Note: On the morning of July 8, 1977 134 FBI agents suddenly and unexpectedly raided the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. The raid lasted 23  hours and the agents seized ~50,000 documents. While the raid was still in progress, the Church PR machine went into overdrive and issued the following hysterical and bloviating press release. The Church made sensational and bogus claims about the US Government and Interpol in this wild-eyed Hubbard-era Scientology press release:

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF FLORIDA
120 GIRALDA – CORAL GABLES –   FLORIDA – 33134 –   TELEPHONE: (305)   445-7812

FOUNDER L. RON HUBBARD

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

In the early morning hours today, our Churches in Los Angeles and Washington D.C, were the target of a Gestapo, police-state raid as retaliation for recent attempts at government reform and an attempt to cover up a massive international narcotics operation known to officials of the US and some foreign governments.

For the past three years the Church of Scientology has sponsored the National Commission on Law Enforcement and Social Justice’s investigation Of Interpol, the private French-based police association. Two years ago we first heard the rumors that there was another aspect to the infamous “French Connection” that involved both Interpol and governmental officials. But it was not until a few months ago when the NCLE’s Director of Research toured Europe that we were able to uncover the first supporting evidence. Only weeks ago did we make this material public, requesting that the Department of Justice investigate the evidence we found. The Justice Department’s response came early this morning when FBI agents took sledgehammers, crowbars and lock cutters to our Churches and broke into our offices before the staff could even arrive which is an illegal act.

For us, this is not new. In 1963 the federal government perpetrated a similar raid on the Founding Church in Washington, D.C., carting off several tons of religious materials. We fought that battle for 10 years in the courts and finally won the case with the government returning all seized materials. Since then we have employed the Freedom of Information Act to force further disclosure of governmental harassment and false information circulated by federal officials and have found shocking false reports.

At every step the government has responded with Nazi mentality and this latest tactic proves to us beyond a reasonable doubt that the government is terrified and is resorting to the final, frantic attempts to prevent the ultimate disclosures both we and they know lie behind their brutalities today.

Even their allegations of stolen governmental records is not new, either with us or with others. Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office was broken into when he obtained the Pentagon Papers. The FBI has executed “Black Bag” jobs around the country. But now the tactic is more brutal and sledgehammers have replaced the quiet and covert entry.

A few months ago the NCLE’s Research Director was traveling through Europe to find the drug and CIA connections we had heard rumored so long. The retaliation there was to attack him in the media as a fraud and swindler who was also peddling forged or stolen US governmental documents. The documents turned out to be a report on Interpol published by the General Accounting Office and purchasable for one dollar.

That same trumped-up charge has now appeared with the FBI who are making the same false allegations in order to break into our offices and confiscate wholesale what they have not been able to find in mail covers and other means. The FBI has not permitted the Church to xerox copies of material they took, however Church observers indicate that FBI is on a fishing expedition. In fact they have taken Church documents and documents obtained by the Church under the Freedom of Information Act.

The history and tactics of the FBI are becoming painfully known to the American public and this latest Gestapo raid shows there has been no reform in government dirty tricks.

They have, in effect, proven to us that our research is correct, that there is a massive, international narcotics cartel heretofore unrevealed which is operating with the knowledge and consent of highly placed governmental officials both here and abroad who will go to any means and use any tactics to prevent its disclosure.

That secret cartel is behind the heroin and cocaine smuggling into this country and extends into the highest ranks of the French Judicial and police systems. Thus it is no coincidence that our Church in France was raided last year during that probe.

We are not talking about a few dishonest cops. We are talking about an operation that is being run with the blessing of French officials and the cooperation of American officials in Washington from whence the orders for this raid came.

The raid of a church is in keeping with their criminal mentality and we are now rededicating ourselves to the fight not only for religious liberty but to expose those who are seeking to turn this country into a police state.

Our past history of vigorous government reform and the 750 million dollar suit against the US government for conspiracy filed by the Church of Scientology several months ago is certainly motive enough for the US government to use whatever reason they could create to get to our information, and legal documents. We of course, are taking immediate legal action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laraine Shape
Church of Scientology of Florida
120 Giralda
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Telephone: (305) 445-7812

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Church-of-Scientology-Press-Release-Following-the-FBI-Raid-on-July-8-1977