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I recently exchanged emails with a longtime reader, Dr. Brian Akers, about aspects of the work of celebrated UFO investigator Dr. J. Allen Hynek. We discussed how researchers sometimes selectively source and interpret Hynek's stated positions. We also considered public relations efforts to promote unsubstantiated belief systems that often surround those interpretations. Dr. Akers is a retired professor and award-winning educator with multi-discipline expertise in anthropology, comparative religion and botany. He earned a Ph.D. in Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his employers included the University of Minnesota Morris. His interests in intriguing cultural and social issues are apparent in his extensive study of the use of psilocybin mushrooms in sacred rites and rituals. Our email exchanges consisted of explorations of select Hynek articles, yet we also considered how the wider implications stand to say more about the UFO genre as a whole. This blogpost considers some of Hynek's work as a means to examine a UFO culture in which credulous conclusions are drawn. These conclusions are often asserted from arguably disingenuous or poorly informed positions of claimed objectivity and scientific study. This might particularly be considered a point of concern among self-described UFO archivists and historians, the very people who designate themselves to preserve and disseminate the ambiguous UFO truth. A more accurate description might often include promoting and romanticizing the work of UFO iconic figures such as Hynek, Dr. Jacques Vallee, Maj. Donald Keyhoe and others. Dr. J. Allen Hynek Are Flying Saucers Real? Dr. J. Allen Hynek (1910-1986) was head of the astronomy department at Northwestern University and a UFO investigator. He advised the U.S. Air Force on UFO research, specifically, Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book. He developed a “close encounter” scale for categorizing UFO reports and subsequently consulted with producers on the 1977 blockbuster sci-fi movie bearing its name. Hynek founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) in 1973 while sustaining criticism from both skeptics and believers. Skeptics expressed concerns he was biased in favor of the extraordinary while believers were frustrated he did not more aggressively endorse their preferred conclusions and conspiracies, as documented by Hynek-biographer Mark O'Connell in his book The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs . Dr. Jacques Vallee, popular among UFO enthusiasts, numbered among those frustrated by Hynek's lack of willingness to promote premature and fantastic UFO explanations. Whether you view that as positive or negative probably has a lot to do with whether you prefer your science by systematic research or press release. Cover of Dec. 7, 1966, Saturday Evening Post J. Allen Hynek wrote an article in 1966 titled Are Flying Saucers Real? , published by The Saturday Evening Post. Brian Akers obtained a copy and shared it with me for public benefit. It was subsequently added to a section of Hynek articles located in the Ann Druffel Special Collection of the Expanding Frontiers Archive. We at Expanding Frontiers Research thank Dr. Akers for helping make the article more widely available. The 1966 article gives readers a snapshot of an era in which the United States Congress was aggressively lobbied to dig into UFOs; an official study was commissioned by the Air Force; and common reports of flying saucers were widely thought to indicate extraterrestrial visitation if not, at a bare minimum, to be worthy of deeper study. If you think that sounds a lot like the present, you're right, it just hasn't always been that way. There were gaps between eras of politicians climbing on the UFO bandwagon. Public interest and urgency ebbed and flowed since modern flying saucers soared onto the scene in the 1940s and periodically went through branding revisions ranging from UFOs to UAP. A primary challenge with the steeplechase, as Carol Rainey once aptly termed the enduring UFO social situation, has always been the genre is steered more by disingenuous or mistaken people than transparent and competent researchers. A lot of public opinion about UFOs is shaped by the willfully deceptive and those influenced by them. The latter often sincerely yet mistakenly traffic the former's false assertions with unwavering certainty. The outcome is exponential growth of a demographic that confidently asserts things that are simply wrong. This is not to say honest and competent UFO researchers do not exist. They do, they're just few and far between, and public opinion is minimally formed from their work. The public mostly builds its UFO beliefs from dubious information absorbed through social media, click-bait websites, bad television, videos, and the inherent lies and logical fallacies that sustain them. That has historically been the case from people who innocently gather at local UFO meetings all the way to those populating the halls of Congress. The Robertson Panel Hynek took the opportunity in the above-referenced 1966 article to share some anecdotal testimonies and push back against findings reached by the Robertson Panel, a group we have since learned was CIA-funded to explore the UFO phenomenon. The panel, which convened in 1953, concluded that reports examined did not represent threats to national security and the topic could pretty much be dismissed without a lot of consequence. Maj. Donald Keyhoe While abstaining from the public tendency to accuse the powers that be of a cover-up, circumstances that by 1966 had firmly become the calling card of Maj. Donald Keyhoe of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, Hynek nonetheless challenged the group's findings. The Robertson Panel acted in haste, Hynek asserted, and he pleaded his case that scientific study of UFOs could lead to worthwhile discoveries, regardless of whether or not any reports involved interplanetary spacecraft. A recurring challenge with that position, however, and it continues today, is that it seems to misrepresent a researcher's true agenda about as often as not. This is not necessarily the circumstance with Hynek, and certainly not always, but pro-UFO scientists, investigators and government officials often play the “no one said it's aliens” card only when they get called out for saying it's aliens. As long as audiences encourage their rampant speculation, they're often more than willing to fan the alien flames. By the way, Hynek directly referenced both NICAP and APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) in Are Flying Saucers Real? . The context: “It was about this time that some firm believers in UFO's [ sic ] became disgusted with the Air Force and decided to take matters into their own hands, much like the vigilantes of the Old West; they organized 'to do the job the Air Force was mishandling.' These groups, composed of people with assorted backgrounds, were often the recipients of intriguing reports that never came to the official attention of Project Blue Book. The first group of this kind in the United States was the APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization), founded in 1952 and still going strong, as is NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena), which was organized several years later.” Hynek's take on the Robertson Panel – published in The Saturday Evening Post, no less – might be considered ironic in light of the fact we now know the group also cautioned and advised CIA on the potential use of the UFO topic as a psychological warfare tool, with objectives including undermining authority and sowing public hysteria. That's pretty much what select NICAP leadership started doing in 1957 and continued throughout the 1960s. I have previously suggested Donald Keyhoe's most enduring legacy may have been to make wild assertions, then try to assign the burden of proof to intelligence agencies. Hynek expressed his frustration with working with the Air Force but emphasized it did not try to influence findings of his investigations. The USAF, Hynek wrote, would occasionally disregard his evaluations or not consult with him on certain cases, but it did not attempt to steer his conclusions. It might be considered noteworthy we don't hear that point discussed more often among self-styled UFO experts and historians. As a matter of fact, Hynek went as far as writing, specifically, “During all of my years of association with the Air Force, I have never seen any evidence for the charge about UFO's [ sic ] most often leveled against the service: that there is deliberate cover-up of knowledge of space visitors to prevent the public from panicking.” While there are likely researchers who occasionally mention Hynek's 1966 stated position in passing, it is certainly not as prominently discussed as blaming the CIA and Air Force for an egregious and orchestrated UFO cover-up. Hynek's position just doesn't fit the current preferred narrative so it seems to be largely omitted. Notably, Brian Akers shared the article with me while expressing what he observed to be a seeming lack of wide availability of the piece, at least as compared to what might be considered other representations of Hynek's work that more definitively support commonly held opinions on UFOs. A potential UFO community cover-up, if you will. “The problem that Dr. Akers addresses should be a primary concern,” stated Erica Lukes, executive director of Expanding Frontiers Research. “Both historically, and in current times, UFO historians and archivists are actively promoting the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrials. If they sway too far from UFO education into activism, they omit large portions of information in order to advance unfounded claims. This information includes personal correspondence or background on investigations. The additional information is key to addressing the validity of a claim, the potential motivations or bias of a group or individual, and other factors that provide needed context.”  