Gerry Armstrong

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A former Scientologist, Gerry Armstrong was L. Ron Hubbard's official biographer. As he saw more and mroe discrepancies between the official story of Hubbard's life and the truth revealed in Hubbard's diaries and personal papers, he began to question the need for perpetuating the myths. Eventually, he feared for his safety, and held on to many of the personal papers to preserve his own life. Despite a gag order, he remains an outspoken critic of Scientology.

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December 27, 1979Guardian Order 3031, The Controller Committee Guardian Order 3031, "The Controller Committee," stresses compliance with the law. Scientology representative Lynn Farny later cites this document as evidence that Fair Game is not practiced by Scientology. However, Robert Vaughn Young testifies that Fair Game DID continue, and says he knows this because he participated in discussions about how to Fair Game Gerry Armstrong.
November 25, 1981Gerry Armstrong letter about LRH biography Gerry Armstrong, working on an official biography of Hubbard for Scientology, writes to a fellow high-ranking Scientologist, Cirrus Slevin, expressing concerns about the discrepancies between the official LRH biographies and what he's learning from reading LRH's diaries and other sources: " ... nothing published about LRH, of whom nothing is known, is a fact ... Continuing the claim that [Hubbard] has never erred and never lied is counter-productive. It is an unrealistic position, and too far removed from reality and people for it to be publicly accepted. "
April 26, 1983Court Keeps Hubbard Documents Superior Court Judge Leon Savitch rules that 21 boxes of documents in Gerry Armstrong case will not be returned to the Church of Scientology but will remain in court custody pending the outcome of the trial.
December 18, 1983Gerry Armstrong Declaration Declaration of Gerry Armstrong
April 20, 1984Scientology Founder's Papers Ruled OK For Trial A judge Thursday denied a motion to bar voluminous personal papers of reclusive Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard from being introduced as evidence at the Los angeles trial of a suit against the sect's former archivist. Judge Breckenridge said he will rule on the admissibility of the papers, which number in the thousands and are contained in 21 boxes, on a document-by-document basis.
May 3, 1984Trial of Former Church of Scientology Archivist Gerald Armstrong Begins In Los Angeles Trial of former Church of Scientology archivist Gerald Armstrong begins in Los Angeles. Armstrong is represented by Boston attorney Michael Flynn.
June 21, 1984California Superior Court Judge Breckenridge Absolves Gerald Armstrong California Superior Court Judge John Breckenridge absolves Gerald Armstrong of any liability in taking thousands of personal documents belonging to Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and his wife. The Church had sought unspecificed monetary damages and the return of all documents which had been impounded by the court for two years. The judge says that about 500 of the documents, previously under seal, would become public records open to public inspection or use in other lawsuits. Documents not used in the trial would remain under seal with the court until Armstrong's $15 million countersuit against the Church for alleged fraud and misrepresentation is heard. Armstrong said he took the documents, which he had been using for a biography on Hubbard, in order to protect himself against the Church. Church attorney John Peterson says the decision would be appealed.
June 25, 1984California Court of Appeals Keeps Hubbard Papers Sealed California Court of Appeals issues a temporary stay order keeping L. Ron Hubbard's personal papers under seal pending final determination by a higher court. The papers were entered into evidence in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against Gerald Armstrong.
July 20, 1984Hubbard Papers Sealed The personal papers of L. Ron Hubbard are placed under protective seal by the California Supreme Court, pending its decision on whether it will hear the church's appeal of a Superior Court judge's decision to release the materials. The exhibits were evidence in Los Angeles Superior Court case C420153, Church of Scientology of California v. Armstrong.
November 27, 1984Court of Appeals Unseals Hubbard Papers Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that L. Ron Hubbard's personal papers, entered as evidence in the Church of Scientology's lawsuit against Gerry Armstrong, can be opened for public inspection starting December 20.
December 20, 1984Hubbard's Personal Papers Temporarily Sealed Judge Lawrence Waddington of California Superior Court granted a temporary restraining order sealing L. Ron Hubbard's personal papers, entered as evidence in the Church's 1982 lawsuit against Gerry Armstrong's case, in response to an emergency lawsuit filed by the Church of Scientology members who claimed their right to privacy would be violated by making the papers public. The papers had been released just hours before the order was granted to reseal them.
April 5, 1985Judge Rules Out Videotapes Aimed At Discrediting Witness An attempt to discredit a witness testifying against the Church of Scientology in a fraud trial hit a snag Thursday when a Portland judge called surreptitiously made videotapes an "amateurish performance" and refused to let them be shown to the jury. "I think they are devastating, devastating against the church," Multnomah Circuit Judge Donald H. Londer said out of the presence of the jury after viewing 108 minutes of tape recorded in a Los Angeles park last November.
April 17, 1985Court Hears Final Scientology Tape Jurors in the Church of Scientology fraud trial Tuesday listened to the last of five hours of surreptitiously-taped conversations in which a former Scientologist talked about a plan to "transform" church leadership by filing suit to take managerial control. In the final two recorded meetings, Armstrong said he "wouldn't touch" an idea posed by his questioner about writing false materials on the letterhead of a private investigator, whom Armstrong believed was pursuing him on behalf of the church. As it turned out, the private investigator was the one making the tapes.
November 1, 1989Scientology Attorney Lawrence Heller Executes A Declaration Regarding The Armstrong Case Scientology attorney Lawrence Heller executes a declaration regarding the Armstrong case.
December 31, 1992Scientology Wants Gerry Armstrong Held in Contempt For Testifying in Court Case Scientology asks the court to hold Gerry Armstrong in contempt for providing testimony in a court case; Scientology holds that this is a violation of the 1986 settlement agreement. (The request will later be denied.)
October 6, 1995Church Of Scientology V. Gerry Armstrong: Hearing Before Judge Thomas In San Rafael, California Church of Scientology v. Gerry Armstrong: hearing before Judge Thomas in San Rafael, California
October 17, 1995Gerry Armstrong Barred from Discussing Scientology An order is filed which will later (on May 2, 1996) prohibit Gerry Armstrong from "voluntarily assisting any person (not a government organ or entity) defending a claim" brought by Scientology and from "discussing with anyone, not a member of [his] immediate family or [his] attorney, Scientology, the Church, and/or any of the Beneficiaries" (which are various Scientology entities).
October 21, 1996Scientology OSA staffer defames Gerry Armstrong Scientology OSA staffer Cathy Norman writes a letter to Craig Branch of the Watchman Fellowship containing defamatory information about Gerry Armstrong.
January 23, 1997Gerry Armstrong Receives A Subpoena From Grady Ward Gerry Armstrong receives a subpoena from Grady Ward for production of documents in Ward's case. The following day, Scientology's lawyer will threaten Armstrong with prosecution if Armstrong complies with the subpoena.
January 24, 1997Scientology Attorney Threatenes to Prosecute Gerry Armstrong if he Complies with a Subpoena Scientology attorney Andrew Wilson faxes Gerry Armstrong, threatening to prosecute Armstrong for violating a gag agreement if Armstrong produces documents that have been subpoenaed in Grady Ward's case.
January 26, 1997Gerry Armstrong Declaration Gerry Armstrong creates a sworn declaration regarding his knowledge of Scientology's history and workings, as well as Scientology's attempts to silence him, relevant to the Ward, Henson, and Erlich cases.
August 23, 1998Gerry Armstrong Declaration Gerry Armstrong creates a declaration regarding an incident in March 1998, when he was stopped by the police on a complaint from an unidentified woman that she had "chased" him.