Title: Scientology Foe Seeks Protection--Tampa Tribune 11/25/99

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 16:50:31 +0100 (CET)

The Tampa Tribune  11/25/99



SCIENTOLOGY FOE SEEKS PROTECTION 



by DAVID SOMMER 



CLEARWATER - An outspoken foe of the Church of Scientology is

striking back after being hit with  an injunction barring him from going

near the church's property and members. 



At a hearing scheduled Monday in Pinellas Circuit Court, Judge Thomas

Penick is set to decide  whether a temporary injunction he imposed against

Robert Minton earlier this month should become  permanent. 



Minton contends in court papers filed Wednesday that he is the one who

needs the protection of  an injunction against Scientologists. 



Minton's attorney, Denis de Vlaming, said an Oct. 31 incident in which

his client was charged  with misdemeanor battery was the culmination of

numerous confrontations over the years. 



Whenever Minton stages a protest, Scientologists are close by, de Vlaming

said. So close, they  often block Minton's path and coat his face with

spittle as they shout insults, de Vlaming said. 



"If we had a zone of privacy that requires both sides, Minton and the Church

of Scientology, to  stay 5 feet away from each other ... that would be

wonderful," de Vlaming said. 



Like the Scientologists, Minton makes videotapes of his protests. On them,

Scientologists can be  heard howling in pain from supposed physical contact

and asking one another if the incident was  recorded on tape, de Vlaming

said. 



In incidents in Los Angeles, Boston and Clearwater, church members have

repeatedly tried to  spark an incident that would win them an injunction

against Minton, de Vlaming said. He said other  antichurch protesters have

been silenced in a similar manner. 



In Minton's case, the temporary injunction bars him from going within 150

yards of 17 church  properties, most of them in downtown Clearwater. The

injunction was obtained by church member  Richard Howd Jr., who Clearwater

police say was struck by Minton during the Oct. 31 protest outside  the

church's spiritual headquarters. 



Howd's attorney, Paul Johnson, said videotape clearly shows Minton "hauled

off and whacked" his  client without provocation. 



"All we want him to do is quit inflicting violence or trying to instigate

violence," Johnson said.  "If he wants to speak out against the church, he's

free to do so." 



De Vlaming said a 5-foot buffer would be sufficient to protect both church

members and Minton  while preserving his client's right to protest outside

church facilities. 



"It would be a benefit to the church if what they really want is protection

against Mr. Minton.  But that's not what they want. They want to prevent Mr.

Minton from protesting," de Vlaming said.  



In article <199911301137.MAA06841@sofuku.monster.org, Anonymous says...

http://www.tampatrib.com/news/tues1003.htm

Scientology feud 'concerns' judge By DAVID SOMMER of The Tampa Tribune-------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ST. PETERSBURG - A judge gets a look at the bitterness of the fight

between Scientology and its critics. After hours spent Monday viewing 

obscenity-laced videotapes of Scientologists and antichurch 

protesters confronting one another on publicstreets, 

a judge held off ruling on a permanent injunction against a

prominent church critic. ``I'm concerned that both sides seem 

to have a fetish with getting withintwo feet of one another,'' 

Judge Thomas Penick said. ``I saw in video after video that you 

couldn't get a piece of paper between these people ... 

the whole situation concerns me, quite frankly,''the judge said in 

Pinellas Circuit Court. At a nine-hour hearing, Penick was asked to 

make permanent an injunctionhe imposed earlier this month against 

New Hampshire millionaire investment banker Robert S. Minton. 



Penick said he will announce his decision Thursday. In the meantime, he

will study case law, particularly a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling

involving protesters outside an abortion clinic in Melbourne. 



The videotaped confrontations between Scientologists, Minton and other

antichurch protesters show the situation to be both incendiary and

ongoing, the judge said. ``I see propensities here. This could just 

be the tip of the iceberg,''the judge said. The request for protection 

from Minton stems from an Oct. 31 incident outside Fort Harrison Hotel 

in downtown Clearwater. There, Scientologists from around the world 

come for spiritual counseling that critics claim is simply a front 

for making money. Minton was charged with misdemeanor battery after 

a police officer said hesaw him use a foam and cardboard placard to 

strike a church member who had been videotaping a two-person protest 

at close range. Acting on behalf of member Richard W. Howd Jr., church 

lawyers quickly obtained a temporary injunction barring Minton 

from going near Howd or another Scientologist. 

The order also prevents Minton from going within 150 yards of 17 church 

properties, most in downtown Clearwater. Minton's lawyers contend the 

incident was the latest attempt by churchmembers to provoke their 

critics into fighting so that injunctions can be obtained to keep them 

from protesting. In a series of videotapes, church members could be 

seen getting withininches of Minton and other placard-carrying protesters. 

In some, church members screamed insults, and in others they complained 

of being bumped or stepped on and were asking that colleagues call police. 



Minton and other protesters can be heard responding with vulgar sexual taunts. 

On the witness stand Monday, Minton said that in every instance he

and his fellow protesters were echoing taunts made off-camera by church

members. Howd, Minton said, fell dramatically to the street after being 

bumped withthe placard. 

Police Officer Mark Beaudette, who arrested Minton, testified he would not

have been knocked down by such a blow. 



David Sommer can be reached at dsommer@tampatrib.com or (727) 799-7413. >