Hydee Feldstein Soto
Hydee Feldstein Soto profile photo taken during her swearing in ceremony on for Los Angeles Office of the City Attorney. Hydee was officially sworn in and assumed the office on December 12, 2022.
INTRODUCTION
What follows is a consolidated misconduct profile of a city government prosecutor named Hydee Feldstein Soto, whose decisions repeatedly departed from constitutional obligations, victims’ rights, and fundamental prosecutorial ethics. Each incident documented herein is supported by records, court filings, correspondence, or sworn testimony.
Individually, any one of these incidents might be dismissed as a discretionary judgment call. Taken together, they reveal something far more serious: a sustained and deliberate abuse of prosecutorial power used to suppress protected speech critical of government actors, shield favored political interests, silence whistleblowers, and disregard victims.
This profile is a living record. As additional documents are obtained, corroborated, and verified, they will be appended to this same profile so that the public, journalists, attorneys, and oversight bodies may evaluate the full scope of conduct in a single, continuously updated repository. The position of Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected office and carries with it extraordinary authority and public trust. The Office itself defines its mission as follows:
“The mission of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office is to serve the City by providing the highest caliber legal services, with clarity and consistency, promoting public safety, pursuing justice and equity in the City's criminal justice system, ... and protecting its people and communities from unlawful and unfair practices, and helping the City serve its constituents with integrity, accountability, efficiency and transparency.”
In a functioning system, those entrusted with such power are expected to safeguard the vulnerable, uphold the law impartially, and act as a check against abuse. This profile exists because the record of Hydee Feldstein Soto’s legacy demonstrates the opposite: the knowing betrayal of that trust by someone fully aware of their obligations, yet willing to discard them in pursuit of power, tyranny, and control.
Taken together, the record reflects a classic example of a self-serving despot—someone hellbent on forcefully exerting their will over others without consent, at any cost, and willing to inflict lasting, generational fear and trauma through calculated, malicious acts carried out both overtly and covertly.
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Case number 24CJCM07073-01, The People of the State of California vs. Anthony Robert Damato Jr. arose out of the targeted harassment of a minor boy and his mother. The perpetrator, Anthony Robert Damato Jr., is a self-admitted pedophile and Scientologist with a documented history of violent domestic abuse. He is legally barred from seeing his own daughter due to a restraining order obtained by the child’s mother. On February 21, 2025, Anthony Robert Damato Jr. was charged in this matter with 26 separate misdemeanor counts consolidated under a single case, including Willful Cruelty to a Child, Stalking, and Disobeying a Domestic Relations Court Order, among other charges.
Anthony Robert Damato Jr. is also widely known online by the social media moniker “Zero Dark Tony,” where, for years, his content has predominantly focused on harassing, intimidating, and threatening individuals who publicly criticize Scientology. Victims of Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s targeted harassment include prominent public figures engaged in activism exposing the criminal conduct of Scientology, including Liz Ferris, Lara Anderson, Nora Ames, Aaron Smith-Levin, Mirriam Francis, Alexander Barnes-Ross, Serge Del Mar, and members of their respective families, among many others.
In case number 24CJCM07073-01, Anthony Robert Damato Jr. targeted an underage boy, Solomon Sassoon, and Solomon’s mother, Yelena. Neither Solomon nor his mother are Scientologists. Their only connection to Scientology is that Solomon peacefully attended and video documented portions of an internationally viral protest movement that gained widespread traction on social media. The family are longtime residents of Los Angeles—the epicenter from which this international movement originated.
Solomon documented, among other things, the abuse of the 911 emergency system by Scientology through repeated false emergency calls, as well as instances of the LAPD intimidating and unlawfully arresting peaceful protesters under color of law at Scientology’s behest. Solomon demonstrated a strong interest in civic engagement and activism and was mentored by respected local activist William Gude.
Following this documentation, Anthony Robert Damato Jr. began targeting Solomon—what can reasonably be understood as viewing the child as an easy target due to his underage status. The harassment campaign against Solomon was calculated, sustained, and deeply sinister. It included false Code 3 police calls to the family home, incitement of Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s online audience to send threats to the family, stalking Solomon through social media in order to confront him in person, and issuing explicit threats of violence against both Solomon and his mother. These threats included, but were not limited to, threats of murder and rape.
