David Miscavige

David Miscavige was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania,{{cite book |last1= Miscavige|first1= Ron|last2=Koon |first2=Dan|date=May 3, 2016 |title=Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me |title-link=Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me |location= |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=5 |isbn=978-1-250-09693-7}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20160512_Father_of_Scientology_s_leader___I_lost_my_family_.html|title=Father of Scientology's leader: 'I lost my family'|last=Nark|first=Jason|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|language=en-US|access-date=September 21, 2019 |date=May 12, 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921022244/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20160512_Father_of_Scientology_s_leader___I_lost_my_family_.html |archive-date=September 21, 2019}} on April 30, 1960. His parents, Ronald Thomas "Ron" Miscavige Sr. and Loretta Gidaro, were Catholics of Polish-Italian heritage.{{r|sptimes1998}} Miscavige and his twin sister, Denise, were raised primarily in Willingboro Township, New Jersey.{{r|philly|page=1|quote=Miscavige's middle-class Catholic upbringing in Willingboro, N.J., abruptly changed four decades ago when his childhood asthma led the family to another utopian vision – that of L. Ron Hubbard.}} As a child, Miscavige played baseball and football, but he suffered from asthma and severe allergies.{{r|philly}} His father, a trumpet player, became interested in Scientology and sent the younger Miscavige to see a Scientologist. According to both father and son, a 45-minute Dianetics session cured Miscavige's ailments.

Miscavige's family joined the Church of Scientology in 1971 and eventually moved to the organization's world headquarters at Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex, England.{{r|sptimes1998}} Saint Hill served as Miscavige's training ground as an auditor, and he is remembered by the Scientology organization as a "12-year-old prodigy" who became its youngest professional auditor.{{r|philly}} The family returned to Philadelphia within a few years, where Miscavige attended Marple Newtown High School.{{r|sptimes1998}}

In 1976, with his father's permission, Miscavige left high school on his sixteenth birthday and moved to Clearwater, Florida, to join the Sea Org, a Scientologist organization established in 1968 by founder L. Ron Hubbard.{{r|sptimes1998}} Some of his earliest jobs in the Sea Org included delivering telexes, groundskeeping, food service and taking photographs for Scientology brochures.{{r|sptimes1998}}

Miscavige was appointed to an elite group of young Scientologists within the Sea Org called the Commodore's Messenger Organization (CMO), which Hubbard had established to carry out his personal errands and deliver executive directives to Scientology management. As they grew into adolescence, the Messengers' power and influence within the Sea Org increased.{{cite book | author=Miller, Russell | author-link=Russell Miller | title=Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard | publisher=Henry Holt & Co | location=New York | edition=First American | year=1987 | isbn=0805006540 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/301 301–304] | url=https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/301 | chapter=18. Messengers of God | chapter-url=http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/bfm18.htm | url-access=registration }}{{r|atack|pages=264–5}} By 1977, Miscavige was living in La Quinta, California, working directly under Hubbard as a cameraman for Scientology training films at CMO Cine Org.{{r|atack|p=264}}

{{quotebox |width=40% |quote=In 1981 David Miscavige had begun the year as a cameraman at Gilman Hot Springs and a junior member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization. He ended it in charge of the Watchdog Committee and the All Clear Unit which he announced was now senior to CMO International. |author=—Stewart Lamont |source=Religion Inc.{{r|lamont|p=94}} }}

In the late 1970s, after the public relations disaster of the criminal convictions of eleven leaders of the Guardian's Office, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue, Hubbard had to maintain his distance from Church management since he had formally resigned in 1966. Hubbard further distanced himself from the Guardian's Office, his wife, and CMO—which stood for Commodore Messengers Org where "Commodore" had been Hubbard's title as leader of the Sea Org.

In April 1979, the Watchdog Committee was formed, consisting of the senior executives of CMO Int, with Miscavige assuming a prominent role.{{r|atack|pp=257-258}}{{r|lamont|p=91}} When Hubbard went into hiding with Pat and Annie Broeker in 1980, Miscavige became the sole link between Hubbard and church leaders, secretly relaying Hubbard's orders from the Broekers. In early 1981, Miscavige set up the All Clear Unit "which was allegedly designed to work towards a situation when Hubbard could come back on lines"; to be "All Clear" for Hubbard to emerge from hiding.{{r|lamont|p=94}}

By the end of 1981, Miscavige was in charge of the Watchdog Committee and the All Clear Unit,{{r|lamont|p=94}} as well as Author Services Inc., a for-profit entity established in 1981 to manage Hubbard's literary and financial affairs.{{Cite news| first=Joel | last=Sappell |author2=Welkos, Robert W. | url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-scientologysideb062490-story.html | title=The Man In Control | work=Los Angeles Times | page=A41:4 |date=June 24, 1990 | access-date=June 6, 2006}} As head of the CMO, Miscavige sent out teams to investigate problem areas within Scientology.{{sfn|Miscavige|2016|pp=105}}

Next, setting his sights on dismantling the larger and more powerful Guardian's Office, Miscavige strong-armed Hubbard's wife Mary Sue to resign from her post as Guardians' controller, removed several other GO officials, and purged several more through Comm Evs including David Gaiman, Duke Snider, Mo Budlong and Henning Heldt.{{r|lamont|pp=94-95}} The St. Petersburg Times later reported: "During two heated encounters, Miscavige persuaded Mary Sue Hubbard to resign. Together they composed a letter to Scientologists confirming her decision – all without ever talking to L. Ron Hubbard."{{r|sptimes1998}} She subsequently changed her mind, believing that she had been tricked.{{r|atack|page=266}} Despite this, Miscavige claims he and Mary Sue remained friends thereafter.{{Cite book | author=Miller, Russell | author-link=Russell Miller | title=Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard | publisher=Henry Holt & Co | location=New York | edition=First American | year=1987 | isbn=0805006540 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/305 305–306, 369] |url=https://archive.org/details/barefacedmessiah00mill_0/page/305}}

In 1982, Miscavige set up a new organizational structure to insulate Hubbard from personal liability and to handle his personal wealth through a corporate entity outside of the Scientology network. He established the Religious Technology Center (RTC), an entity responsible for licensing Scientology's intellectual property, and Author Services Inc. to manage the proceeds. Miscavige has held the title of Chairman of the Board of the RTC since the organization's founding. The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) was created at the same time with an option to repurchase all of RTC's intellectual property rights. In a 1982 probate case, Ronald DeWolf, Hubbard's estranged son, accused Miscavige of embezzling from and manipulating his father. Hubbard denied this in a written statement, saying that his business affairs were being well managed by Author Services Inc., of which Miscavige was also chairman of the board. In the same document, Hubbard called Miscavige a "trusted associate" and "good friend" who had kept his affairs in good order. A judge ruled the statement was authentic.{{r|sptimes1998}} The case was dismissed on June 27, 1983.

