In Step with EFR Records Requests
Over 500 quality public records requests and resulting appeals have now been filed by Expanding Frontiers Research since its incorporation in August 2022. While the ever-increasing number of Freedom of Information Act requests indicate consistent advocacy of government transparency and accountability, it is nonetheless the case that the organization prioritizes quality over quantity. EFR does not wish to further burden an already inadequate federal FOIA process or strain the workload of sheriff departments or prosecutor offices that are often recipients of our requests. A core part of our work to conduct and promote effective public records requests involves assisting the public in properly submitting on point inquiries to the appropriate agencies, thus quality is a priority. Below are some of our most recent records obtained.
Octopus Murders
Recent fruits of our work include records pertaining to people and events surrounding Danny Casolaro and circumstances dubbed the Octopus Murders. Alison Godfrey Brandel facilitated the corresponding inaugural episode of the EFR Interactive Research Project with an exploration of the topic, and we continue to receive responsive records from various agencies.
EFR began by obtaining previously released FBI records responsive to Danny Casolaro. A follow-up request remains pending for records not included in the FBI initial response.
We then obtained FBI records on the Christic Institute, a controversial organization that provided legal representation to select individuals and was directed by Danny Sheehan, more recently an advocate of dubious UFO Disclosure figures. The FOIA request arose because Sheehan and the Christic Institute were involved with journalists central to themes investigated by Casolaro, and Sheehan was listed by Casolaro as a key subject of interest.
Most recently, FBI issued a response to our request on Alan Standorf, an NSA man who was a contact of Casolaro and the victim of a still unsolved murder in 1991. Although EFR was already in possession of the records provided by FBI, the response qualified additional records exist and EFR should advise FBI if we wish to have those records processed. EFR promptly followed up and requested the additional material. Requests have been submitted on other involved individuals, as well, so EFR anticipates receiving more material surrounding this sprawling case.
Leon Festinger and Robert Sears
An Anna Merlan article, exploring how researcher Thomas Kelly undercut the claims of Leon Festinger and company in their enduring When Prophecy Fails, led to EFR submitting a FOIA request on Festinger. Responsive FBI records indicate background checks were conducted on Festinger. Some researchers, including this writer, interpret the records further implicate Festinger and his project as recipients of CIA funding during the MKULTRA era.
This led to requesting and obtaining FBI records on Robert Sears, a longtime contact and apparent mentor of Festinger as described in the Festinger FBI records. The two were psychologists who conducted behavior studies. Records indicate Sears was cleared for work as a government consultant during his academic career, among other items of potential interest.
FBI advised of additional records in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration, which EFR obtained. The NARA records document a Cold War espionage investigation in which Sears and several Yale colleagues and their spouses were referenced. The material illustrates complexities of the era, along with nuances that may be surmised. Perusal of the records is recommended for those who wish to better understand the related cultural dynamics (which, in this writer's opinion, should be anyone interested in aspects of the mid-20th century United States, be it UFOs, the CIA, elected officials, etc.).
Ramtha's School of Enlightenment
Judith Darlene Hampton, who became Judy Zebra “J.Z.” Knight, claimed an ancient warrior appeared to her in her kitchen in 1977 and the rest is history. Knight parlayed the story into a cult empire that includes an 80-acre compound sporting a 12,000+ square-foot house in Yelm, Washington, known as Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. EFR obtained a substantial quantity of law enforcement records responsive to the school, as Knight is a virtual lightening rod for stories from the lightly amusing variety to the darkly exploitative. She has never been convicted of significant criminal activity associated with channeling Ramtha, though implicated repeatedly and accused of unbecoming behavior ranging from endangering followers to drunken racist rants.
The latest Ramtha records come to us from the Thurston County (WA) Prosecutor's Office and pertain to the 1992 home invasion and murder of Joe Sumrall. A tipster implicated Knight and her followers to a police detective but no one was ever charged with the crime.
Correspondence with the prosecutor's office arose as the result of submitting a 2025 records request to the county health department for a letter sent to the facility in 2012 by an MD. The document, obtained by EFR, showed how Dr. Brian Keay advised health officials of “evidence of decompensation” among Knight's followers.
The request to the health department, in turn, arose from a request initially submitted to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office in 2023 for records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. EFR subsequently obtained some 13 separate releases spanning two years, consisting of digital images, videos and reports documenting events that include murder, death from apparent malnutrition, and a variety of often violent circumstances involving Knight's following. The records are shared and described in a series of blogposts and the Expanding Frontiers Archive.
Burning Man
The most recently received FBI records on Burning Man indicate the Bureau collaborated with local law enforcement in 2010 as part of counter-terrorism operations. The Las Vegas FBI office conducted intelligence collection and worked with the Pershing County Sheriff's Office preceding and during Burning Man for reasons described as prevention of terrorist activities.
Though concern has been expressed about potential law enforcement overreach, a 37-year-old Russian man, Vadim Kruglov, was murdered at 2025 Burning Man. The case remains ongoing as of this writing. Three more deaths occurred at the 2026 event, though none of them initially seem to involve nefarious activity. That makes six fatalities connected to Burning Man over the past four years. At least eleven people have died at the festival since it moved from San Francisco to the Nevada Black Rock Desert in 1990, according to USA Today.
Dozens of digital images and reports responsive to Burning Man were obtained from the Pershing County Sheriff's Office. The material is available in the online Expanding Frontiers Archive.
Comments