These overt and covert acts by Anthony Robert Damato Jr. were extensively documented, often by Anthony Robert Damato Jr. himself through public video recordings. His conduct openly signaled a belief that he would never be held accountable. Unfortunately, that belief proved correct.
The prosecution of this case was marked by contempt and disregard for the victims by Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and her deputy prosecutor Ethan Greene. The family had already taken extraordinary steps to protect themselves, successfully securing a Civil Harassment Restraining Order against Anthony Robert Damato Jr., which went into effect in August 2024. To be clear, a restraining order is not a prerequisite for criminal prosecution of abuse—particularly in cases involving child victims. It is merely a supplemental legal tool, not a legal requirement.
By the time the case was filed, the family had already performed much of the investigative work typically undertaken by prosecutors, providing extensive and undeniable evidence of Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s conduct. Among the most heinous of Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s actions was his participation in an online Discord group in which child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving the minor victim was heavily circulated. This included sexually explicit language, manipulated images, and AI-generated content depicting the child in a degrading and sexualized manner, with the minor being openly demeaned within the group.
This evidence was provided directly to prosecutors. All subsequent violations of the restraining order were meticulously documented by the family and promptly transmitted to Hydee Feldstein Soto and her office. Concerned members of the public also assisted in preserving and submitting evidence. Anthony Robert Damato Jr. was ultimately arrested on March 4, 2025, and posted bail. The victims were never informed which jail Anthony Robert Damato Jr. was taken to or when he was released.
Despite the issuance of a Criminal Protective Order at arraignment, Anthony Robert Damato Jr. continued to violate both the Criminal Protective Order and the existing restraining order. The victims repeatedly pleaded with prosecutors to file a motion to revoke bail. Prosecutors refused to act and disregarded the victims’ wishes. It was not until October 2025 that prosecutors finally sought bail revocation.
At the bail revocation hearing on October 29, 2025, deputy prosecutor Ethan Greene addressed the court regarding nearly 100 new exhibits, in addition to the over 500 exhibits submitted with the original charges, documenting Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s continued violations. The judge characterized the evidence of Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s conduct toward the child and mother as incredibly disturbing and questioned why Anthony Robert Damato Jr. was not present in court as ordered.
Defense counsel stated that Anthony Robert Damato Jr. had skipped court at the last minute, citing a medical emergency, yet provided no documentation to the court or even to his own attorney. A private, off-the-record meeting lasting approximately fifteen minutes was then held in the judge’s chambers involving the judge, Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s counsel, and deputy prosecutor Ethan Greene. Upon reconvening, the court issued a $500,000 bail and a bench warrant.
Subsequently, during a separate restraining order hearing on November 3, 2025, involving petitioner Nora Ames against Anthony Robert Damato Jr., a declaration was filed by Anthony Robert Damato Jr.’s other attorney, Steven Tamer, asserting that Anthony Robert Damato Jr. had been checked into Los Angeles Downtown Medical Center at the time he failed to appear in court. Prosecutors never disclosed this information to the Sassoon family. The victims only learned of it after Nora Ames publicly disclosed the information on social media.
Law enforcement never attempted to arrest Anthony Robert Damato Jr. at the claimed hospital location, nor was any verification conducted as to whether he remained hospitalized until his December 23, 2025 court date. It later emerged that Anthony Robert Damato Jr. had left the hospital prior to that hearing. Again, the victims were never notified.
On December 23, 2025, a secret plea agreement was negotiated between Hydee Feldstein Soto and Anthony Robert Damato Jr. The agreement imposed no jail time, provided three years of probation, community service, an $800 fine, anger management counseling, and dismissed all substantive charges, including Willful Cruelty to a Child and Stalking. In exchange, Anthony Robert Damato Jr. pleaded guilty to two generic restraining order violations and accepted a ten-year Criminal Protective Order.