In October 1982, Miscavige required Scientology Missions to enter new trademark usage contracts which established stricter policies on the use of Scientology materials.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,951938,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930094022/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,951938,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title = Mystery of the Vanished Ruler |access-date=August 10, 2007 |date=January 31, 1983 |magazine=Time}} Over the two years following the formation of the RTC, Miscavige and his team replaced most of Scientology's upper and middle management. A number of those ousted attempted to establish breakaway organizations including the Advanced Ability Center led by David Mayo, a former RTC board member who had also been Hubbard's personal auditor.{{cite book| last =Abgrall | first = Jean-Marie | title =Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults | url =https://archive.org/details/soulsnatchersmec0000abgr | url-access =registration |publisher=Algora Publishing | year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/soulsnatchersmec0000abgr/page/294 294] |isbn=978-1892941046}} The Advanced Ability Center closed in 1984, two years after opening.{{citation|ref=Nordhausen|title=Scientology. Wie der Sektenkonzern die Welt erobern will|last1=Nordhausen|first1=Frank|last2=von Billerbeck|first2=Liane|year=2008|publisher=Ch. Links Verlag|place=Berlin|pages=278, 288, 302|isbn=978-3861534709|language=de}}

When Hubbard died in 1986, Miscavige announced his death to Scientologists at the Hollywood Palladium.{{cite book| first=Janet |last=Reitman |chapter=Inside Scientology |title=The Best American Magazine Writing 2007 | title-link =The Best American Magazine Writing 2007 | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2007 |pages=311, 323 | isbn = 978-0-231-14391-2 |ol=23104250M}} Shortly before his death, an apparent order from Hubbard circulated in the Sea Org that promoted Scientologist Pat Broeker and his wife to the new rank of Loyal Officer, making them the highest-ranking members; Miscavige asserted this order had been forged.{{r|atack|page=362}} After Hubbard's death, Miscavige assumed the position of head of the Church of Scientology and, according to the organization, "ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion."{{cite book| last=Gallagher |first=Eugene V. |author2=W. Michael Ashcraft |title=Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America | url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00gall | url-access=limited | publisher = Greenwood | year = 2006 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontone00gall/page/n114 98], 120, 173 |isbn=0-275-98717-5}} Within the Sea Org, Miscavige holds the title of "Captain of the Sea Organization" and is its highest-ranking member.{{r|reitman|page=139}}

Since Miscavige assumed his leadership role in Scientology, there have been numerous accounts of illegal and unethical practices by the Church and by Miscavige himself. A 1991 Time magazine cover story, "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power," described Miscavige as "ringleader" of a "hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner." Miscavige stated in a 1992 interview on Nightline{{mdash}}his only live televised interview to date{{mdash}}that the publication of the article resulted from a request by Eli Lilly, because of "the damage we had caused to their killer drug Prozac".{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1|title=Scientology Leader Gave ABC News First-Ever Interview (transcript)|work=ABC News Nightline |first=Ted |last=Koppel |author-link=Ted Koppel |date=February 14, 1992 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061120235552/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1 |archive-date=November 20, 2006}} ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exzmE3vW_Tw video]) Scientology filed a suit against Eli Lilly, J. Walter Thompson, Hill & Knowlton and the WPP Group. Scientology agreed to settle the case shortly before it went to trial.{{cite web |last=Garcia |first=Wayne |date=July 7, 1994 |title=Church of Scientology settles suit with PR firm |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/07/07/church-of-scientology-settles-suit-with-pr-firm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401045138/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51847739.html?dids=51847739:51847739&FMT=FT |archive-date=April 1, 2008 |publisher=St. Petersburg Times}}{{r|rinder|pp=132-133}}{{r|wright|pp=217-218}}

The Scientology organization also brought a libel lawsuit against the piece's publisher Time Warner and its author Richard Behar, seeking damages of $416 million.{{cite web |first=Douglas |last=Frantz |title=An Ultra-Aggressive Use of Investigators and the Courts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/an-ultra-aggressive-use-of-investigators-and-the-courts.html |website=The New York Times |date=March 9, 1997 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060210/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/an-ultra-aggressive-use-of-investigators-and-the-courts.html |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |access-date= October 25, 2007 |page=31}}{{cite journal |last= Kumar |first= J.P. |title= 'Fair Game': Leveling the Playing Field in Scientology Litigation |journal= The Review of Litigation |volume= 16 |page= 747 |date=Summer 1997}} All counts of the suit were dismissed by the court, and the dismissal upheld when Scientology appealed.{{cite news |title= Court Passes on Scientology Libel Case |url=https://apnews.com/article/6759ebd9b8f8abfda186dd46a8dec8aa|work= Associated Press News |date= October 1, 2001}}{{cite news |last= Staff |title= Time Magazine wins approval of libel suit dismissal |work= Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date= January 13, 2001 |page=F2}} Similar lawsuits in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany were dismissed as groundless.{{cite news |last= Carmody |first= Deirdre |title= Reader's Digest Defies Court |work= The New York Times |pages= D6 |date= October 2, 1991 |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3DD1239F931A35753C1A967958260 |access-date= October 25, 2007}}

In 1987, the BBC Panorama program Scientology: The Road to Total Freedom? featured an interview with former member Don Larson, who served as the church's $25-per-week "finance ethics officer" and who described Miscavige's physical violence towards a staff member: {{blockquote|It was about 15 of us. We went out and rented three limos, drove up to an organization in San Francisco and did a practice beat-'em-up kind of meeting, you know. We took the CDB Org—the commanding officer of that org, organization. He got thrown into the filing cabinets, he was sec-checked on the meter and, um, you—that's where you, what, you have to tell the truth. And there's a whole row of people around the guy, right? And he's sitting there hanging onto the cans and—this is nothing to do with religion any more, right? This is, 'Where's the money, Jack? I want the money! Where did you put the money?' And he said, 'I, you—I don't know! I don't have the money.' David Miscavige comes up, grabs him by the tie and starts bashing him into the filing cabinet. And he's thrown out in the street; his tie is ripped off. Um, this is just a warm-up kind of bash.{{Cite episode| title = Scientology – The Road to Total Freedom?

| series = Panorama| airdate = April 27, 1987}}}}

In a 1995 interview for ITV, Stacy Young, Miscavige's former secretary and the ex-wife of Hubbard's former spokesman, Robert Vaughn Young, asserted that Miscavige emotionally tormented staff members on a regular basis. "His viciousness and his cruelty to staff was unlike anything that I had ever experienced in my life," she said. "He just loved to degrade the staff."{{cite news| title=Inside the Cult |work=The Big Story |publisher=ITV |year=1995}} Though Miscavige and Scientology have been the subject of much press attention, he has rarely spoken directly to the press. Exceptions include the 1992 interview on Nightline,{{r|Nightline}} a 1994 print interview with weekly Austrian news magazine Profil,{{cite web|url=https://tonyortega.substack.com/p/first-time-in-english-rare-interview|title=First time in English: Rare interview David Miscavige gave during Germany crisis|first=Tony |last=Ortega |date=May 15, 2024 |author-link=Tony Ortega|work=The Underground Bunker}} a 1998 newspaper interview with the St. Petersburg Times,{{r|sptimes1998}} and a 1998 appearance in an A&E Investigative Reports installment called "Inside Scientology."{{cite news |title=Inside Scientology |work=Investigative Reports |publisher=A & E |date=December 14, 1998}}{{r|Nightline}}