I asked Mark O'Connell about his experience with bias among UFO historians and if they seem to protect the work of “sacred cows” such as Hynek, Vallee, Keyhoe and the like, from objective discussion and potential criticism. He qualified he might himself be accused of being sympathetic to, and protective of, Allen Hynek's work. “How could I not be?” he reflected. “Aside from my complicity, though,” Mark continued, “yes, I think many figures in the field of UFOlogy are protective of their own UFO biases. Sometimes it is justified, sometimes it is not; that's where 'objective discussion' comes in, at least in theory, right? I can think of a few 'sacred cows' that have pretty much taken UFOlogy hostage in recent years but have not, in my opinion, contributed much if anything to our understanding of the UFO phenomenon.” The Condon Committee Akers observed Hynek expressed enthusiasm in his 1966 article about the then-forming Condon Committee, a group at the University of Colorado commissioned by the USAF to get to the bottom of UFOs once and for all. The eventual about-face by Hynek and others on the findings produced by the group - led by physicist Dr. Edward Condon - is historic in itself. The much anticipated study concluded that investigation of UFOs was unlikely to yield major scientific discoveries, much to the dismay of those who hoped their work and premature proclamations were about to be vindicated. “To me it seems this could be Hynek’s most unwittingly and uniquely self-incriminating testimonial,” Dr. Akers wrote to me in a recent email. “His gushing heraldry of the Condon Committee, by 20-20 hindsight, has to be the most glaring and obvious embarrassment. As if some triumph of scientific promise dawning on the horizon, of gospel comfort and joy. At last we’ll be told what we can believe about UFOs - on solid scientific basis and high authority... A prophecy hardly fulfilled.” Dr. Edward Condon The Condon Committee conclusion would prove to be adamantly opposed by Hynek, Keyhoe and NICAP, and pretty much everybody who believed UFO reports represented something exceptional. A real irony here is a lot of people would still argue against the findings of the committee today. Many UFO enthusiasts continue to this day to stubbornly assert that the criticism of the findings was justified, in spite of the fact history has now shown us Condon was much more right than wrong. It's not as if we don't now have a sizable sample to explore, yet the UFO culture has a tendency to fail to update assessments as more information is collected – even decades of it. Some 60 years later, with untold millions of dollars poured into the steeplechase and aided by the luxury of ever-evolving technology, there have indeed been no major scientific discoveries attributed to the investigation of UFOs. The public continues to be manipulated by such circumstances as shots from grainy videos published on the front page of The New York Times. If there's a threat to national security, it may well be the people sustaining the chase more than what they're chasing, as consultants advised CIA in 1953. In his 1966 Saturday Evening Post article, Hynek suggested we need good photos of UFOs. “I recommend that every police chief in the country,” he explained further, “make sure that at least one of his squad cars carries in its glove compartment a camera loaded with color film. The cameras, which could also be used for regular police work, might be furnished by civic or service groups.” We're now well into a 21 st century where practically every police car in the country has a camera - on its dashboard. Average citizens are regularly walking around with cameras. All of this, as Hynek recommended and much more, yet still no overly significant UFO photos. How many years of such a pattern must be taken into evidence before it's identified as relevant and the implications are proportionately factored? If Dr. Hynek was still alive today, are we to believe he would stubbornly cling to the same arguments expressed in his writings, as if frozen in time with the comparatively limited perspective of the 1960s UFO scene? Expanding Frontiers Research and I encourage the study of whatever inspires one's interest. It is not that any given topic should be summarily rejected, but that bad methodologies create bad results: garbage in, garbage out. It could be argued that pseudoscience and logical fallacies are typically granted tolerance among those interested in UFOs because there is otherwise a sorely disappointing lack of content. Often times, if there is no exaggerated sensationalism, then there is simply no story. Swamp Gas Brian Akers expressed interest in the evolution of Hynek's swamp gas speculation the astronomer applied to some 1966 Michigan UFO sightings, another issue Hynek addressed in Are Flying Saucers Real? . Having expertise in botany himself, Brian had some reservations about the handling of the potential explanation. It might also be considered noteworthy the now semi-famous scapegoat botanist of Hynek's narrative remains nameless. It didn't seem to be the idea itself of swamp gas that bothered Dr. Akers as much as its presentation. The perfect storm of hype and circumstance blew into the Michigan towns of Dexter and Hillsdale in 1966. Several reported UFO sightings included an incident at Hillsdale College. The event was associated with an arboretum, a place where plant-life is grown for scientific and educational purposes. As explained in Mark O'Connell's The Close Encounters Man , Hynek came to town fully expecting heightened media interest to make it difficult to conduct a thorough investigation. The circumstances were compounded by the Air Force presumably wanting fast and decisive explanations. Hynek interviewed several witnesses in the area, but there was not a whole lot of continuity or significance from one account to another, and he was unable to immediately speak to all of the witnesses. Scientists were consulted, but about the only thing anyone could really determine for sure happened at Hillsdale College was some folks saw colorful lights that may or may not have been part of a solid object that may or may not have been airborne. Inconsistencies mounted, as O'Connell observed. Somehow a press conference got scheduled. It depends on who you asked as to who initiated it. Nonetheless, the press conference was an exciting time for those who had long hoped for the UFO topic to get so much attention and be taken so seriously. “It was also, in Hynek's words, the absolute low point in his association with UFOs,” O'Connell wrote in The Close Encounters Man , citing the 1966 article, Are Flying Saucers Real? , we've been examining. Hynek with Dr. Jacques Vallee When pressed for conclusive explanations that he simply did not have, Hynek speculated the lights may have been swamp gas. He noted how the association of the sightings with swamps seemed more than coincidence, and that the major conditions for the appearance of swamp lights were satisfied. The UFO faithful and some of Hynek's colleagues were bitterly disappointed (We could make some comparisons here to circumstances surrounding Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, formerly of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. He was much more recently accused by religious-like UFO zealots of cover-up and betrayal when he refused to assert unfounded conclusions, but we'll keep moving because this is a long story with several parable-like recurring themes already). Per Are Flying Saucers Real? and a number of other sources, Hynek explained an unnamed botanist from the University of Michigan suggested the swamp gas possibility. “Searching for a justifiable explanation for the sightings,” Hynek wrote, “I remembered a phone call from a botanist at the University of Michigan, who called to my attention the phenomenon of burning 'swamp gas'. This gas, caused by decaying vegetation, has been known to ignite spontaneously and to cast a flickering light. The glow is well-known in song and story as 'jack-o-lantern,' 'fox fire,' and 'will-o'-the-wisp.' After learning more about swamp gas from other Michigan scientists, I decided that it was a 'possible' explanation that I would offer to the reporters.” O'Connell notes in his book that one of the primary witnesses, Bud Van Horn, put the idea on the table during an interview conducted by Hynek. “But Van Horn wasn’t his only source,” O'Connell documented. “From Hynek’s lengthy case notes and Blue Book report, it becomes evident that as many as a half dozen people mentioned the swamp gas theory to Hynek as a likely explanation for the Dexter-Hillsdale sightings during his three days in Michigan. The list of swamp gas sources includes University of Michigan astronomy, chemistry, and botany professors; some unnamed 'Michigan scientists'; an anonymous military source; and Hynek’s Blue Book colleague Task Sergeant Moody.” Citing an article titled “Air Force to Explain 'Saucers,'” O'Connell goes on to describe an intriguing series of circumstances that preceded the press conference, “Strangest of all was a small item that appeared several hours before the press conference, in the Friday, March 25, edition of the Detroit Free Press . The article said that the air force 'expects to come up with a reasonable, logical answer sometime Friday.' Then it dropped a bomb, saying that Dr. Hynek had admitted to finding no evidence to suggest that the Dexter-Hillsdale lights were the result of 'extraterrestrial intelligence.' The unnamed reporter predicted that the air force’s 'official' conclusions at the press conference would not satisfy the many witnesses in the area, and then cited one Alfred Dickens, a maintenance man for the York County Gas Company of York County, Pennsylvania, who 'snorts at saucers and says the phenomena are merely balls of ‘damp gas’ seeping from swamps and marshes.'” O'Connell continues, formulating the possibility the USAF may have been behind the newspaper article in order to influence the press conference. “The question,” O'Connell wrote, “is whether the air force planted the article that morning to prime the media or to box Hynek in and pressure him into making the swamp gas statement.” Intriguing circumstances, indeed, which brings us back to concerns Dr. Akers had with some of Dr. Hynek's statements from Are Flying Saucers Real? . We have considered the problematic, appeal to authority nature of deferring to unnamed scientists and sources. Concern was also expressed about Hynek's optimism the Condon Committee would prove significant to advancing the UFO topic or, at least, telling the public what it should believe about UFOs (A lot of what we might term UFO activists held similar positions at the time, whatever one may choose to surmise that indicates). Akers discussed further, “What caught me off guard most however - as a PhD in Plant Biology (my 1997 doctoral degree) - was what stuck out like a sore thumb as an undercurrent of pseudoscience - that only a specialist might notice.” Akers went on to describe that perhaps only someone