The real Mike Rinder is a former external affairs staffer whose malfeasance, as touched upon previously in this letter, caused the Church numerous problems that took years and millions of dollars to correct. True to a criminal moral code, Rinder has also repeatedly changed his personal narrative according to who pays. After high school, he signed a billion-year contract and was admitted into Scientology's elite inner circle, the Sea Organization. For Benjamins mother and sister, their estranged husband and father had crossed the line. About this video. He talks about daily life in the organisation, being disciplined in the Hole, and his hopes of reconnecting with his children. Sea Org members are even more vulnerable when they leave because they are financially dependent on the church. He ambled through the galleries and when he finally came out, he knew what to do. That changed due to the reaction by many early Scientologists to the Xenu origin of man story found in OT III. Mike Rinder, Mark Rathbun, Marc and Claire Headley state that auditing sessions are secretly recorded, including ones with secrets about Tom Cruise[20][21] and initially were forms of spiritual counseling. He bought cheap clothes, ditched his suit and found a B&B near Victoria station. "[39] As of 2023, Rinder sits on the CHILD USA board of directors where he helps to "[change] the laws in numerous states across the US with legislation enacted to make it possible for victims to pursue their day in court. Rinder quickly became an early member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization, after which he continued to rank up until he had his position with the Office of Special Affairs. In the decade that followed, criticism became bolder, more public and consistently negative especially in the media. 88 votes, 25 comments. He never changed. My baby brother has cancer. Andit was subtle but it was insidious and it was calculated to make you feel like you were nothing. This is a man who suborned perjury, who lost count of the number of lies he told to the Churchs leader, who lied to his own family, and who has generated false reports to authorities to harass the Church and its leader. Mike Rinder's "A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology" is scheduled for Sept.. And not until quite a few days later did I even realize the extent of the injury that was caused by Mike Rinder in that attack. An example of this "boomerang effect" was the 1993 case Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz. "Where are your papers? Isnt Rinders main aim really to bring down Miscavige and Scientology, which he insistently refers to with a lower case s, in a sort of grammatical emasculation? [16][17] However, a month later, two Washington-based Scientology lawyers went to his home unannounced, informed Rinder that they knew about the newspaper's visit and asked what he had revealed. And although he says he doesnt care, he keeps a little bin indoors in case his refuse is ransacked. Rinder realized afterwards though that Sweeney's allegation about him was true and he was unable to rationalize why he was denying it. Analytics found the uproar came from 576 Twitter accounts, only 11, or 1.9%, of which were localvirtually all associated with Rinder. The Independent movement evaporated, and the specious litigation plans went up in smoke. Case in point: In March 2020, as soon as Covid-19 safety restrictions took effect in Clearwater, Florida, Rinder altered the date of a video shot the previous week of Church staff exiting a bus so he could falsely claim the Church was violating social distancing. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard's yacht and promised training in Hubbard's most advanced techniques, Mike was . I didnt matter to him. The case stemmed from an accidental tragedy in December 1995 that took the life of a psychotic woman who had been staying on Church premises in Clearwater, Florida. Rinder had lived in church quarters, took meals in its military-style canteen, and worked for at least 14 hours a day, seven days a week for a stipend of $50 a week. As a salient example, for Aftermath, Rinder and Leah Remini induced discreditable individuals to file false reports about the Church with the police as a requirement to appear on the show. And Mikes walked away. And we needed to get him to stop and also to see this was not okay with us. Its a permanent disability that will always be there with her, Cathys orthopedic surgeon concluded after nearly five years of treatment, including surgery. The attempt failed as Benjamin refused to see his father, who had scarcely paid him attention his entire life. Anyone who didnt do it was subjected to discipline. It was his removal from the Hole for a London mission that gave him his chance to escape. Now that he and Christie, whom he married in 2013, have a 10-year-old son, Jack, Rinder has experienced a new kind of fatherhood. [35][36][37]:290 Rinder is a board member of the foundation. And what was important to me didnt matter. Mike Rinder's record of criminal conduct in the Church, as far as discovered, began in 1995 when he was responsible for the Church's legal affairs. [28][29][30][31][32], In the early 1990s, when the internet was in its infancy, internet startups could be intimidated by the threat of litigation by the church but a decade later those same companies were now large corporations with the resources to defend themselves and lobbied for legislation that shielded them from user liabilities, "loser pays" laws that indemnify the church if they lose a lawsuit, and anti-SLAPP laws that prohibit them from using lawsuits to financially drain a critic into submission. Mike Rinder A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Hardcover - September 27, 2022 by Mike Rinder (Author) 1,429 ratings Editors' pick Best Books of 2022 See all formats and editions Kindle $14.