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, David Miscavige published a message to all Scientologists entitled "Wake Up Call", urging them to redouble their efforts to use Scientology. Miscavige asserted that World War II, Hitler, Pearl Harbor, the Cold War, the 9/11 attacks, and "endless world conflicts can be traced to a lack of real technology of the mind and reliance on false mental therapies of psychiatry and psychology." Miscavige declared that Scientology "work[s] to reform the field of mental health" and "we have the technology and organization to overcome any obstacle facing this planet today" and "we have the technology to pull it off."{{Citation |title=Wake-up Call : The Urgency of Planetary Clearing |first=David |last=Miscavige |date=September 11, 2001 |publisher=Religious Technology Center |series=Inspector General Network, Bulletin 44}}{{r|westbrook|p=189-90}}

{{main article|Tax status of Scientology in the United States}}

In 1991, Miscavige, together with Marty Rathbun, visited the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. to arrange a meeting with Commissioner Fred T. Goldberg, Jr. For more than two decades, the IRS had refused to recognize Scientology as a nonprofit charitable organization. Before this meeting, Scientology had filed more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS and, according to The New York Times:

{{blockquote|Scientology's lawyers hired private investigators to dig into the private lives of IRS officials and to conduct surveillance operations to uncover potential vulnerabilities... [and] taken documents from an I.R.S. conference and sent them to church officials and created a phony news bureau in Washington to gather information on church critics. The church also financed an organization of I.R.S. whistle-blowers that attacked the agency publicly.{{cite news |first=Douglas |last=Frantz |title=Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/scientology-s-puzzling-journey-from-tax-rebel-to-tax-exempt.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 9, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110012741/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/us/scientology-s-puzzling-journey-from-tax-rebel-to-tax-exempt.html |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 22, 2008}}

}}

At the meeting with Goldberg, Miscavige offered to cease Scientology's suits against the IRS in exchange for tax exemptions. This led to a two-year negotiating process, in which IRS tax analysts were ordered to ignore the substantive issues because they had been resolved prior to review. In 1992 Scientology was granted recognition as a nonprofit organization in the U.S., which creates a tax exemption for the Church of Scientology International and its subsidiaries, and tax deductions for those who contribute to their programs.

Scientology officials and the IRS later issued a statement that the ruling was based on a two-year inquiry and voluminous documents that, they said, showed the organization was qualified for the exemptions. To announce the settlement with the IRS, Miscavige gathered a reported 10,000 members of Scientology in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, where he delivered a two-and-a-half-hour address and proclaimed, "The war is over!" The crowd gave Miscavige an ovation that lasted more than ten minutes.{{r|sptimes1998}}

{{See also|Church of Scientology#Ideal Orgs}}

According to Scientology, Miscavige initiated a long-term project of issuing unreleased and corrected editions of Hubbard's books and restoring Hubbard's lectures, including translating many works into other languages. Another initiative by Miscavige, launched in 2003, is to build new or remodeled Scientology locations, called "Ideal Orgs,"{{cite web |title=New Churches of Scientology |url=https://www.scientology.org/churches/ideal-orgs/ |website=Scientology |access-date=July 19, 2018}} in every major city worldwide. Since then, over seventy{{cite web|url=http://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/church-openings/grand-opening-silicon-valley.html |title=Where Spirituality Intersects With Human Brilliance: The New Church of Scientology Opens in Silicon Valley |publisher=Scientologynews.org |date=February 18, 2018 |access-date=June 19, 2018}}{{cite news | first = Will | last = Payne | title = The Church of Scientology Responds to 'The Tip of the Spear' | date = January 20, 2014 | url = http://www.lamag.com/thejump/2013/01/04/the-church-of-scientology-responds-to-the-tip-of-the-spear | work = Los Angeles Magazine | access-date = January 30, 2014 | quote = More than 30 new Ideal Churches opening in major cities throughout the United States and around the world. This year those new Churches opened in Hamburg, Germany; Florence, Kentucky; Sacramento, Orange County, San Jose and Los Gatos, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Buffalo, New York; Padova, Italy; and our first in the Middle East, in Tel Aviv, Israel. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140202100152/http://www.lamag.com/thejump/2013/01/04/the-church-of-scientology-responds-to-the-tip-of-the-spear | archive-date = February 2, 2014 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all}} new or remodeled locations have been opened, including facilities in Washington, D.C.,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHuvMLJSaC0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/fHuvMLJSaC0| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Founding Church of Scientology, Washington, D.C., Ribbon Cutting |date=November 3, 2009 |via=YouTube |access-date=August 15, 2012}}{{cbignore}} Madrid, New York City, London, Berlin,{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1975105.ece | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081013010829/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1975105.ece | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 13, 2008 | title = 'Church' that yearns for respectability | access-date=April 27, 2011 | location=London | work=The Times}} Mexico City,{{cite web | url = http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/07/12/scientology-opens-new-national-organization-mexico-city-palaces/#ixzz1KcD863d3 | title = Scientology Opens New National Organization for Mexico in The City Of Palaces | website = Fox Business | access-date = April 27, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120927051304/http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/07/12/scientology-opens-new-national-organization-mexico-city-palaces/#ixzz1KcD863d3 | archive-date=September 27, 2012 | df = mdy-all}} Rome,{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33498755 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104005340/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33498755/ns/today-entertainment/t/spokesman-scientologists-arent-anti-gay/ |url-status=live |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |title=Scoop: Scientologists not anti-gay, official says – Entertainment – The Scoop |date=October 28, 2009 |publisher=MSNBC |access-date=August 15, 2012}} Tel Aviv,{{cite news | first = Matthew | last = Kalman | title = Scientology comes to Israel | date = November 11, 2012 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/scientology-comes-to-israel-8305019.html | work = The Independent | access-date = January 30, 2014 | location=London}} Atlanta,{{cite web|author=Fox|url=http://www.fox5atlanta.com/local-news/georgias-first-ideal-scientology-church-opens |title=Georgia's first ideal Scientology Church Opens {{!}} WAGA |date=April 4, 2016 |publisher=Fox5atlanta.com |access-date=June 19, 2018}} Miami,{{cite web|last=Rodriguezrrodriguez |first=Rene |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/coconut-grove/article147941904.html |title=Church of Scientology opens massive new facility in Miami |publisher=Miami Herald |date=May 1, 2017 |access-date=June 19, 2018}} and San Diego.{{cite web|last=Stone |first=Ken |url=https://timesofsandiego.com/life/2016/11/24/inside-scientologys-new-church-at-old-san-diego-home/ |title=Inside Scientology's New Church at Old San Diego Home |publisher=Times of San Diego |date=November 24, 2016 |access-date=June 19, 2018}} Until the late 2010s, Miscavige worked primarily from Scientology's Gold Base near Hemet, California.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/inside-scientology-103288/ |title=Inside Scientology |date=February 8, 2011 |orig-date=February 23, 2006 |first=Janet |last=Reitman |author-link=Janet Reitman |magazine=Rolling Stone |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502021124/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/inside-scientology-20110208 |archive-date=May 2, 2018}}{{cite book | last = Streeter | first = Michael | title = Behind Closed Doors | publisher = New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd | year = 2008 | page = [https://archive.org/details/behindcloseddoor0000stre/page/230 230] | isbn = 978-1-84537-937-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/behindcloseddoor0000stre/page/230 }}

File:Super Power building.jpg in Clearwater, Florida, is one of Miscavige's flagship projects. The building contains a Sea Org museum and training facilities.]]

