296:, which concentrated 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.
1007:
260:, 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.
1193:
658:
had been shot by her husband
Arnaldo "Arnie" Lerma. Sugarman was transported by Scriven County EMS. Law enforcement with the Sylvania Police Department, Scriven County Sheriff's Office, and Georgia State Patrol went to 314 Holly Road to investigate the incident further. Officers located Lerma, 67, inside the residence. Lerma had expired from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
1021:
657:
Sylvania police officers responded to 308 Holly Road after a 911 emergency call was made of a woman with a gunshot wound. When the officers arrived, officers found Ginger
Sugarman, 58, of Sylvania with a gunshot wound to the face. Officers reported that Sugarman was able to relay to them that she
312:
Sugerman survived but went through six surgeries and depression. On March 28, 2019, in an attempt to reunite with her adult children who were still in the Church of
Scientology but forbidden contact with her, she attempted to 'deliver a blow to the enemies of Scientology' by deleting Lermanet
278:
policy, a written directive by L. Ron
Hubbard that encourages harassment of anyone who speaks out against the church. In conclusion, the court awarded to RTC damages in the statutory minimum of $ 2,500 ($ 500 for each of five instances of non-willful copyright violation) for posting online a
279:
substantial portion of a copyrighted work "without comment, criticism, or other significant changes that could constitute fair use". The court also ordered the return to Lerma of his computer and all items seized in the ex parte search which was supposed to be narrowly limited.
304:
Arnie Lerma had been suffering with severe back pain for decades, despite two surgeries, and had become addicted to opioids and was increasingly paranoid. On March 16, 2018, Arnie Lerma shot his wife Ginger
Sugerman twice in the face, and after she fled their home in
198:", including posting public records from court cases involving the Church of Scientology. He scanned and posted documents he obtained, many of which were sent to him, including court documents known as the Fishman Affidavit or Fishman Declaration from the case
33:
1319:
283:"Because the RTC violated the spirit if not the letter of the law, and misled the court as to which materials were maintained and reviewed, the court vacated the writ of seizure and ordered RTC to return all seized materials."
174:
In 1976 he met
Hubbard's daughter Suzette. Lerma became romantically involved and they planned to elope. Their relationship was discovered and Lerma was threatened with physical harm if he did not cancel the marriage plans.
446:
682:
200:
313:(lermanet.com) in the hopes that the Church would allow her to reconnect with her children. The deletion failed to achieve her goal of reuniting her family. Ginger Sugarman died in 2022.
1107:
404:
1419:
265:
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
242:
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.
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1100:
573:
470:
1079:
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222:, alleging he was in possession of copyrighted documents. A lawsuit was filed against Lerma and his Internet service provider by the church's
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1404:
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Lerma said he didn't want to destroy
Scientology, but he wanted a change of management. In the early internet, Arnie Lerma posted in the
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who appeared in television, media and radio interviews. Lerma was the first person to post the court document known as the
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160:. Lerma joined staff at FCDC and later in New York and was a course supervisor. Around 1970, he joined Scientology's
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Alexandria: US District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia-Alexandria Division, November 28, 1995
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In late 2019, the website reappeared as lermanet.org and his blog reappeared as arnielerma.blog.
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and served for seven years, being paid $ 10 per week and sometimes surviving on peanut butter.
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When the RTC first approached the Court with its ex parte request for the seizure warrant and
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Washington D.C. (FCDC). He had been impressed by the Church's exaggerated account of
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at the age of 16 at the urging of his mother who was the executive director of the
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675:"Noted Scientology critic Arnie Lerma shoots and injures wife, then kills himself"
545:"Church in Cyberspace: Its Sacred Writ Is on the Net. Its Lawyers Are on the Case"
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Noted Scientology critic Arnie Lerma shoots and injures wife, then kills himself
741:
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214:
After Lerma posted the Fishman Affidavit in August 1995, his home was raided by
141:
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Autry, Enoch (March 22, 2018). "Local man dead, wife shot during altercation".
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US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (November 29, 1995).
523:
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Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, Inc.