The victims were never consulted prior to the agreement, in direct violation of Marsy’s Law. They were never permitted to deliver victim impact statements in open court. They were informed of the plea only after it had already been finalized. The victims clearly wanted the defendant to stand trial.
This conduct constitutes an unlawful disregard of victims’ rights. Notably, it mirrors the same due process violation that resulted in the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, after a court voided a non-prosecution agreement because victims had never been consulted.
This case is not an isolated incident. What makes it particularly alarming is that it is not the first instance in which Hydee Feldstein Soto has intervened to protect a known Scientologist. Equally notable is that Hydee Feldstein Soto personally inserted herself as lead counsel on this case—alongside Ethan Greene—rather than assigning it through standard supervisory channels. This pattern has been repeated in every Scientology-related case handled by her office, as this profile will further document.
Documents for this section
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The lawsuit filed by Michelle McGinnis, former Chief of the Criminal Branch of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, provides direct insight into internal policies and retaliatory practices under Hydee Feldstein Soto’s leadership that are otherwise shielded from public view. The case, McGinnis v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. 24STCV25077, arises from McGinnis’s unlawful termination after she reported and opposed explicit directives that violated prosecutorial ethics and the law.
According to the complaint, Michelle McGinnis—a thirty-year veteran of the Office with an unblemished and exemplary record—was appointed Chief of the Criminal Branch in May 2023 by Hydee Feldstein Soto herself. Shortly after assuming that role, McGinnis began documenting and objecting to a series of directives issued by Hydee Feldstein Soto that explicitly instructed prosecutors not to pursue criminal cases against corporate defendants, particularly those in the banking and real estate sectors. These instructions were not framed as discretionary case-by-case judgments, but as a standing policy position articulated during executive meetings.
Hydee Feldstein Soto repeatedly justified this position by referencing the Enron scandal and the Arthur Andersen prosecution, stating in substance that a single criminal charge can be sufficient to destroy a corporation. The complaint alleges that Hydee Feldstein Soto expressed fear of such outcomes and a corresponding unwillingness to initiate criminal prosecutions that could have systemic consequences for powerful corporate actors. This position is especially notable given that Hydee Feldstein Soto’s entire professional career prior to becoming Los Angeles City Attorney was spent as a banking and corporate lawyer, representing precisely the class of defendants she later directed her office not to prosecute.
When Michelle McGinnis objected—warning that selectively refusing to prosecute corporate defendants while aggressively pursuing individuals and activists violated constitutional equal-protection principles, ethical obligations, and multiple state and federal laws—she was met with escalating retaliation. The complaint details adverse employment actions including heightened scrutiny, public humiliation, exclusion from decision-making, and ultimately her forcible removal from the office. McGinnis was placed on administrative leave without notice, stripped of access, escorted out in front of colleagues, and prohibited from contacting staff, despite Hydee Feldstein Soto and her Chief Deputy allegedly admitting they “didn’t have anything” on her and were still searching for a justification after the fact.
The lawsuit further alleges that Hydee Feldstein Soto was personally fearful of criminal exposure, openly discussing how prosecutions—particularly of sophisticated entities—could rebound onto prosecutors themselves. Rather than addressing this concern through lawful governance, the complaint describes a pattern of suppressing internal dissent, punishing whistleblowers, and consolidating decision-making authority to ensure that corporate defendants remained categorically insulated from criminal accountability.
McGinnis’s termination was not the result of poor performance or misconduct; it was the culmination of her refusal to participate in an unlawful system that treated criminal prosecution as a political and career-preservation tool rather than a neutral application of the law. The case lays bare a retaliatory apparatus designed to silence those who attempted to enforce ethical boundaries from within.
As of this writing, jury trial is scheduled for January 11, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. in Department 52 of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.
Documents
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Description teThe divorce between Hydee Feldstein Soto and Peter James Gregora, Case No. BD576096, was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Stanley Mosk Courthouse. The matter was classified as a dissolution without minor children, as the parties had no children together. Gregora initiated the dissolution following the parties’ separation on December 31, 2012. After prolonged litigation, the case ultimately reached the California Court of Appeal, which issued its decision in 2017.
