press |
|
April 17, 1985 |
Court Hears Final Scientology Tape |
Jurors in the Church of Scientology fraud trial Tuesday listened to the last of five hours of surreptitiously-taped conversations in which a former Scientologist talked about a plan to "transform" church leadership by filing suit to take managerial control. In the final two recorded meetings, Armstrong said he "wouldn't touch" an idea posed by his questioner about writing false materials on the letterhead of a private investigator, whom Armstrong believed was pursuing him on behalf of the church. As it turned out, the private investigator was the one making the tapes. |
Gerry Armstrong, harassment, Press |
|
April 5, 1985 |
Judge Rules Out Videotapes Aimed At Discrediting Witness |
An attempt to discredit a witness testifying against the Church of Scientology in a fraud trial hit a snag Thursday when a Portland judge called surreptitiously made videotapes an "amateurish performance" and refused to let them be shown to the jury. "I think they are devastating, devastating against the church," Multnomah Circuit Judge Donald H. Londer said out of the presence of the jury after viewing 108 minutes of tape recorded in a Los Angeles park last November. |
crimes, defamation, Gerry Armstrong, lawsuits, Press |
|
April 20, 1984 |
Scientology Founder's Papers Ruled OK For Trial |
A judge Thursday denied a motion to bar voluminous personal papers of reclusive Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard from being introduced as evidence at the Los angeles trial of a suit against the sect's former archivist. Judge Breckenridge said he will rule on the admissibility of the papers, which number in the thousands and are contained in 21 boxes, on a document-by-document basis. |
Gerry Armstrong, L. Ron Hubbard, lawsuits, Michael Flynn, Press |
Gerry Armstrong in the News
|
Date |
Title |
Blurb |
Tags |
|
November 27, 1984 |
Court of Appeals Unseals Hubbard Papers |
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that L. Ron Hubbard's personal papers, entered as evidence in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against Gerry Armstrong, can be opened for public inspection starting December 20. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
July 20, 1984 |
Hubbard Papers Sealed |
The personal papers of L. Ron Hubbard are placed under protective seal by the California Supreme Court, pending its decision on whether it will hear the church's appeal of a Superior Court judge's decision to release the materials. The exhibits were evidence in Los Angeles Superior Court case C420153, Church of Scientology of California v. Armstrong. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
June 25, 1984 |
California Court of Appeals Keeps Hubbard Papers Sealed |
California Court of Appeals issues a temporary stay order keeping L. Ron Hubbard's personal papers under seal pending final determination by a higher court. The papers were entered into evidence in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against Gerald Armstrong. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
June 21, 1984 |
California Superior Court Judge Breckenridge Absolves Gerald Armstrong |
California Superior Court Judge John Breckenridge absolves Gerald Armstrong of any liability in taking thousands of personal documents belonging to Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and his wife. The Church had sought unspecificed monetary damages and the return of all documents which had been impounded by the court for two years. The judge says that about 500 of the documents, previously under seal, would become public records open to public inspection or use in other lawsuits. Documents not used in the trial would remain under seal with the court until Armstrong's $15 million countersuit against the Church for alleged fraud and misrepresentation is heard. Armstrong said he took the documents, which he had been using for a biography on Hubbard, in order to protect himself against the Church. Church attorney John Peterson says the decision would be appealed. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
May 3, 1984 |
Trial of Former Church of Scientology Archivist Gerald Armstrong Begins In Los Angeles |
Trial of former Church of Scientology archivist Gerald Armstrong begins in Los Angeles. Armstrong is represented by Boston attorney Michael Flynn. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
December 18, 1983 |
Gerry Armstrong Declaration |
Declaration of Gerry Armstrong |
Declaration, Gerry Armstrong |
|
April 26, 1983 |
Court Keeps Hubbard Documents |
Superior Court Judge Leon Savitch rules that 21 boxes of documents in Gerry Armstrong case will not be returned to the Church of Scientology but will remain in court custody pending the outcome of the trial. |
Gerry Armstrong |
|
September 24, 1982 |
Judge Places L. Ron Hubbard's Documents under Court Control |
California Superior Court Judge John Cole issues order that 21 boxes of L. Ron Hubbard's personal documents held by Gerry Armstrong will be placed under the control of the county clerk. |
California, court rulings, Gerry Armstrong, L. Ron Hubbard |
|
November 25, 1981 |
Gerry Armstrong letter about LRH biography |
Gerry Armstrong, working on an official biography of Hubbard for Scientology, writes to a fellow high-ranking Scientologist, Cirrus Slevin, expressing concerns about the discrepancies between the official LRH biographies and what he's learning from reading LRH's diaries and other sources: " ... nothing published about LRH, of whom nothing is known, is a fact ... Continuing the claim that [Hubbard] has never erred and never lied is counter-productive. It is an unrealistic position, and too far removed from reality and people for it to be publicly accepted. " |
Gerry Armstrong, Letter |
|
December 27, 1979 |
Guardian Order 3031, The Controller Committee |
Guardian Order 3031, "The Controller Committee," stresses compliance with the law. Scientology representative Lynn Farny later cites this document as evidence that Fair Game is not practiced by Scientology. However, Robert Vaughn Young testifies that Fair Game DID continue, and says he knows this because he participated in discussions about how to Fair Game Gerry Armstrong. |
Gerry Armstrong, Guardian Office |
|