The Church of Scientology has been exploiting the raging wildfires torching Los Angeles for picture ops, latest social media posts declare.
A number of posts, together with one shared on Reddit Friday, have accused Scientologists of invading reduction facilities in Pasadena, Santa Anita and Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles — leaving with meals and different donated items meant for hearth victims.
Investigative journalist Tony Ortega reported members of the church — accompanied by skilled digital camera crews — have been photographed of their “high-visibility” yellow “Volunteer Minister” windbreakers this week at numerous donation websites established throughout LA to assist folks impacted by the raging fires that first began on Tuesday.
“Quite a few on-line posters are claiming that Scientology VMs are choosing up provides at staging areas like on the Santa Anita race observe, and taking them away in an effort to arrange their picture opps elsewhere,” Ortega reported.
Scientology has traditionally dispatched the Volunteer Ministers to completely different catastrophe areas, the place they “[set] up bogus reduction efforts and all for the cameras,” in line with Ortega, who has been masking the extremely controversial church for twenty years.
The footage is then later utilized in promotional movies, Ortega reported.
“F–ok them and their tone deaf clout seize,” wrote one particular person on social media.
Keep updated with the NYP’s protection of the terrifying LA-area fires
“They don’t give a s–t about anybody however themselves,” one other commented.
“Taking provides and ‘distributing’ them elsewhere appears to be outright theft to me,” famous one other critic. “Does anybody know if these ‘repurposed’ provides have been truly given out?”
The church, in the meantime, apparently has arrange its personal reduction heart, promising water, non-perishable meals and hygiene merchandise for these impacted.
The church didn’t reply to requests for remark.
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