Church of Scientology the "United Churches of Florida" the citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building's owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building's purchase. Clearwater citizens' groups, headed by Mayor Gabriel Cazares, rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Base was established nonetheless. In the years since its foundation, the Flag Land Base has expanded as the Church of Scientology has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has
Scientology in the United Kingdom States, where in November 1980 they were sentenced to two to six years in prison. In a House of Commons of the United Kingdom speech on 25 July 1968, Minister for Health Kenneth Robinson said Scientology's practices were "a potential menace to the personality and well-being of those so deluded as to become its followers". He described Scientology as "so objectionable that it would be right to take all steps ... to curb its growth", and so introduced a ban on the immigration of foreign Scientologists. Until then, the Hubbard College of Scientology had, as a recognised educational institution, been