One of the largest projects of Miscavige's career is the Flag Building, originally called the "Super Power Building," which is described as the spiritual headquarters of Scientology.{{cite news|last=Stacy |first=Mitch |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-09-23-clearwater_N.htm |title=Fla. town comes to terms with status as Scientology mecca |publisher=Usatoday.Com |date=September 23, 2007 |access-date=August 15, 2012}} The largest of Scientology's properties in Clearwater, Florida, the {{convert|377,000|sqft|adj=on}} structure{{cite web |author=Eric Goldschein |url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-12/lifestyle/30618836_1_new-world-building-church |title=The Scientology Building Where Members Will Receive 'Infinite Power' Is Finally About To Open – Business Insider |publisher=Articles.businessinsider.com |date=January 12, 2012 |access-date=August 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118161716/http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-12/lifestyle/30618836_1_new-world-building-church |archive-date=January 18, 2013 }} is reportedly outfitted with custom-built equipment designed to administer the supposedly perception-enhancing "Super Power Rundown" to high-level Scientologists.Farley, Robert (June 6, 2006). "Scientology nearly ready to unveil Super Power." St. Petersburg Times."Cornerstone Newsletter," Church of Scientology Religious Trust, undated but published 2007 The building was scheduled for completion in 2003, but underwent ten years of delays and re-designs as Scientology completed two other major construction and restoration projects in the same area ahead of it, the Fort Harrison Hotel and the Oak Cove Hotel.{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Brassfield |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article986057.ece |title=Scientology church gives Clearwater's Fort Harrison Hotel a $40M makeover|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=March 21, 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119062614/http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article986057.ece |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |url-status=dead }} Miscavige inaugurated the Flag Building on November 17, 2013.{{cite news|title=Stars come out for dedication of Scientology's 'Super Power' building in Clearwater|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/thousands-will-get-first-look-today-at-scientologys-super-power-building/2152907/|access-date=January 31, 2014|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=November 17, 2013|author=Joe Childs|author2=Charlie Frago}}{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/11/church-of-scientology-dedicates-145-million-super-power-building/|title=Church of Scientology Dedicates $145 Million 'Super Power' Building|work=ABC News|date=November 18, 2013|access-date=January 30, 2014}} He reportedly took up permanent residence at the Flag Building in the late-2010s.[https://tonyortega.org/2021/03/11/new-scientology-magazine-boasts-that-david-miscavige-is-now-a-florida-fixture/ New Scientology magazine boasts that David Miscavige is now a Florida fixture]. Ortega, Tony. The Underground Bunker. March 11, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2023.

In 2009, the St. Petersburg Times published a series titled "The Truth Rundown," which featured allegations by former Scientology executives that Miscavige had repeatedly humiliated and physically beaten his staff, and had confined Scientologists in degrading conditions in a building at Gold Base known as "The Hole." The series included interviews with Mike Rinder, former spokesperson for Scientology and director of the organization's Office of Special Affairs, and Mark Rathbun, the former Inspector General of the RTC. Rinder has said that he was physically assaulted by Miscavige on about fifty occasions. These allegations have been supported by other former Scientologists. Lawrence Wright, author of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, interviewed twelve individuals who reported having been personally attacked by Miscavige and twenty-one people who say they witnessed such attacks.{{r|wright|p=345}} Scientology denies all of these reports.

"The Truth Rundown" was recognized with journalistic honors, including the 2010 Gold Medal for Public Service award from the Florida Society of News Editors.{{cite news |author=Sentinel Staff Report |title=Orlando Sentinel wins 17 awards from Florida Society of News Editors |work=Orlando Sentinel |location=Florida |publisher=www.orlandosentinel.com |date=June 18, 2010 |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-orlando-sentinel-fsne-awards-20100618,0,3887288.story |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160521193051/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-orlando-sentinel-fsne-awards-20100618,0,3887288.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 21, 2016 |access-date=June 18, 2010 }}{{cite news |title=FSNE Gold Medal for Public Service |work=FSNE 2010 Journalism Awards |location=Florida |publisher=Florida Society of News Editors |date=June 18, 2010 |url=http://fsne.org/2010awards/ |access-date=June 18, 2010 |quote=Inside Scientology – The St. Petersburg Times reporting on the Church of Scientology is in the finest traditions of American journalism. The reporting by Joseph Childs and Thomas Tobin stands out for the ways in which it held accountable the powerful. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624185654/http://fsne.org/2010awards/ |archive-date=June 24, 2010 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Winners of 76th Annual National Headliner Awards |work=The New York Times |date=March 24, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/24/us/AP-US-Headliner-Awards-List.html?ref=news |access-date =March 25, 2010}} {{dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}{{cite news|title=Print Division – Daily Newspapers and News Syndicates – Writing & Reporting |work=National Headliner Awards |publisher=www.nationalheadlinerawards.com |url=http://www.nationalheadlinerawards.com/Winners2010Print.html |access-date=March 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325023131/http://www.nationalheadlinerawards.com/Winners2010Print.html |archive-date=March 25, 2010 }} The series was cited as a basis for subsequent journalistic investigations, including a weeklong series hosted on CNN by Anderson Cooper. Jeff Hawkins, a former marketing guru for Scientology, reported attending a meeting where Miscavige "jumped up on the conference room table, like with his feet right on the conference room table, launched himself across the table at me – I was standing – battered my face, and then shoved me down on the floor."{{cite news|title=Scientology: A History of Violence; Students Charged in Bullying Case (Transcript)|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1003/30/acd.01.html|work=Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees|publisher=CNN |access-date=November 6, 2013|date=March 30, 2010}} Amy Scobee, another ex-Scientologist, corroborated Hawkins' account.

Scientology representatives have consistently denied abuse by Miscavige, insisting that the allegations come from apostates motivated by bitterness or attempting to extort money from the organization.{{cite web |last1=Tobin |first1=Thomas C |last2=Childs |first2=Joe |date=January 13, 2013 |title=Scientology defectors describe violence, humiliation in 'the Hole' |website=Tampa Bay Times |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-defectors-describe-violence-humiliation-in-the-hole/1270047/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901155336/https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-defectors-describe-violence-humiliation-in-the-hole/1270047/ |archive-date=September 1, 2013 }}{{r|sptimes1998}}{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012139.ece |title=Scientology: Origins, celebrities and holdings |access-date=April 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526073416/http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012139.ece |archive-date=May 26, 2010 |url-status=dead }} Hawkins' claims were responded to by Scientology when he reiterated them in a documentary, saying they were "fabricated" and referring to him as "a discredited anti-Scientology media source."{{cite web|author=Erin Jensen |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/12/21/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath-episode-4-/95689966/ |title='Scientology' accuses church leader David Miscavige of physical abuse |work=USA Today |date=December 21, 2016 |access-date=June 19, 2018}} Scientology executive David Bloomberg said that it was Hawkins who attacked Miscavige.{{cite news|title=Scientology: Ecclesiastical Justice, Part 3 of 3 in a special report on the Church of Scientology|first1=Thomas|last1=Tobin|first2=Joe|last2=Childs|date=June 23, 2009|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2009/06/23/ecclesiastical-justice/|access-date=December 11, 2011}} Miscavige sent an open letter to the newspaper challenging the integrity of the reporters and labeling their sources as "lying," after the persons in question had been removed from the Scientology organization for what Miscavige described as "fundamental crimes against the Scientology religion." Scientology also commissioned an independent review of the Times{{'}} reporting, but has not, to date, released those findings.{{cite news|title=Scientology Hires Reporters to Investigate St. Petersburg Times|first=Scott|last=Finn|publisher=WUSF Public Media|date=February 25, 2010|url=http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/2010/02/25/scientology_hires_reporters_to_investigate_st._petersburg_times|access-date=October 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706231444/http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/2010/02/25/scientology_hires_reporters_to_investigate_st._petersburg_times|archive-date=July 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=The Rundown Truth: Scientology Changes Strategy in War with Media|first=Hugh B.|last=Urban |author-link=Hugh Urban|work=Religion Dispatches|date=March 17, 2010 |url=http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/2358/the_rundown_truth:_scientology_changes_strategy_in_war_with_media_ |access-date=October 18, 2010}}

