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JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES ARE SPYING AND STALKING US! What Can We Do?

“I dated a Jehovah’s Witness for a while and got her pregnant.  I have broken off the relationship, but she continues to manipulate me by threatening that she won’t let me see the child if I seek custody.  Now that I am living back home with my parents, I think the Jehovah’s Witnesses are spying, not only on me, but on them too.  For example, we have seen them parked across the street watching us, following us into stores, shopping malls, and restaurants.  It seems to be a different person each time and that makes it difficult to document for the police. Yet, the frequency of their presence with us in public and the fact that they always seem to know where we are is a bit disturbing.  Then, we started experiencing weird coincidences. We would say something in the house or on the phone and shortly thereafter an incident would occur outside the privacy of the house that would be exactly what we had talked about. After about 20 or so of these coincidences, we knew something wasn’t right.  We started to wonder if we were losing our minds or going crazy, but then we found website like www.ChristianWitnesses.com, Stalker-Beware.com/ and the discussion forum postings at http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/191823/1/Were-you-Stalked-or-Chased-After-Once-you-Exited-the-JWs-by-Elders and http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/208450/1/Elder-arrested-for-stalking that document cases like ours.  It is helpful to know that we are not alone in this battle, yet we are wondering what to do?  Will their stalking of us go away?”

 

OUR RESPONSE:

Dear friend,

It is true that highly controlling groups, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, use group stalking to intimidate people who have been involved with them.  The stalking activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses are documented, not only on many websites (including the ones you listed above), but also in Raymond Franz’s book, In Search of Christian Freedom.  Ray was a former member of the Jehovah’s Witness Governing Body leadership and on pages 380-383, he shared several accounts of spying and stalking that occurred in the 1980s.

Other cases of stalking and wire fraud that have occurred more recently within the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been documented in court trials such as Case Number 3:10-CV-03907-MEJ Document 50 filed in The United States District Court For The Northern District of California on May 23, 2011 (see http://ex-jw.com/takeover-at-menlo-park and Court Document PDF: http://ex-jw.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/50-main.pdf).  In this case, the Plaintiffs Jonathan D Cobb, Sr and Walter Arlene St. Clair provide evidence of wire fraud on pages 32-33, where they state:

“The Defendants have utilized people with specific skills such as Mr. Bruce Radetich, who is an ex-police officer and now a security specialist who, it is believed has been employed in an effort to use illegal means to surreptitiously monitor phone calls in hopes of gaining information as to the possible direction the Plaintiff’s are heading with regard to legal matters. Certain personal cell phones of the Plaintiff’s as well as other parties closely associated with the Plaintiff’s appear as if they have been monitored by parties outside. One particular cell phone used by Jason Cobb was inspected by a cell phone specialist… where it was determined that the phone in question had been set up to allow a remote party to be able to intercept calls and monitor them. Milano the cell phone technician who worked on the cell phone in question has had nearly ten years of experience with various makes and models of phones and this party has agreed to testify about the state of the phone and the potential ramifications of what he discovered while working on Jason Cobb’s cell phone. The technician’s expert testimony can easily show intent and how far the Defendants, acting in consort with various confederates, are willing to go in an effort to try to conceal the true nature of this situation, not to mention clearly defining Wire Fraud issues.”

ILLEGAL REPORTING OF MEDICAL INFORMATION:

Not only do we have documented evidence of the illegal means that Jehovah’s Witnesses use to intimidate and stalk people associated with them, the Watchtower Society leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses itself has condoned the illegal gathering and reporting of medical information against its members in the September 1, 1987 issue of The Watchtower, where they state on pages 12 and 13:

“Mary works as a medical assistant at a hospital. One requirement she has to abide by in her work is confidentiality. She must keep documents and information pertaining to her work form going to unauthorized persons. Law codes in her state also regulate the disclosure of confidential information on patients. One day Mary faced a dilemma. In processing medical records, she came upon information indicating that a patient, a fellow Christian, had submitted to an abortion. Did she have a Scriptural responsibility to expose this information to elders in the congregation, even though it might lead to her losing her job, to her being sued, or to her employer’s having legal problems? …Hence, there may be times when a Christian is obligated to bring a matter to the attention of the elders.  True, it is illegal in many countries to disclose to unauthorized ones what is found in private records.  But if a Christian feels, after prayerful consideration, that he is facing a situation where the law of God required him to report what he knew despite the demands of lesser authorities, then that is a responsibility he accepts before Jehovah. There are times when a Christian ‘must obey God as ruler rather than men.’—Acts 5:29. …All who become part of the Christian congregation put themselves under ‘oath’ to keep the congregation clean, both by what they do personally and by the way they help others to remain clean.”

Another way deception is endorsed by the Watchtower Society is with a tactic that the Jehovah’s Witnesses call, “Theocratic War Strategy.”  It is the telling of a lie to people who the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not deem worthy of the truth in order to further the goals of the Watchtower organization.  In their book, Insight on the Scriptures, volume 2, pages 244-245, the Society states:

“Lying generally involves saying something false to a person who is entitled to know the truth. …While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it.”

While the Watchtower claims to condemn lying, they define lying as saying something false to a person who is “entitled” to know the truth. So, according to the Watchtower Society, if a Jehovah’s Witness is untruthful to a person who they do not believe is entitled to know the truth, they would not consider that false statement a lie.  Thus, the Watchtower Society has created a definition of a lie that the normal world outside the organization does not share.  In the article entitled, “Use Theocratic War Strategy,” found on pages 285 to 286 of the May 1, 1957 issue of The Watchtower, the Society states:

“No sooner had she appeared on the street than a Communist officer asked her if she had seen a woman with a red blouse. No, she replied… Did she tell a lie? No, she did not. She was not a liar. Rather, she was using theocratic war strategy, hiding the truth by action and word for the sake of the ministry. …A great work is being done by the witnesses even in lands where their activity is banned. The only way they can fulfill the command to preach the good news of God’s kingdom is by use of theocratic war strategy. …So in time of spiritual warfare it is proper to misdirect the enemy by hiding the truth. …Today God’s servants are engaged in a warfare, a spiritual, theocratic warfare, a warfare ordered by God against wicked spirit forces and against false teachings. …At all times they must be very careful not to divulge any information to the enemy that he could use to hamper the preaching work.”

With such a clear example of “Theocratic War Strategy” being discussed in this article, one would assume that most Jehovah’s Witnesses are at least aware of this doctrine. Yet, most claim that they have never heard of this doctrine or that it was used very infrequently and only in countries and time periods when their lives were in danger for their religious beliefs.  Others claim that this Watchtower quote is over 40 years old, so they say it is a practice of the past.  Yet, this is simply not true.  Dr. Jerry Bergman who wrote the book, The Theocratic War Doctrine – Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Lie in Court, published in 1998 ** , conducted a survey of 130 Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses who responded to the question “How would you best describe Theocratic War Doctrine?”  Regarding the survey, Bergman wrote on pages 30-31:

“This data shows a clear relationship between awareness of the doctrine and the level of activity in the Watchtower. All of the former circuit overseers were fully aware of it, and over half admitted that they utilized it. This data also shows that a majority of Witnesses are aware of the doctrine. …Dedicated Witnesses who held administrative positions, with only one exception, were very aware of the doctrine and its significance.  Although 37 (28% of the entire sample) claimed they never heard of the doctrine, only 3 (2%) chose the incorrect definition, response “A.”  Most (98%) knew of the practice or could define it, but many did not recognize it by the proper term.  Some may have still thought of the doctrine by the old term ‘Rahab technique.’ This also may be partly because the term ‘theocratic’ is used less often now than formerly, but it is still common.  Their official songbook Singing Praises to Jehovah (1984) which is used at all the meetings lists 13 songs under ‘Theocratic Warefare.’ ”

Not only are Jehovah’s Witnesses familiar with the practice of Theocratic War Strategy, even if they are not familiar with the proper term, they often practice it in court cases involving child custody.  On page 11 of Bergman’s book, he describes the current use of this practice by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the courtroom. 