scientifically educated in certain natural phenomena might consider that spontaneously-igniting “swamp gas” does indeed exist, but the terms “foxfire,” “will-o'-the-wisp,” and “Jack o’ lantern” are, at generous assessment, ambiguous generalizations. They span circumstances ranging from fungal bioluminescence to folklore. “In a single sentence,” Akers wrote, “Hynek conflates all these disparate things as if synonymous, for the edification of his 1966 ‘coffee table magazine’ readership, who to this day wouldn’t know the difference, let alone back then.” The Condon Report and UFOs     By 1969 the proverbial rubber band snapped back on hopes mainstream science was about to go all in on saucers. Hynek reviewed the work produced by the Condon Committee in an article titled The Condon Report and UFOs , published in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist. The article, contained in a pdf along with some newspaper clippings and other Hynek records, is available through the previously referenced Ann Druffel Special Collection of the Expanding Frontiers Archive. While qualifying himself as having by that time been a consultant on UFOs to the USAF for over 20 years, Hynek argued there is no scientific value in focusing on the explainable. He emphasized the committee's conclusions overlooked cases that lacked explanation. Hynek expressed particular disappointment the Condon Report was endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, which basically agreed no further work on the UFO phenomenon should be done. Hynek was indeed talented at making an argument for studying UFOs. He was more effective, I would say, than some others who achieved media coverage such as Donald Keyhoe and Richard Hall of NICAP, who also numbered among those publishing counterarguments to Condon's work. For all of his strengths, however, it could be argued Hynek's talking points occasionally incorporated flawed logic where the rubber hit the road. The more clearly a UFO investigator describes details of specific cases, often times the more difficult it becomes for them to abstain from relying on inference and speculation, else the report may just not seem that interesting. Dr. Hynek may have somewhat been a product of his era, as is the case with all of us to some degree, but he sometimes prioritized witness statements more than may have been justified. A lot of people were reporting having seen a UFO and everyone was talking about them. Hynek's writing did not always show a working knowledge of how people may simply be wrong about what they think they saw. Importantly, people may interpret events as UFO sightings through a subjective lens of prior conditioning, which is to say what we read in newspapers, see on television, and talk about with our friends affects our future perceptions and interpretations. To give Hynek his due, maybe he'd say those weren't the cases that concerned him. Critics might counter, however, the burden is on the claimant. UFO Outreach Public relations is an extremely important part of marketing an organization's mission, and that certainly applies within the UFO genre. Donald Keyhoe's primary talent may have been in public relations, questionable as some of his other work may arguably have been. The importance of marketing continues today. UFO organizations, investigators and archivists use television appearances, social media accounts, and a wide variety of tools to widen their reach. Marketing itself is neither good nor bad, but it is the messages and intentions it carries that make it either constructive or detrimental to a society. “A tenet for professional archivists is preserving and disseminating information without bias,” Erica Lukes explained. “Instead, we see archives whose sole focus is on promoting files that support the unfounded belief that UFOs are alien spacecraft, while omitting information that paints the full picture. Until UFO historians and archivists hold themselves to industry standards, we will continue to see a whitewashing of UFO history.” Since the mid-20 th century, UFO organizations and advocates describe a substantial part of their work as increasing public awareness. Unfortunately, their methods are often all but indistinguishable from the characteristics of religious fanaticism, and typically just as lacking in verifiable facts. Moreover, due to a lack of recognition of standards of evidence, UFO fanatics will argue they are critical thinkers and science-based researchers when confronted with their flawed reasoning. From NICAP to To The Stars, spokespersons appointed themselves purveyors of truth while people, corporations, and institutions of varying levels of influence eagerly carried their water. Cover of a 1976 People magazine containing a Hynek interview, courtesy Ann Druffel Special Collection. Hynek expressed a lack of concern about the ways UFO investigation and the inevitable resulting media attention might lead the public astray down a garden path to destructive extremism. I interpret he valued possible scientific discoveries over the consequences of sensationalism and exploitation that have remained certain byproducts of an active and publicly engaged UFO culture. The investigations just had to be done. Given the current circumstances in the U.S. and the self-evident attack on science and its institutions, expressing a counterpoint to Hynek's position hardly seems necessary. Overzealous UFO investigation is by no means solely responsible for rampant brain rot, but it is undeniably adjacent to Pizzagate, crypto scams, sovereign citizens and various other ideologies that put vulnerable populations on fast tracks to loss of family and fortune. Hynek and UFO advocates of the 1960s could have hardly seen it all coming but suffice it to say the Robertson Panel had valid concerns. Along with other less-often explored examples of Hynek's talking points, we find the following item from his above-linked review of the Condon Report .  “There is, however, one area in which the reviewer is in accord with Dr. Condon,” Hynek wrote, “and that is in his recommendation that science credit not be given in elementary schools for term papers and projects on UFOs. School children are too lacking in critical faculties to be turned loose in UFO land.” I direct the reader's attention to the National UFO Historical Records Center, which in 2024 opened a UFO archive on the campus of none other than the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Rio Rancho, NM. It would appear the UFO records group and Rio Rancho Public Schools consider themselves in dissent of Hynek's position. The Rio Rancho Observer reports the collaborators aim “to provide innovative ways for students and parents to engage in educational opportunities.” Objectives reportedly include promoting critical thinking. So why don't they just teach critical thinking?

Expanding Frontiers Research continued to obtain records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office in March and April. It brought the total number of releases to 13 since EFR submitted a records request to the Washington law enforcement agency in 2023. Thurston County notified EFR on May 1 its response was now complete, enclosing an exemption key that explains how redactions are made and the statutory basis for material withheld per the state's Public Records Act. Find the March release , the April release , the exemption key , and the master folder of Ramtha records through the links leading to Google Drive. Ramtha's School of Enlightenment is under the direction of J.Z. Knight, a woman who rose to popularity in the 1980s. She claims to channel a Lemurian warrior who supposedly battled residents of the mythical Atlantis 35,000 years ago, as described in her 1987 book A State of Mind . The school opened the following year. Knight seemingly amassed substantial wealth as the channel of Ramtha. As one might suspect, her rise was not without controversy. Allegations surfaced ranging from alcohol-fueled racist rants to endangering followers on her way to becoming a major financial donor for the Mutual UFO Network and the Donald Trump political campaign. As public records obtained by EFR show , Knight was even implicated as a force behind a still-unsolved 1992 murder and robbery of one of her followers. Neither J.Z. Knight nor a representative for the Ramtha School responded to multiple emails offering opportunities to provide statements for potential inclusion in blogposts. Material provided by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office since 2023 consists of hundreds of files, including police reports and related documents in pdf. The law enforcement agency also processed and released a variety of digital images, videos and audio recordings. The material should be examined with discretion, as violent crimes and their evidence are described and portrayed in detail. The connection between the police records and the Ramtha School are often overt and apparent, while other times more research is necessary to identify why a file was responsive to the request. One might also bear in mind that different records for a single case may not always be grouped together in the same release obtained by EFR. It can be helpful to search the master folder - in addition to sub-folders - for more information on an incident by using the case number or key words, such as the name of a person involved. The March release included digitally recorded witness statements for case number 14-0725, the discovery of the lifeless body of Fiona M. Regan. The deceased woman apparently shot her dog and then herself in February 2014. Neighbors entered her home and found the scene after growing concerned about her well-being. Ms. Regan was involved with the Ramtha School and a witness told police she had been participating in what was termed an “initiation.” Knight's school subsequently posted a document referencing a celebration of life for Fiona Regan. A previously obtained report describes the home where the deceased was found. A deputy sheriff documented Ms. Regan lived “off the grid,” clarifying the power for the dwelling was from a generator. Inside the entry door were two pictures lying face down on the floor. Detectives had been summoned to the scene, the deputy wrote, so while awaiting their arrival the officer continued examining and photographing the residence. Upstairs in a loft they found two more overturned pictures lying on the floor in the same manner as the ones inside the entry door. “I took photos of the scene,” the deputy explained, “and it appeared that the four overturned