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Wayne Sulo Aho (1916-2006) was born in Washington State, the son of Finnish homesteaders. He spent most of his life as a logger before hitting the UFO contactee circuit with stories of Space Brothers in 1957. Wayne S. Aho, 1970 It was not Aho's tales of lifelong ET visitation or his association with common criminals or even his role in a saucer stock scam that made him of interest to EFR, but it was his reference in FBI records of involvement with UFO groups and people accused of subversive activity that put him on our radar. Specifically, a 1958 FBI memo obtained by EFR documented how Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson advised FBI of their concerns about the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB). Major Aho, as he liked to be known, was identified as a staple of the group, along with fellow alleged contactees Daniel Fry  and Truman Bethurum , among others. When they first started, meetings held by the NYSIB around New York City dealt primarily with UFO matters, Sanderson and Santesson informed the FBI, but that changed around February of 1958. All meetings after that had no connections to scientific or factual information about UFOs and became filled with calls to complain to Congress about the U.S. government. In their book “A” Is for Adamski: The Golden Age of the UFO Contactees , authors Adam Gorightly and Greg Bishop explain how Aho claimed to receive telepathic communications and frequently observe craft while attending events held by fellow contactees. He also took up with Otis T. Carr, a conman who once tried to sell the FBI – of all agencies – a bogus fingerprinting invention and doubled down by pitching the Army a $20 million scheme for a flying saucer that could go to the moon and back. Carr and Aho embarked on a nationwide tour, collecting donations to help them build the spacecraft that never came to fruition (no, they didn't front a famous rock band). FBI records collected by EFR include material obtained from the National Archives as well as files previously released to The Black Vault through the Freedom of Information Act. As reported by Gorightly and Bishop, Aho was not charged in the saucer stock scheme, but Carr went to prison after an SEC investigation was conducted. Mail fraud was also at issue, as solicitations were sent far and wide. FBI records show that following Carr's presentation to the Army, at least one source indicated Uncle Sam would further entertain a proposal if Carr and company could produce blueprints, plans and other specifications. They could not produce such details but that did not stop them from setting a date in 1959 to launch Aho to the moon from Frontier City, Oklahoma. Suffice it to say Aho remained earthbound. From a 1959 FBI memo: More than one fan of Carr and Aho was enthusiastic enough to write Dir. Hoover himself, alerting him to the circumstances, in the event he was not yet aware, and encouraging J Edgar to... promote Carr's groundbreaking discoveries that included free energy: Evidence of Carr's downfall, per the FBI, which noted the courts "finally stepped in to protect gullible New Yorkers" from a flying saucer firm: Interesting and darkly entertaining as some of this may very well be, these are probably not the reasons that individuals ranging from Ivan Sanderson to Leon Davidson were concerned about subversion in the UFO genre. Our ongoing investigation here at EFR would suggest that, while confidence men and their targeted audiences certainly play starring roles in the history of UFOs, it was likely those with designs on influencing political loyalties that most concerned select UFO investigators and FBI agents. As suggested by Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson when taking it upon themselves to initiate contact with the FBI, Aho's involvement as a key individual with the New York Saucer Information Bureau, a group called Washington Saucer Intelligence, and the social circles of those in their orbits lead to areas of concern. From a 1960 FBI memo from the Salt Lake City Field Office to Dir. Hoover, featuring the now-common theme of luring people in with promises of scientific information about UFOs while flopping to a full complement of unrelated and often anti-social agendas: The meeting attendee interviewed above added that the topics were unusual for inclusion in a purported discussion of technical matters. In another memo from the Salt Lake City FBI office, this one dated 1964, documentation is made of an attendee at a meeting of the New Age Foundation who became concerned enough about the proceedings to reach out to the Bureau. Aho was a speaker who left the attendee confused, alternating between promoting peace and opposition to the U.S. government. After the regular meeting, the source continued, there was a second gathering at the home of one of the women in attendance. At this second gathering, a man known as “Pierce” asserted that a civil revolution was forthcoming and that citizens should collect arms for protection. According to the informant, Pierce “proposed doing away with all Negroes”: As we continue to work through the saucer-related FOIA records of the era, as motivated by Sanderson and Santesson, it should become increasingly apparent why leaders of UFO groups and public meetings were typically assumed by the IC to be subversive, oblivious, and/or manipulating credulous followers for reasons that included financial gain or political agendas. The NYSIB, Washington Saucer Intelligence, NICAP, and eventually CUFOS, MUFON and others, were often associating with the same pool of unsavory characters and enabling their access to the public. That access was provided through publishing their articles, inviting them as speakers, and acting with general complicity to their extremist rhetoric while giving them platforms to disseminate their ideologies. We might further consider how much, if any, the circumstances ever changed. ------------------------------------------ If you have not already done so, please consider joining our Patreon as a free or paid subscriber. We are currently raising funds for FOIA fees for records at the National Archives, and the best ways to help are with either a paid Patreon subscription or a contribution via the secure "Donate" button located on our website homepage . Thank you for your consideration.

