Who is Keith Henson?

And why is Scientology after him?
Keith Henson
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Visit xenu.net or WhyWeProtest.net for general information
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The "Tom Cruise Missile" Trial Transcripts are here,
and the infamous "Motions in Limine" are here.


Henson's current email is hkeithhenson@gmail.com.

On 26 Apr 2001, Keith Henson was convicted of "interfering with a religion", a misdemeanor under California law, for picketing outside Scientology's heavily-armed, razor-wire enclosed base outside Hemet, CA.

At trial, the judge threw out all Henson's witnesses, disallowed any testimony about his reasons for picketing the cult, and allowed the prosecution to present excerpts from Henson's Internet postings out of context. The Scientology witnesses also committed perjury which Henson was not permitted to rebut.

You can help! Donate directly to Henson's defense
Xenu's Mall of Fire
Trial Transcripts Help Keith Henson Red Alert Timeline Why Help? More Help Writings of Keith Henson The Biggest Myth

Recent News - What's Happening to Keith Henson NOW?

18 Apr 2009: Since Henson's release from Riverside County jail in September, 2007, he has been scrupulously abiding by the terms of his probation and avoiding anything related to Scientology criticism. Before he was released from jail, Henson appealed his criminal conviction.

A decision affirming the conviction was handed down this week. The appeal was rejected as untimely. The appeal court gave no consideration whatsoever to the many serious questions raised about the adminstration of justice during Henson's trial. These and related documents are available here

While Henson can appeal this decision further, cost is prohibitive and such an appeal must be filed by early next week.

18 Jun 2007: Henson has been languishing in jail since he was taken into custody on May 8. For the crimes of picketing on a public highway, and responding to a joke in a usenet newsgroup, Henson has already spent more time behind bars than Paris Hilton will spend in total for driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08%, driving with a suspended license, driving 70 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, and driving without headlights after dark.

Henson filed Notice of Appeal today. Please consider a donation to Henson's defense. You can donate directly with the PayPal link at the top of this page, or by connecting to PayPal and using the Send Money tab to send a donation to hkhenson@rogers.com hkeithhenson@gmail.com. If you have a major credit card, you do not need to be a PayPal member to send money via PayPal.

01 Jun 2007: Henson reports on the journey from Arizona to California.

Henson appeared in California Court on May 30. Some details are here. You need to be logged in as "GUEST" to view this information.

26 May 2007: Henson is in custody in California. No further information is available at this time.

25 May 2007: In a recent blog entry, the Electronic Frontier Foundation stated
EFF's concerns about the original verdict remain, and the sentence given seems overly harsh given that the conviction was for a single, nonviolent misdemeanor as part of protest activity.

21 May 2007: Henson's Appeal DENIED

Henson's appeal for stay and review of the denial of the writ of habeas corpus was denied. Henson's attorney teleconferenced with the court this afternoon, who rejected his arguments.

Henson will be extradited to Riverside County as soon as practicable for Riverside County.

Readers who are unfamiliar with the history of this case may wish to read this article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, that was written shortly after Henson was convicted in 2001.

21 May 2007: I apologize for not keeping this information more current. Updates are in the works.

In the meantime, please listen to Arel Lucas on Vince Daniels' radio program, and read the press release that Henson supporters have been circulating recently.

Henson has decided to appeal the decision last Friday.

Anonymous threatening messages continue to appear in alt.religion.scientology. False claims suggesting that Henson is a pedophile and a terrorist are supported with allegations that were subsequently recanted or disproven, yet the statements are presented as fact.

Further scrutiny of the bench warrant submitted with the request for extradition has led me to update the recent article questioning the strange documentation associated with this case.

17 May 2007: A succinct summary of Henson's situation was published yesterday. Recommended reading.

Some questions about lost, misplaced, and otherwise strange incidents with court documents.

16 May 2007: Henson is unable to communicate with his lawyer. His wife Arel sent this report:

Keith has been unable to speak with his lawyer since last Wednesday immediately following the hearing.

Whether it's a glitch in the Inmate Telephone system or deliberate, I don't know, but his lawyer has tried everything he knows how to do, called the Inmate Telephone number over and over again to get his account set up, waiting up to half an hour on hold, trying to give payment, etc. He is a 2-hour drive from here, so that is a major problem. The way the system works, Keith can call him but he cannot call Keith. And the system keeps telling Keith his lawyer is not registered.

The way things are, he will not be able to speak with his attorney until the hearing on Friday. I believe this is unconstitutional.

