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The Thurston County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) continued to provide records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment after the initial release was reported in September by Expanding Frontiers Research (EFR). The material was obtained as the result of an August 2023 records request. Dozens of total records have been obtained that reference J.Z. Knight's Yelm, Washington, 80-acre compound, stemming from a research collaboration between EFR Executive Director Erica Lukes and this writer. The article posted in September published law enforcement records documenting the erratic and often dangerous behavior of former Ramtha students, many obsessed with gaining access to J.Z. Knight and the compound. Records received since the first article was published include a police report submitted by an apparent student at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment who complained her mail, “normally sealed documents from the FBI,” was opened and documents were missing. Another responsive record indicated the Seattle FBI office alerted TCSO that, while scouring social media, it observed a post published by an account titled “WA Nazi Watch” that suggested the Ramtha group engaged in right-wing extremism. In yet another report obtained, a person was apparently shot in the back while exploring woods located near the Ramtha property after they and a friend set out to investigate rumors of aliens at the compound. More records provided by the sheriff's office indicated members of Art of Life, a group that split from Ramtha and became involved in a legal dispute with J.Z. Knight, filed numerous reports of harassment they claimed to believe were perpetrated by Ramtha disciples, yet officers were dubious of their reports. These circumstances and more are explored below. Multiple emails were sent to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment offering opportunities to comment for potential inclusion in this article. No responses were received. Opened Mail The morning of Jan. 2, 2019, the TCSO received a message via an email web application, Subject: Opened Mail. The sender was identified as Shannon Miramontez, who wrote, “Picked up open mail from chair in front of landlord's house last night at 8pm. I noticed a [sic] normally sealed documents from the FBI was open. There are missing documents from the large envelope. Landlord is currently not returning my phone call.” Sgt. Dave Odegaard spoke with Shannon shortly after receiving the report. In a subsequent inner-office email, the sergeant explained Shannon, the landlord, and other students from the Ramtha school used the same mailbox. The landlord, Teresa Rylko, would get the mail and place it all on a chair, apparently to be collected by recipients. Sgt. Odegaard noted that Shannon does not know if Teresa or another person opened her mail. Shannon had been unsuccessful in trying to reach Teresa, and Sgt. Odegaard was likewise unable to get in touch with her. EFR attempted to reach Shannon Miramontez by email and offer her opportunities to comment on the circumstances for inclusion in this article. No responses were received. It is not currently clear if or how the situation was resolved. Neither is it clear what type of documents the apparent Ramtha student was receiving from the FBI, what the purposes of the documents were, or why some of them may have been missing. Monitoring Social Media At 12:25 a.m. the morning of June 6, 2020, Sgt. Malcolm McIver emailed fellow officers he had just talked to Cliff Schroff of the FBI in Seattle. “He said they are scouring social media posts,” Sgt. McIver wrote, “and came across 'WA NAZI WATCH' that had a picture of Ramtha's School gate.” There was no threat expressed and the FBI wasn't sure what WA Nazi Watch was, but was passing the information on, as was the sergeant. Further investigation conducted by EFR revealed WA Nazi Watch was involved in social media circles on the former Twitter website X with accounts associated with Antifa, or anti-fascism. The account was apparently suspended from the social media site for unclear reasons. The WA Nazi Watch website posts information about the activities of people it identifies as fascists and right-wing extremists. The Ramtha group may have attracted attention due to reasons including bigotry expressed by J.Z. Knight as reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center and as previously explored in the September post at EFR. The FBI Seattle Public Affairs Office told EFR in an Oct. 24, 2023, email the FBI does not comment on correspondence from another agency obtained through a public records request. Asked to address Bureau activities from 2020 to present on monitoring internet social media for posts of concern, the Public Affairs Office responded: Generally speaking, the FBI cannot initiate an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity. As offensive as a statement can be, the FBI cannot open an investigation without a threat of violence or alleged violation of federal law. However, when the language does turn to a call for violence or involves federal criminal activity, the FBI is able to undertake investigative activity. The FBI may review, observe, and collect information from public sources as long as the FBI activities are done for a valid law enforcement or national security purpose, and in a manner that does not unduly infringe upon the speaker or author’s ability to deliver his or her message. Regarding social media, the volume of social media messages has simply exploded so we need cooperation from the public, the private sector, and, of course, our law enforcement partners to spot potential threats. Law