Over 200 pages of written comments recently submitted to the Uintah County Community Development Office concerning a property adjacent to Skinwalker Ranch were obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research. The comments – consisting mostly of email messages - were sent after Thomas Winterton, a cast member of the cable television show The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, made a Facebook post urging followers to voice opposition to a Conditional Use Permit requested by Uinta Wax for property owned by Don Hicken Farms LLC. The request seeks authorization to construct an oil and gas location, widely expected to be an oil well. Winterton's Oct. 24 Facebook post included an Oct. 14 letter received by Adamantium Real Estate LLC, an entity incorporated in Delaware that owns the Utah property commonly known as Skinwalker Ranch. The letter was sent from the Community Development Office, notifying potentially interested parties of the permit requested for Don Hicken Farms and inviting written comments. Limited liability and other types of corporations are commonly incorporated in Delaware when founders and primary parties wish to conceal their identities from public disclosure. The Oct. 14 letter sent to Adamantium Real Estate: Thomas Winterton asserted in his Facebook post, “[T]he exact location of this well will be less than 150' from the anomaly in the mesa.” He went on to state it would forever destroy the opportunity to study unique and unexplainable phenomena. The proposed well would introduce noise, vibrations, and artificial light to the surrounding area, which would “seriously jeopardize our ability to study many of the anomalies on the ENTIRE ranch,” Winterton wrote, then urgently pleaded with those who follow their investigation to contact Uintah County and respectfully demand the permit be denied. Records obtained include Adamantium's response to Community Development as written by Brandon Fugal (see page 4 ). While demanding the permit be denied, Fugal asserted the proposed oil well constitutes an egregious, irreparable threat to the irreplaceable scientific and cultural value of the property. Fugal further described Skinwalker Ranch as “the preeminent global epicenter of documented paranormal and anomalous phenomena,” yet, as demonstrated by investigative reporter Steven Greenstreet , Fugal's claims perpetually fail to rise to the level of scientific standards practiced outside the realm of television entertainment. Several email messages submitted to the Community Development Office reference "Skinwalker Insiders," which are people who subscribe to a Secret of Skinwalker Ranch-themed website. A quick search and a few clicks revealed a membership currently runs $12 per month, or $96 annually, entitling subscribers to “inside” information, a tee shirt, and discounts on merchandise. The basic argument opposing the Uinta Wax permit for Don Hicken Farms as expressed by Skinwalker supporters is that construction on the adjacent property will hinder or cease what is often described as scientific study of deeply significant anomalies. A lot of the comments submitted are repetitious, as they reflect templates and talking points distributed on social media, and several submissions show the authors to simply be uninformed. For instance, many seemed to think some government body such as "the state" wishes to drill for oil. However, the Community Development Office letter posted by Winterton clearly established the parties to be private for-profit entities that include the owner of the land, Don Hicken Farms. Also, and as might be expected, many of the comments contain the dubious suggestion that paradigm-shifting scientific discoveries of existential significance are occurring on a regular basis - but not all of the comments. Ray Willis describes himself as a neighbor with a view of the mesa that's so good Skinwalker Ranch parks its tour bus outside of his gate. The tour bus is quite possibly a reference to “add-on” activities marketed at PhenomeCon , an annual event sponsored by Uintah County which blurs science and entertainment while relying heavily upon Skinwalker cast members for activities and content. Willis says Skinwalker Ranch and its interests “are not to the betterment of our community” (see page 112 ). He finds it concerning when individuals such as Skinwalker Ranch owners feel entitled to dictate what is done on private land. “[M]y social media feeds were flooded today,” Willis wrote Community Development, “with calls to action by the personnel of Skinwalker Ranch for their wide fanbase to inundate your office with the opinions of people nowhere near here about how this drilling should be stopped because it will negatively impact the 'investigation' at SWR...” Willis added how that's “an interesting way to phrase the filming of their lucrative largely fictional television show that has, to date, resulted in no disclosures to the community regarding the nature of their spurious and exaggerated claims.” “As a former civil servant,” he continued, “I am appalled that SWR is calling upon their cult of TV nerds to influence development in my neighborhood.” Other comments include an email submitted by Nancy J. Stratton, “Retired U.S. Department of Energy Counterintelligence Cyber Analyst.” She asked that the permit be denied due to its potential impact on groundbreaking research being conducted at the Fugal ranch “as documented by the Federal Government, Fugal, and others.” Stratton asserted, “Mankind deserves this chance at transparency.” ( p1 ) Chris Roberts, “Skinwalker Ranch Archaeologist,” argued the location of the potential oil well appears to be an attack on the cast and its work. “The proximity of the well pad to the mesa where interesting artifacts have been discovered within the mesa actually appears as an attack on Skinwalker Ranch and particularly the mesa where I study,” he wrote. Roberts added that he'd be happy to meet with Community Development and the Skinwalker Ranch team for a review and redesign – of plans composed by and belonging to Uinta Wax and Don Hicken Farms, we reasonably surmise. ( p94 ) Norman Joseph Jester III of Like Whoa Inc. in California wrote to Uintah County on a letterhead, pictured above. He explained he holds a technical and scientific background and, while he respects the economic opportunity the proposed permit may hold for proponents, he urges its denial due to its proximity to scientific investigation of significant importance. He enclosed an image, pictured below, of his 2011 Certificate of Lifetime Patron Membership to the Center for Ancient Astronaut Research and the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association, signed by Giorgio Tsoukalos and Erich von Daniken. ( pp1-3 ) Paige Sechi explained they were raised in the Uintah Basin and encouraged the county to prioritize the long-term well-being of the community. “I'm not writing you because of the media depictions of the ranch, but in the environmental, geological, and cultural significance of the area where the drilling is proposed,” Sechi wrote. Their perspective, arguably among the more measured and pointed, was noticeably absent from other emails as compared to concerns about the future of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. ( p137 ) Paul Wilson, P.E., opposed approval of the permit because it would significantly affect ongoing scientific investigation that could benefit Utah as well as the entire country. The oil or gas will always be there, he argued, while the loss of the present investigation will do permanent damage to a major scientific breakthrough. “As a staunch Trump supporter,” Wilson concluded, “I believe he would not want this to affect the American people.” ( p147 ) Dr. Carry Duckworth, “Scientist and PI in the UK,” opposed the permit because Skinwalker Ranch conducts a high-tech venture undertaking world-renowned scientific research going back at least 20 years. But it's not just about the scientific community and those who understand and follow the high-quality research like Duckworth does, they emphasized. It's also about the large community that follows and contributes to the research online. ( p88 ) “There will be huge negative societal impact if this does not continue,” Duckworth warned. “This community activity is excellent for both research on the ranch and the mental health of many of these individuals through developing friendships and the sense of purpose by contributing to groundbreaking research activity.” This writer confidently suspects law enforcement officers, personnel at the county medical examiner's office, and members of the search party who retrieved the deceased body of Andrew Barton Crowe might disagree with the doctor's assessment of Skinwalker Ranch societal impact. Noteworthy in the discussion of Uintah Basin properties is Utah 2023 S.B. 219 , Criminal Privacy Violation Amendments. Introduced by State Sen. Ronald Winterton, the bill expanded on existing legislation by increasing penalties for the use of equipment such as drones and ground-penetrating radar to survey land where there is an expected right of privacy. The Senator's son, Thomas Winterton, assisted in presenting discussion on the bill that restricts unauthorized use of technology to detect, observe, or measure property characteristics. It is not entirely clear what the consequences were perceived to be if a literal act of Congress was not undertaken to discourage the public from trying to glean details about the 500-acre Adamantium Real Estate property and its subterranean features. One might suppose it didn't have a lot to do with werewolves. The permit debate provides an analogy of UFO culture. A majority of emails fail to express basic understandings of such central issues as energy consumption, oil drilling and, importantly, goose-and-gander values that typically characterize a healthily functioning community. The vast majority of emails fail to consider what is most valued by the public, while simultaneously arguing paranormal entertainment special interest is not just of vast significance, but highest importance. If no competent argument is made to explain why proposed land use is bad for the region, in and of itself and independently of activities on adjacent properties, then the issue is framed, in effect, as 'Landowner A should not be permitted to do as he desires on his property because Landowner B should be permitted to do as he desires on his property'. If the argument is subsequently reduced to 'oil wells are fine, just not in the vicinity of a mesa I believe has a giant alien spaceship buried beneath it', then it's failing to make a legitimate point for why Don Hicken Farms should be denied the right to use its land as it sees fit within legal guidelines. And from this writer's desk, that self-centered irrationality is pretty much UFO World in a nutshell. In a follow-up email exchange, Uintah County Community Development clarified the permit for Don Hicken Farms is in the review stage and "is currently waiting on additional information from the applicant." It was further explained that when a decision is reached, an applicant is typically notified by mail or email, so there is not a designated way to track the status of a permit request. EFR therefore envisions monitoring the situation through standard channels and possibly checking back in the future for further information from Uintah County.

