American seeks asylum.
Convicted of U.S. hate crimes.
By PAUL LEGALL
The Hamilton Spectator
OAKVILLE An American engineer says he'll be killed if he's sent back to California where he was convicted of hate crimes after a long verbal vendetta against the Church of Scientology , Keith Henson, 58, was arrested at gunpoint this week at Oakville Place by Halton police. The American was wanted on an immigration warrant after being convicted of hate crimes in California for picketing the Church of Scientology and posting anti?church messages on the Internet. Henson said he began fearing for his life after reading missives in the Internet that he would be murdered. He is seeking political asylum In Canada rather than return to California for sentencing. "I'm applying as a political refugee from the United Sates. I wasn't afraid until they bragged on the Internet they'd have me killed in jail in the United States;" he said in a telephone interview from the Metro West Detention Centre. Henson arrived in Canada May 12 and says he intended to return for his sentencing hearing on May 16. A jury convicted him in April on a charge of interfering with a religion- considered a hate crime in California- for picketing a Scientology compound and posting anti-Scientology messages on the Internet. At one point Henson carried a sign that said "John Travolta has cooties." Actor Travolta is a well-known Scientology member. Henson was also charged with making terrorist threats against the church. But the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The judge received a recommendation that Henson be jailed 200 days and do five years of probation with strict terms that he keep away from a Church of Scientology compound in Gilman Hot Springs, near Hemet, Calif. During the trial, Henson was quoted as saying he would "destroy them utterly" and making cryptic comments about cruise missiles. The prosecution suggested he was capable of carrying out these threats because of his background in explosives, knowledge of pipe bombs, and technical know?how as a computer engineer. He has five patents registered with the United States patent office including a method of slingshotting heavy payloads into outer space. He has also worked in the field of cryonics, the practice of freezing bodies in the hopes they can be brought back to life in the future. He was also a founding member of a society promoting the colonization of space. In the telephone interview, Henson scoffed at the suggestion that he posed a physical threat to the church. "It's patently absurd. I haven't used explosives for 25 years. I did it professionally (as a geophysicist). I also teach kids about pyrotechnic safety," he said. He said his feud with Scientology started six and half years ago when the church tried to shut down an Internet Web site that was highly critical of the religion. "The psychological impact was the same as a gang of thugs riding into town and burning the newspaper," said Henson, who described himself as a "free-speech advocate:' He admitted posting an-ti-Scientology messages on the Web site and saying he would "destroy them utterly" He added he was referring to a verbal campaign against the church and not physical violence. He has continued the campaign since arriving in Canada by picketing a Scientology function at the Colony Hotel and the Church office on Yonge Street. He had been staying at the Oakville home of Gregg Hagglund, a fellow free-speech advocate and friend far 25 years. The pair were together at Oakville Place Monday afternoon when a Halton police tactical squad arrested them at gunpoint. Hagglund was freed without charges shortly after. Detective Phil Glavin, of the Metro Toronto. fugitive squad, said he called in the tactical squad after getting a tip that Henson had a background in explosives and was a pipe-bomb expert. He said Henson - who was unarmed and surrendered peacefully is not facing any .criminal charges in Canada but was arrested on a immigration warrant for failing to declare his "criminality" when he entered Canada, He is being held at the Metro West Detention Centre near the Toronto airport and is expected to come up for a bail hearing today. You can reach Paul Legall by e-mail at
plegall@hamiltonspectator.com or by
telephone at 905 5263385.