Arnie Lerma

Arnie Lerma
Lerma in 2008
Born	Arnaldo Pagliarini Lerma (1950-11-18)November 18, 1950 Washington, DC, United States
Died	Sylvania, Georgia, United States
Cause of death	Suicide by gunshot
Residence	Alexandria, Virginia
Occupation	A/V technician

Arnaldo Pagliarini "Arnie" Lerma (November 18, 1950 – March 16, 2018) was an American writer and activist, a former Scientologist, and a critic of Scientology who appeared in television, media and radio interviews. Lerma was the first person to post the court document known as the Fishman Affidavit, including the Xenu story, to the Internet via the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology.

Biography

Lerma was born in Washington, D.C. in 1950.

Time in Scientology

Lerma started in Scientology at the age of 16 at the urging of his mother, an executive director for the Washington, DC church. He was impressed by L. Ron Hubbard's exaggerated account of his military career and scientific credentials.

Lerma joined Scientology's Sea Org and was assigned in 1976 to a post working alongside Hubbard's daughter Suzette. He later claimed that they became romantically involved and planned to elope, though others have disputed this. Lerma alleged that other Sea Org officers discovered their plans and threatened to mutilate him if he did not cancel the marriage. Lerma quit Scientology soon afterward.

RTC v. Lerma

After Lerma posted the Fishman Affidavit in August 1995, his home was raided by federal marshals and lawyers from the Church of Scientology, alleging he was in possession of copyrighted documents. A lawsuit was filed against Lerma and his Internet service provider by the church's Religious Technology Center (RTC), claiming copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation.

The Washington Post and two investigative reporters were added to the lawsuit, as an article written about the raid contained three brief quotes from Scientology "Advanced Technology" documents.

The Washington Post, et al., were released from the suit when United States District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in a memorandum on November 28, 1995

When the RTC first approached the Court with its ex parte request for the seizure warrant and temporary restraining order, the dispute was presented as a straightforward one under copyright and trade secret law. However, the Court is now convinced that the primary motivation of RTC in suing Lerma, DGS and The Post is to stifle criticism of Scientology in general and to harass its critics. As the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric of its briefs and oral argument now demonstrates, the RTC appears far more concerned about criticism of Scientology than vindication of its secrets.

— Memorandum opinion of November 28, 1995, by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema; Religious Technology Center v. Arnaldo Lerma, Washington Post, Mark Fisher, and Richard Leiby

The memorandum opinion acknowledges what Scientology practices to this day: the "Fair Game" policy, a written directive by L. Ron Hubbard that encourages harassment of anyone who speaks out against the church. In conclusion, the court awarded RTC the statutory minimum of $2,500 for five instances of non-willful copyright violation.

Lermanet

Lerma started a website called Lermanet, which concentrates on news about Scientology and on documenting lawsuits by Scientology. He was also noted for discovering an altered picture on a Scientology website on New Year's Eve in 1999, one that appeared to inflate the number of members attending a millennial event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California. He posted the pictures to his website identifying the alterations, with the most prominent feature being the "man with no head". The story appeared on national television and in the press.

Death and aftermath

Lerma claimed to have been traumatized by Scientology abuses during and after his time in the sect. A believer in increasingly elaborate conspiracy theories, he allegedly suffered from paranoia. Lerma committed suicide by gunshot at his home in Sylvania, Georgia, on March 16, 2018, after shooting his wife, Ginger Sugerman, in the face. Sugerman survived the attack with disfiguring wounds. His former wife Ginger reportedly returned to Scientology in 2019 in an effort to regain contact with family members in the sect, who would otherwise be prevented from communicating with her because of the Scientology practice of disconnection. She turned over control of his website to the sect (which promptly took it down on March 28, 2019), but the information had already been backed up to several independent sites.

Writings

• The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90s
• Copyrights and Why Scientology Hates Arnaldo Lerma
• Scientology Gag Agreements - A Conspiracy for Silence
• The art of deception, 1996

External links

• Lermanet.com: Exposing the con (Arnie Lerma's Website) Media, Documentation and Pictures of 1995 Raid
• Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet CNN, Washington, August 26, 1995
• Affidavit by Arnie Lerma dated September 6, 1995.
• Brinkema, Leonie M. Civil Action No. 95-1107-A: Memorandum Opinion Alexandria: US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia-Alexandria Division, November 28, 1995
• alt.scientology.war by Wendy Grossman, Wired Magazine, December, 1995
• Noted Scientology critic Arnie Lerma shoots and injures wife, then kills himself by Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 18, 2018