Expanding Frontiers Research continues to investigate concerns expressed by mid-20 th century UFO investigators to the FBI about activity taking place within the flying saucer genre. Previous FOIA requests revealed Dr. Leon Davidson wrote FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover in 1960 about the UFO topic used as a disguise for conducting subversive activity. Prior to that, in 1958, UFO writer Ivan Sanderson contacted the Newark Field Office with similar concerns. He and writer and editor Hans Santesson subsequently spoke with agents about the New York Saucer Information Bureau, a group they identified as promoting Communist ideology. The two volunteered to assist and inform FBI as it deemed advantageous. Since obtaining the above material, EFR has been reviewing information from a variety of sources, as well as submitting additional FOIA requests on names dropped to the FBI by Davidson and Sanderson. Current and past research of the overlap between the intelligence and UFO communities indicates the agencies documented much more about subversive activities surrounding UFO personalities than they collected relevant material about the flying saucers the demographic claimed to study. Truman Bethurum, 1954 The latest records obtained and reviewed include an FBI file on Truman Bethurum , a self-described UFO contactee. Bethurum was documented in a 1958 FBI memo to have been named by Sanderson as a regular attendee at New York Saucer Information Bureau meetings while also touring the country to discuss UFOs with no visible means of support. Sanderson and Santesson advised the FBI, the memo stated, that “the New York Saucer Information Bureau was a possible Communist Front organization inasmuch as recent material published by this bureau and special guests at this bureau's meetings, have indicated to them that the 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.” Truman Bethurum (1898-1969) was a blue-collar worker from California. He claimed his first contact with alien visitors was in 1952 and included the beautiful Aura Rhanes, the alleged captain of an often-returning spacecraft. He wrote books about his extraordinary adventures and pushed an agenda - supposedly at the instruction of Aura Rhanes - to raise money for the Sanctuary of Thought, an Arizona commune. If Bethurum's bit was the idea of an attractive alien, it eluded the FBI. Its records indicate Valor, a magazine operated by William Dudley Pelley, had an apparent financial stake and interest in organizing and promoting Bethurum speaking engagements in 1954. That was surmised from information provided to the Bureau by Thomas Eickhoff, an Ohio man informing the Cincinnati Field Office of activities surrounding Bethurum. Eickhoff indicated George Hunt Williamson, who also described himself as a contactee, and another man known as Mr. Manspeaker, were handling details of organizing and advertising a Bethurum event in Cincinnati. Both men were described as being involved with Valor. The event stood to potentially raise thousands of dollars in ticket sales. Eickhoff told FBI he did not know why Valor was interested in Bethurum or what the plans were for the money that might be raised. FBI noted Valor was published by William Dudley Pelley and that it was described as a journal of applied spirituality, dealing with mysticism and flying saucers. The 1954 FBI memo documented Pelley was "said to claim that these individuals arriving in flying saucers are of greater intelligence and learning than the earth people and are here to give the earth people intellectual guidance and spiritual endowment." Aug. 12, 1942, St. Louis Post-Dispatch William Dudley Pelley (1890-1965) was an American fascist activist and supporter of Nazi Germany. His antisemitism led to founding the Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, in 1933. The Silver Shirts were characterized by their paramilitary uniform and fascist ideology. Pelley unsuccessfully ran for president of the United States in 1936 as the candidate for the Christian Party. He was convicted in 1942 of sedition and seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled in 1950. William Pelley FBI records are posted on the Bureau website. Other issues that arise in FBI records responsive to Bethurum include the activity of UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield of Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects, known as CRIFO. He attended a meeting with Thomas Eickhoff, Williamson, Manspeaker and Bethurum to discuss organizing a Bethurum appearance in Cincinnati, according to Eickhoff. A 1954 interview is referenced by FBI that was conducted by Stringfield with Col. John O'Mara of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The interview was presented early on in this writer's book, Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC , as it provides documentation that intelligence officers have been telling UFO writers for some 70 years that UFO Disclosure is imminent. In the FBI records at hand, Stringfield's agenda is called into question, including documentation of a statement attributed to him that the Air Force couldn't do anything about his activities because, “I'm claiming saucers are interplanetary.” Yet another FBI informant – redacted and remaining unnamed in this instance - “advised that he was furnishing the foregoing information because he thought that possibly the real purpose of the Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects organization might be to gather bits of information about a very secret U.S. Air Force Development Project.” A 1977 Stringfield book with a forward by Keyhoe Maj. Donald Keyhoe, soon to become the frontman of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena at the time the FBI memos were authored, is also referenced. Col. O'Mara, while providing Stringfield with statements supportive of a flying saucer mystery, nonetheless told Thomas Eickhoff, the Ohio FBI informant, that Keyhoe “is a fraud.” The colonel alluded to the existence of information in Washington to that effect, which may be a reference to circumstances described in now-declassified FBI records responsive to Keyhoe. The Bureau identified Keyhoe's writing as irresponsible and cited a specific example of an entirely untrue story published by the saucer enthusiast and conspiracy monger. Stringfield previously came to this writer's attention after declassification of a 1978 NSA memo was requested and successfully obtained in 2017. The memo fascinatingly reflects how a longtime staple of the Mutual UFO Network and an NSA assignee, Thomas Deuley, informed his supervisors about his attendance and activities at an annual UFO symposium in Ohio. As Deuley explained, presentations included Stringfield, Todd Zechel and others discussing documents purportedly created by the CIA. Deuley described in the memo how he relied on CIA to determine the documents were not authentic. He also explained how Zechel, who was reported by the Washington Post in 1979 to be an NSA man himself, solicited information on UFOs from Deuley. The memo further documented how Zechel made the claim publicly a number of times to have worked for the NSA, yet NSA records did not indicate that to be the case. Zechel addressed the situation with Deuley, explaining he wanted to clear it up, and subsequently claimed to Deuley that confusion arose because he worked as a shift supervisor at an ASA (Army Security Agency) facility in Korea from 1963-1966. Deuley's memo described Zechel urging him to find out about UFOs and share information he learned. Deuley wrote further, "There is some thought that [Zechel] would be capable of being behind the CIA letter fraud and that he is apt to go to most any length to collect information or to bend facts to fit his needs."  Deuley wrote his NSA supervisors about Zechel, “I have talked with him in a frank, clear manner that should have portrayed to him my position and I feel, without specific examples of him being dishonest, I should give him a chance of building a productive working relationship.” It is not clear exactly what kind of relationship would have been considered productive. “Any further contact or requests for information will be reported,” Deuley concluded. A number of interesting points arise in the 1978 NSA memo and its reading is recommended. The identity of the memo author – Thomas Deuley - is confidently established through the work of Philip Klass . In 2018, this writer submitted a follow-up FOIA request to NSA, seeking additional memos and reports written by the analyst who authored the 1978 MUFON conference memo on Zechel's solicitation of information. NSA advised this week by email, as fate would have it, that the request was too broad. EFR is in correspondence with the Agency, working on narrowing the scope of the request in an effort to reach a resolution that provides more material for review and consideration.

