Scientology protest goes off without a hitch, and Tom Cruise made the scene

We hope you joined our live conversation yesterday afternoon with Alex Barnes-Ross, who was in an East Grinstead pub and told us about his adventures protesting at Scientology’s UK headquarters.

It was not only a demonstration that had a coherent message, impressive signage, and smart planning, but it garnered press interest, including a team from Daily Mail that took some good photos.

If you didn’t see our post-game panel, you can catch it below as we were also joined by Chris Shelton, who helped us put Alex’s success in perspective.

Not only had the demonstration gone the way Alex planned it, and not only did he get some interesting reactions from the Scientologists on their way into the event, but one of them, a certain Tom Cruise, also made the scene.

When Alex told us that yesterday, we thought he was joking. But he was not!

When a helicopter appeared overhead during the protest, Alex said the Daily Mail journalists with him checked the aircraft’s identification number and it turned out it was Tom’s whirlybird.

(Tom with his helicopter, registration number N9FJ, during filming of the upcoming Mission Impossible 8 in Kent last year.)

(Same aircraft, N9FJ, over Saint Hill Manor yesterday while the protest was going on.)

Now, we’re especially happy that it was the Daily Mail that got this scoop, because it’s the Mail that earlier this year published what we described as perhaps the lamest ever “Tom-Cruise-is-leaving-Scientology” claptrap, and it was also based on his helicopter.

The Mail’s entertainment gossip columnist pointed to the fact that airport data showed that Tom had not flown his helicopter into East Grinstead in three years to conclude that he was leaving Scientology, even though the one fact did not follow the other. We pointed out that the columnist had not even bothered to check with someone like Mike Rinder or Claire Headley before announcing that Tom’s lack of trips to Saint Hill meant he was leaving the church.

It didn’t mean that, of course, and when we pointed it out the columnist responded to us on Facebook and said that she was also convinced Tom might be leaving Scientology because the church never got back to her. That was her “confirmation.”

The sad part was that so many publications then leaped on the story and announced that it was now settled fact that Tom had left the church. So what are they going to do now that the opposite has proved to be true?

Of course Cruise showed up for his buddy Dave. This is a very big moment for the Scientology leader, and remember what Jean Brousseau told us more than a decade ago: “Tom Cruise worships David Miscavige like a god.”

Tom proved that again last night, and we look forward to the other things we’re going to learn about how this weekend went for C.O.B. under the big tent.

As Chris pointed out in our discussion after Alex had retired to enjoy his pint of ale, a lot of ancillary things go on during this weekend for Scientologists.

And here’s proof of that. Today Scientologists will be hearing from the Freewinds brass that the church is enjoying the “largest OT Boom in History.” Hip-hip-hooray!

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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

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