January 27, 2009

NEW YORK CITY – The recent attack on the Church of Scientology of New York by members of the cyber-terrorist group known as Anonymous is a hate crime and has been so charged by law enforcement. The Church takes the safety and security of its staff and parishioners very seriously and is fully cooperating with law enforcement in this matter.

The arrest on Tuesday of a second member of the group for these crimes is a sign that all New Yorkers will be protected in their right to practice their religion free of harassment.

Anonymous is the subject of two separate federal investigations being conducted by a joint task force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. Another member of Anonymous was recently indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for destruction of Church websites.

The following web video, compiled mostly from statements by Anonymous itself, makes their activities and intentions clear: http://www.anonymous-exposed.org/. Besides attacking the Church of Scientology, Anonymous has destroyed the websites of Hip Hop groups, assaulted epileptics via the Net, used homophobic and racial slurs widely, and launched campaigns of death threats against those who have dared to speak out against them.

Church of Scientology New York