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover Rinder had been sitting on the evidence all along, saying nothing, while the Churchs leader was under an unjust onslaught. [27] The approximately seven million dollars the church spent attempting to discredit the article had the opposite effect of drawing more attention to the case as well. Did he feel love for his children while he was in the Sea Org? As a Sea Org member, he had no access to a loving family life. [33], Mike Rinder was co-executive producer of the show Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath in 2019 and 2020 when the show was nominated for the Emmy Awards, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special - 2020. Two days later, he flew back to Florida, and made contact with other former Scientologists who helped him slowly begin his new life. When he was certain that he wasnt being followed, he caught the tube to the National Portrait Gallery, where he sat on the grass outside and let his heart rate slow to its regular beat. Mike Rinder was never heard from once the entire time, even after he had moved to Safety Harbor, Floridaa 15-minute drive from Clearwater, where Benjamin lived. Taryn remembers her father, Mike Rinder, as cold and uncaringtraits that went on full display when he harassed her brother and abused her mother. The year prior to the defamation lawsuit against Time magazine, the church was successful at shutting down the Cult Awareness Network (CAN) with these lawsuits. No way, youre not leaving. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard's yacht and promised training in Hubbard's most advanced techniques . This ship functioned as the headquarters for Sea Org. The courts were also no longer receptive to litigation brought by the church after the case either because it had been conclusively demonstrated that the church was abusing the legal system. He also states in his book that Ben moved to Clearwater, Florida, in 1995 when he was 12 years old. They would then announce the property as the future home of the International Association of Independent Scientologists, revealing its true purpose to serve as a vehicle for Church antagonists to harass the Church and its leadership. So, my mom was damaged for lifefor life. [26], After the FBI raid, Rinder stated that fair game tactics had to be changed. Andbut very quickly, therehe was like in her face and had grabbed her arms. Taryn was born in 1978 and it is now 2022 So she is 44. Rathbun arranged a job for Rinder with a collaborator who had avowed his aim to destroy the Church and its leader. Off his own bat and unbeknownst to the Church, Rinder, working with two co-conspirators, suborned perjury and hid evidence in a police investigation opened that year in Florida. As a church executive he had pursued people who tried to leave, so he knew what to expect. Rinder had three children with his first wife Cathy: daughter Taryn, son Benjamin, and another daughter, Kimberley, who died in infancy. Leah Remini and Mike Rinder's podcast, Fair Game will take you behind the facade and expose the terrible truth about scientology's Fair Game doctrine. mike rinder accent. Whats happening? And she goes, I just want to let you know that your father has abandoned us and has just walked out and we havent heard from him. Based on the medical evidence, the tragedy was finally ruled an accident and the State dropped all charges against the Church. During a 60-day hearing in 2002, allegations of missing evidential records became a core issue in the litigation. Rinder's own decision to speak out against Scientology is an example of this as well because he decided to speak out against the church after being victimized by fair game despite not criticizing the church after leaving. In a sense, he is a professional former Scientologist. And then I see my mom and shes standing there in pain. The first time in 1966 and then again in 1969. --Mike Rinder, former Senior Executive of the Church of Scientology and the Sea Organization, joins David to discuss his time in the leadership organization . [10], Rinder stated that the policy of "routing out", or authorized departure, is a sham. Before Scientology took up all his time and energy, Rinder enjoyed reading Wilbur Smith novels, and his own book starts like an adventure story. backlog intangible asset; west metro fire union contract. [14] Rinder's official biography has since been removed from the official Scientology website. 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