 15 May 2007: Riverside County radio personality Vince Daniels announced that Henson's wife Arel Lucas will be a guest on his show this Saturday. Listen on-line by clicking the "Listen Live" link at the top of his page.

If you have not signed the petition, please do so.

Henson's wife circulated this update late yesterday. I have also added a page summarizing the original charges, and the law Henson was convicted of violating. This looks every bit as outrageous today as it did in 2000. Perhaps even moreso, given subsequent events.

12 May 2007: Numerous articles have been posted to the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology recently, some of which attempt to discredit Henson and others which falsely claim that Henson is a pedophile, implying that he will be harmed if he is returned to California. Similar threats, some of which are reproduced here, have been posted for several years now.

The articles are all anonymous; they were posted either via anonymous remailers or open proxies.

Joe Lynn, a long-time alt.religion.scientology participant who posts as "Zinj", posted compelling evidence that at least one of these came from someone working for the Church of Scientology.

11 May 2007: Henson proposed another way you can help, excerpted from a message from his wife, Arel.

10 May 2007: Are you wondering if you can help? In this message from his wife Arel (edited at her request), Henson asks that people see if any of the reporters who have done stories on California prison overcrowding would be interested in doing a story about how -- despite the overcrowding and consequent release of felons -- the Governator has apparently signed an extradition warrant to bring back a 64-year-old man whose meds the citizens of California will have to pay for.

9 May 2007: Update from Arel Lucas, Henson's wife (slightly edited), describes the impact of the state's refusal to provide the documents requested by Henson or his attorney yesterday.

8 May 2007: This package was delivered to Henson and his attorney when they appeared for his hearing. For unknown reasons, the State of Arizona refused to provide these documents prior to the hearing, claiming that they had been delivered to Henson's attorney. They were not. The documents themselves indicate that they were delivered to a "Brian Russo, Attorney for the defendant". Yet the state's own on-line docket identifies Henson's attorney correctly.

Henson is now in custody in Arizona awaiting an appearance for an Extradition Hearing on May 9 at 9:00 am.

29 Apr 2007: Update from Arel Lucas refers to extradition-related documents such as the first arrest warrant submitted to Arizona authorities by Riverside County, dated Sept 15 2000 and ordered by Judge Wallerstein.

This warrant raises several questions about Wallerstein and the Riverside County court system.

The message from Lucas also refers to a second warrant submitted by Riverside County authorities, that is little more than boilerplate.
In particular, the warrant omits the date of alleged failure to appear, and the name of the ordering judge.
Curiously, both warrants bear the same Clerk's signature.

Digitally-enhanced versions of these and other documents can be viewed here.
The original scans are also available.



6 Apr 2007: Motion to unseal "informally" sealed parts of the "interfering with a religion" trial record.

2 Mar 2007: Henson hearing postoned until May 8. Report from his wife, Arel Lucas, includes updated information on how to help.

6 Feb 2007: Henson out on bail! Report from his wife, Arel Lucas. Coverage of the unfolding events grows. While I will have more full updates, the news is being reported widely on Digg, and I recommend this page of search results for updates on the latest, and the new Free Keith Henson blog for official information, news, and information on how to help.

3 Feb 2007: Henson writes a report while in jail.

2 Feb 2007: HENSON ARRESTED IN ARIZONA! MORE INFORMATIONAND LEGAL DEFENSE FUND INFORMATION HERE. A message from Henson's wife, Arel Lucas.

23 Sep 2005: A large update in legal documents is on the way. Until that is done, here is a large, unsorted document dump is available.

16 Sep 2005: Keith Henson departs Canada prior to deportation, his asylum bid having been rejected. His current whereabouts are unknown.

26 Aug 2005: Attorney David L. Cook responds to the discussion of his letter in this outraged threat letter. Henson respods with this email. Cook should be mindful that this is a much more mellow response than Kobrin got.

23 Aug 2005: Henson ran into difficulties getting people to accept service as non parties. This motion asks for 30 some odd people to be considered parties for purposes of examining "extrinsic" fraud in Henson's criminal case.

16 Aug 2005: Robert K. Schwarz Interrogatory.

14 Aug 2005: Hoden Interrogatory.

14 Jul 2005: Henson's Motion for More Time.

The background is that the three "victims" extended the incompetence and dishonesty of Henson's kangaroo court into a civil case against him. Based entirely on the criminal case, the scientology lawyers obtained a judgement in 2002 for almost $100,000 against Henson.

After bringing the judgment into the bankruptcy court, they sat on it for years. As part of the recent pressure on Henson which included a PI assaulting him, David L. Cook filed a motion to make the judgment non-dischargeable.

