Arnaldo Pagliarini "Arnie" Lerma (November 18, 1950 – March 16, 2018) was an American writer and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, a former Scientologist, and a critic of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...

who appeared in television, media and radio interviews. Lerma was the first person to post the court document known as the

Fishman Affidavit The Fishman Affidavit is a set of court documents submitted by self-professed ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman in 1993 in the federal case, ''Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz'' (Case No. CV 91-6426 (HLH (Tx) United States Dis ...

, including the

Xenu Xenu (), also called Xemu, is a figure in the Church of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology", a sacred and esoteric teaching. According to the "Technology", Xenu was the extraterrestrial ruler of a "Galactic Confederacy" who brought bil ...

story, to the Internet via the

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...

newsgroup

alt.religion.scientology The Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology (often abbreviated a.r.s or ARS) started in 1991 to discuss the controversial beliefs of Scientology, as well as the activities of the Church of Scientology, which claims exclusive intellectual propert ...

Biography

Lerma was born in

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in 1950.

Time in Scientology

Lerma started in Scientology at the age of 16 at the urging of his mother, an executive director for the Washington, DC church. He was impressed by

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

's exaggerated account of his military career and scientific credentials. Lerma joined Scientology's

Sea Org The Sea Organization (also known as the Sea Org) is a Scientology organization, which the Church of Scientology describes as a " fraternal religious order, comprising the religion’s most dedicated members". All Scientology management organizatio ...

and was assigned in 1976 to a post working alongside Hubbard's daughter Suzette. He later claimed that they became romantically involved and planned to

elope Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

, though others have disputed this. Lerma alleged that other Sea Org officers discovered their plans and threatened to mutilate him if he did not cancel the marriage. Lerma quit Scientology soon afterward.

''RTC v. Lerma''

After Lerma posted the Fishman Affidavit in August 1995, his home was raided by

federal marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

s and lawyers from the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

, alleging he was in possession of copyrighted documents. A lawsuit was filed against Lerma and his Internet service provider by the church's

Religious Technology Center The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., USA, December 22, 1993 that was founded in 1982 by th ...

(RTC), claiming

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

and

trade secret Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...

misappropriation. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and two investigative reporters were added to the lawsuit, as an article written about the raid contained three brief quotes from Scientology "Advanced Technology" documents. ''The Washington Post'', et al., were released from the suit when United States District Judge

Leonie Brinkema Leonie Helen Milhomme Brinkema (born June 26, 1944) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Early life and education She was born as Leonie Milhomme in Teaneck, New Jersey. She ...

ruled in a memorandum on November 28, 1995 The

memorandum opinion Under United States legal practice, a memorandum opinion is usually unpublished and cannot be cited as precedent. It is formally defined as: " unanimous appellate opinion that succinctly states the decision of the court; an opinion that briefly re ...

acknowledges what Scientology practices to this day: the "Fair Game" policy, a written directive by L. Ron Hubbard that encourages harassment of anyone who speaks out against the church. In conclusion, the court awarded RTC the statutory minimum of $2,500 for five instances of non-willful copyright violation.

Lermanet

Lerma started a website called ''Lermanet'', which concentrates on news about Scientology and on documenting lawsuits by Scientology. He was also noted for discovering an altered picture on a Scientology website on New Year's Eve in 1999, one that appeared to inflate the number of members attending a millennial event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California. He posted the pictures to his website identifying the alterations, with the most prominent feature being the "man with no head". The story appeared on national television and in the press. On March 28, 2019, the entire content of Arnie Lerma's "Lermanet.com" site was deleted by his surviving widow, Ginger Sugerman. Contents are only accessible through use of the "Wayback Machine" at archive.org
Lermanet.com blog
however survived a little bit longer.

Death

Lerma died by suicide by gunshot at his home in

Sylvania, Georgia Sylvania is a town in and the county seat of Screven County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,956 at the 2010 census. History The area was inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of indigenous peoples. By the time of Euro ...

, on March 16, 2018, after shooting his wife, Ginger Sugerman, in the face. Sugerman survived.

Writings

''The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90s''
1996

References

External links

Lermanet.com: Exposing the con
(Arnie Lerma's Website) Media, Documentation and Pictures of 1995 Rai
archive''Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet''
CNN, Washington, August 26, 1995

dated September 6, 1995.
''Brinkema, Leonie M. Civil Action No. 95-1107-A: Memorandum Opinion''
Alexandria: US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia-Alexandria Division, November 28, 1995

by Wendy Grossman, Wired Magazine, December, 1995
Noted Scientology critic Arnie Lerma shoots and injures wife, then kills himself
by Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 18, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lerma, Arnaldo 1950 births 2018 deaths Critics of Scientology American former Scientologists People from Washington, D.C. Scientology and the Internet American whistleblowers Suicides by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state)