Miscavige is portrayed within Scientology as "a servant of Hubbard's message, not an agent in his own right."{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |author2=Olav Hammer |title=The Invention of Sacred Tradition |url=https://archive.org/details/inventionsacredt00lewi |url-access=limited |publisher = Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-86479-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/inventionsacredt00lewi/page/n48 36] |author2-link=Olav Hammer}} Official Scientology websites describe him as Hubbard's "trusted friend."{{cite web |last1=Sappell |first1=Joel |title=Scientology Won't Set Me Free |url=https://www.lamag.com/longform/the-tip-of-the-spear/5/ |website=Los Angeles Magazine |date=December 18, 2012 |access-date=November 20, 2019}} Miscavige uses Scientology publications as well as professionally produced videos of gala events, at which he acts as master of ceremonies, to communicate with Scientologists worldwide.{{r|sptimes1998}} According to the organization, as the RTC's chairman of the board his primary task is to "preserve, maintain and protect" the Scientology organization.{{r|sptimes1998}} In 2012, Miscavige opened Scientology's "National Affairs Office" in Washington, D.C., which he declared to be, "an office designed to give back to a United States government that steadfastly guaranteed our religious rights, the very freedom that allows us to do what we are doing today."{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/local-news/scientology-expands-its-presence-in-washington.php |title=Scientology Expands Its Presence in Washington |publisher=Washingtonian |date=September 14, 2012 |access-date=September 19, 2012}} Scientology says the National Affairs Office was built "to oversee programs around the country and the world dealing with human rights, drug addiction, literacy and disaster response."{{cite journal | title = Solons Salute Scientologists | journal = CQ Weekly | date = September 24, 2012 | first = Shawn | last = Zeller}}

In his role as the leader of Scientology, Miscavige has been the subject of law enforcement investigations, including by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), into suspected human trafficking and slavery. He is also the subject of ongoing lawsuits involving child abuse, human trafficking and forced labor. Miscavige was investigated as part of wide-ranging investigation into Scientology by the FBI in 2009 and 2010, which focused particularly on criminal activities at Gold Base, against which the FBI had planned a raid before the investigation was discontinued.{{cite news |last1=Swaine |first1=Jon |title=Church of Scientology investigated by FBI|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8309698/Church-of-Scientology-investigated-by-FBI.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=February 8, 2011}}{{cite magazine |last1=Wright |first1=Lawrence|author-link=Lawrence Wright|title=Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-apostate-lawrence-wright |magazine=The New Yorker|location=New York|publisher=Condé Nast |date=February 7, 2011}}{{cite news |last=Ortega |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Ortega|title=FBI Investigation of Scientology: Already Over Before We Even Heard of It |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2012/03/19/fbi-investigation-of-scientology-already-over-before-we-even-heard-of-it/ |work=The Village Voice |publisher=Voice Media Group |date=March 19, 2012}}

Scientology launched the Scientology Network, a DIRECTV broadcast and OTT streaming service, on March 12, 2018, with Miscavige introducing its inaugural broadcast in a rare on-camera appearance.{{cite web|quote=Posted 8:24 PM, March 12, 2018, by CNN Wire |url=http://ktla.com/2018/03/12/church-of-scientology-launches-new-network-airing-on-directtv-streaming-devices/ |title=Church of Scientology Launches New Network Airing on DirectTV, Streaming Devices |publisher=KTLA |date=March 12, 2018 |access-date=June 19, 2018}}{{cite web | title=Scientology Leader David Miscavige Makes Rare On-Camera Appearance as the Church Launches TV Network | website=People | date=March 15, 2018 | url=https://people.com/tv/david-miscavige-rare-on-camera-appearance-scientology-network-launch/ | access-date=June 19, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Elber|first1=Lynn|title=Church of Scientology launches TV channel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/church-of-scientology-launches-tv-channel/2018/03/12/7fc90f7c-266b-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313073225/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/church-of-scientology-launches-tv-channel/2018/03/12/7fc90f7c-266b-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 13, 2018|access-date=March 14, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|date=March 12, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Grove|first1=Lloyd|title=David Miscavige Comes Out of the Shadows on the First Night of Scientology's TV Network|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/david-miscavage-comes-out-of-the-shadows-on-the-first-night-of-scientologys-tv-network|access-date=March 14, 2018|work=The Daily Beast|date=March 13, 2018|language=en}} The network is produced by Scientology Media Productions in Los Angeles, a facility opened by the organization in May 2016. Addressing the crowd at the SMP opening, Miscavige called the channel "our uncorrupted communication line to the billions. Because as the saying goes, if you don't write your own story, someone else will."{{cite web|last=Heller |first=Emily |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/3/22/17144710/church-of-scientology-channel-tv |title=The Church of Scientology has launched a TV channel. It's weirdly familiar. |work=Vox |date=March 23, 2018 |access-date=July 19, 2018}}{{cite web|last=Chiland |first=Elijah |url=https://la.curbed.com/2016/8/29/12700596/scientology-hollywood-studio-tv-channel-property |title=What are Scientologists doing with their new LA film studio? – Curbed LA |publisher=La.curbed.com |date=August 29, 2016 |access-date=July 19, 2018}}{{cite web|last=Gibson |first=Kate |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scientology-network-set-for-tv-launch/ |title=Scientology Network set for TV launch |work=CBS News |date=March 12, 2018 |access-date=July 19, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alishagrauso/2016/06/22/tom-cruise-opens-50-million-scientology-movie-and-tv-studio-complex-in-hollywood/#653fae037369 |title=Scientology Opens $50 Million Movie And TV Studio Complex In Hollywood |work=Forbes.com |access-date=July 19, 2018}}