Law enforcement was dispatched to a report in May 2022 of a film crew with a drone at the gate of the Nevada Test and Training Range, popularly known as Area 51. The responding deputy encountered Joerg Arnu, operator of the Dreamland Resort website, along with three men with German passports, according to records recently obtained from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. The incident took place less than six months before the widely reported raids of two properties owned by Arnu. Area 51 gate. Photo credit: David James Henry “They did have a drone and admitted to filming in the area,” the deputy documented in the incident report, “but denied flying the drone.” The four men eventually left the area without incident after base personnel declined to provide a written statement or surveillance footage that might suggest the drone illegally crossed a boundary. The Dreamland Resort website states it is operated from a property bordering Area 51, a secure U.S. Air Force facility with a rich history in UFO and alien lore. Arnu is described as a 25-year Area 51 research veteran. The website boasts it is the number one source for information on Area 51, black projects and the Nellis Air Force Base ranges. In November 2022, two properties owned by Arnu were served search warrants, apparently jointly carried out between the FBI and Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Expensive electronic equipment was taken into evidence during the raids, according to news reports quoting Arnu. He was reportedly told the search was related to images posted on his Area 51 website. Arnu claims the law enforcement actions violated his rights. He further framed the circumstances as “a message to silence the Area 51 research community.” He does not, however, include the story of the interaction with the sheriff's office, involving foreign nationals carrying a drone around the border of Area 51, among the items posted at Dreamland Resort. A Go Fund Me page was set up to raise money to replace confiscated equipment, repair damages to his homes and cover legal expenses. To date, the page has received pledges totaling almost $20,000. EFR sent messages to Joerg Arnu through Dreamland Resort website and the Go Fund Me page, offering him opportunities to comment for potential inclusion in this blogpost, particularly about the records obtained from the sheriff's office. No responses were received. Depictions of the search warrants dated Nov. 2, 2022, and linked through Dreamland Resort indicate FBI and AFOSI were involved in executing the warrants and conducting property searches (see the screenshots below). All of the circumstances surrounding how the depicted warrants were prepared for posting are not clear, however, as they contain redactions of select passages and sections, including material seized into evidence. From the search warrants: Further example of redactions in depictions of the search warrants shared but not fully explained by Dreamland Resort: FBI responded to FOIA requests submitted by EFR on Dreamland Resort that it was unable to identify records subject to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts that are responsive to the requests. It should be noted that does not necessarily indicate FBI records do not exist pertaining to searches of properties owned by Arnu and related investigations. A digital image linked through Dreamland Resort of a December 2022 FBI response to a request submitted on Joerg Arnu states responsive material is not subject to release per FOIA Exemption (b)(7)(A), records compiled for law enforcement purposes, disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with proceedings. Update Sep. 26, 2025: After providing FBI documentation as cited in this article of its apparent involvement in the execution of search warrants in November 2022, the Bureau again issued a response indicating it was unable to identify records responsive to "Dreamland Resort" that are subject to the FOIPA. Expanding Frontiers Research subsequently appealed the action. The Department of Justice Office of Information Policy, the appeal authority for the FBI, recently responded it affirmed FBI action . As suggested above, that does not necessarily mean such records do not exist or that records responsive to investigations of Joerg Arnu necessarily contain the term "Dreamland Resort." A second incident report responsive to Dreamland Resort was obtained from Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, dated January 2023, a couple months after the search warrants were served. The report documented how a series of apparent misunderstandings experienced by Arnu included him calling the sheriff's office to register a complaint about people he perceived were circling his property in a truck and filming. He reported he was in fear for his safety. Arnu placed a second call after following and confronting the perceived perpetrators. A responding deputy determined the people, which included a man and his daughters the officer recognized, had likely been on Arnu's street for reasons other than his property. They did seem prone to recording on their phone cameras, which the officer pointed out to Arnu was not against the law. Arnu reportedly told the deputy he thought somebody from the Little A'Le'Inn bar had been sent to harass and film him. “Arnu did not like the idea of people driving by his home and filming his property,” the officer noted. Protesters gather outside an Area 51 gate during "Storm Area 51." Photo credit: David James Henry In related news, an incident report was obtained from Lincoln County Sheriff's Office pertaining to the 2019 event, Storm Area 51 – They Can't Stop All of Us. As widely reported in the media, the event began as a Facebook post by Matty Roberts, encouraging a mob-like incursion of the Air Force base. As the post gained attention and momentum, it was promoted by dubious UAP influencer Jeremy Corbell. On Sep. 20, 2019, the day of the event, the sheriff's office responded to a trespassing call from Nevada Test and Training Range. The responding deputy found two young men detained by base security, their Jeep with Utah plates parked just inside a “No Trespassing” sign. The two were charged with trespassing and transferred to a mobile detention center set up at the nearby Hiko Fire Station as a result of the scheduled Storm Area 51 event. According to the incident report, both men acknowledged they knew they were trespassing and apologized. They gave law enforcement permission to examine their cell phones, one of which contained a photo of a “No Trespassing” sign and a video reportedly recorded inside the base boundary. The video was deleted. The two posted bail, were released, and were provided a ride to the location to which their Jeep was towed.