Central to the dispute were Hydee’s allegations that Gregora had breached his fiduciary duties by concealing and diverting millions of dollars in marital assets. These claims became the dominant focus of the litigation and the subsequent trial, which lasted nine court days and centered almost exclusively on the alleged asset concealment. Gregora consistently denied the accusations, contending that they were unsupported by evidence. Following trial, the court agreed, expressly finding that Hydee failed to prove any diversion or concealment of community property assets.
The trial court thereafter imposed $250,000 in sanctions against Hydee Feldstein Soto pursuant to California Family Code § 271, concluding that her litigation conduct had frustrated settlement and unreasonably increased the cost and scope of the proceedings. On appeal, the Court of Appeal affirmed both the judgment and the sanctions award, upholding the trial court’s factual findings and its exercise of discretion.
The record reflects that the divorce was extraordinarily contentious, a condition the court ultimately attributed to Hydee Feldstein Soto’s litigation conduct. Despite being represented by counsel for much of the case, Feldstein personally conducted cross-examination of her former husband in court. The court record also reflects Hydee fired multiple lawyers during the course of this divorce. She advanced expansive theories alleging secret cash reserves, foreign investments (including alleged Luxembourg accounts), and other hidden wealth. These claims drove years of aggressive discovery but were never substantiated at trial.
Family Code § 271 authorizes a family court to award attorney’s fees and costs as sanctions when a party’s conduct frustrates settlement or unreasonably increases litigation expenses. The statute is intended to promote cooperation, settlement, and efficient resolution of family law disputes, rather than to punish a party simply for losing. Sanctions under § 271 are entrusted to the trial court’s sound discretion, and an appellate court will disturb such an award only if no reasonable judge could have made it based on the record.
In this case, the trial court articulated specific findings supporting the sanction award, each of which was later upheld on appeal:
Excessive and Unnecessary Litigation Conduct
Feldstein served more than 480 subpoenas on third parties, many of which were exceptionally broad and burdensome. These subpoenas sought extensive financial records not only relating to Gregora, but also to his parents, former associates, clients, and alleged foreign entities. The resulting discovery produced over 100,000 pages of documents and yielded little of evidentiary value.Discovery Abuse That Significantly Increased Costs
The litigation generated approximately $3.6 million in legal fees for Feldstein and roughly $2.1 million for Gregora. The court found that a substantial portion of these costs stemmed from needless discovery disputes and overly expansive demands that did not materially advance proof of Hydee’s claims.Failure to Prove Core Allegations
Hydee’s central theory—that Gregora breached his fiduciary duties by concealing or diverting marital assets—failed entirely at trial. The court expressly found no credible evidence supporting asset concealment and concluded that the relevant community property assets had been jointly controlled by both spouses.Lack of Meaningful Settlement Efforts
Although Hydee cited settlement proposals she made during the litigation, the court determined that these offers were not structured to resolve the case in its entirety. By continuing to press unproven breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims, the proposals left the primary source of conflict unresolved and ensured that litigation would persist.Reasonableness of the Sanction Amount
Gregora initially sought $2 million in sanctions. The court declined to impose that amount, finding it excessive under § 271, and instead awarded $250,000. In doing so, the court calibrated the sanction to reflect the extent to which Feldstein’s conduct frustrated settlement and increased litigation costs without justification. The appellate court agreed that § 271 permits sanctions even absent a finding of bad faith, where a party’s conduct unreasonably escalates expense and obstructs resolution, and concluded that Feldstein’s conduct met that standard. Hydee had also withdrawn money from their joint community fund during the divorce proceedings, even after the judge ordered her to cease and desist. Even absent a court order, the joint community funds are lawfully frozen and cannot be withdrawn from during the course of a divorce case.
When this section is read alongside the prior record, the conclusion is unavoidable: Hydee Feldstein Soto’s conduct in this case exemplifies a despotic, authoritarian, and fundamentally tyrannical misuse of power. This was not zealous advocacy, emotional excess, or litigation gone awry—it was domination as strategy. The sheer scale of the discovery abuse, the baseless persistence of disproven accusations, the weaponization of subpoenas against innocent third parties, and the deliberate inflation of costs all reflect an insatiable lust for control rather than any legitimate pursuit of justice. Feldstein did not seek resolution; she sought submission.