In 2019, a then-unnamed female individual, who was raised as a Scientologist and joined the Sea Org as Miscavige's steward at age 15, filed suit against Miscavige and Scientology.{{cite news |last1=Riotta |first1=Chris |title=Church of Scientology accused of child abuse and human trafficking in new lawsuit |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/scientology-church-abuse-scandal-lawsuit-human-trafficking-forced-labour-leah-reminisce-david-miscavige-a8968051.html|location=London|work=The Independent |publisher=Independent Digital News & Media |date=June 20, 2019 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Alex |title=Ex-Scientologist sues church and its leader alleging abuse, human trafficking|location=Los Angeles|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/religion/ex-scientology-member-sues-church-its-leader-alleging-abuse-human-n1019506 |work=NBC News |publisher=NBCUniversal |date=June 20, 2019 |language=en}}{{cite magazine |last1=Dickson |first1=E. J. |title=Church of Scientology Lawsuit Alleges Abuse and Human Trafficking|location=New York|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/scientology-lawsuit-abuse-human-trafficking-david-miscavige-851047/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=June 21, 2019}} The lawsuit also alleged kidnapping, stalking, libel, slander, constructive invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.{{cite news |title=Ex-Scientologist Accuses Church Of Trafficking & Starving Children In Scathing Lawsuit|location=New York|url=https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/10/ex-scientologist-valerie-haney-accuses-church-child-trafficking-lawsuit/ |work=RadarOnline |publisher=American Media, Inc. |date=October 1, 2019}} Lawyers for Scientology convinced a judge to move the case to internal church arbitration in January 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/valerie-haney-scientology-escape-car-trunk-religious-arbitration-david-miscavige-tom-cruise-elisabeth-moss-1234703982/ |title=She Escaped Scientology in the Trunk of a Car. Her Nightmare Is Far From Over |date=March 27, 2023 |first=Tony |last=Ortega |author-link=Tony Ortega |website=RollingStone |access-date=June 10, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=McManus |first1=Tracey|location=St.{{nbsp}}Petersburg,{{nbsp}}FL|title=Clearwater woman drops lawsuit against Scientology alleging child sexual abuse |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2020/06/11/clearwater-woman-drops-lawsuit-against-scientology-alleging-child-sexual-abuse/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |publisher=Times Publishing Company |date=June 11, 2020 |language=en}} Miscavige is named in a lawsuit involving a series of rapes by Scientologist Danny Masterson, and subsequent efforts by the Scientology organization to harass Masterson's victims.{{cite news |last1=Abcarian |first1=Robin |title=How the Church of Scientology hopes to quash a lawsuit by Danny Masterson's accusers |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-05-29/column-how-the-church-of-scientology-tried-to-keep-alleged-victims-of-danny-masterson |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 29, 2021}} Scientology's lawyers had tried to force the case into internal church arbitration, similar to the case in 2020, but this failed following a three-judge ruling in January 2022.{{cite news |last1=Maddaus |first1=Gene |title=Danny Masterson's Accusers Do Not Have to Go to Scientology Arbitration |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/danny-masterson-scientology-arbitration-appeals-ruling-1235158495/|location=Los Angeles|work=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=January 20, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Netburn |first1=Deborah |title=Appeals court says accusers' case against Church of Scientology can proceed |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-20/appeals-court-says-former-scientologists-can-take-the-church-to-court |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 21, 2022}}

Three former Scientology workers filed a lawsuit for human trafficking, and peonage of children as young as six years old, against Miscavige and Scientology in April 2022.{{cite news |last1=McManus |first1=Tracey |title=3 former Scientology workers sue, saying they were trafficked as children|location=St.{{nbsp}}Petersburg,{{nbsp}}FL|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2022/04/28/3-former-scientology-workers-sue-saying-they-were-trafficked-as-children/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |publisher=Times Publishing Company |date=April 28, 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Schneiders |first1=Ben|location=Sydney|title=Scientology accused of child trafficking, forced labour of Australians |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/scientology-accused-of-child-trafficking-forced-labour-of-australians-20220427-p5aghi.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Nine Entertainment |date=April 28, 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Bolado |first1=Carolina |title=Ex-Scientologists Sue Church Claiming Forced Labor, Abuse - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/employment-authority/articles/1488360/ex-scientologists-sue-church-claiming-forced-labor-abuse |work=Law360 |publisher=LexisNexis|location=New York|date=May 2, 2022 |language=en}} The lawsuit also alleges repeated sexual assault of children by senior members of the Sea Org, of which Miscavige was leader at the time and remains so to the present. The court overseeing the case was told by counsel for the plaintiffs that Miscavige was evading service in the case over a period of months, with at least fourteen attempts being made to serve the summons. The evasion included Miscavige ordering the security team at his house to prevent the summons from being delivered. The court found the allegations sufficiently credible that it ordered that Miscavige be served through the office of the Secretary of State of Florida.{{cite news |last1=Schneiders |first1=Ben |title=Scientology leader evades legal service in Australian trafficking case |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/scientology-leader-evades-legal-service-in-australian-trafficking-case-20220916-p5bim7.html|location=Sydney|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Nine Group |date=September 17, 2022 |language=en}}

Miscavige is married to fellow Sea Org member Michele Diane "Shelly" Miscavige, who has not been seen in public since August 2007 when she was spotted being escorted to her father's funeral.{{r|wright|p=303}} Multiple sources have alleged she disappeared from Gold Base shortly after she "filled several job vacancies without her husband's permission."{{cite news|last=Wright|first=Lawrence|title=The Apostate|url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all|access-date=November 6, 2013|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=February 14, 2011|quote="According to Rinder and Brousseau, in June, 2006, while Miscavige was away from the Gold Base, his wife, Shelly, filled several job vacancies without her husband's permission. She disappeared soon after. Her current status is unknown. Tommy Davis told me, 'I definitely know where she is,' but he won't disclose where that is."}} In July 2012, responding to press speculation on Shelly's whereabouts, lawyers who said they represented her informed two UK newspapers that "she is not missing and devotes her time to the work of the Church of Scientology."{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9441711/Mrs-Shelly-Miscavige.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801214458/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9441711/Mrs-Shelly-Miscavige.html |archive-date=August 1, 2012 |url-access=subscription |title=Mrs Shelly Miscavige |publisher=The Telegraph |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=January 29, 2023 }}{{cbignore}}

In 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had closed their investigation following a missing persons report filed by former Scientologist and actress Leah Remini, having "located and spoke[n]" to Shelly Miscavige.{{cite news |last1=Blankstein |first1=Andrew |title=Scientology leader's wife located by LAPD after Leah Remini inquiry |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-scientology-leaders-wife-found-lapd-closes-missing-persons-case-20130809-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913210554/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/09/local/la-me-ln-scientology-leaders-wife-found-lapd-closes-missing-persons-case-20130809 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 13, 2013 |access-date=July 18, 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 9, 2013}} The LAPD declined to answer questions about the details of the report.{{cite news|last1=Kelsey|first1=Eric|title=L.A. police close inquiry into Scientology leader's wife|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainment-us-leahremini-scientology-idUSBRE97800Q20130809|access-date=March 5, 2015|work=Reuters|date=August 8, 2013}} Author Lawrence Wright reports that "former Sea Org members" claim that they believe Shelly Miscavige is being held against her will at the compound of the Scientologist's Church of Spiritual Technology corporation near the mountain town of Running Springs in San Bernardino County.{{r|wright|p=347}}