pictures that were found were photos of JZ Knight.” The March release also contains digital audio recordings of witness statements for case number 16-0896. Cross-referencing with previously released records , we find that Kellan Moynagh, owner of the Yelm Earthworm Casting Farm, became erratic and violent with employees in 2016. Police were summoned, at which time Mr. Moynagh turned his aggression toward the officers. He was ranting and cussing, a report documented, about a golden eagle in the sky and how the world was coming to an end. Mr. Moynagh asserted he was going to strike the officers down since he was god and they were evil. He was ranting about being the "Master of Ramtha." Mr. Moynagh “was very agitated and kept rambling on about various things from parting the sea to 'X-File' type delusions,” a responding officer documented. The ongoing violence and chaos reflected in these files and, in some instances, repeatedly involving the same circles of people warrants emphasis. Case 16-201064 once again finds Mr. Moynagh having interactions with police but this time as a reported victim. The case is the alleged theft of his checkbooks, money, gold, silver, and various other valuables and personal items with a reported value in excess of $200,000. The accused included a trio consisting of a “friend,” Mr. Moynagh's mother, and a representative employed at a local bank. Mr. Moynagh was apparently in jail during the months the items were reportedly stolen. The March release also included a supplemental report on case number 07-9231, as referenced in a previous post , in which one Lee Nguyen was reportedly prospecting in 2007 for buyers for hand grenades, rifles and other explosives while attending a J.Z. Knight event. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office was alerted and subsequently advised Seattle Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which indicated it had an existing familiarity with Mr. Nguyen. He would be arrested twice in 2013 when he persisted in trying to access the 80-acre Ramtha compound, including one instance of scaling a wall within about 70 yards of Knight's home. Images from case 17-3855, the 2017 burglary of a property formerly inhabited by a then-recently deceased Ramtha follower. Pictured left is the property's primary structure and on the right is a bunker hidden on the grounds. The burglary occurred just days after a memorial service was held at Knight's compound. A corresponding incident report states the deceased was stockpiling gold and silver, and "whoever burglarized the property would have had to have some insider information" about the death and layout of the property. Among the dysfunctional dynamics consistently present within the Ramtha flock has been an ideology that cash and valuables should not be kept in banks. This correlates with the “off the grid” survivalist mentality. An all-too-common result was significant amounts of cash, gold, and other valuables were stored in disproportionately inexpensive structures like trailers in disrepair or makeshift bunkers in rural settings. The hoarded valuables naturally become targets of theft and violence. As one detective put it in a 1993 murder and robbery case synopsis , Knight “caters to individuals with too much money and not enough brains.” Further complicating the circumstances, the detective added, “This has created the problem for us of handling well-to-do folks living in close proximity to those who are not. They (Ramtha followers) also embrace a survivalist lifestyle in which they horde [ sic ] gold and other valuables and live in underground bunkers.”  The April records release contains three CAD reports. Those are "computer aided dispatch" records compiled for law enforcement incidents. Dozens of CAD reports have been provided since 2023. From page two of one of the recently obtained: The above report reflects a chain of events that occurred at the Ramtha compound on June 9, 2021, when Wilburn C. Hutchinson repeatedly crashed the gates in his Toyota Tundra. Mr. Hutchinson seems to have been in much distress and police were initially informed of his escalating violent behavior by his wife. Thurston County provided many accompanying images and video clips in its September 2023 records release , as covered in a previous blogpost and referenced in an EFR video: Thurston County Sheriff's Office recently advised EFR of the existence of more responsive audio recordings on cassette. They further explained transcripts of the recordings were already provided, and clarified they do not have the means to convert the cassettes to a digital format. Thurston County therefore requested EFR advise as to whether we require the audio recordings as part of our request. Given the transcripts were apparently already processed and released, EFR informed the agency we do not require the audio recordings. EFR explained we would simply ask about availability or submit a new request for specific audio material in the future if a researcher expresses interest. EFR appreciates and respects a number of things about the way Thurston County Sheriff's Office handled this sizable records request. In this writer's opinion, implementing a policy of systematically releasing the material periodically as it was processed over the past two years respected the spirit and intent of public records legislation. A less desirable alternative would have been to withhold all records until a point where they all could be released simultaneously, which would not have been until now. Thurston County's choices and policies of handling the request not only supported transparency and facilitated public access to the many records released, but allowed EFR and its readers opportunities to get started digesting, understanding, and sharing the material some 18 months ago.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation respectfully declined to comment on a gap in service at an online portal for submitting Freedom of Information Act requests. The portal is part of the FBI website where visitors encountered an error message, depicted below, while trying to access the webpage between Saturday evening and Monday morning. "The FBI declines to comment," the Bureau's National Press Office wrote in a July 16 email in response to an inquiry submitted by Expanding Frontiers Research. Message encountered by visitors trying to access the FBI FOIA portal from July 12-14 The disruption at the FBI website was experienced by EFR while trying to submit FOIA requests on Saturday. Other researchers also observed the downed webpage and began posting about it on Bluesky . The problem continued through Sunday and into Monday morning before the webpage was restored. EFR requested comment Monday morning from the FBI National Press Office, which replied later in the afternoon it was unsure to what we were referring and asked for the link. By that time, the portal was once again operational, so EFR summarized the situation, provided the above screenshot, and asked if FBI was aware of the circumstances. Wednesday the NPO emailed its apologies for the delay in getting back to us and that the FBI declines to comment.

A four-page FBI file was recently obtained from the National Archives responsive to the late Robert Vance Pratt (1926-2005). Pictured below in the October 20, 1981, edition of The Palm Beach Post, Bob Pratt was later termed "an evangelist for UFOs" by the same newspaper  after his passing in 2005. The four pages of records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research include two 1960s thank you notes from FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover to Pratt for his coverage of Hoover's public remarks and the Bureau. Pratt was a lifelong newspaperman and wrote extensively about UFOs for the infamous National Enquirer from 1975-1981. He continued to investigate and write about UFOs for decades after leaving the tabloid. Pratt was the author of the book UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil - Where Next?  and a co-author of Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings  with Dr. J. Allen Hynek and the later-disgraced Philip J. Imbrogno. The latter's claims of Special Forces service and earning a PhD from MIT could not be verified, as demonstrated in 2011  by Lance Moody. Imbrogno's then-co-author, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, soon accused him of outright fabrications and subsequently dissolved their professional partnership, as confirmed at the time by this writer. Recipients of cash awards for the 1975 National Enquirer UFO story of the year. The four-page FBI file responsive to Pratt consists of two one-page thank you notes written on behalf of Hoover for two different articles published by Pratt. The one-page articles were each archived and included in the file as well, totaling the four pages. One of the articles was a 1965 editorial titled Hoover on Delinquency . The other was a 1961 clipping, Word of Caution to Joiners , which emphasized Hoover's warnings to consumers to fully investigate before joining any group claiming to be anti-Communist. "It may be - or it may not," the article cautioned. The message also stated there was "little choice between Fascism and Communism," adding, "Both are totalitarian, anti-democratic..." Hoover's response to the 1961 article: The FBI took its media presence quite seriously during the mid-20th century. A number of declassified files exist that show inner-agency discussion of various journalists, their coverage of the Bureau, and how writers might be most effectively influenced to produce desired stories and coverage. FBI efforts included providing a tour of Bureau headquarters to Col. Joseph Bryan III, a newspaperman and freelance writer under consideration to produce a series of stories on the FBI for the Saturday Evening Post in 1947. Though the Bureau identified Bryan as suitable for the work, up to and including extending an offer to provide him with an office and typewriter at headquarters so he could ask questions in real time as they might arise, Bryan graciously bowed out of the arrangement. As covered in this writer's book Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC , this was during the same time as when Bryan was recruited for work as a psychological warfare specialist with the Office of Policy Coordination, a covert arm of the CIA and State Department, and may well be why he would not commit to the assignment with Saturday Evening Post. Bryan went on to be a staple of the Board of Governors of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena.