She did not test evidence; she attempted to overwhelm institutions through volume, pressure, and attrition. The court’s sanctions were not a matter of discretion or tone—they were a forced intervention against a litigant who repeatedly demonstrated contempt for limits, process, and proportionality. In short, the record exposes a power-hungry fundamental nature that treats legal systems as instruments of coercion and views restraint, compromise, and shared authority as intolerable obstacles to dominance.
Documents
MISCONDUCT 4 - REFUSAL TO PROSECUTE CHILD PREDATOR
On May 7, 2024, at approximately 5:00 p.m., on Fountain Avenue directly in front of Scientology’s Blue Building, a man paid by Scientology to harass protesters escalated his conduct into overt violence and sexual criminality. The protesters were peacefully busking, socializing, and live-streaming on a public sidewalk when the individual—identified as Wendell, a Black man in his late 50s—arrived wielding a machete. Video footage of the incident was captured by activist Danny on his YouTube channel called “@Dannysimpact”. The LAPD was also called by activists present on scene, which included Jessica Palmadessa, YouTuber “@PincheBecky0Effsgiven”, and Danny’s significant other Leah to name a few. The activists demanded a Private Person’s Arrest (PPA) be executed on Wendell for his behavior after showing the responding officers, who were all from LAPD Northeast Division. All responding officers refused to make the arrest despite the overwhelming evidence and left the scene altogether.
Wendell had been present in the area for multiple days. On May 7, 2024, he began actively swinging and swiping the machete at protesters on the public sidewalk. Also present at the scene was Solomon Sassoon, the same minor previously targeted in other Scientology-related incidents.
In addition to the armed assault, Wendell exposed his genitals to Solomon Sassoon, publicly masturbated, and defecated on the sidewalk in front of the minor. These acts were committed in broad daylight, in public view, and were documented on live video streams.
Despite the gravity of these offenses—including assault with a deadly weapon, indecent exposure to a minor, and lewd conduct—Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office declined to prosecute Wendell, allowing the case to expire under the statute of limitations. Internally, the justification offered for declining prosecution of the sexual offense was that “because he [Wendell] was next to a tree when he exposed his genitals to a minor, it does not count.”
This refusal to prosecute occurred notwithstanding additional evidence establishing Wendell’s affiliation with Scientology. Wendell’s personal belongings were later discovered on Scientology-owned property, located behind locked gates that require security escort access, conclusively tying him to Scientology personnel and facilities.
Further insight into this pattern emerged in October 2024, when Enri Marini and activist “AuditLA” recorded a public meeting of the LAPD Northeast Division Community Police Accountability Board (CPAB). During that meeting, multiple board members disclosed that they themselves—and children they knew—had been victims of indecent exposure. These victims reported the incidents to law enforcement, and the cases were escalated to Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office for prosecution.
In every instance, Hydee Feldstein Soto allowed the cases to expire under the statute of limitations, resulting in no charges, no accountability, and no protection for victims—despite timely reporting and law enforcement referral.
This was not prosecutorial discretion exercised in good faith. It was a consistent and knowing refusal to enforce the law in cases involving vulnerable victims, while simultaneously pursuing meritless prosecutions against activists and critics. The outcome was predictable: violent offenders remained free, victims were denied justice, and the public was left exposed to repeat harm.
MISCONDUCT 5 - VINDICTIVE POLITICAL PROSECUTION OF ENRI MARINI ON BEHALF OF SCIENTOLOGY
The facts of People v. Enri Marini (24CJCM03837-01) demonstrate the extraordinary lengths to which the Hydee Feldstein Soto was willing to go to protect the Church of Scientology, suppress lawful protest, and bend law enforcement resources to serve a private organization’s interests. All of the documents for this section can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.
