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Meet Bob Minton Not a Role Model

Bob Minton is an American multi-millionaire who for a time was involved in the anti-Scientology movement. He financed critics but also involved himself in direct action against the CoS, where his temper tantrum was more an hindrance than a help. Eventually he turned against critics and testified in favor of Scientology. His broil with critics who opposed him on the one hand, and, more importantly, his broil with critics he previously financed, on the other, certainly played as important a part if not more than the pressure from the CoS.

Introduction

Bob Minton is an American multimillionaire and an emblematic figure in the anti-Scientology movement. He initially financed the Lisa McPherson civil case and helped fund the Lisa McPherson Trust (LMT), an organization opposing Scientology.

He is presented as a criminal by the Church of Scientology and accused by some critics of setting up the LMT as a means to recycle fraudulent money. I personally don't share any of these views. Rather, I consider Minton as a sincere "True Believer" indoctrinated in the anti-cult belief system and illusions.

In 2002 Minton suddenly turned against his former allies and testified in favor of Scientology. Everybody, including critics and his friends, are left to speculate as to what exactly happened. Critics claim that the CoS uncovered dubious financial dealings that would have ruined Minton if revealed, and that it was thus able to blackmail him in submission.

That the CoS had the goods on Minton is a clear possibility. However, I also believe Minton internal war with critics played as important a role, if not more. Minton faced on the one hand critics who opposed abusive behaviors he indulged into (see below), and on the other critics which he previously financed and whom he felt had betrayed him. The later where at the center of an ugly war and a split in the critical movement before Minton's turn-about. One reads of things like Patricia Greenway, the producer of "The Profit", an anti-cult film financed by Minton, buying herself a Porsche with Minton's money, and "suitcases full of Minton money" flying around. These may be rumors or gossips but what it shows is that big money and personal interest surely were part of the equation that ended in Minton giving up. One only needs to read Minton's angry diatribes against these "traitors" in ARS to convince oneself that there was more than just the CoS "forcing him to lie".

Minton's main action while on critics' side was to donate money to the anti-Scientology cause and to Scientology critics, use his name to get into the media, and mostly spend his time defying Scientologists. His own behavior, however, has been mostly counter-productive to the anti-Scientology cause. It would have been better had he remained aloof of the actual action and limited himself to funding and interviews. I believe however, Bob was a passionate character who just had to get on the front line.

The support critics provided to Minton when he was among them is also of interest, as many of them made excuses to justify behaviors that, had they been perpetrated by a Scientologist, would have been decried as outrageous through hundreds of web sites and thousands of posts in web forums. Critics even set up a front group, the "European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA" to award Minton a so-called "prize", the "Alternative Charlemagne Award", for what they called his "role model", in spite of the fact that he was anything but a role model.

If more critics had been truly critical in the real sense of the term, they would have asked Minton to moderate is temper tantrum and remind him that the end does not justify the means. Who knows, history could then have taken a different course. As such, Minton's demise was not his own only, but that of a blind and fanaticized crowd as well. The Cat Story is only one of numerous examples on how critics jumped into the slightest hint from Minton to engage in furious bashing and ranting against the Scientology.

One of the best protection against harassment from Scientology is to take the moral high ground road. Hopefully, critics may realize this the next time a Bob Minton raises up. However, I seriously doubt it

Examples of Bob Minton's "Role Model"

One of countless abusive behavior of Minton's was to phone dissident critics in the middle of the night to insult them. While we don't have the transcript of these calls, we do have the transcript of the way he behaved on IRC towards critics who dared to criticize him (excerpt from <393318dd.2894173@enews.newsguy.com>).
 

Physical Assault

	Here is a  video showing one of several physical assaults Bob "Role Model" Minton made on Scientologists (not available anymore and at the time I did not save a copy).
	This video of the incident viewed from another angle shows what happened before the attack (not available anymore and at the time I did not save a copy).

Because the end of this incident looks as if it was the Scientologist who assaulted Minton, critics ranted and raved about the evil Scientologists assaulting pacific critics. When they found out that it was exactly the contrary that happened, they went all of a sudden silent about the incident. Jeff Jacobsen, who also filmed the scene for the LMT, declared that he couldn't show his own version of it because he "accidentally" erased the tape.

Legal Injunction

The end result of Minton (and other critics) abusive behavior and harassment against Scientologists is that they got stricken by a legal injunction preventing them from coming within ten feet of any member of the Church, a most ironic situation given that the LMT was supposed to help Scientologists get out from the movement.

In fact, Minton's actions had far more reaching consequence than that. Indeed, in the beginning of 2008, even though both Minton and the LMT were already out of the picture for years, the CoS found a way to use this injunction against Shawn Lonsdale, a critic of scientology who was producing a series of videos on Scientology, and who got deposed by the CoS after accepting $100 from Patricia Greenway, who is named in this injunction. The incidence of that deposition on Lonsdale's apparent suicide on February 16, 2008, is not known, but for sure he could have done without.

Related Pages:

On this site

• The Alternative Charlemagne Award - a critic front group and a pseudo prize
• Answer to the Fashanu Report - an obvious hack job to defend Minton
• Freddie aka Stillwaters - a Scientologist answers Minton

On other sites

• Mark Bunker's Blog - Mark Bunker is a personal friend of Minton and gives here his interpretation of what happened. This is probably the closest information we will known until Minton himself choose to come out from the Woodward.
• Bob Minton - Wikipedia page on Bob Minton. Only Dandar and critics side are presented here for the possible reason Minton quit. Minton's affidavit is mentioned but no links are provided (together with Stacy Brooks affidavits these were very damaging to critics.
• Minton's Profile in Google Group

ARS > Anti-Cultism > Who's Who > Bob Minton

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