A 1958 FBI memo detailed information provided to the Bureau by well-known UFO writer Ivan Sanderson, who advised the FBI that UFO meetings held in New York City ceased having any connection to UFOs while promoting subversion of the U.S. government. “[T]he meetings are just being held under the guise of information concerning unidentified flying objects but in reality are meetings being used to expand the Communist Party line,” the FBI documented it was informed during an interview prompted by Sanderson. The four-page memo was obtained from the National Archives as the result of a FOIA request initially submitted to the FBI. The request was filed as part of an ongoing Expanding Frontiers Research collaboration between Erica Lukes and this writer. The memo is rich in subject matter for potential topics of additional FOIA requests. Ivan Sanderson telephoned the Newark FBI office on May 12, 1958, according to the memo, indicating he wanted to speak to an agent about information of a subversive nature. He was subsequently interviewed May 16 at his residence in New Jersey, along with Hans Stefan Santesson, a Swedish science-fiction editor from King Size Publications of New York. Sanderson and Santesson told the FBI about their concerns surrounding a group called the New York Saucer Information Bureau, directed by Douglas Deane, an actor who reportedly expressed overt sympathy for Russian interests during group meetings. Also instrumental in the New York Saucer Information Bureau, or NYSIB, was Wayne S. Aho, who was prone to introducing himself as "Major Aho," which created confusion between his identity and that of flying saucer advocate Maj. Donald Keyhoe. Aho reportedly established the New York group and directed Washington Saucer Intelligence while being deeply embedded in UFO “contactee” culture. Sanderson and Santesson explained the first few meetings conducted by NYSIB “dealt primarily with UFO matters” but, around February 1958, attendees began being encouraged to denounce the U.S. government. Topics turned exclusively to political matters, including nuclear arms, disingenuous politicians, and the ever-present calls to “do away with secrecy.” Those in attendance were told “Russia should not be blamed for the current world tensions” and were urged to write elected officials. “[W]hen any requests are made of the audience,” the memo continued, “the requests are not in connection with scientific or factual information concerning unidentified flying objects, but are rather requests for the people to write their Congressmen to stop the nuclear war, to tear down our national defense, and to stop secrecy in the Government.” Ivan Sanderson (1911-1973) Those named by Sanderson and Santesson as influential at the meetings included dubious UFO contactees Daniel Fry and Truman Betherum. Also identified was Courtland Hastings, a member of the Princeton Class of '29 who lectured widely on UFOs and was a director of World Federalists. “[A]ll of the above persons mentioned in connection with the NYSIB seem to have no particular jobs or visible means of support,” the FBI memo stated, “yet they travel continuously over the country attending various meetings of groups gathered together for the purpose of discussing unidentified flying objects. Sanderson also advised that these persons do not appear to be trying to capitalize from a monetary standpoint [on] the people attending the NYSIB meetings, but instead are trying to convince the people in attendance that our Government is no good." The memo was composed by the Special Agent in Charge at the Newark, NJ, field office, sent to Dir. J. Edgar Hoover and copied to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles FBI offices. Various newsletters and printed material published by saucer groups were provided by Sanderson and Santesson. The samples demonstrated how certain segments of the UFO community were critical of the FBI and Air Force, rather ambiguously asserting they should not be allowed to get away with what they were doing. Pamphlets titled "Thy Kingdom Come" were included, issued by the Los Angeles Interplanetary Study Groups, chaired by Gabriel Green. The material addressed Prior Choice Economics, a system where acquisition of goods is eligibility-based, tallied over the course of one's lifetime of total productive work. Ivan Sanderson was a British intelligence officer and New York City press agent during World War II. He remained in the country after the war and obtained United States citizenship. The memo documented how previous FBI contact with Sanderson disclosed he owned rare animals, was a frequent guest on the Garry Moore television show in New York, and had written many articles on UFOs, as well as regularly attended public meetings on the topic. “Both Sanderson and Santesson advised that they would be willing to cooperate with the FBI in any manner in furnishing information in their possession concerning any of the individuals mentioned by them or concerning the NYSIB,” the memo advised recipients. --------------------------------- Please consider supporting our work on Patreon or with a donation through the secure link on our homepage . Expanding Frontiers Research is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Press Release For Immediate Release Expanding Frontiers Research just launched an online searchable database of records it obtained from the Thurston County (WA) Sheriff's Office responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. The latest addition to the Expanding Frontiers Archive , the public database is loaded with dozens of folders representing over 60 law enforcement cases and totaling some 1,200 files. Cases go as far back as 1992, with the latest records compiled in 2022. Expanding Frontiers Research received the material through a request it filed under the Washington Public Records Act. The database is divided into master folders, categorized by types of incidents, such as homicides and deaths. Each of the folders hold corresponding files. A prominent category is burglary, as Ramtha followers often adopted “survivalist” lifestyles, storing valuables in modest rural homes and makeshift bunkers, circumstances that contribute to making them targets of crime. Folders of the Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, Thurston County Sheriff's Office Database Ramtha's School of Enlightenment was founded in 1988 by J.Z. Knight on an 80-acre property near Yelm, Washington. She claimed to channel the teachings and prophecies of Ramtha, an ancient warrior who battled the residents of mythical Atlantis. Knight and her following built one of the more widely known and financially successful alternative religions of the past 50 years. “Ramsters,” as they came to be known, constructed bunkers and suggested a culture of self-sufficiency, but records show how the group often required public resources like police assistance. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office was called repeatedly to protect the property from violent trespassers – sometimes former “students” - who aggressively sought access to Knight or Ramtha. Police responses regularly involved coordinated support among multiple law enforcement agencies, from neighboring departments to the FBI. Two of three homicide cases investigated and responsive to the records request remain unsolved and, according to files obtained, implicate the Ramtha following. “The database is the culmination of two years of collecting, organizing and analyzing records for publication,” explained Erica Lukes, executive director of Expanding Frontiers Research. “We submitted a request in 2023 and the sheriff's office began incrementally processing and releasing a voluminous amount of responsive material. In April 2025 we received what was the 13th and final release. We took the Ramtha records and organized them into a readily available public resource.” Most of the files are digital law enforcement reports and photographs taken at crime scenes. Also included are audio files of witness statements recorded by officers and video clips entered into evidence. “We are pleased to provide the database for researchers and others who will find it useful,” Lukes said. “There are meaningful stories in the files that should be preserved and accessible.” Expanding Frontiers Research is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. It is dedicated to providing the public reliable information through proven research methods.

FBI records responsive to the late psychologist, UFO investigator, and advocate for the use of hypnosis as a memory enhancer, Leo Sprinkle, were obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research. The 79 of 91 responsive pages obtained have just one reference to Sprinkle but, instead, serve as further verification of an ongoing and massive mid-20th century surveillance operation conducted on American academics who opposed the Vietnam War. A 1971 Vietnam War protest in Washington, DC The Bureau launched investigations and disseminated results to dozens of its field offices on educators and scholars questioning U.S. policy in Vietnam, as well as organizers of protests and the universities where they worked. Intelligence was collected, including the use of numerous confidential informants, then distributed to a network of participating FBI offices to keep them advised and in the loop. This writer invites consideration of the material in the context of COINTELPRO, a 1956-1971 FBI set of counterintelligence programs conducted with the expressed goal to expose, discredit or otherwise neutralize individuals or groups targeted for their supposed subversive potential. After COINTELPRO itself was exposed, the programs were identified as illegal and in violation of civil rights. The first page of the records obtained , shown below, is the opening of a May 1965 FBI memo concerning an Inter-University Committee for a Public Hearing on Viet Nam. The abbreviation “IS,” following the subject line, likely refers to Internal Security. For those who share this writer's interest in examining specifically what we're looking at here, the memo was sent to Dir. Hoover from a Detroit Special Agent in Charge (SAC). Dissemination to dozens of FBI offices was reported and copies were enclosed for FBI headquarters. The letters and numbers in the right-hand margin were added later by FOIA personnel when processing the document for public release. The markings represent FOIA exemption codes, cited as justification for the corresponding redacted sections of the page. The Hook-up Forthcoming pages of the memo reference a national “hook-up” demonstration, scheduled for May 15, 1965, to be conducted in coordination with a series of “teach-in” events at university campuses. The circumstances arose from what was at first going to be a group telephone call out of Washington, DC, involving participating protesters and interested parties, but turned into a “hook-up” to be listen-only or transmitted by radio. That's because the number of people requesting to participate increased to a point of surpassing available technology and practical costs (Long distance phone calls were expensive in the 1960s). Faculty from colleges all over the country wanted to be part of the activities, which had grown into becoming days of scheduled speakers and awareness-raising events: a national “teach-in.” While many academics and departments expressed interest and committed resources, the University of Michigan was identified as a catalyst by the FBI, thus the Detroit office served as a lead in collecting, organizing and disseminating intelligence. University of Michigan The hundreds of articles archived at Newspapers dot com related to Vietnam War protests and ongoing teach-ins include an Edwin A. Lahey column from the Wednesday, March 16, 1966, edition of the Detroit Free Press, pictured below. Several social dynamics of the era may easily be surmised from the tone. University of Michigan was the home to the Center for Research on Conflict Resolution (CRCR). It operated from 1952-1972, tumultuous times for the nation both foreign and domestic. It is clear from information cited in the 1965 Bureau communications that FBI investigations of the CRCR and associates went back years, long before the May 1965 protests were conceived. The same is the case for several academics subsequently discussed in the material, as investigations from as early as the 1950s were cited in summaries. The material disseminated also included an inventory of confidential informants – heavily redacted when processed for FOIA release, as pictured right – who were cited as sources throughout the material obtained. Multiple references were made to names of protesters obtained from petitions, which obviously served as intelligence sources. Ironically, a primary purpose of select petitions may be to assist intelligence and law enforcement agencies in compiling lists of surveillance targets, based on the apparent sympathies and belief systems of those who sign. The Detroit FBI reported on an informant who advised of an enclosure distributed in the mailings of the Inter-University Committee for a Public Hearing on Viet Nam. The mailer represented a means of building support for the teach-in. The first two paragraphs of the mailer were documented by the Bureau: The informant likewise supplied names of people who responded to the enclosure - some 30 pages of them that were disseminated throughout