In 2019 this writer sought FBI records on UFO author and speaker Stanton Friedman (1934-2019) through the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. The FBI soon provided about 57 pages of apparently previously released documents. The records consisted primarily of 1985 FBI memos reflecting investigations stemming from Friedman's interest in classified material. In this post, we will explore some interesting aspects of the records as well as a recently received response to a request for a Mandatory Declassification Review. Though no new information was obtained, the circumstances may provide some food for thought. Image of Stanton Friedman contained in FBI file You may access a master folder, "Friedman, Stanton," holding two additional folders. One of the folders, titled "Friedman FBI," contains FBI records previously obtained. The second folder, "Friedman FBI MDR 12-24," contains an FBI final response received last week for the Mandatory Declassification Review, along with the records on Friedman, even though they were revised very little, if at all. The late Stanton Friedman was born in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University before earning physics degrees at the University of Chicago during the 1950s. He worked in the defense industry and was granted DOD secret clearance as well as Q clearance by the Department of Energy, according to FBI records ( see p3 ). Friedman turned his attention to UFOs and became widely known for promoting unverified conspiracies of crashed flying saucers and the alleged alien abduction of Betty and Barney Hill. He was a primary promoter of the dubious and almost certainly forged MJ-12 documents along with controversial writer William “Bill” Moore. Friedman adamantly claimed to believe the government was conducting a cover-up of UFOs and aliens. Soon after receiving FBI records in 2019, this writer submitted a request for a Mandatory Declassification Review, or MDR, in the hopes some of the withheld material would be further released. The Bureau issued a final response last week to the MDR, pictured below. While an initial page-by-page comparison revealed no newly released information (not so much as one single less redaction), some potentially interesting circumstances may nonetheless be discerned. As highlighted, the Bureau acknowledged, “99 pages were reviewed and 57 pages are being released.” That means, even after a declassification review, some 42 pages of records responsive to Stanton T. Friedman in the custody of the FBI were deemed fully exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. Also of note and as highlighted on the second page of the FBI response letter, documents were originally referred to Other Government Agency(ies) for review for release. It would appear this includes the State Department. The circumstances offer opportunities for continued research. The FBI withholding of records may be appealed and a request may be sent to the State Department, as well, citing the FBI response letter and records but, for now, let's take a look at the records released to date. Working systematically from the beginning of the pdf titled "Friedman FBI 1 MDR...," we quickly find what might well be identified as the heart of Bureau interest in Stanton Friedman. An April 1985 memo from an agent at the Boston Field Office advises Dir. Hoover it was not known how Friedman knew specific FBI file numbers he listed in a FOIA request. The request pertained to intelligence conferences with the Air Force, related items, and a proposed study of flying saucers. From page 4 of the above linked file: The social dynamics reflected in this one page are vast. They are difficult to overemphasize. In this single memo, we see implications of UFO researchers encouraging intelligence officers to leak classified information. Friedman quite possibly learned the file numbers when they were shared improperly, possibly among numerous people. The mid 1980s UFO scene, speeding out of control on greased rails, was the time of Richard Doty, Bill Moore, Linda Moulton Howe, and anybody else who would embrace and promote ill-advised revelations of the Majestic 12, cattle mutilations and underground alien bases. This memo speaks to it. In the above page, we can surmise UFO writers rattling swords with intelligence agencies, practically challenging them. If a request was denied, or they were questioned about circumstances surrounding classified material, the writer could proclaim they were on the right track, getting too close to the truth. They rarely so much as ever even acknowledged information may have been classified for reasons having nothing to do with alien spaceships. Doing so would have simply not supported their agenda. It could be argued, in this context, it was the job of the Boston FBI to determine the extent of the agenda of Stanton T. Friedman. It should also be considered that investigation of UFO figures is often a lose-lose proposition for intelligence agencies. The subject of investigation may prove to be either irrational or willfully ignorant, pursuing stories of aliens and government cover-ups for a variety of common and self-serving reasons, but resulting in no implications of espionage or damage to national security. A best case scenario may often be that investigation proves to be a waste of time and resources. Continuing through the first of the two pdfs, a rather heavily redacted May 1985 FBI memo located on page 7 mentions a highly sensitive source, presumably a confidential informant, further referenced repeatedly as we progress through the records. The memo on page 7, pictured below, also contains a reference to how the source must be protected if information is disseminated outside the Bureau, another point that recurs throughout the material. We might also note part of the subject is redacted. Again, a recurring feature as we proceed through reading the files. Many memos have subject lines of Friedman and something redacted. By July 1985, Boston FBI determined information requested by Friedman in 1984 and subsequently released to him no longer had a confidential nature. The records Friedman requested had a somewhat expected date range of 1946-1960:  FOIA exemptions applied for redactions are highlighted on the above memo. As cited throughout the material and described in the FBI MDR final response, which also cited Exemption b7D for select withholding of records, the specified exemptions pertain to unwarranted invasions of privacy, disclosure of identity of confidential sources, and disclosure of techniques of law enforcement investigations. Another 1985 FBI memo located on page 12 of the pdf references an LHM, or Letterhead Memo. This is likely a reference to a summary of derogatory information compiled during the course of a counterintelligence investigation. The memo suggests the LHM should be forwarded to Legat, Ottawa, which would be the FBI Legal Attaché. It might be a good guess that this LHM represents some of the fully withheld material, even after the Mandatory Declassification Review. That, and State Department records. From page 14: Nearing the end of the first pdf, page 18 contains a memo again clarifying, “Information furnished by [redacted] may not be reclassified or further disseminated outside the FBI without prior [redacted] authority.” Cited exemptions include circumstances of confidential sources and law enforcement investigations: The second pdf, titled "Friedman FBI 2 MDR 12-24," contains a March 1985 FBI memo, predating the above correspondence (see p16). It indeed further establishes the Bureau had a source telling it about Stan Friedman. The exemptions cited pertain to confidential sources and investigations: Page 24 of the pdf is part of a May 1985 memo. It coordinates the dissemination of the Letterhead Memo to relevant offices and directs the FBI Alexandria Division to “initiate traces re Friedman” with the Washington Field Office (The Alexandria Division typically worked on compromising human sources and open legal cases): By December 1985, Boston FBI apparently became satisfied other offices and collaborating agencies in the U.S. and Canada had no information justifying further investigation of Friedman, at least not for any of the reasons it was initially directed in this instance. It noted permission might be sought in the future for careful dissemination of investigation findings and information obtained from protected sources ( see p38 ). It seems apparent the discussion of Friedman's activities, however, included a substantial amount of classified material, and it continues to be redacted. That's the case whether or not Friedman was aware or cared. Note the almost fully redacted page 7 of the second pdf, even after MDR: Also, an inventory of deleted responsive pages provided by the Bureau shows the several records not produced that pertain to the State Department, as well as three pages (79, 84, 85) withheld in full under exemptions cited: The FBI records on Stanton Friedman reveal a number of social circumstances. They establish surveillance of UFO investigators, but they also indicate the investigator put himself in the line of sight by interjecting himself into classified matters. Moreover, these are dynamics that continue today between the UFO subculture and the intelligence community. Intelligence agencies are by no means necessarily without blame in select convoluted matters that fuel irrational speculation of the fantastic, but neither does that justify taking leave of our critical thinking faculties. Expanding Frontiers Research encourages you to keep unpacking the past to accurately learn how we got here and competently assess where we're going. Update: On Sep. 24, 2025, the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy affirmed FBI action on Appeal No. A-2025-00610, submitted by this writer and concerning records withheld on Stanton Friedman during a Mandatory Declassification Review. Dozens of pages continue to be withheld in full along with redacted sections of pages released in part as shown above.

