#2695: Lucy Cole

Lucy Cole (middle)

California bill SB 276 was introduced in 2019 as an effort to curb parents’ use of ideological exemptions to vaccine mandates for children attending public schools, and it was desperately needed. It was, of course, vigorously opposed by antivaccine groups, including lunatic antivaccine conspiracy groups like the Church of Scientology and the Nation of Islam. In California, the efforts of the former group were spearheaded by Lucy Cole, a Scientology Operating Thetan VIII, the highest current auditing level in Scientology. Cole was for instance leading the effort to have the church and the Nation of Islam coordinate their antivaccine efforts, and worked closely for instance with Minister Tony Muhammad, the regional representative for Nation of Islam on the American West Coast and, as it turns out, also a Scientologist, at various antivaccine events. Cole and Muhammad have also for instance appeared together with Del Bigtree, and helped promote the anti-vaccine conspiracy video Vaxxed.

 

Beyond her membership in the Church of Scientology and her antivaccine activities, we admit that we do not know much about Cole – her church isn’t exactly renowned for its level of transparency. If she’s still around, we doubt that she’s up to anything good, however.

 

Diagnosis: Crazy and delusional old lady, though on the bright side: scientology’s involvement with anti-vaccine efforts may ultimately harm the latter movement more than it helps.