In 2012, after gaining access to the full Internet via Kindle, Ron Miscavige discovered new information about the church and subsequently left the Church of Scientology. The Los Angeles Times reported that he was put under surveillance by the Church, which was said to have paid two private investigators to watch him around the clock for 18 months for $10,000 a week. The surveillance was said to have been "all because [David] Miscavige feared that his father would divulge too much about the organisation's activities." At one point, the investigators were said to have phoned David Miscavige when they thought his father was having a heart attack and were allegedly told not to intervene: "If it was Ron's time to die, to let him die and not intervene in any way." David Miscavige denied having ordered the surveillance or speaking to one of the investigators.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-scientology-private-eyes-20150409-story.html|title=Scientology head's father was spied on, police report says|last=Christensen|first=Kim|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 8, 2015|accessdate=April 29, 2016}} Subsequently, Ron published a book in 2016, titled Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me.{{multiref2 |1={{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-scientology-private-eyes-20150409-story.html |title=Exclusive: Scientology head's father was spied on, police report says |date=April 18, 2015 |first=Kim |last=Christensen |website=Los Angeles Times}} |2={{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ron-miscavige-20160906-snap-story.html |title=Life after Scientology is contentious for church leader's father |date=September 15, 2016 |first=Kim |last=Christensen |website=Los Angeles Times}} |3={{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/27/scientology-leader-david-miscavige-threatens-to-sue-uk-publisher-over-fathers-memoir |title=Scientology leader David Miscavige threatens to sue UK publisher over father's memoir |date=April 27, 2016 |first=Alison |last=Flood |website=The Guardian}} |4={{cite book |last=Miscavige |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Miscavige |title=Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me |title-link=Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me |isbn=9781250096937 |date=2016 |publisher=St. Martin's Press}} }}

Thomas Tobin of the Tampa Bay Times reviewed the book, writing that the author "describ[es] his son as a tyrant who has turned the organization into a destructive influence." Tobin wrote that Ron Miscavige said the church had "morphed into an immoral organization that hides a long list of abuses behind First Amendment protections, spends millions to investigate and harass its critics, and has destroyed families—including his own—through its practice of disconnection."{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/father-of-scientology-leader-church-is-manipulative-coercive-and-my-mind/2275745/|title=Father of Scientology leader: Church is 'manipulative, coercive and, in my mind, evil' |work=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=April 19, 2017 |first=Thomas |last=Tobin |date=May 4, 2016}}

Ronald "Ronnie" Miscavige Jr., David Miscavige's older brother by seven years, served in CMO in the Sea Org for a time,{{r|atack|page=264}} but left Scientology in 2000.{{Cite news|first=Jonny |last=Jacobsen |title=Niece of Scientology's leader backs Cruise biography |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5heELOXbk_8qWowwJGtd3RrEXdqgQ |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=January 28, 2008 |access-date=March 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307065203/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5heELOXbk_8qWowwJGtd3RrEXdqgQ |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |quote=[Jenna Miscavige] Hill's father is Ron Miscavige, the older brother of David Miscavige ... [Hill's] parents officially left the church when [she] was 16 in 2000.}} Jenna Miscavige Hill, Ronnie Miscavige's daughter and David Miscavige's niece, remained in the Sea Org until 2005; she subsequently became an outspoken critic of Scientology and published a book in 2013 titled Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology And My Harrowing Escape.{{cite news|title=Niece of Scientology leader describes rocky youth in church|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/niece-of-scientology-leader-describes-rocky-youth-in-church-harrowing/1274490/|access-date=November 6, 2013|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=February 8, 2013|first1=Joe |last1=Childs|first2=Thomas C|last2=Tobin}} Denise Licciardi, Miscavige's twin sister, was hired by major Scientology donor Bryan Zwan as a top executive for the Clearwater-based company Digital Lightwave, where she was linked to an accounting scandal.{{Cite news |last=O'Neil |first=Deborah |author2=Kitty Bennett |author3=Jeff Harrington |title=The CEO and his church: Months of interviews and thousands of pages of court papers show the effect that influential church members had on a Clearwater company that was a darling of the dot-com boom |work=St. Petersburg Times |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=June 2, 2002 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2002/06/02/TampaBay/The_CEO_and_his_churc.shtml |access-date=October 12, 2010}}{{Cite news |last=Harrington |first=Jeff |title=Digital Whistleblower Finally Wins |work=St. Petersburg Times |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=May 10, 2003 |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/10/Business/Digital_whistleblower.shtml |access-date=June 11, 2011}}

Shelly Miscavige's mother, Mary Florence "Flo" Fike Barnett, was a long-time Scientologist{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/10/25/the-man-behind-scientology/ |title=The Man Behind Scientology |first=Thomas C |last=Tobin |date=October 25, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991112103750/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart1.html |archive-date=November 12, 1999 |publisher=St Petersburg Times }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20000708004553/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart2.html Archive page 2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20000307050557/http://www.sptimes.com:80/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart3.html page 3], [https://web.archive.org/web/19991112150417/http://www.sptimes.com:80/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart4.html page 4] who later resigned, taking with her copies of "confidential upper-level materials." She joined David Mayo's Advanced Ability Center, an independent Scientology organization considered heterodox by the Church of Scientology.{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/the-strange-death-of-flo-barnett-mother-in-law-to-scientology-leader-david-miscavige-6667918|title=The Strange Death of Flo Barnett, Mother-in-Law to Scientology Leader David Miscavige|first=Tony |last=Ortega|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510195606/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/the-strange-death-of-flo-barnett-mother-in-law-to-scientology-leader-david-miscavige-6667918|archive-date=May 10, 2016|date=January 25, 2012|location=New York|author-link=Tony Ortega|work=Village Voice}} According to testimony by former high-ranking church executive Vicki Aznaran: "The fact that David Miscavige was linked to [Barnett] by familial ties was extremely repugnant to him and to his wife." On September 8, 1985, Barnett was found dead at age 52 from a shot to the head from a Ruger 10/22 rifle.

The body also had three rifle shot wounds to the chest (one surface wound, one through a breast implant, and one that passed through the left lung and fractured a rib), and there were superficial slash marks on her wrists that were identified in the autopsy report as possibly having been several days old. Despite the admittedly "very, very, very unusual" circumstances of multiple gunshot wounds and the unwieldy nature of the weapon, her death was ruled as consistent with suicide. David Miscavige strongly denied any part in his mother-in-law's death in an affidavit on the case, calling it a "personal tragedy in my family's life." However, in the presence of other witnesses he was reported to exclaim: "That bitch got what she deserved."

Miscavige is a close friend of actor Tom Cruise{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Claire |title=Tom Cruise and Scientology |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 18, 2005 |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,2963052.story |access-date=October 12, 2010}} and served as best man at Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes.{{cite news |title=John Sweeney revisits the Church of Scientology |work=BBC News |date=September 26, 2010 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9032000/9032278.stm |access-date=October 15, 2010}} Cruise was converted to Scientology by his first wife Mimi Rogers in 1986, becoming an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology in the 2000s. Around the same time Cruise was beginning his relationship with Rogers, Miscavige made an announcement at a Church of Scientology rally, "The most important recruit ever is in the process of being secured. His arrival will change the face of Scientology forever."{{cite news | last =Cahalan | first =Sussanah |author2=Cathy Burke |author3=Jeane MacIntosh | title =Slam vs. Sect in Tell-All on Tom: Writer's Tale of Love-Life Control Sure to Provoke Scientology | work =New York Post | date =January 6, 2008 | url =http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062008/news/nationalnews/slams_vs__sect_in_tell_all_on_tom_116950.htm?page=1 | access-date = January 6, 2008 }}

His involvement in the organization was leaked by the tabloid Star in 1990, and he publicly admitted to following Scientology in a 1992 interview with Barbara Walters. According to the book Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman, seven years after Cruise started studying Scientology, the organization's leaders promised to share Scientology secrets, such as the story of the extraterrestrial ruler Xenu. According to Reitman's book, Cruise "freaked out" and took a step back.{{Cite web |title=How The Scientologists Recruited Tom Cruise |url=https://news.yahoo.com/news/church-scientology-landed-biggest-megastar-164734456.html |access-date=June 18, 2022 |website=news.yahoo.com |date=July 9, 2012 |language=en-US}} He removed himself from the Church and worked on the film Eyes Wide Shut until 1999 when Miscavige sent Marty Rathbun to successfully "retrieve" Cruise and convince him to continue training.