A 1963 FBI memo recently obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration indicates UFO writer Ivan Sanderson was tapped by the Bureau during its investigation of Robert Theodore Stark. Sanderson, a former British intelligence officer and high-profile UFO researcher of his era, was documented in a 1958 FBI memo as having initiated contact with the Bureau about what were described as subversive activities at meetings of the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB), as previously reported by EFR . Sanderson and Swedish-born New York writer and editor Hans Santesson were subsequently interviewed by FBI, informing it the meetings were held under the guise of information concerning UFOs but were in reality being used to promote the Communist Party. Sanderson and Santesson expressed willingness to cooperate with the FBI in furnishing information in the future, according to the 1958 memo. The Bureau apparently took Sanderson up on the offer. A series of follow-up FOIA requests submitted by Expanding Frontiers Research resulted in obtaining the 1963 memo, Subject: Robert Theodore Stark. A clipping on Santesson's work that is archived by FBI was also obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. More material is expected to be received and posted as this ongoing FOIA investigation continues. Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson The 1963 FBI memo documents Robert Theodore Stark was employed in 1957 by the Bogen-Presto Division of the Siegler Corporation at a location in Paramus, NJ. Further research indicates Russian immigrant David Bogen ran successful electronics and audio companies in New York before selling them in the 1950s. Siegler was among the purchasers in 1957. FBI interest in Stark is not clarified in the memo. For reasons that are not yet entirely clear, the memo contains implications to the NYSIB, seemingly leading to Sanderson, who is apparently shown a photo of Stark. The man looked familiar, Sanderson apparently indicated, but he could not place him. Suggesting the NYSIB was indeed a topic at hand, FBI documented Sanderson then advised FBI of names of people who may have been more currently active with the NYSIB than he, as shown in the image below, and therefore may have been more helpful in recognizing the man in the photo and furnishing related information: From a 1963 FBI memo, Subject: John Theodore Stark Some readers will recognize the reference to longtime NICAP staple and UFO community member Isabel (spelled Isabelle by FBI) Davis. This could be considered interesting for reasons including previous FOIA requests submitted to the Bureau on Ms. Davis did not produce responsive records. A reason for the oversight may be due to the subject of the memo and/or file is Mr. Stark, combined with the fact the memo contains numerous references to various people and organizations. All of the referenced entities are probably not entered in the file subject and metadata, which could result in unsuccessful searches conducted by FBI FOIA personnel. A standard search may simply not be able to determine the references are in the text. Further research suggests Isabel Davis formed a group called Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York, or CSINY, in 1954 with Ted Bloecher and the also-referenced Lex Mebane. The group reportedly published a CSI newsletter from 1956-1959 under Mebane's editorial direction. Another FOIA request stemming from the 1958 FBI memo resulted in obtaining part of a clipping archived by FBI . As pictured right, the Bureau came into possession of part of an article describing Hans Santesson's work as a science fiction editor while also delving into Muslim ideologies and his interpretations of what the movement meant for the United States. Santesson's work also included composing a review of John McCoy's “They Shall Be Gathered Together,” a 1957 dive into UFOs, extraterrestrial contact and the coming of a “New Age.” Interestingly, the pamphlet was directly referenced by Dr. Leon Davidson in his 1960 letter to FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover as an example of hidden agendas masquerading as New Age movements and UFO interest, as recently covered by EFR . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Expanding Frontiers Research thanks Kim Møller Hansen for their continuing coverage of the Ivan Sanderson-FBI line of research and our ongoing work at Skandinavisk UFO Information . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Expanding Frontiers Research is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, dedicated to conducting and posting reliable research through proven methods. We facilitate the use of public records requests by assisting researchers with submitting requests, as well as educating the public on the process, effectively advocating responsible government transparency through action and example. Please consider joining our valued financial supporters at the EFR Patreon or by making a donation through the secure “Donate” link located on our website homepage . Your financial support assists with FOIA fees, website maintenance, organization operating expenses and makes our work possible.

FBI records recently obtained through the Freedom of Information Act responsive to Dr. Leon Davidson indicate that in 1950 the Bureau investigated reports the scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb was a member of the Communist Party. The information provided to FBI was almost certainly false that implicated Davidson as a Russian asset. The subsequent investigation conducted by the FBI nonetheless demonstrates both its responsibility to substantiate or disprove tips it received, as well as widespread fear of Communist infiltration. The records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research provide insight into intelligence agency operations of the Cold War era. A Sep. 13, 1950, FBI memo documented how Earl Davis of Albuquerque informed FBI that “Leon Davidson was a card carrying member of the Communist Party.” The nature of the Bureau's relationship with Davis was not clarified. An Oct. 15, 1950, FBI report, shown below, suggests FBI received the information by telephone from Davis. He seems to have learned about the circumstances from his sister in Illinois, who heard it from a Bob Schroeder. FBI soon determined Bob Schroeder lived in New Jersey. Running the rumor down was assigned urgency due to Davidson's employment history, which involved substantial clearance leading up to his work that included Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Department of Energy facility in Nevada. The FBI file shows how previous investigations of Davidson were revisited for repeat verification. This includes information about the chemical engineer's work and family life, leading to surveillance of his residence and telephone activity. Phone surveillance led to tracking down names and addresses of Davidson's contacts, then alerting corresponding field offices to search records, investigate the contacts and so on. Similar scrutiny was given to individuals Davidson requested to be issued passes to visit him at Los Alamos. In some instances, such investigations led to Davidson's in-laws, as one might expect. 1995 aerial view of Los Alamos A takeaway from the records could be considered the problematic nature of relying heavily on witness testimony to conduct investigations and form assessments. Information was collected from many people described as associates, co-workers and “reliable” confidential informants. This included checking with informants within the Communist Party, who reported no knowledge of Davidson. In many cases, however, conflicting information was provided to the FBI. Any number of questions might arise about subjective interpretations of those interviewed and what their reasons were for distrusting or disliking Davidson. In one instance, a woman identified as a former neighbor described him as untrustworthy but conceded she couldn't recall why she concluded that was the case. FBI also documented a dynamic that was no doubt common: Scientists employed in secret weapons research were often conflicted and had reservations about certain aspects of their work. A Plant Protection Officer at a secure chemical facility, while discussing an associate of Davidson, explained to the Bureau there was a grave question as to whether primary loyalty was to the United States or the world of science. Scientists consistently advocated the sharing of atomic secrets with the world, the officer told the FBI: From a 1950 FBI report, Title: Leon Davidson The FBI file was obtained as the result of submitting a FOIA request to the Bureau, which referred EFR to the National Archives and Records Administration. NARA subsequently advised of the existence of some 200 responsive pages of which Leon Davidson was the subject. NARA further stated the records were compiled as part of a domestic security investigation from 1950-1967. Requests for over 50 pages typically take substantially longer to process than those under 50 pages, so the request was reduced to the first 50 pages of the file. The final FOIA response from NARA explained nine of the 50 pages were withheld in full. The NARA system for processing FOIA requests consists of categories, or tracks. The "Simple" track is requests that require 50 pages or less to be reviewed. Simple requests typically take a few months or less. The "Tier 1" track contains requests that require 51-700 pages to be processed. The current wait time is an estimated 39 months but may take longer. Records processed by NARA under the Freedom of Information Act may be viewed at no charge at its facility in College Park, MD. An appointment is required. "Reproductions," or copies, may be ordered in pdf, disc, and hard copy. The current fee for a reproduction is 80 cents per page, and that applies to a pdf delivered electronically. The National Archives and Records Administration does not accept requests for fee waivers, as fees are deemed reasonable through legislation and apply only to creating reproductions, not processing. The latest records were obtained as part of an ongoing research project conducted by Expanding Frontiers Research, using the Freedom of Information Act and other resources. A resulting master folder on Dr. Davidson is accessible to the public as it continues to be compiled.