“It is also clear from the evaluations of Watchtower publications by attorneys that the Watchtower teaches lying.  For example, after a study of Watchtower policies and practices, Attorney Thad Nugent (1994) concluded that the Watchtower recommends ‘the giving of testimony under oath which is known to be untrue…. By statutory definitions that is perjury. [and]… it’s really very clear that the book that is sent out is there to instruct the adherents, the Jehovah’s Witnesses who find themselves involved in custody cases, how to avoid getting themselves into a position where they have to say what it is that they’re really practicing with respect to their kids…” —The Theocratic War Doctrine – Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Lie in Court, 1998, p. 11

The fact that the Watchtower Society leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses endorses the giving of misleading information to people who they do not believe are “entitled” to know the truth and the fact that the Society endorses the illegal reporting of medical information to further its goals, lends credibility to the many personal testimonies we and other ministries have received of deception, spying and stalking being used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

HOW LEADERS OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES GET THEIR MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN ILLEGAL STALKING ACTIVITY

Former Jehovah’s Witnesses have reported that the only thing that the average Jehovah’s Witness associate needs to be told by the elders is that their target is “no friend of Jehovah God” or that this person is an “enemy of Jehovah” and these people will do anything that they are told to do.  The court case mentioned earlier, Case Number 3:10-CV-03907-MEJ Document 50, in which the Jehovah’s Witness Defendants were found to be engaged in stalking and wire fraud, explains on page 41:

“This network the Defendants appear to be apart of is vast in that they have used members of their religion in various ways to further their ends. To do this all one would have to do is use their positions from within the organization to influence someone into doing something ‘for the sake of the brotherhood’ or in the name of the Watchtower Society. If you simply say this person is associating with ‘apostates’, (people who appear to not simply accept the teachings of the Watchtower without question), it is used as a code word that has the effect of automatically turning a person away from wanting to have anything to do with this person, even if it is a blood relative or relation. It’s a term used to instill fear and compliance as no person within the Jehovah’s Witness faith would want to be labeled an apostate, it effectively would be the same as being treated like a leper, ones spiritual life would be over.”

Thus, it is not uncommon for Jehovah’s Witnesses to make use of  “group stalking” tactics (using many different people that you only see one time) to further their ends. Although difficult to prove, many former Jehovah’s Witnesses have reported situations involving them being victimized by Jehovah’s Witnesses stalking and spying on them, being watched and followed wherever they go.  Situations in which wiretapping of vehicles, homes and phones is suspect have also been reported.  This may explain how things you have said in private are getting out.  They can also get into your email account, simply by knowing your email address and using a simple password-cracking program that can be downloaded right onto their computers. Caller ID spoofing is a new technology that highly controlling groups may be using in the future. You can learn more about this at www.fcc.gov.

According to various technical surveillance counter-measure group websites, the ways that highly controlling groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, gain access to homes with their bugging devices is by staged break-ins and by using their own people in various forms of employment, usually technicians for cable, phone, electric, utilities, or repairmen for just about any line of work: plumbing, locksmith, windows, doors, lawn service and pest control.  These groups will actually create a problem to get into the homes of their victims.  For example, they may use someone inside a cable company to create interference in the signal so that the victim would think there is a problem and call for repair service.  Electrical disturbances affecting not only the victim’s home, but also the neighborhood, can also be done to make the need for repair appear more legitimate.  When the victim calls for repair, the person showing up ends up being one of their own people with bugging devices that can be placed just about anywhere in the home.  Sweeps of these small devices are expensive and do not guarantee complete removal.  The Granite Island Group (www.tscm.com) is a good resource for information on these bugging devices.