the FBI. Along with names, the long list included location, university affiliation, and nature of support pledged for the teach-in. The list was categorized alphabetically by city, presumably for the convenience of regional field offices, and consisted of people spread from New York to Los Angeles. FBI Concerns FBI concerns centered on the Communist Party and subversive activities ostensibly conducted under the guise of peace movements and support of freedom of speech. This led to suspicion aimed at groups with such overtly harmless names as the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights. FBI caution was not completely unreasonable, even if its tactics were arguably authoritarian and evolved into overkill. One specific circumstance is cited in the material in which a protest organizer morally supported an individual the Bureau conclusively knew to be traveling on multiple fraudulent passports. Other similar circumstances were cited, some involving raising funds for the legal defense of people engaged in such questionable activities. In one instance, a former faculty member at the University of Michigan was cited who had been held in contempt of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (Those opposing or calling for the Committee to be abolished were automatically suspect, much less if held in contempt). The motives of peace movements and protests that questioned the judgment of the White House were therefore considered potentially deceptive, even if one could surmise a vast majority of protesters were not willfully acting as foreign subversive agents. Many protesters were legitimately interested in expressing objections about American foreign policy, but those people - and, perhaps more aptly stated, their rights - were not subjects of concern for J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Questionable protest agendas or not, the Bureau observably documented a significant amount of speculation about the loyalties of a surveillance target. The FBI solicited subjective opinions from informants and witnesses when developing assessments, then widely distributed those assessments. The article below is from the May 15, 1965, edition of the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal. Like the article offered above, it represents a number of self-evident social dynamics of the era. This article was specifically selected for consideration because the Winston-Salem Journal, along with other media outlets, were owned by Gordon Gray, a well-connected and influential career member of the intelligence community, as previously explored by EFR . Leo Sprinkle So, what about the reference to Leo Sprinkle? Where did the UFO hypnotist who "helped" some 200 reported subjects learn more about their alleged encounters and factored significantly in the Bennewitz Affair fit into all this? It may not surprise you to hear that's not entirely clear. The last page of the final pdf of records obtained has the lone reference to Leo Sprinkle, pictured below. It is an FBI letterhead memo dated May 20, 1965, once again addressing the Inter-University Committee for a Public Hearing on Viet Nam. It documents the Denver office contained no information identifiable with Sprinkle and seemingly other individuals, names of which were redacted, as was the title of a memo or inquiry to which a significantly redacted response was issued. More information and context are not currently known. EFR originally submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records responsive to the late Leo Sprinkle in July 2022. The Bureau advised in June 2024 of the existence of 91 pages responsive to the request. EFR reduced the request to the first 48 pages in order to position it in a small track and minimize processing time. FBI provided those pages in November with select redactions.   The final 43 pages were then requested. In its final response letter of Dec. 20, 2024, FBI stated 31 of the 43 pages were provided and 12 were withheld in full.  EFR appealed the fully withheld 12 pages. The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy, which serves as the appeal authority for the FBI, denied the appeal and upheld the initial ruling of the Bureau. The use of FOIA exemptions and foreseeable harm of disclosure, from the appeal response dated May 16, 2025 (60 years and a day since the national "hook-up" protest of May 15, 1965), as explained by the Office of Information Policy in its own words:

Researchers Emily Louise and Tanner F. Boyle recently embarked on a journey across West Virginia, visiting locations known for their famous paranormal lore. Among the numerous stops they made was the Clarksburg Public Library, home to the Gray Barker UFO Collection. Emily kindly passed along some documents she came across, correctly supposing they might be of interest due to this writer's previous work on the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). Emily shared five separate images , comprising four letters written to Gray Barker from Morris K. Jessup, an original NICAP organizer and UFO author. The letters were apparently typed in December 1956 and January 1957, a key time in the NICAP saga. The organization's incorporation was officially approved in October 1956. Its inaugural three months saw three different treasurers and its director, T. Townsend Brown, was sent packing at the January 15, 1957, first annual meeting. Maj. Donald Keyhoe was then issued the hot seat. “I think it's time to publically debunk NICAP,” Jessup wrote Barker on December 18, 1956, “and I am sorry to have been associated with Brown. It is now common knowledge that I have been denied a place in the organization...” Jessup went on to assert the NICAP governors should do a housecleaning or start a new committee. NICAP financial matters were under suspicion. Later years would see issues arise about the presence of the CIA and intelligence personnel. In a letter written to Barker just four days after the first, December 22, 1956, Jessup interestingly stated he did not know for the life of him if he had already replied. He then shared more of his assessments of NICAP. Jessup criticized Brown, took aim at NICAP finances, and shared his low opinion of the organization's personnel. “Brown proudly told me that de Rochefort knows absolutly [ sic ] nothing about UFO or the UFO field,” Jessup wrote . On January 3, 1957, Jessup continued , “NICAP is still a mess. The frenchman [ sic ] has walked out until he can get pay and authority, but his resignation has not yet been accepted. The Baltimore free-loaders [ sic ] seem to have been sidetracked.” Part of a January 3, 1957, letter from Morris K. Jessup to Gray Barker The Baltimore freeloaders was a reference to Counsel Services, a public relations firm conclusively linked by your author to the CIA and State Department personnel. Counsel Services officers assisted T. Townsend Brown in incorporating the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. The Frenchman, Nicholas de Rochefort, was in all reasonable likelihood a CIA asset himself, and probably brought on by Counsel Services. His expertise was psychological warfare and the China lobby, all of which would have a lot to do with why he didn't know anything about UFOs, as Jessup correctly pointed out to Barker. To be clear, it could be considered highly unlikely his presence at NICAP had anything to do with UFO investigation. A contract undertaken between Counsel Services and NICAP stipulated that Counsel Services officers, specifying by name Thomas D. O'Keefe, were empowered to hire consultants to work as NICAP regional managers ( see page 7 ). O'Keefe listed among his previous positions sitting on the Selection Board for Foreign Service Officers with the Department of State ( see page 41 ). That means he helped assign spies to work overseas. O'Keefe was a NICAP incorporator ( see page 3 ). From the NICAP Certificate of Incorporation In 1975, writer and researcher Stanley D. Bachrack sued the CIA. He sought all records on relations between then-deceased Nicholas de Rochefort and the CIA and its predecessor agencies. Notably, Bachrack showed no interest at all in UFOs, but became convinced the Russian-born Frenchman acted on behalf of the CIA during his successful lobbying activities and influence campaigns against Red China. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed when the presiding judge ruled that, while there is a strong public interest in government public disclosure, there is also a strong public interest in effective intelligence services, which could be greatly impaired by irresponsible disclosure ( see page 61 ). While it has not yet been conclusively identified why Nicholas de Rochefort either joined or exited the NICAP office, Jessup's description of de Rochefort's inability to gain authority could be challenged. We cannot know for sure what de Rochefort told people, or what Jessup heard, but records suggest de Rochefort had little desire to be the NICAP frontman, or at the least may have wanted to keep Brown around a bit longer. Specifically, a December 17, 1956, NICAP Progress Report states a special meeting of the Executive Committee took place and appointed de Rochefort to succeed Brown effective December 18 ( see page 89 ). However, a subsequent January 7, 1957, memo indicated the appointment was deferred when none other than Nicholas de Rochefort brought it to the attention of the Committee that, by its own rules and regulations, it lacked the authority to make the change ( see pages 93-94 ). The appointment was therefore deferred until the Board of Governors could duly elect Brown's successor, which, for whatever reasons, became Donald Keyhoe. In contradiction to the news Jessup gave Barker, one could reasonably suspect de Rochefort was not aspiring to achieve NICAP authority, or at least not overtly, given the information contained in the memos. Fascinatingly, records obtained on Nicholas de Rochefort from the FBI indicate he was the subject of Bureau investigations during the very time in question. An extremely interesting and heavily redacted memo, subject Nicholas de Rochefort and dated November 27, 1956, was written from a Special Agent in Charge at the Washington Field Office to Director J. Edgar Hoover. It stated a confidential informant supplied information in strict confidence, not to be disseminated outside of Hoover's office ( see page 20 ): Efforts have thus far been unsuccessful to have the memo further declassified. The FBI did advise, however, of the existence of an approximately 200-page file responsive to Nicholas de Rochefort in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). A 2020 FOIA request subsequently revealed NARA would process and produce the records for a cost of about $160. The estimated time of completion was originally September 2022. That was obviously delayed, and we hope to receive records sooner than later. In the final letter shared by Emily, Jessup wrote Barker again , January 21, 1957, explaining the changing of NICAP personnel. He noted that few remained from the original group. Other points of interest in the Jessup letters to Barker (shared by Emily) include Jessup's extreme doubt about the authenticity of statements from self-described contactees. Jessup expressed his befuddlement when he would find people he otherwise respected, “believing in some of the characters whom I have distrusted completely.” However, Jessup emphasized the importance to Barker of keeping his opinion confidential. “[P]ublically I feel I have to continue walking a tight wire in order to maintain public relations for future books.” Likewise, Jessup explained to Barker that if ufologists are to retain any slight degree of sanity and self-respect, they must deal adequately with hoaxing. Frankly and confidentially, Jessup continued, he did not believe anyone is in communication with spacecraft. “But don't quote me,” Jessup reiterated, “for I still want to sell some books...” That arguably reflects some 75 years of high-profile personalities who go along to get along within the UFO subculture, if not sensationalize issues for self-serving purposes themselves. Jessup seemed to be a restless soul and his saga serves as a cautionary tale in the annals of ufology. He was involved in a number of fascinating chains of events, but he ultimately lacked the fulfillment he so rigorously sought. Morris K. Jessup was found dead in 1959 in a car near Miami. There was a hose running from the exhaust pipe into the vehicle. Authorities ruled the death a suicide. FOIA efforts conducted in 2020 revealed NARA is in possession of an approximately 100-page file, subject Morris Jessup, Dr. Rulen Alred, Alex Joseph, John Ray and Shirley Joseph Baker. It was created between 1973 and 1974. "Dr. Rulen Alred" may be a reference to Rulon Allred, a chiropractor who led a fundamentalist sect and was assassinated in 1977. The file was requested and estimated to be processed for release by December 2023. The above issues of overlap between the intelligence community and NICAP, and much more, are explored in substantially greater depth in Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC. Edit: While the above-referenced file sought through the FOIA, subject Morris Jessup and others, proved interesting in itself about offshoots of the Church of Latter-day Saints, it was determined to be a different Morris Jessup than corresponded and wrote books about UFOs.