This was Henson's response. July 26, 2005 Judge Weissbrodt granted him more time and power to investigate such matters as Hoden testifying under duress.

2 Jul 2005: Henson's situation is covered in an article, "Enemy of the Church," by the Brantford Expositor.

NEW: Henson's bankruptcy trial transcripts now available.


15 Oct 2004: Henson posts an account of ongoing settlement negotiations in bankruptcy court.

23 Jul 2004: Henson notices Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Weissbrodt of what he describes as "illegal or serious ethical breaches" in his bankruptcy case, specifcally that U.S. Trustee Susan Luce appears to prefer Scientology's interests over another creditor, the IRS. It references this decision by Henson's bankruptcy court. Incidentally, there are two other decisions in this case available online which I haven't previously linked to. One of 8 Jan 2002, refusing to apply the fugitive disentitlement doctrine to Henson's case, and the other, of 13 Feb 2003, converting his Chapter 13 case to Chapter 7.

18 Jul 2004: Henson gives an update on his situation, stating that the U.S. Trustee in his bankruptcy is attempting to dismiss his bankruptcy, so that Scientology can get the entirety of the proceeds of the sale of Henson's house. Henson notes: What's amusing about this is that I owe about $20K in income taxes that I couldn't pay in 1999-2001. The US Trustee is insisting the case be dismissed. If they do get the case dismissed, the cult gets money that the IRS has a claim on. Makes you wonder who they are working for."

3 Jun 2004: Henson files a civil rights complaint with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. The DOJ responds, claiming to have "carefully reviewed the information." However, they refer to the judge in Henson's case (Wallerstein) as "Judge Walker." One would suggest to DOJ Section Chief Albert N. Moskowitz that the next time he lies about carefully reviewing a case, that he at least get the judge's name right. This might give these form letter blowoff lies more credibility. Henson's complaint serves as an excellent introduction to anyone viewing this page for the first time.

20 Dec 2003: R.U. Sirius interviews Keith Henson in an article called "Exile on Meme Street," published in the Neofiles.

19 Nov 2003: Henson wins a surprising victory in bankruptcy court, as the sale of his house goes through, at least opening the possibility that Keith and Arel will see some of the proceeds. Scientology has fought long and hard against this, and even got a stay forbidding the sale from Scientology-friendly Judge Ronald M. Whyte. In a peculiar twist, though, for some reason, they failed to file this with the bankruptcy court, allowing the sale to go through. It is possible the granting of the stay by Whyte displayed such blatant favoritism that they were worried about the repercussions of using it. It is also possible that it was the result of simple incompetence. In either case, the bankruptcy trustee and Arel Lucas have filed this Emergency Motion to Vacate Nunc Pro Tunc Order Granting Temporary Stay.

17 Nov 2003: Keith Henson in this article by Simon Smith on the Betterhumans site.

10 Sep 2003: Keith Henson is interviewed by POT-TV. Streaming media available here.

16 Jul 2003: Henson's bankruptcy case grinds on. Unsatisfied with ruining Henson himself financially, they now revenge themselves upon his wife Arel Lucas by attempting to connive her exempt half of the Henson home owned in joint tenancy. Arel Lucas replies pro se to their motion in this reply and describes the situation in this explanatory declaration. This kind of abuse of the courts is no surprise from Scientology or Scientology lawyer Samuel D. Rosen, a hulking ogre who threw his own wife down a flight of stairs in a courthouse, according to the allegations reference in his own lawsuit against Suffolk County alleging an injunction on him following this criminal conduct somehow violated his rights. I suppose this is what qualifies as "good character" for the purposes of practicing law in California.

20 May 2003: Usenet poster Essle posts a draft of an article by Keith Henson which is circulating. Importantly for this site, it notes Henson's silence as of late but his continued well-being. That aside, look for changes on this site in the near future.

9 Mar 2003: Henson posts a March roundup of the latest events in his cases.

7 Feb 2003: The bankruptcy court issues an order which is effectively against Henson, and converts his Chapter 13 bankruptcy to Chapter 7. This Usenet thread debates the significance of this ruling.

21 Nov 2002: The cult objects to Henson's appeal.



13 Nov 2002: Henson files a Notice of Appeal in his civil case, which is properly served on plaintiffs.

29 Sep 2002: Henson's bankruptcy trial starts. Arel Henson reports: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

4 Sep 2002: Scientology files a motion for $100,000.00 in damages in their civil case.

26 Aug 2002: Transcript of a hearing in Henson's civil trial over the same matters which resulted in the "picket sign terrorism" trial.