enforcement agencies are not the only groups monitoring the social media posts of people in the vicinity of Ramtha. Knight's school employees keep a cautious eye out too. An Aug. 19, 2019, inner-agency email notified TCSO officers a phone call was received from Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE) legal advisor Mike Wright, explaining that an event for some 150 guests was scheduled from Wednesday the 21st to Sunday the 25th. “RSE has been monitoring social media,” the Sheriff's Office email explained, “and it was recently discovered on Facebook that a group of juveniles are planning to 'storm the event.'” The disruption was planned for Sunday morning. Wright apparently did not take the situation particularly seriously and just wanted to make the TCSO aware. The email rather interestingly continued, “RSE will have 1 armed security roaming the property, 1 security at the main gate, 3-4 internally non-armed security, and about 20 other staff to help with people who are attending. All of them will have a radio and can communicate with each other if a problem arises. In addition, there are sensors around the perimeter of the campus and security cameras all over.” Shooting April 3, 2023, Boyd Stacy submitted a report to the TCSO that in September 2022 he was hearing rumors going around about people seeing aliens and weird stuff occurring at the Ramtha compound. He and a friend headed out to investigate, apparently on all-terrain vehicles through the woods. After many hours of navigating the forest, they were reportedly “hit with spotlights” in a wooded area. Stacy reported this took place “behind Morgans 300 acre [sic] compound.” A confrontation ensued, the explorers ran, and Stacy was “shot in the back by the man with the AR-15.” Stacy indicated he knew the incident was previously investigated but was unsatisfied with the results. He emphasized he wanted the shooter held accountable and prosecuted. “I am documenting this because no sheriff office staff has tried to contact me while I was in the hospital,” Stacy wrote. The relationships among the various parties named in the report is not entirely clear. An April 3 TCSO email indicated the report was rejected. The incident “was investigated in September last year” by several deputies and detectives with the TCSO, the email stated, indicating the Office considered the matter closed. Missing Persons As EFR obtained increasing numbers of public records in its ongoing investigations of American cults, a recurring theme became reports of missing persons. Narratives in the reports often reflect circumstances where relatives in distant states stop hearing from a loved one and become concerned, or a family member who resides with the missing person describes how they headed off to an event and didn't return as scheduled. Reading these reports, one might develop a certain sense of mounting dread as law enforcement officers diligently log their efforts to locate the individual, systematically going from one source to the next who saw them before they went missing. One might also cultivate some empathy for the officers who do all this work, typically to discover the person is willingly taking up with a cult, simply doesn't want to talk to their family for whatever reasons, and/or is experiencing some type of mental health issue that may often be dealt with ineffectively by the surrounding community. Take for instance a 2012 report, in which a woman in North Carolina called the TCSO and reported her concern the family hadn't heard from a male relative in two years who was suspected of getting involved with the Ramtha group. An officer went through the process of eventually locating the individual to discover, according to the report, the man “was fine and didn't want to bother anybody so he never responded to any posts on MySpace or Facebook.” He subsequently “agreed that he would contact someone every six months to let them know he is OK.” Other missing person cases end much more tragically. Law enforcement officers must be emotionally prepared for a wide range of potential outcomes to their investigations. On Oct. 2, 2010, a deputy was dispatched on a missing person incident. A woman reported she was concerned for the safety of her friend and neighbor, Patrick L. Parsons, who suffered from depression. She nor the man's brother had heard from him in several days, she explained. A TCSO detective was quickly assigned to the case, who interviewed mental health service providers who had interacted with Mr. Parsons. The detective distributed bulletins, sought assistance from other law enforcement agencies in searching for the man's vehicle, and similar procedures. Efforts were also coordinated to identify his whereabouts through his social media activity, banking information, and cell phone use, but to no avail. It was learned, however, that Parsons was taking courses at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. The detective contacted school administrator Mike Wright and discovered Patrick Parsons paid $500 on Aug. 27 via a website for an event scheduled to be held Oct. 27. On Oct. 5, 2010, just a day into the detective's investigation, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office notified the TCSO it located the vehicle. The case was subsequently, and sadly, resolved. From the TCSO files, written by the deputy who was originally assigned the missing person call: I contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and asked to speak to the on scene deputy that was handling the call. I was called by Deputy McCarty who identified himself as the responding deputy. I asked what condition and circumstances that Patrick was found. He informed me that earlier in the evening a passerby, who transients