Timeline of Events
June 2, 2024
Scientology Sea Org personnel erected illegal barricades—stakes and netting—along North Catalina Street. LAPD Lieutenant Gary Walters emailed multiple Scientology officials explicitly stating that the barricades were illegal, required permits that Scientology did not possess and never obtained, and were infringing upon First Amendment–protected protest activity. Scientology nevertheless falsely claimed that Sea Org members were assaulted when protesters removed the barricades. LAPD responded by confirming that no assault occurred.
June 2, 2024 Scientology Sea Org personnel erected illegal barricades—stakes and netting—along North Catalina Street by their large blue building compound where each Scientologist lives in packed rooms of 6 people using bunk beds.
June 2, 2024 email from LAPD Lieutenant Gary Walters to multiple Scientology officials explicitly stating that the barricades were illegal, required permits that Scientology did not possess said permits and never obtained said permits. The exact permit required by the city is a “Type R temporary permit”. This file can be downloaded here in PDF form.
June 10, 2024
Scientology escalated the blockade by installing 252 heavy planters, damaging the sidewalk in the process. A wheelchair-bound activist known on YouTube as AuditLA became trapped due to the obstruction and damage.
June 16, 2024 – approximately 1:00 a.m.
Scientology erected additional netting barricades along Catalina Street. Video footage shows multiple individuals, including Enri Marini, removing the netting without damaging it—mirroring the events of June 2. LAPD Officers Fernando Galindo and an officer identified as “Garcia” responded to a private call placed by Scientology, deliberately bypassing recorded and logged official channels. No arrests were made. Officers initially lied, claiming Scientology had permits, before ultimately conceding that no permits existed.
June 16, 2024 – approximately 3pm afternoon
Additional video captured further netting removal. LAPD Officers Alexis Barajas De Villar and Justin Castro were privately contacted by Scientology and dispatched to the scene to intimidate and harass Enri Marini. Both officers falsely claimed Scientology possessed a required Type R permit, attempted to coerce Enri Marini into signing a preemptive trespass agreement (which he refused), and explicitly acknowledged that no crime had occurred. Enri Marini was never detained.
June 16, 2024 – evening (~6:15 p.m.)
Scientology Sea Org security guard Alexander Scott Ervin filed a police report at LAPD Northeast Division. Within an hour, a Northeast Division sergeant reviewed the report, and Detective Ismael Peinado was assigned to investigate.
Despite this, extensive video footage from multiple vantage points around the Scientology compound conclusively shows that Alexander Scott Ervin was not present at the scene during the alleged incident. Nevertheless, Ervin falsely claimed in his report that he was personally assaulted by Enri Marini and personally witnessed the removal of netting from the public sidewalk. Scientologists are routinely coached by captive attorneys—such as Kendrick Moxon—to fabricate police reports.
Police report filed by Scientologist Alexander Scott Ervin on June 16, 2025 at LAPD Northeast Division. This file can be downloaded here in a PDF format.
June 20, 2024
LAPD Northeast Division officer Fernando Galindo serial number 418036 and Garcia serial number 45732 harass Solomon Sassoon on behalf of Scientology at the blue building campus intersecting L Ron Hubbard Way and Fountain Avenue. Fernando Galindo claims he had received a call to service for an old woman vandalizing Scientology property. Galindo never specified what property or where. Galindo then begins to immediately harass Solomon, barking unlawful directives to Solomon to not sit on abandoned property Scientology left on the public sidewalk along L Ron Hubbard Way otherwise Galindo will arrest Solomon.
Galindo and Garcia’s misconduct has deep roots to Scientology. They were also present on June 19, 2024 for the arrest of Scientologist Doctor Lidio Rainaldi after Lidio attacked a protester. Video of Lidio Rainaldi’s arrest can be found here.
June 25, 2024
Detective Ismael Peinado serial number 40873 authored an initial investigative report that knowingly falsified witness statements, invented threats of violence and bodily injury, and deliberately omitted interactions involving four other LAPD Northeast Division officers present on June 16. Peinado explicitly acknowledged in the report that no evidence of property damage existed. This initial investigation document can be downloaded here in PDF format or viewed below.