26 Aug 2002: Henson files an ex parte motion in his contempt hearing, which is partially granted.

23 Aug 2002: Henson's article "Sex, Drugs and Cults" is published by the Human Nature Review

16 Aug 2002: Henson's wife Arel Lucas posts this report and Keith Henson posts this report of a contempt hearing before Judge Whyte over this motion.

22 Jul 2002: Ida J. Camburn reports that largely due to Scientology's ranting about Henson's amicus brief, it has been accepted into evidence in the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case.

16 Jul 2002: Here's a general roundup of the last two weeks. Keith's amicus curiae filing in the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case generates a bizarre response from Scientology's lawyers. Hagglund and Henson file for summary judgment in their small claims suit against the Toronto police. Henson warns Hogan again about the frivolousness of Scientology's recent contempt motion in the original 1996 copyright lawsuit that set the events covered in this page off. Finally, Judge Weissbrodt in Henson's bankruptcy issues a scathing response to an outrageous Scientology filing which actually goes so far as to accuse the Judge of abetting a fugitive for making a ruling they don't like.

24 Jun 2001: The Electronic Frontier Foundation issues this media release in support of Henson's case, representing a major shift in the public view of this travesty of justice.

See the Timeline for more news.


The Biggest Myth About Keith Henson



The myth is that Keith Henson made "bomb threats." If you happen to be a journalist and happen to be talking to Schwarz, ask him point-blank to state what Keith said that constituted a threat of any kind. The legal definition of a bomb threat is an unequivocal, unconditional threat that leads to an immediate fear of harm. The only such "threat" would be the posting of GPS coordinates, and that was posted by David Rice. The post is clearly tongue-in-cheek humor and was itself not entered into evidence.

Henson's posts that were entered into evidence are here, though it should be noted that the exhibits presented to the jury were redacted to the point that the jury stated at a recess that they had great difficulty telling who wrote what; and may have based their considerations of Henson's actions on the words of other people.

The other "threat" was also a post made by another person, who was clearly joking, made further down the thread by a person not even responding directly to Henson. Here is the thread as archived by Google.


More info about helping Keith Henson

Need an engineer? Hire Keith, here's his resume.
Find out more, and read Keith's writings.
Keith Henson in Canada, courtesy of xenu.ca.		 Why Should I Help?
How Else Can I Help?
Picket for Arel, Keith Henson's wife.


Meet Elliot Abelson:
The Man Behind the Henson Prosecution

CA Attorney General Bill Lockyer:
Friend of Scientology?





Red Alert -- Freedom of Speech in Danger

Keith Henson is one of the most effective critics of Scientology. He has litigated pro se against their multimillion dollar litigation machine, and in some cases he has won, and some he has lost. He has picketed them perhaps more than any other single person. He has criticized them on the Internet, in media interviews, and even took the deposition of cult leader David Miscavige.

Now he is facing terrorism charges in California, charges which stemmed from his pickets at the secretive and heavily-armed compound called Gold Base (or Golden Era Studios) over the unusual deaths of a Scientologist, Stacy Moxon Meyer, and a non-Scientologist, Ashlee Shaner. Meyer, the daughter of Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon, adverse counsel in many lawsuits involving Henson, died in a bizarre and gruesome accident in an underground electrical vault. In a horrific irony, when Stacy Moxon Meyer was dying underground in the electrical vault, picketers aboveground were protesting the previous death of Ashlee Shaner in a ghastly decapitation which occurred because Scientology was moving construction equipment on the highway at night without lights and in the wrong lane. In the Shaner case, police recommended homicide charges, which were at the time not acted on by the same DA who feels that picketing and posting to Usenet is "terrorism."

Incidentally, the same people who claimed to have been "terrorized" by the picketers offered to take them to lunch on 25 June 2000, evidently to distract them from the death scene being cleaned up in the electrical vault close by, a point which did not seem significant until the death of Meyer was reported later as having occurred at that exact moment. (Henson was not present at this picket.)

As a result of these pickets and his posts to Usenet, Henson eventually was charged with terrorism.

Henson is far from the only person framed by this cult in either wholly fictional or grossly distorted crimes involving outright frame-ups, entrapment or other abuses of the legal system. Recently the St. Petersburg Times printed this scathing editorial on Scientology abuses of the legal system, concluding:


But again and again, stories surface that set Scientology apart. Not only does it have a penchant for secrecy, it will spend virtually unlimited time and money on pursuing, setting up and bringing down its critics.

That's not like any church we know.





Operation Clambake
Operation Clambake		 Lisa McPherson, killed by Scientology?
Lisa McPherson:
Killed by Scientology?

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