You asked what you can do about their stalking and whether their spying will end.  Eventually, it usually does.  Batteries in bugging devices will not last forever. The more you fight back by taking pictures of them when you catch them spying on you and letting them know that you are reporting them to the police, can help to deter them.  Of course, it is difficult to prove to law enforcement that you are being stalked or spied on when they are using “group stalking” tactics (using many different people that you only see one time) to harass and monitor you.  But your persistence in documenting the events will tend to discourage them or at least cause them to be less obvious about it.  These activities are illegal and if caught, they can face serious penalties for these crimes.  So do not be afraid to let them know you are reporting them to the police.

For bugging devices that are placed in your home, it is important to realize that the batteries only wear down if they are activated continually. They can “scrub” out audio on radio programs. So if you play the same station, you might think they “hear” the radio and that it is blocking sound and using the battery, but that is not the case. On their end, they either hear nothing or your voice.  If the bugs are voice activated, it will be a long time before the battery wears down.  So one suggestion is to change stations frequently and play a variety of Christian and secular talk radio hosts that will make scrubbing of the audio they are getting from your home more difficult.  With your voice, you can also read apostate information aloud, such as Ray Franz’s Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom books as well as articles from our website or the Karen and Cindy What Does God Require dialogues on our 4jehovah.org website.  Since the Jehovah’s Witnesses who are scrubbing the audio from your home to target your voice will have to listen to your reading of this “apostate” literature that they hate, in order to try to get other information from you that they are looking for, this can provide a great opportunity to witness to them. 

The author of christianwitnesses.com website also has a few more suggestions to help. See his response below:

THE AUTHOR OF CHRISTIANWITNESSES.COM SHARES HIS PERSPECTIVE:

Dear Friend

I appreciate your kind words about my website being helpful in that it includes a page with a compilation of many forum postings and statements made in books that show the now wide spread concern over group stalking, especially done by groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have clergy involved in pedophilia and similar activities. From time to time, I will offer even more helpful comments on my website which you and other readers can consider in choosing your course of action. So please continue reading there.

My main advice is to always abundantly document things that happen and to also work with the police.   Although in some cases stalkers may have ties with other stalkers, they more often don’t, and the police are like Caesar’s sword spoken of in Romans 13 that you can read to draw strength and comfort from. 

Stalkers are law-breakers, so they have to fear the police, but honest, law-abiding people, like you, can use their powerful services.  Besides the website page which is at http://christianwitnesses.com/id201.html  and some related pages, please also look at the still many other resources that christianwitnesses.com offers.  For example, there are helpful sample informational letters on the site.

When email is hacked into or wiretapping is being done, then it is possible in the emails and phone conversations to note that the police are informed which tells the spying stalkers, you are no longer an easy mark they can try to intimidate with impunity, making them more eager to back off.  They may not quit for years even at that, but they will back off fast and stop being quite as obvious.  If you absolutely must have privacy in an email correspondence, you could always go to a library and use a library computer to open up a new email account that the Jehovah’s Witnesses would not have access to.  Then, you could use the library computers alone to access that private account.

So, see, it’s actually you who have the position of strength as it is rooted both in God and in His serving sword of justice, the police, and potentially the courts.  It is not the cowards who are tools of darkness that have power over you.  Documenting, filing police reports, taking pictures of the stalkers and taking positive legal measures, do work!  Hopefully this has been of some assistance.  You are welcome to call me at my number that I’ve given you and doing so might be a great way to inform the stalkers that their continuing to bother you is only compounding their problems.  See what I mean?

As a fellow servant in Christ,

Author of ChristianWitnesses.com

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** Note: Dr Jerry Bergman’s book is out of print but Witness Inc - http://www.witnessinc.com/ordering_materials.html still has a small supply. You can purchase copies of the book from Witness Inc at $2.37 each + $2.05 shipping by calling them at: 503-637-3828. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE:

WHAT IS A CULT? 

ARE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES (WATCHTOWER FOLLOWERS) A CULT?

DO JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES SHUN FAMILY MEMBERS WHO LEAVE?

3 REASONS WHY PEOPLE LEAVE CULTS - What You Should Know When Talking To Them