1049:
1227:
837:
566:"Religious Technology Center v. Lerma, 908 F. Supp. 1353 (E.D. Va. 1995)"
346:
97:
248:, et al., were released from the suit when United States District Judge
32:
1152:
471:"Scientology Fiction: The Church's War Against Its Critics – and Truth"
161:
728:"How Scientology can make a tragedy worse, and then even worse again"
332:
168:
113:
1182:
1065:
Brinkema, Leonie M. Civil Action No. 95-1107-A: Memorandum Opinion
978:
746:"Ginger Sugerman: Her way out of Scientology was marred by trauma"
447:
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
957:
930:
109:
96:(November 18, 1950 – March 16, 2018) was an American writer and
1089:
1044:
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acknowledges what Scientology practices to this day: the
201:
Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz
167:
During his time in Scientology, Lerma reach the level of
764:"Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet"
292:
In the late 1990s, Arnie Lerma started a website called
1034:
1082:
by Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 18, 2018
1051:
Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet
341:
Scientology Gag Agreements - A Conspiracy for Silence
1302:
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1200:
1123:
83:
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42:
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975:"Scientologists admit to altering New Year photos"
862:
334:Copyrights and Why Scientology Hates Arnaldo Lerma
1076:by Wendy Grossman, Wired Magazine, December, 1995
625:"The Reliable Source: Scientology's Funny Photos"
1148:Church of Scientology editing on Knowledge (XXG)
623:Grove, Lloyd; Berselli, Beth (January 4, 2000).
869:. New York: New York University Press. p.
602:"Balancing the Digital Scales of Copyright Law"
281:
254:
100:, a former Scientologist, and a critic of the
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436:
434:
432:
8:
1420:Suicides by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state)
327:The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90s
252:ruled in a memorandum on November 28, 1995
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405:"Scientology Story Sparks Heated Response"
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20:
704:Cordeiro, Monivette (December 27, 2018).
398:
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595:
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524:"The Scientology Raid on Arnaldo Lerma"
361:
178:Lerma quit Scientology soon afterward.
16:American Scientology critic (1950–2018)
951:Macavinta, Courtney (March 30, 1999).
938:from the original on September 5, 2007
518:
516:
379:from the original on December 21, 2021
210:Scientology sues Lerma over copyrights
985:from the original on October 18, 2007
911:from the original on October 14, 2007
832:Prendergast, Alan (August 14, 1997).
819:from the original on October 28, 2007
7:
953:"Scientologists settle legal battle"
844:from the original on October 9, 2007
770:from the original on October 2, 2007
469:Leiby, Richard (December 25, 1994).
464:
462:
460:
1313:Religious Technology Center v Lerma
926:"Scientology loses copyright round"
783:Wendy M. Grossman (December 1995).
685:from the original on March 26, 2018
309:, he committed suicide by gunshot.
924:Borland, John (November 9, 1998).
576:from the original on July 16, 2017
441:Lerma, Arnie (September 6, 1995).
14:
1354:Scientology beliefs and practices
973:Knight, Will (January 10, 2000).
895:Morgan, Lucy (January 28, 1998).
443:"Declaration of Arnaldo P. Lerma"
369:Lerma, Arnaldo (March 15, 2008).
1208:Digital Millennium Copyright Act
1191:
1054:CNN, Washington, August 26, 1995
1019:
1005:
857:Grossman, Wendy (October 1997).
706:"In Memoriam, 2018: Arnie Lerma"
543:Fisher, Marc (August 19, 1995).
112:story, to the Internet via the
1400:American former Scientologists
146:Founding Church of Scientology
1:
807:Kennedy, Dan (May 15, 1996).
490:Ryan, Nick (March 23, 2000).
403:Yonke, David (July 2, 2005).
1425:Former Scientology officials
1410:Scientology and the Internet
1405:People from Washington, D.C.
1117:Scientology and the Internet
258:temporary restraining order
224:Religious Technology Center
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375:(Speech). Washington, DC.
218:, led by lawyers from the
1359:Scientology controversies
1329:
1189:
30:
1133:alt.religion.scientology
1060:dated September 6, 1995.
1058:Affidavit by Arnie Lerma
766:. CNN. August 26, 1995.