Lawrence Wright's 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Alex Gibney's 2015 television documentary adaptation of the same name cast a spotlight on Cruise's role in Scientology. The book and the film both allege that the Scientology organization groomed romantic partners for Cruise and that Cruise used Sea Org and Rehabilitation Project Force workers as a source of free labor.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-cruises-secret-scientology-girlfriend-nazanin-boniadi-2015-3|title=Tom Cruise's secret Scientology girlfriend Nazanin Boniadi|date=April 1, 2015|work=Business Insider|access-date=April 4, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081113/http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-cruises-secret-scientology-girlfriend-nazanin-boniadi-2015-3|url-status=live}}{{r|wright|pp=270-303}} In the film, Cruise's former auditor Marty Rathbun claims that second wife Nicole Kidman was wiretapped on Cruise's suggestion, which Cruise's lawyer denies.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11370754/Scientology-leaders-ordered-Nicole-Kidman-wiretap-during-Tom-Cruise-marriage.html|title=Scientology leaders 'ordered Nicole Kidman wiretap' during Tom Cruise marriage|date=January 26, 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229041531/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11370754/Scientology-leaders-ordered-Nicole-Kidman-wiretap-during-Tom-Cruise-marriage.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/618897/controversial-scientology-documentary-alleges-tom-cruise-wiretapped-nicole-kidman-s-phone-church-slams-claims|title=Controversial Scientology Documentary Alleges Tom Cruise Wiretapped Nicole Kidman's Phone, Church Slams Claims|work=E! Online|date=January 27, 2015|access-date=April 4, 2015|archive-date=December 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151213122621/http://www.eonline.com/news/618897/controversial-scientology-documentary-alleges-tom-cruise-wiretapped-nicole-kidman-s-phone-church-slams-claims|url-status=live}} Cruise's ex-girlfriend Nazanin Boniadi later compared the Scientology organization's auditioning of women to date Cruise and experiences with him to "white slavery."{{Cite web|date=May 10, 2017|title=Nazanin Boniadi's FBI testimony: Cast as Tom Cruise's girlfriend by Scientology|url=http://tonyortega.org/2017/05/10/nazanin-boniadi-fbi-testimony-cast-as-tom-cruises-girlfriend-by-scientology/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510133625/http://tonyortega.org/2017/05/10/nazanin-boniadi-fbi-testimony-cast-as-tom-cruises-girlfriend-by-scientology/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 10, 2017|access-date=July 13, 2021}}

• Church of Spiritual Technology
• Scientology officials
• My Scientology Movie
• Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist|refs=

{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/pieceofblueskysc00atac/ |title=A Piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed |first=Jon |last=Atack |author-link=Jon Atack |date=1990 |publisher=Lyle Stuart Books |isbn=081840499X |ol=9429654M}}

{{multiref2

|1=The Truth Rundown, a three-part series by Thomas C. Tobin and Joe Childs, St Petersburg Times

|2=

{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2019/10/17/scientology-the-truth-rundown/ |title=Part 1 — Scientology: The Truth Rundown |date=June 21, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209040134/http://www.tampabay.com/news/article1012148.ece |archive-date=February 9, 2013}}

|3=

{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2019/10/17/the-truth-rundown-part-2-of-3-death-in-slow-motion/ |title=The Truth Rundown, Part 2 — Death in slow motion |date=June 22, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024004252/https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2019/10/17/the-truth-rundown-part-2-of-3-death-in-slow-motion/ |archive-date=October 24, 2019}}

|4=

{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2019/10/17/the-truth-rundown-part-3-of-3-ecclesiastical-justice/ |title=The Truth Rundown, Part 3 — Ecclesiastical justice |date=June 23, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809103436/http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1012575.ece |archive-date=August 9, 2009}}

}}

{{cite book |last=Lamont |first=Stewart |title=Religion Inc. : The Church of Scientology |title-link=Religion Inc. |year=1986 |publisher=Harrap |isbn=0245543341 |ol=2080316M}}

{{Cite book|first=Stewart|last=Lamont|title=Religion Inc.: The Church of Scientology |location=London |publisher=Harrap |page = 95|isbn= 0245543341|year=1986}}

{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-03/news/30583520_1_david-miscavige-scientology-lrh|title=From here to Scientology: Worldwide leader David Miscavige's Philly-area roots|last=Nark|first=Jason|date=January 3, 2012|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=January 29, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130015044/http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-03/news/30583520_1_david-miscavige-scientology-lrh |archive-date=January 30, 2013}}

{{cite book |last=Reitman |first=Janet |title=Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion |date=2011 |isbn=9780618883028 |ol=24881847M |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |title-link=Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion}}

{{cite book |title=A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology |first=Mike |last=Rinder |author-link=Mike Rinder |year=2022 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781982185763}}

{{Cite book |last=Scobee |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Scobee |title=Scientology — Abuse at the Top |year=2010 |publisher=Scobee Publishing |isbn=9780692008010}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/10/25/the-man-behind-scientology/ |title=The Man Behind Scientology |first=Thomas C |last=Tobin |date=October 25, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991112103750/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart1.html |archive-date=November 12, 1999 |publisher=St Petersburg Times }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20000708004553/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart2.html Archive page 2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20000307050557/http://www.sptimes.com:80/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart3.html page 3], [https://web.archive.org/web/19991112150417/http://www.sptimes.com:80/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart4.html page 4]

{{cite book |last=Westbrook |first=Donald A. |title=Among the Scientologists: History, Theology, and Praxis |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=New York |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-066499-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-s50DwAAQBAJ}}

{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Wright |title=Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=2013 |isbn=9780307700667 |ol=25424776M |title-link=Going Clear (book)}}

}}

• [https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1 "Interview with Scientology Leader"], a 1992 televised interview with David Miscavige in Nightline
• [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/10/25/the-man-behind-scientology/ "The Man Behind Scientology"], a 1998 interview with David Miscavige in the St. Petersburg Times
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090720010151/http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/ "The Truth Rundown"], investigative reports and interviews about Scientology, largely focused on Miscavige, St. Petersburg Times, June–August 2009
• Episode #947 of The Joe Rogan Experience: An interview with David Miscavige's father. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWISIF0k8Mc short clip])

• {{Official website|http://www.davidmiscavige.org/|davidmiscavige.org}}
• [http://www.rtc.org/david-miscavige.html Official biography of David Miscavige] from the Religious Technology Center
• {{Wikiquote-inline}}
• {{Wikisource-inline}}
• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{wikinews inline|has=news on this topic| Former Scientology executives say leader David Miscavige abused staff| Niece of Scientology's leader goes public with criticism}}

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