Dozens of records responsive to “Ramtha's School of Enlightenment” were recently obtained from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office by Expanding Frontiers Research. The Yelm, Washington school is under the direction of J.Z. Knight, who claims to channel Ramtha, a purported Lemurian warrior who supposedly battled residents of the mythical Atlantis 35,000 years ago. The records consist of law enforcement reports and their accompanying digital images, video files, and audio files. Police & medical support respond to an intrusion at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment The material was obtained through the Washington Public Records Act, circumstances resulting from a collaboration between this writer and EFR Executive Director Erica Lukes. The records suggest a trend of vandalism and harassment directed at the facility and its staff, with several such incidents reported to the Sheriff's Office by security personnel of the property. The reported perpetrators were often former students or people with some type of apparent prior relationship with the staff and 80-acre compound, referenced in police reports as “JZ Knight's Mansion” or the “Ramtha Mansion.” The accused were at times described as suffering from serious mental health issues. Neither J.Z. Knight nor a spokesperson from the Ramtha School of Enlightenment immediately responded to a request for comment about the law enforcement records and related circumstances. J.Z. Knight Judy Zebra “J.Z.” Knight was born Judith Darlene Hampton in 1946 in Roswell, New Mexico. She would later claim Ramtha first appeared to her in 1977. This resulted in Knight becoming a popular guest on the 1980s television talk show circuit. She published a book, A State of Mind , in 1987; opened the school in 1988; launched JZK, Inc., in 1994; registered several Ramtha trademarks (her claims to exclusivity held up in court); and banked millions of dollars from followers, supporters, and business ventures. Knight lives in a reportedly 12,800-square-foot home on the school grounds, where she purports to disseminate the teachings of Ramtha, but, with all the abundance that befell the Roswell native, her alleged enlightened warrior consultant was apparently unable to guide her around some knee-wobbling missteps. In 2011, several hundred truth seekers attended an event at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment, hoping to hear wisdom of the ages. What they got, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported , was drunken ramblings peppered with curse words. “F--- God’s chosen people! I think they have earned enough cash to have paid their way out of the goddamned gas chambers by now,” Knight reportedly let fly, along with bigoted remarks about “poison” Mexicans, homophobic references to gay men, and other statements unbecoming of an omniscient being. The implications were that it was pretty standard J.Z. stuff, and it hadn't previously made its way to watchdogs like the Southern Poverty Law Center because use of cell phones was just then surpassing Camp Ramtha's ability to keep it more under wraps. Allegations periodically surfaced of improprieties and mistreatment of devotees. A local doctor, for instance, was so concerned about what was taking place at the school that in 2014 he wrote the county health department and asked it to look into the health and safety of Knight's followers. Knight's influence on the UFO subculture (she reportedly told her following extraterrestrials first brought grapes to Earth 450,000 years ago) and, in particular, the Mutual UFO Network, got a lot of discussion in private circles and after-hours gatherings at UFO conferences. Newsweek, however, publicly served up the issues in 2018. The magazine cited turmoil within MUFON and reported resignations stemming from the blatantly expressed bigotry of “deep-pocketed donors like J.Z. Knight.” The piece further reported Knight was a member of a “high-tier” group of “Inner Circle” MUFON contributors. The circle included John Ventre, who shared Ramtha's tendency to rationalize talking bigotry trash. In 2020 local news media reported Knight coughed up over $70k in campaign contributions to Republican organizations, making her among President Trump's biggest donors in Thurston County. Interestingly and for whatever reasons, Knight also financially supported Democrats at state and local levels, even after she was ousted from the party in 2012 for her remarks seen on video as described above. Democrats have at times responded to Knight's donations by declining the funds, yet rather than return the money, forwarded it to causes such as the Anti-Defamation League. Law Enforcement Records EFR initially sought records in June through the FOIA from the FBI on the Ramtha School of Enlightenment. The request resulted in receiving FBI documentation , pictured below, that in 1999 it was contacted by an individual expressing concern the Ramtha group might be subversive or otherwise suspect. FBI noted it determined the group had come to the attention of the Thurston County Sheriff's Department, prompting an EFR FOIA request to the Washington law enforcement agency submitted in August. Records subsequently received from Thurston County Sheriff's Office include a 2007 report that Lee Nguyen was attending one of Knight's seminars when he approached another attendee and inquired if they were interested in buying hand grenades, rifles, and other explosives. The incident was quickly reported to a security guard, who confronted Nguyen and banned him from future events at the property. The Sheriff's Office noted in its report that a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was advised of the situation and subsequently suggested he believed he had received another tip on Nguyen from the Drug Enforcement Agency. Mr. Nguyen was back to the property in July 2013, at which time he was charged with violating a civil anti-harassment order and second degree burglary. Police were summoned when Nguyen scaled a wall at the gate J.Z. Knight was using to get to her home, which was located about 70 yards from the gate. Asked why he did this, Nguyen reportedly replied, “The fathers told me to.” Urged to explain further, he stated the fathers were his spiritual advisors. Problems continued for Lee Nguyen when he once again returned to Ramtha's ranch in November of the same year, 2013, and was charged with criminal trespass. Following a Ramtha event, Nguyen reportedly covertly entered the property as attendees were being escorted off the grounds. The circumstances were apparently by no means out of the ordinary. On October 20, 2010 , 85-year-old Charley Wayne Napper, aka Ala-A-Ram, was charged with malicious mischief after he was interrupted from cutting out a section of fence to gain entry to the compound. Reportedly a former student and an already return trespasser, Mr. Napper was confronted by security and asked what he was doing, to which he replied rescuing J.Z. Knight. He was warned by security that the police would be called, so he left. Law enforcement caught up with him later, at which time he indicated he believed Knight was being held against her will. The man further stated he communicated with Knight telepathically, and that was how he knew to rescue her. He was then advised, the officer noted in his report, charges were being pressed. Later the same afternoon , Mr. Napper returned to ram the main gate. Police reported that, when they arrived, he was found still sitting in the driver's seat of a blue van which was resting against the gate it was used to damage. By 2011, things went from bad to worse when Napper was charged with threatening to kill a staff member. He reportedly left multiple profane messages, guaranteeing an imminent death, on the person's business phone voice mail. A police officer confronted Napper in a Safeway parking lot and subsequently arrested him. Asked if he would prefer to leave his van or have it towed, Napper told police to tow it, requesting they retrieve some gold coins from the vehicle. The Sheriff's Office documented two gold coins were found inside ski gloves in the van and would be placed in Napper's belongings. According to the report, Napper suggested there were more gold coins in the van. On an afternoon in June 2021, Wilburn Hutchinson, reportedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, went on a reckless spree that resulted in repeatedly ramming his truck into school gates, apparently leaving the scene, then returning to trespass again. The final round involved violently resisting arrest. It took multiple police officers and their various accessories to get Hutchinson into the back of a patrol car, and from the looks of the accompanying photos, he didn't get the worst of the brawl. Video evidence of Mr. Hutchinson returning as a security guard attempts to sort out the situation: Additional footage and angles of Mr. Hutchinson's "gate approaches": Images of the finally detained Wilburn Hutchinson and documentation of an officer involved donnybrook: The strange trend includes Carmen Iones, a former employee of the school who kept returning in 2008, apparently against the wishes of the staff. She would later return on the day of an event in 2010, only to be escorted to the security office and detained until police arrived. And then there's the case of the trio who were chased off the property, only to return three days later and cut their way through the fence, Louisville Slugger in tow. “I find it alarming that we have people on our property with baseball bats,” a security guard said in a statement to the Sheriff's Office. Micah Gehman busted through the gate