192:alt.religion.scientology
118:alt.religion.scientology
94:Arnaldo Pagliarini Lerma
1415:American whistleblowers
492:"The gospel of the web"
196:alt.clearing.technology
1390:Critics of Scientology
859:"Copyright Terrorists"
809:"Getting Clear at BU?"
285:
268:
228:copyright infringement
158:scientific credentials
1334:Church of Scientology
1039:archived lermanet.com
785:"alt.scientology.war"
553:– via Lermanet.
220:Church of Scientology
102:Church of Scientology
1294:Lawrence Wollersheim
905:St. Petersburg Times
348:The art of deception
1395:Scientology and law
1259:Andreas Heldal-Lund
1073:alt.scientology.war
789:Wired Magazine 3.12
630:The Washington Post
550:The Washington Post
476:The Washington Post
246:The Washington Post
239:The Washington Post
188:internet newsgroups
182:Internet activities
136:Time in Scientology
1284:David S. Touretzky
1158:Operation Clambake
744:(March 20, 2022).
673:(March 18, 2018).
653:Sylvania Telephone
529:David S. Touretzky
451:David S. Touretsky
272:memorandum opinion
234:misappropriation.
128:Lerma was born in
1367:
1366:
1213:Fishman Affidavit
1173:Project Chanology
834:"Hush-Hush Money"
307:Sylvania, Georgia
140:Lerma started in
106:Fishman Affidavit
91:
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76:Sylvania, Georgia
53:November 18, 1950
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1143:Chilling Effects
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726:(May 23, 2021).
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413:. Archived from
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372:How I Got Fooled
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300:Death and legacy
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226:(RTC), claiming
216:federal marshals
130:Washington, D.C.
108:, including the
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37:Lerma in 2008
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1279:Karin Spaink
1268:
1264:Keith Henson
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1035:lermanet.org
987:. Retrieved
962:. Retrieved
956:
940:. Retrieved
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913:. Retrieved
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884:. Retrieved
864:
846:. Retrieved
821:. Retrieved
813:Media Circus
812:
796:. Retrieved
788:
772:. Retrieved
742:Ortega, Tony
736:
724:Ortega, Tony
718:
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687:. Retrieved
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671:Ortega, Tony
665:
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634:. Retrieved
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578:. Retrieved
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503:. Retrieved
500:The Guardian
495:
485:
474:
449:– via
419:. Retrieved
415:the original
410:Toledo Blade
408:
381:. Retrieved
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232:trade secret
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92:
70:(2018-03-16)
18:
1385:2018 deaths
1380:1950 births
1349:Scientology
1269:Arnie Lerma
1244:Mark Bunker
1178:ScienTOMogy
989:October 19,
915:October 19,
848:October 19,
823:October 19,
774:October 19,
505:October 12,
276:"fair game"
142:Scientology
132:, in 1950.
25:Arnie Lerma
1374:Categories
1304:Litigation
1289:Grady Ward
897:"Hardball"
636:August 10,
496:Technology
356:References
116:newsgroup
84:Occupation
49:1950-11-18
1339:Dianetics
1218:Scamizdat
1138:Anonymous
964:August 3,
942:August 3,
886:August 3,
798:August 3,
689:March 26,
580:March 21,
270:The 1995
124:Biography
1228:Sporgery
1126:websites
983:Archived
936:Archived
909:Archived
865:Net.Wars
842:Archived
838:Westword
817:Archived
768:Archived
683:Archived
574:Archived
377:Archived
320:Writings
294:Lermanet
288:Lermanet
263:—
98:activist
1153:FACTNet
421:May 18,
383:May 18,
194:" and "
162:Sea Org
1237:People
877:
351:, 1996
169:OT III
114:Usenet
78:, U.S.
59:, U.S.
1183:YTMND
979:ZDNet
793:Wired
991:2007
966:2007
958:CNET
944:2007
931:CNET
917:2007
888:2007
875:ISBN
850:2007
825:2007
800:2007
776:2007
691:2018
638:2007
582:2018
507:2007
423:2008
385:2008
230:and
156:and
110:Xenu
65:Died
43:Born
152:'s
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