[10] Afterwards, instead of reporting to Sussex, Rinder decided to leave Scientology. And we, you know, we grabbed some of our friends and associates that had worked with Mike for thirty, forty yearssome of them Ive known since I was a kidand that I would consider our close friends and some even family. In the decade that followed, criticism became bolder, more public and consistently negative especially in the media. True to a criminal moral code, Rinder has also repeatedly changed his personal narrative according to who pays. [14] Rinder defended Scientology leader David Miscavige, but Miscavige was unhappy that Rinder was unable to stop the documentary from being shown. However, unlike CAN, the Time Warner Corporation had the resources to defend itself and the documents from the FBI raid to justify their claims. The raid led to the discovery of hundreds of documents detailing criminal activity within the church which led to the prosecution of dozens of high ranking church officials and provided grounds for the IRS to continue to deny tax exempt status to the church as well. Im sure that they have been told: Its full of lies, blah blah. He didnt send them a copy. So, my mom was damaged for lifefor life. [14], After leaving Scientology in 2007, Rinder and his first wife, Cathy, divorced after 35 years, and he has had no contact with her or his two adult children from his first marriage because of disconnection. Andit was subtle but it was insidious and it was calculated to make you feel like you were nothing. [35][36][37]:290 Rinder is a board member of the foundation. 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. VPN to ZTNA. Rinder next teamed up with an Independent Scientologist benefactor on a much larger scheme: a fantastical plan to recruit former Church members to file a barrage of lawsuits to financially crush the Church to death, in order to gain the wherewithal required to bring the Independent sect to fruition. Rathbun arranged a job for Rinder with a collaborator who had avowed his aim to destroy the Church and its leader. Back then, Rinder says, babies were handed over a few days after birth to Sea Org nurseries, where they were cared for seven days a week, from morning till midnight. He sent an email to that person to tell my mom he wasnt coming back. 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 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. 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. In the exchange, Rinder denied Sweeney's allegation that he had been abused by Miscavige and was instructed by him to deny it happened. [14] All communication with any Scientologist that "blows", or has an unauthorized departure as Rinder did, is immediately ceased. Two days later, he flew back to Florida, and made contact with other former Scientologists who helped him slowly begin his new life. They view the Church as their lottery ticket and pursue their jackpot with lies.. That is a lie: I was 27, and Ben was 21. Tragically, Rinder and Cathy lost a third baby to sudden infant death syndrome or in the words of Miscaviges wife, who broke the news, the baby dropped her body. Based on the medical evidence, the tragedy was finally ruled an accident and the State dropped all charges against the Church. Intimidation tactics were still used but took the form of vexatious litigation instead. Based on him birthplace, He is Australian. It was all about him, all about hes doing this and hes doing that and thats it. Second of all, my mom approached him first and she was definitely, like, on to him about doing this to her son, and I understand. Astoundingly, the destroyed evidence was located in one hour in Mike Rinders office storage in Los Angelesvindicating Mr.Miscavige. After two years of struggling to make it selling cars, Rinder reconnected with his former co-conspirator, Mark Rathbun, who had also left the Church and was leading a ring of anti-Scientologists. [1][19], The policy was becoming increasingly ineffective starting the 1980s as it was unable to stop publication of A Piece of Blue Sky by ex-Scientologist Jon Atack or the documentary Scientology and Me which ultimately led to Rinder's departure. He admitted in deposition to a moneymaking scheme in which he was recruiting potential plaintiffs for a civil lawsuit against the Church, one of whom was Leah Remini, his co-host on this series. In 2007, at the age of fifty-two, Rinder finally escaped Scientology. Mike Rinder's parents began taking him to their local Scientology center when he was five years old. And I go, Holy crap, what just happened? You know, likewe were both in shock. I was standing there. From 1982 to 2007 Rinder served on the board of directors of CSI and also held the post of executive director of its Office of Special Affairs, overseeing the corporate, legal and public relations matters of Scientology at the international level. Michael John Rinder (/rndr/; born 10 April 1955)[2] is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. There wasnt something we could do otherwise that would fix it. Mike Rinder is a former international spokesperson for the Church of Scientology, and will co-star in A&E's eight-part docuseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. But, you know, he says, theyre not exactly in my life any more. After his escape, he