the area daily, of Milepost 9 and Doswallips Road in the Olympic National Forest [sic]. The passerby observed an unresponsive male in the driver's seat and called law enforcement. When aid and law enforcement arrived it was apparent that Patrick was deceased. Deputy McCarty told me that it appeared to him and the coroner that it was suicide. He said it appeared Patrick had cut his wrists and the knife was found in the vehicle. A journal was also located that had suicidal tendencies written within them. I asked if there was any indications of a crime or additional persons and he does not [sic] since Patrick had approximately $400.00 in cash, his identification including passport and other minor valuables within the vehicle. The coroner estimates that Patrick has been in the vehicle approximately eight to nine days. After receiving the information I asked if any of the family members had been notified. He said their dispatch may have received one phone call but was unsure if they were actual family. I told him I would notify the family and give them his information for further instructions. Jefferson County SO case number is 10-6338. Law Enforcement Challenges Among the clear challenges to law enforcement is that Ramtha followers become hostile and resistant to the very agencies that at times preserve their safety, defend their rights, and protect J.Z. Knight's property itself. In the immediate aftermath of a 2011 hit and run incident, Deputy K. Kimball reported how they followed the trail to a property where two men were encountered. The men acted with resistance and strongly urged the officer to leave. One of the men fled into a house, prompting the deputy to report, “Because I was alone, male's attitude and the unknown whereabouts of the other male, I detained the male subject and placed him in the back of my patrol car.” After logging several more twists and turns, including a third man and a woman emerging from a trailer to demand the officer leave, Deputy Kimball wrote: During a conversation with WSP [Washington State Police], the male that I detained, verbally identified himself as Ronald K Brooks... However, Ronald does not go by that name because he does not believe in it. Ronald goes by “August.” Ronald also stated that he did not have a social security number because he does not believe in the “System.” Ronald does believe in the constitution, but he stated that he was not a constitutionalist. Ronald claimed to be a “Rampster.” Ronald builds cement bunkers for JZ Knight and her followers. Ronald does recognize law enforcement, but only if they are doing what he believes is legal. Burglaries A potentially concerning circumstance among the dozens of TCSO records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment was reports of burglary or similar crimes perpetrated against property owners involved with Ramtha. A 2011 burglary was reported, for instance, when a woman “returned home after camping for a week at the Ramtha School and found her house ransacked.” The woman's shotgun and computer equipment were missing, with the point of entry surmised to be a removed pane of glass. Another burglary involved a 2017 case at the property of the then-recently deceased Joseph Duffield. The executor of the estate, Gary Stevens, reported the burglary, which occurred sometime between July 18-23. Joseph Duffield passed away in April, the report noted, and a memorial service was held for him on July 12 at the J.Z. Knight compound. Gary Stevens indicated that whoever burglarized the residence would have had to have some insider information about Duffield's death and the layout of the property. The responding deputy documented the manner rummaging was conducted in the home, various outbuildings, and an underground bunker of the property. The deceased owner was described as a “prepper,” reportedly stockpiling gold and precious metals. A metal detector of unknown origin was left in the wake of the crime. The officer concurred with the assessment of the executor, surmising the perpetrators had a desire to find something fairly specific, “which would be consistent with Gary's hunches.” To add insult to injury, trespassers once again descended upon the property within hours of the deputy clearing the scene. They were considered persons of interest, the officer noted, but there was no evidence directly connecting them to the burglary at the time of the report. Art of Life In the 2006-07 time frame, former Ramtha students were making noise of rebellion, criticizing the school and its methods. This included Enlighten Me Free, a website where grievances were aired and related information was posted. Among the groups that splintered from Ramtha was Art of Life Coaching Inc., reportedly founded by WhiteWind Weaver. JZK, Inc. successfully mounted a legal defense to prevent Weaver from using techniques and activities she learned while attending Knight's school or, in effect, what some viewed as taking Ramtha with her when she left. Weaver and her associates called the TCSO with multiple complaints of harassment they claimed to suspect were perpetrated by Ramtha followers. At one point in 2009, a deputy documented they had submitted some 19 reports of suspicious activity, three within the past year, such as vandalism and burglary which they attributed to Ramtha disciples. Deputies became doubtful and noted the lack of material evidence supporting ongoing claims of sabotaging vehicles, knocking on perimeter walls at night, items moved within the home, a large amount of cash stolen, and one instance where it was claimed the crotch had been cut out of pajamas. Responding officers, however, noted such inconsistencies as the lack of fresh pry marks on doors. In another instance, a carving