July 5, 2024
Peinado authored a second and final investigative report, again fabricating allegations of bodily injury and threats of violence by Enri Marini. Peinado submitted a declaration seeking an arrest warrant. The warrant was denied. Peinado has a documented history of filing meritless arrest declarations, including in Leola Johnson v. Robert Allen. This second investigation document can be downloaded here in PDF format or viewed below.
July 12, 2024
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto filed misdemeanor charges against Enri Marini based entirely on the falsified police reports and without any supporting evidence. Notably, Hydee Feldstein Soto has exclusively pursued charges against Scientology critics while declining to prosecute Scientologists or their agents, despite repeated, documented assaults and criminal conduct. Hydee Feldstein Soto could not even spell “Scientology” correctly in official filings.
August 7, 2024
The Los Angeles Board of Public Works formally declared all Scientology barricades illegal and issued a removal order for every barricade placed on the public right-of-way.
August 7, 2024 Los Angeles Department of Public Works orders removal of all barricades installed by Scientology around the North Catalina Street, Fountain Avenue, L Ron Hubbard Way Blue Building campus. This file can be downloaded here in PDF format.
August 15, 2024
At arraignment in case number 24CJCM03837-01, Enri Marini pled not guilty to a single misdemeanor vandalism count related to the June 16 netting removal. Hydee Feldstein Soto personally appeared to handle the arraignment—an extraordinary and highly unusual intervention for a low-level misdemeanor case.
December 5, 2024
Scientologist Jennifer Krauskopf submitted a false witness statement to prosecutors, attempting to claim victim status. Video evidence definitively establishes that she was never present at the June 16 incident.
December 5, 2024 Scientologist Jennifer Krauskopf attends pretrial conference court hearing and files false witness statement claiming she was personally and directly harmed by Enri Marini. This file can be downloaded here in PDF form.
Mid-March 2025
Enri Marini covertly interviewed Hydee Feldstein Soto at a public event hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowner Association. During the interaction, Hydee Feldstein Soto discussed the Marini case—an act constituting unauthorized ex parte communication. She openly admitted that she knew the case was meritless, not a priority, and that she always expected it to result in diversion at most—yet she pursued it anyway.
May 2, 2025
Enri Marini was acquitted of all charges.
Pattern of Selective Prosecution and Viewpoint Discrimination
Each Scientology-related protest prosecution followed the same arc: meritless charges, months of stress and legal expenses, and eventual dismissal—but only after the target had been made an example of. These patterns, combined with months of public testimony by protesters during Los Angeles City Council sessions, ultimately prompted the California State Bar to open an investigation into Hydee Feldstein Soto and her deputies for abuse of prosecutorial authority. The prosecution of Enri Marini was never about vandalism. It was about viewpoint discrimination and the misuse of city power to benefit a private entity. The acts Enri Marini was charged for were identical to acts committed by others—on video, on the same days—yet only Enri Marini was prosecuted.
The City knew Scientology’s barricades were illegal; its own Board ordered their removal. LAPD officers functioned as Scientology’s private security, responding to off-the-books calls and attempting to enforce church-drafted paperwork. The police reports were riddled with fabrication, omissions, and internal contradictions. Smear tactics—including the Hollywood Division’s December 2023 labeling of protesters as a “criminal gang” and Detective Peinado’s later “hate group” claims—were consistent, coordinated, and strategic.
Broader Context of Non-Prosecution
From December 2023 through March 2024, numerous activists—including William Gude, Jessica Palmadessa, Scott Hochstetter, Kamrin Marino, Aaron Smith-Levin, Daniel Gonzalez, Jasiah Addler, and others—were violently assaulted, stalked, falsely arrested, or subjected to repeated fake Code 3 police calls placed by Scientology agents. Property was destroyed, people were beaten unconscious, teeth were knocked out, and lives were disrupted. Scientology agents responsible for these acts were never prosecuted, despite their identities being known.
By contrast, Enri Marini was aggressively prosecuted despite overwhelming exculpatory evidence. In the end, the truth prevailed—but only after a year of deliberate, punitive prosecution.