His order is in effect for six months. The two sides have scuffled in the past. On Halloween day in 1999, church critic and McPherson Trust founder Robert Minton was charged with misdemeanor battery after a confrontation with a Scientology staffer. Minton was later acquitted after his lawyer argued he was provoked. The McPherson Trust has an office downtown just 30 feet from a major Scientology building.
Tension simmers daily between the groups.
They videotape each other's comings and goings. They glare at each other across sidewalks. Trust members regularly picket church properties. It is a retractable pole that stretches to 10 feet with a copy of the injunction hanging at the end. The Threep is also equipped with a bicycle horn and a flashing red warning light.