Gray Barker was an entrepreneur, publisher of UFO zines and an author with an unapologetic inclination for embellishment. In 1960 he sent a letter to FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover. A copy of Barker's letter to Hoover was obtained from the National Archives while preparing for a recent discussion with Gabriel Mckee , author of The Saucerian: UFOs, Men In Black and the Unbelievable Life of Gray Barker . In the letter, pictured below, Barker references another letter, this one written from Dr. Leon Davidson to Hoover. Barker informs Hoover he was sent a copy of Davidson's letter and proceeds to address its content. Expanding Frontiers Research obtained the Davidson letter through the Freedom of Information Act. This blogpost will explore the circumstances surrounding Barker and Davidson's January 1960 letters to the FBI. Barker explained to Hoover how his letter was prompted by correspondence received from Dr. Leon Davidson, who informed Barker he'd alerted Hoover to fascist activity within the "crackpot" fringe. According to Barker, the circumstances described by Davidson involved people known generally to be surrounding those trying to seriously research the subject of flying saucers. Barker goes on to tell Hoover he does know that some of the writings and literature connected with these fringe groups contain "the 'hate' line" identified with Nazis or fascists, but adds that he is unaware of any flying saucer groups "tainted with anything which could be described as overtly following the Communist line." He also assures the director "his files would be open" to Hoover if the need arises but he doubts he could be of any real help. Note the handwritten annotation at the bottom of Barker's letter. Probably written by Hoover, it seems to read, "Not acknowledged due to nature of letter - not requiring an answer & due to fact Barker has numerous 65 ref." This might indicate Hoover finds it in the Bureau's better interest to avoid interactions with Barker that could turn problematic for reasons including his repeated reference in Classification 65 files, which involve investigations of such circumstances as espionage and sympathies for foreign adversaries. The files may have been among potentially responsive records destroyed as described by FBI in its response to the EFR FOIA request on Barker. It should be noted that an individual referenced in FBI files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing and, in probably most instances, does not. A person may be referenced for circumstances such as having been interviewed by FBI agents, having an associate investigated, or any number of other reasons people become mentioned in Bureau files. Gray Barker (1925-1984) Before exploring the Davidson letter referenced by Barker, let's consider Leon Davidson and his involvement with the UFO genre. Dr. Davidson was a chemical engineer, scientist and participant in the Manhattan Project. He became involved in what would later be described by the CIA as a bizarre chain of events when he tried to investigate an audio recording created in 1955 by the Mildred and Marie Maier sisters of Chicago. The two seemed to think they inadvertently recorded sounds of a UFO – an alien spacecraft – while recording a radio program. In the CIA version of the story, USAF Office of Special Investigations took an interest in the clicking sounds the sisters recorded. We might presume OSI interest included suspicions the recording might lead to signals intelligence discoveries. The Maier sisters received a visit from OSI officers who secured a copy of the recording. Davidson picked up interest and reached out to CIA, trying to establish facts around what intelligence agency visited the Maiers and what it learned from the recording obtained. What unfolded was a series of interactions between Davidson and spooks that snowballed into increasingly convoluted plot lines raising more suspicion with every CIA effort to de-escalate the situation. Dr. Leon Davidson (1922-2007) According to CIA, the sisters' recording was nothing more than meaningless Morse code but attempts to avoid fueling saucer conspiracies while simultaneously protecting classified information proved problematic. CIA ill-advised actions even included sending undercover officers posing as Air Force personnel to try to discourage Davidson's interest, yet the situation kept getting worse. Due to what the CIA later acknowledged was mishandling of the situation by both the Air Force and CIA, it decided the best option for dealing with Davidson was to stop responding at all. In 1959, Davidson wrote about electronic countermeasures, known as ECM, in the context of how the technology was likely leading to reports of UFO sightings. In ECM + CIA = UFO – or - How to Cause a Radar Sighting , Davidson argued that what started out as dropping aluminum foil strips from planes in order to clutter enemy radar evolved into a CIA psychological manipulation tool. He was closer to the truth than he realized, CIA later observed about Davidson's 1950s accusations the Agency had responsibility in the creation of UFO reports. In ECM + CIA = UFO , the doctor was actually discussing aspects of what became known as Project Palladium. The operation is described in a 1998 CIA report, Stealth, Countermeasures and ELINT, 1960-1975 . Authored by CIA man Gene Poteat, the report contains numerous items of interest, including descriptions of releasing metallic-colored, sphere-shaped balloons from submarines in coordination with the creation of false returns on enemy radar screens. Fascinatingly, Poteat writes how the “phantom” aircraft could be made to appear to radar operators as any size and traveling at any speed desired, and could be turned off instantly, giving the illusion the craft simply vanished into thin air while pilots were in pursuit. As shown above, Davidson's Jan. 13, 1960, letter to Hoover warned of a force with hidden agendas, "cloaking itself in the protection of ridicule" via UFOs, so "it can spread without public attention." Davidson expressed concerns involving Nazis and New Age movements, and he advised Hoover of where to look within factions of UFO and self-described religious groups. Among others, Davidson specifically referenced alleged contactee Daniel Fry and Michael X, a controversial trafficker in saucer stories who also sought to influence the Black Muslim community. Michael X, born Michael de Freitas and also known as Michael Barton, was later convicted of murder and subsequently hanged in 1975 at Port of Spain, Trinidad. As CIA later stated about Davidson's suspicions that its operations were creating perceived UFO sightings, maybe Davidson was again closer to the truth than he realized. [ Update: At the time of this writing, your author presumed Michael X (Barton), the purported UFO contactee and writer, was yet another alias used by Michael X (de Freitas), the controversial Muslim activist. As pointed out by Gabriel Mckee in comments below, that was an incorrect presumption .] Davidson referenced “Secrets of Higher Contact” by Michael X, specifically pages 22 and 23. Further research revealed those pages contain prophecy that large numbers of the population were going to identify as contactees and welcome the Space Brothers. Davidson indicated the Michael X material was published in 1959 by Futura Press but it was apparently – and ironically – re-released in 1969 by Saucerian Books. That's Gray Barker's publishing operation. The page-turner reportedly came with an afterword by Barker and an epilogue by Valiant Thor, a purported Venusian who, according to Frank Stranges, had a stint of employment in the Pentagon. Stranges had his own run-ins with the Bureau, as covered in this