Scientologists try to stop KRQE report about compound

KRQE News 13/November 21, 2005
By Dick Knipfing

Albuquerquie -- KRQE News 13 has been working for months to bring you a story Monday night about a hidden Scientology compound in New Mexico. On Monday, the church worked just as hard to stop anyone from seeing that report.

The Church of Spiritual Technology flew their administrator to Albuquerque from Los Angeles. She visited the station with an attorney in an attempt to stop the story from airing.

The story is about a compound hidden deep in a remote part of New Mexico. Among other interesting features are markings in the landscape that can only be seen from the air and a vault built into a mountain side.

In the meantime, the Church of Spiritual Technology is doing all it can to stop this story from hitting the airwaves.

They and their attorney sat down with News 13 to try to convince us this story should stay private.

They also sought the help of a powerful New Mexican lawmaker, who called News 13 to say the scientologists had been "good neighbors" in San Miguel County, and encouraged the station not to air the story.

The church administrator says the organization has also called the president of KRQE-TV’s parent corporation, Emmis Communications, to get him to put a halt to the story.