wrote to Cathy to ask her and the children to join him on the outside and she wrote back: Fuck off.In Scientology, when a family divides into believers and nonbelievers, disconnection is a common and painful experience. One such victimwho reported a ludicrous, Pizzagate-inspired conspiracy of police and the Church using underground tunnels to collude in human traffickingtold police that he had to file his report in order to be on the TV show. "Where are your papers? The church's disconnection policy is primarily how the church discourages Scientologists from departing and is a mechanism of emotional blackmail. And of course the first thing I think of is, I need to go see him. Any Scientologist that doesn't disconnect from someone that leaves will be declared a suppressive person and expelled as well. In one such attempt, in December 2020, Rinders expert testimony was jettisoned by the Los Angeles Superior Court: The [Rinder] declaration is filled with unsupported assumptions, foundational deficiencies, irrelevant matters, improper opinions, and arguments.. Several months after Rinder deserted his wife and children, doctors diagnosed his son, Benjamin, with a rare and highly aggressive form of malignant melanoma. [14] Rinder's official biography has since been removed from the official Scientology website. And we didnt matter to him. [14], According to his blog, he now lives in Palm Harbor, Florida with his wife, son and stepson.[41][42]. In a sense, he is a professional former Scientologist. The church of Scientology sees the book as a self-aggrandizing memoir and a compendium of gross exaggerations and provable lies. He talks about daily life in the organisation, being disciplined in the Hole, and his hopes of reconnecting with his children. No sooner had Rinder cashed in his new ticket than he shed all pretense of his recent history as a devout Scientologist. He suffered violence and he inflicted it on others. For the first time that I could remember, I wasnt answerable to anyone.. Shop now. He spoke about Scientology's management and repeated beatings, he gave as well as received, and the interviews became part of the paper's "The Truth Rundown" special issue. Prominent Scientology whistleblower Mike Rinder told a New York jury Friday how the Million Dollar Baby writer emerged as one of the Church of Scientology's top-three public enemies following. Prominent Scientology whistleblower Mike Rinder told a New York jury Friday how the Million Dollar Baby writer emerged as one of the Church of Scientology's top-three public . And I wanted to make sure you knew. And we actually didnt hear from him for at least three weeks after that, not a word. [16] Rinder has been victimized by fair game numerous times and recalled an incident where he was sitting in his car at a doctor's office parking lot during a phone interview with BBC journalist John Sweeney when "five senior members of [Scientology's] California-based international management team surrounded and screamed at him". During his high school years, the family. In fact, Rinder and a co-conspirator, Mark Marty Rathbun, were the ones who had put it there. New York (AP) -- A former top Scientologist has a memoir coming out this fall. Not only did no witness corroborate anything Rinders complainants alleged, but witnesses told the police the complainants were liars. Following are the facts of Mike Rinder and what he has done. The attempt failed as Benjamin refused to see his father, who had scarcely paid him attention his entire life. That changed due to the reaction by many early Scientologists to the Xenu origin of man story found in OT III. In accordance with the churchs beliefs, Rinder responded by sitting with an auditor (a Scientologist charged with emotion-checking another) to run out the loss. Rinder blatantly called it his devious plan: He and two accomplices would covertly acquire a building next to the Churchs spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. I wasI was there. As a church executive he had pursued people who tried to leave, so he knew what to expect. "[40][37]:290. I lived through everything shes had to live through, and all the pain shes had to live through, all the victim shaming that he has done on her to try to make it look like he didnt do it, or cover it up or whateverit was done by Mike Rinder. Analytics found the uproar came from 576 Twitter accounts, only 11, or 1.9%, of which were localvirtually all associated with Rinder. He seized the diminutive, 53 woman in a vice grip that gouged her right arm, wrenched her shoulder, dislocated her collarbone and fractured another bone. 2005 chevrolet cavalier problems; northern arizona healthcare After 45 years in the church, Mike Rinder became disillusioned and walked out. His family photos were not sent. Similarly, Rinders parents are scarcely namechecked. But how well can a one-sided conversation with children really go? Mike Rinder was such an absentee father that he can't remember Benjamin's and my ages. And we went down to Florida to see Mike. And that is how I felt. Not even remotely., In some ways, the book is Rinders attempt to parent Taryn and Benjamin, too; a chance to hold his side of that conversation at least. He hasnt even made sure he had a cup of tealike, nothing. 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