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Three Years Later, STAND Remembers Aaron Yeh
The 24-year-old’s murderer had consumed hate speech promoted by anti-Scientologist Leah Remini
Today marks the third anniversary of the death of Chih-Jen (Aaron) Yeh.
Yeh, a 24-year-old Scientologist and beloved member of the Church, was murdered outside the Church’s Australasian headquarters on January 3, 2019.
His 16-year-old murderer, who stabbed Yeh in the neck with a 10-inch kitchen knife, had been exposed to the anti-Scientology hate speech promoted by Leah Remini.
Newspapers internationally published that Leah Remini had blood on her hands.
Yeh’s murder was the culmination of more than 600 documented threats, death threats and acts of vandalism and violence against Scientologists and their children and families, inspired by Leah Remini.
Yeh’s murder was the culmination of more than 600 documented threats, death threats and acts of vandalism and violence against Scientologists and their children and families, inspired by Leah Remini.
Like other purveyors of inflammatory hate speech, Remini incites unstable individuals to acts of destruction:
- In 2015, four days after calling Leah Remini “a true inspiration” on social media, 31-year-old Erin McMurtry smashed her car through the front doors of the Church of Scientology in Austin, Texas, stopping just short of the nursery. When she was informed no one was hurt, she replied, “That’s too bad.”
- In 2016, Andre Barkanov called the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles and threatened to assassinate the Church leader and “every single one of you.” Barkanov, who was found to have an arsenal of guns, stated in an interview with the LAPD that he was inspired by “the King of Queens lady,” referencing Remini’s character in a now cancelled sitcom.
- Among the hundreds of threats Remini inspired—some issued within one hour of the broadcast of an episode of her anti-Scientology show—are these:
- “Literally gonna torch down every scientology center #ScientologyTheAftermath.”
- “You should all kill yourselves. Or come to my neighborhood and let me do it for you.”
- “I hope someone blows your f***ing building up on live tv!!!” “[I will] join the fight with Leah Remini and do my very best to end your miserable existence!”
- “We’re gonna f***ing destroy you. Your son and your daughter are gonna suffer. I’m gonna burn your f***ing house. I am gonna f*** you up so f***ing bad.”
- “I don’t watch this show that often... I want to burn down every single Scientology building. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.”
Three years after Yeh’s tragic murder, with hate crime on the rise, hate speech and the real-world harm it breeds remain a grave concern for members of minority religions.
Today, on behalf of all communities targeted by hate and violence, STAND honors and remembers Aaron Yeh.