one night in a truck, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage. After security pulled a gun on him, Gehman declared religious and political asylum. He would later tell the Sheriff's Office he thought the stunt would be a fun way to meet Ramtha and that she would appreciate it. “I must have misread her,” he reportedly added. Evidence of Mr. Gehman's 2018 attempt to gain access to Ramtha There was an individual arrested for repeatedly returning to the property after warnings but persisted because they wanted “to make things right”; a big guy with a bald head who was reportedly released from jail not long before he was walking the perimeter of the property with a machete (neighbors told police he was “usually” out at night screaming and waving the machete); and a man who blocked the main entrance gate two days in a row, complaining of numbness in his body, saying he'd been poisoned, and wanting those in the compound to help him. Police surmised it may have been a diabetic issue. Diabetes was not the cause, however, one night in 2018 when two vehicles collided head on at a location listed as “Ramtha's Mansion.” Two intoxicated drivers, the report documented , two DUIs and two tows needed. Some of the more thought provocative reports involve welfare checks. The morning of March 23, 2020, a call was apparently received by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office from a telephone located in the security office of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment. The caller hung up, and the dispatcher subsequently tried unsuccessfully to call them back, noting it sounded like the line was disconnected. Within a few minutes officers were on the scene and spoke with employees who said they were cleaning the security office, realized they may have accidentally called someone, and unplugged the phone to ensure they didn't do it again. There's that. The afternoon of August 2, 2023, the Sheriff's Office received a similar incoming call from a cell phone yet was apparently unable to communicate with the caller. Subsequent investigation led to a wellness check conducted at Knight's 80 acres, where officers documented they were assured it was simply a mistake and were told, “Phone went wacko.” Was that wacko or Waco? Browse the records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research, which include many more images, video clips, and documents, as well as audio files of oral statements recorded by police. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office release of records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment has been added to our FOIA Documents section located in the Expanding Frontiers Archive .

Expanding Frontiers Research recently obtained FBI records indicating a representative from its Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) collaborated with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention during a 2015 investigation into the mishandling of anthrax at Dugway Proving Ground. An FBI Supervisory Special Agent from the WMDD was assigned to a Pentagon committee tasked with delving into the circumstances and traveled to Utah to interview key personnel from the Critical Reagent Program at Dugway, along with other relative staff. The interviews were conducted with the CDC Division of Select Agents and Toxins after researchers at Dugway reportedly distributed live anthrax by accident, rather than inactivated samples that were intended to be shipped, as documented in FOIA records published in a March blogpost . The most recently obtained records were released to EFR as part of the continuing FOIA case with the FBI. Browse and download the latest FBI release on Google Drive. The master folder of all FBI records received to date may also be viewed. Records previously obtained from the Bureau and published by EFR in March show how officials attempted in 2015 to determine the specific whereabouts and status of the misidentified anthrax shipments. The destinations of the samples included some 195 laboratories in all 50 states and nine countries, according to The Salt Lake Tribune . The FBI role in the interviews of key personnel was to support the CDC and help determine if there was malicious intent or willful negligence during the chain of events. None was found, according to records recently obtained: When FBI released records to EFR in November 2024, the Bureau provided a letter stating 49 responsive pages were reviewed and 11 were released. This took place after FBI advised EFR earlier in 2024 of the existence of 359 potentially responsive pages, and EFR subsequently reduced the scope of the request in order to substantially decrease processing time. EFR appealed the withholding of material and has not received a ruling as of this writing. The November FBI letter further stated documents were identified involving Other Government Agency(ies) and the Bureau was consulting with the OGAs for potential release. The most recently received records subsequently reflect circumstances involving the CDC, which apparently assisted FBI in applying FOIA Exemptions to the heavily redacted documents. In its latest response letter of April 14 , FBI stated 22 pages were reviewed and 14 were released. The Bureau advised that any potential appeals should be directed to the Department of Health and Human Services. EFR will again appeal the withheld material, excluding properly redacted personal identifiable information. The cited exemptions may be appropriately applied in numerous instances, protecting sensitive information surrounding weapons research and development and related details such as facilities and procedures. It is worthy of consideration, however, that agency embarrassment alone does not exempt records from disclosure under the FOIA. Just because no one was charged with criminal activity does not lessen the potential public value of records and arguably increases it in this instance. A competent argument can be made the very fact the events at hand ever happened at all is worthy of increased public attention and justifies scrutiny of research involving national security and bioweapons.

Several dozen pages of records responsive to bird kills at the Great Salt Lake were obtained in March from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). A request was submitted under the Government Records Access and Management Act after Expanding Frontiers Research Executive Director Erica Lukes alerted this writer to news reports indicating some 25,000 birds were killed by avian flu within the lake. The DWR response includes diagnostic reports, press releases and inner-agency emails, as well as email exchanges with media outlets and concerned residents seeking to better understand the circumstances. Material distributed by the Utah DWR and included in a March response to an EFR records request The records indicate an estimated 25,000 mostly eared grebes were killed between November and January. Deaths were attributed to avian flu. The severe avian flu season consisted of highly contagious viruses such as H5N1, particularly deadly to chickens and wild birds. Diagnostic reports and emails obtained also indicate botulism Type C accounted for thousands more bird deaths in recent years past. The affected bird populations include a variety of types of waterfowls. Avian botulism is caused by a toxin extremely potent to birds that is produced by a bacterium (Clostridium botulinum). Though not contagious, it can cause sudden die-offs when conditions are favorable for it to thrive. These conditions may include pervasive drought, impacted water levels and the resulting state of wetlands which attract birds. EFR obtained additional records from DWR in September when Erica Lukes became aware of other wildlife death in Utah. Beavers were found dead in multiple locations. The cause of deaths included Tularemia, a fever resulting from a bacterium (Francisella tularensis). Records obtained include test results and locations of the dead animals, among other information.

Author, researcher and retired psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Kaye joined this writer to discuss his research into covert projects conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency. This specifically includes Dr. Kaye's Jan. 17 article, The Unknown Story of CIA's MK-DECOY & "Subproject 61" , which covers groundbreaking aspects of the Agency's mid-20th century efforts to induce concussions in targeted human beings. Also explored is CIA-Connected Hospital Advised Warren Commission , in which, among other items of interest, Dr. Kaye shares documents that reveal how the CIA could refer people for mental health treatment and have them involuntarily committed for hospitalization if they were deemed national security risks. Dr. Jeffrey Kaye While practicing psychology in San Francisco, Dr. Kaye worked professionally with torture victims and asylum seekers. He protested the actions of psychologists working for the CIA and Department of Defense who helped develop interrogation programs widely exposed as including torture and other forms of cruel treatment of prisoners. He subsequently wrote the nonfiction e-book Cover-up at Guantanamo: The NCIS Investigation into the “Suicides” of Mohammed Al Hanashi and Abdul Rahman Al Amri . In the EFR video posted below, Dr. Kaye shares his insights on what he has learned about CIA covert research from MKULTRA to Guantanamo. He and your author discuss what is known to have taken place and why it matters, not just to involuntary research subjects, but society as a whole. Please consider supporting our work at Patreon . Your contributions help make our work possible.