writer's Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC , but that's another story for another time. It should be noted, however, it all does indeed tie together and keep closing back in on itself. Davidson began the letter by citing vandalism at the Mamaronek (New York) Jewish Center. He went on to explain how he suspected such actions were the work of an organization attempting to solidify a growing base. Davidson referenced a photo of a "message left on cardboard" and other aspects of the vandalism published in a newspaper, prompting this writer to locate a similar article at newspapers dot com. The full clipping may be viewed in a Leon Davidson folder being compiled and the corresponding front page of the Jan. 7, 1960, edition of The (Mamaronek) Daily Times is shown below. Hoover opted to cordially respond to Davidson's letter, as shown below. A typed annotation documented Davidson's belief that Nazi-type activity involved crackpot faddists, mystics and other gullible people of the world. It was further noted Davidson offered his services to FBI and that Bureau files reflected no information, circumstances seeming to suggest his lack of reference in FBI records, as compared to the circumstances represented in the annotation added to Barker's letter. The Barker letter described in this post was obtained after first submitting a FOIA request to the FBI. As is often the case with requests for mid-20 th  century material, FBI stated it had no responsive records, and that potentially responsive records were destroyed, but further advised of a potentially responsive file number in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The procedure is then to submit a FOIA request to NARA for the file number. After obtaining and viewing the Barker letter, EFR submitted a follow-up request to NARA for the Davidson letter referenced by Barker. NARA responded it searched in multiple locations where it was expected to be found but could not locate the document. At that point, a FOIA request was submitted to FBI, citing the Barker letter and requesting the Davidson letter referenced. The usual process then unfolded of FBI again providing a file number to be requested from NARA. Interestingly, when supplied with the file number in a new request, NARA was able to locate and provide the requested Davidson letter. EFR continues to follow up on this and other records obtained by submitting more FOIA requests on the people and circumstances referenced. This is a still-developing, multi-faceted line of research.

Law enforcement records responsive to Castlewood Treatment Center reveal the St. Louis County Police Department investigated threats of violence directed at staff members of the turmoil-prone facility in 2019. The threats were publicly posted in a Facebook group designated as an online support resource for victims accusing the center of malpractice and a variety of unethical actions. Police documented that administrators of the Facebook victim advocacy group, Castlewood Victims Unite, repeatedly addressed the threats and emphasized the group did not condone violence in any form. The threats were periodically posted for about a year, according to police. Castlewood Treatment Center, rebranded Alsana in recent years and permanently closed in 2024 The ill-fated Missouri clinic, one in a national chain of residential treatment facilities supposed to assist patients with recovery from eating disorders and other addictions, drew widespread attention in 2011 when news began to surface of allegations made by Lisa Nasseff. She stated Mark Schwartz administered psychotropic drugs and regressive hypnosis, inducing false, supposedly repressed memories of rape and abuse sustained from a satanic cult, while ostensibly treating her eating disorder. Nasseff reported this took place over a 15-month period while she stayed at Castlewood Treatment Center. Schwartz and his wife, Lori Galperin, who was also a staff member, were accused of cultivating stories of satanic ritual abuse and lengthening the stays of patients whose health insurance would provide coverage for extended periods. At least three more reported victims came forward, resulting in several lawsuits that were settled in 2013 . Schwartz and Galperin resigned but Castlewood problems continued. The Justice Department announced that it reached a settlement in 2013 with the company about HIV discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The clinic denied eating disorder treatment and space at the facility to an individual with HIV, even against the recommendations of its own medical staff who advised that the facility was equipped to safely and effectively handle the situation. Under the settlement, Castlewood paid some $115,000 in compensation to the person who was perpetually led to believe they were on a waiting list as their disorder worsened. Castlewood was also ordered to pay an additional $25,000 in civil penalties. The chain of clinics, which included locations in Missouri, Alabama and California, was sold in 2017 . Within about a year Castlewood was rebranded as Alsana, but by 2024 the operation was permanently closed. The closure was celebrated by Castlewood Victims Unite. St. Louis County Police Department records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research indicate officers responded to a request for increased patrol the evening of Aug. 22, 2019. Further investigation revealed employees at Alsana, formerly Castlewood, had become aware through a company-wide email of threats of violence repeatedly posted as comments on the Castlewood Victims Unite Facebook page. Personnel at the clinic informed police of the history of the facility and provided responding officers a printout of the company-wide email, which was taken into evidence. One of the approximately 100 staff members told police that although threats were being leveled and the clinic was subject to handling medical emergencies, including patients who might commit self-harm, that during eight hours of a twelve-hour shift, there was no phone, internet, and an almost non-existent cell phone signal. Police documented the person indicated they were "not aware of any other mental health facility where suicidal and homicidal ideation, and intent, are a common place with no basic security features (i.e; no lock down drills, no gate, and no cameras)." The circumstances surrounding threats to staff as documented by St. Louis Police Department in 2019: Documentation of Castlewood Victims Unite Facebook administrators denouncing violence in response to the threatening comments: Records responsive to Castlewood were initially obtained from the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act. The material was heavily redacted and several questions arose about the circumstances. The FBI file did, however, contain a brief reference to the FBI-St. Louis Joint Terrorism Task Force receiving a notification from “St. Louis County PD Intelligence.” A records request was then submitted to St. Louis County PD under the Missouri Sunshine Law. The subsequent release from St. Louis County clarified the nature of the information withheld in the FBI material. A folder containing FBI and St. Louis County responses may be viewed. Minor redactions were voluntarily added by EFR to protect select personal identifiable information that is not exempt from disclosure under Missouri law enforcement records legislation. ------------------------------------------------- Have a look around the EFR Patreon page , where you can sign up for free or join our valued financial supporters in helping cover the costs of our work. 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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.