We got a correspondent into Scientology's New Year's Event Saturday in Los Angeles - 2018-12-24

We got a correspondent into Scientology's New Year's Event Saturday in Los Angeles December 24, 2018, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

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Once again, we got a correspondent into a major Scientology event. Our tipster attended Saturday night's New Year's Event held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Scientology customarily films its New Year's event a few days early, pretending it's actually New Year's Eve, so that the video can be screened on December 31 at its orgs around the world. Here's what our stringer saw…

This year, the metal detectors and bag search were at the entrance to the outside waiting and social area. In the past, the metal detectors and bag search were at the doors to the Shrine Auditorium building itself.

As always, a ticket and photo ID were required for entry. The tickets were individually bar-coded, tied to one's ID, and scanned upon entry.

The Shine Auditorium (capacity 6,300) was easily 95 percent full. I don't know if the church hired seat fillers. All I can do is report what I saw, and the Shrine has not been this full for a New Year's Event for years.

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | author = Tony Ortega | title = We got a correspondent into Scientology's New Year's Event Saturday in Los Angeles | url = https://tonyortega.org/2018/12/24/we-got-a-correspondent-into-scientologys-new-years-event-saturday-in-los-angeles/ | work = Underground Bunker | date = December 24, 2018 | accessdate = December 24, 2018 }}