LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Church of Scientology, the U.S. religion known for its movie star adherents, reportedly is being harassed by a group calling itself "Anonymous."
The attacks began after the church demanded the removal of clips from a 2004 interview with Tom Cruise from YouTube and other Web sites, the Los Angeles Times reports. A computer-generated video posted online by "Anonymous" called for anti-Scientology protests Feb. 10 and threatened the church.
Since then, hackers have taken aim at Scientology Web sites, closing down the main one for a day in January and making access to others difficult.
On Friday, 23 Scientology facilities in Southern California were evacuated after receiving envelopes of white powder. The powder was actually a harmless mix of cornstarch and wheat germ, according to preliminary test results.
Cruise has been the church's best-known and most controversial member since he publicly criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants to treat post-partum depression. The church said the 2004 interview was intended only for internal use and that posting it on the Web was copyright infringement.
