Barry Levine
Barry Levine was a member of American Mensa who was expelled from American Mensa in 2008 following a national hearing for the offense of committing "calumny" against Dave Remine in the course of criticizing an earlier hearing decision against Levine resulting in sanctions against his participation in his local group in Atlanta, Georgia. This, in turn, stemmed from a conflict within that group around 2001 in which the organizers of rival lunch events clashed over the appropriateness of engaging in heated political arguments during such events. A pair of hearings were held originally, one filed by Levine against other local members, and the other against Levine. Levine's expulsion was confirmed by the American Mensa Committee at the 2008 Annual Gathering of American Mensa. Levine subsequently circulated a document accusing many members of Mensa of corruption and defamation and indicating his intention to file suit. In 2010, he applied for direct international member status with the International Board of Directors, which could have discretionarily granted it if they believed the process by which he was expelled was not conducted fairly, but they elected to take no action on this.
Since his expulsion, Levine has attempted to register for Annual Gatherings as a guest of a member, but has been refused on the basis of a rule (newly passed after his expulsion, and after an unsuccessful attempt to confiscate his AG badge right after his expulsion was confirmed) against expelled members attending any Mensa event (except for events held in private homes when the owner of the home consents to the person being allowed). He has, however, stayed at AG hotels during the gatherings and hung out in the lobby and grounds to meet Mensans. In 2011, he stood outside the hotel in Portland wearing a bright orange shirt saying I was expelled from Mensa for "committing calumny against Dave Remine."
While Levine indicated an intention of filing suit against Mensa soon after his expulsion, no indication of any such filing was forthcoming. As of late 2011, while there is still no confirmation that he has brought any legal action, there have been reports from members of the American Mensa Committee that there is a lawsuit in progress brought by an expelled member against Mensa, and while there are several other expelled members other than Levine, speculation is rampant that this is in fact his suit. Nothing confirming or denying this has yet surfaced as of this writing.