on a table was claimed to have been recently left by vandals, but an officer noted the markings were not new. Deputies came to simply not believe WhiteWind Weaver and her peers. In at least one instance an officer designated the type of call on which they were dispatched as “mental.” This is unfortunate for all parties involved and could be argued does not reflect any better on the Ramtha School of Enlightenment than it does on Art of Life. After all, many of the people whose actions are explored in the two EFR posts on the Ramtha files were at some point students, which means they, in all likelihood, paid their money to the “school.” If it's not an impressive class of alumni, it's not solely the fault of vulnerable populations who went looking for enlightenment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released on Friday four heavily redacted pages of records responsive to the Galileo Project, resulting from a July 2023 Freedom of Information Act request submitted by Expanding Frontiers Research. The Bureau indicated an additional 24 pages of responsive records were withheld in full. Obtain the released records: The FBI cited FOIA Exemptions b(6), b(7)(C) and b(7)(E) for the withholding of material. Category b(7) pertains to records compiled for law enforcement purposes. Exemption b(7)(E) states information is exempt from disclosure if it would reveal techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or if it would disclose guidelines for investigations and prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. Responding to an EFR media inquiry about whether the FOIA release might indicate the undertaking of some type of investigation, the FBI National Press Office stated in a Friday email its standard policy is to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. In general, the statement continued, the FBI does not comment on the content of files released through the FOIA, and lets the information contained in the files speak for itself. The four pages released depict an FBI electronic communication labeled unclassified and titled “The Galileo Project's Research Approach to UAP”. As demonstrated below, the term “FOUO,” meaning “for official use only,” was marked off the top of the document. It is not immediately clear why text other than personal identifiable information was subsequently redacted, or what the additional 24 responsive pages might reveal, or why they were fully withheld. Neither is the origin or purpose of the electronic communication immediately clear. It was apparently approved by an “SIA,” or Supervisory Intelligence Analyst. A “deleted page information sheet” was included in the FOIA release, specifically noting the exemptions applied to each of the 24 pages withheld. A screenshot of the sheet: The Galileo Project is a search for extraterrestrial signatures headed by Harvard astronomer Professor Avi Loeb. Results reported thus far and Loeb's related assertions have received mixed support and notable criticism. The records released by the FBI state Loeb's endeavor raised $1.7 million from private investors to look for possible evidence of artifacts or equipment made by extraterrestrial technological civilizations, as reported by International Business Times in July 2021. Offered an opportunity to comment, Prof. Loeb called the FBI FOIA release “interesting” in emails exchanged Friday, emphasizing project members “do not hide anything and disclose all relevant information on our website.” Loeb stated he did not know about the records in the possession of the FBI and, upon being asked to make it perfectly clear he is unaware of anyone submitting the information or document to the FBI, responded that is “correct.” Expanding Frontiers Research will appeal the 24 pages fully withheld and portions of the redacted material released by the FBI.

Mark your calendars for December 29! Expanding Frontiers Research invites all our friends and supporters to join us for a look back at our young organization's accomplishments. Join me, Erica Lukes, along with Jack Brewer for a live highlight review and fundraiser edition of Expanding Frontiers. That will be on YouTube, Friday, December 29, 7pm Eastern, 5pm Mountain. Keep an eye on our website and social media accounts for more information as the date draws closer. Jack and I will be reviewing our top blogposts and most discussed videos, so drop your thoughts in the comment section below or hit us up online and let us know what you find most interesting about our articles and shows. Is there a particular guest you appreciate? Maybe our method of following the money in our investigative reporting? What would you like to see more of? Let us know! We will also be giving a summary of our ongoing FOIA cases and public records requests. Jack and I will explain specifically how your support benefits the organization and translates into breaking stories covered by local and national news outlets. We sincerely hope to see a big year-end turnout in the live chat for this big year-end show. Your support is meaningful to us, so please make plans to stop by the chat for a shout out and hello. As you think about your year-end giving, please consider a donation to Expanding Frontiers Research. Donations may be made through our secure PayPal link located on the homepage. Your financial contributions assist with FOIA fees, video production, website costs and similar operating expenses. We are a Utah nonprofit corporation, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. EFR closes the year with a sincere 'thank you' to each and every one of you who support our work in so many different ways. We are grateful for each time our articles are cited, our videos are posted, our followers gather in show chat, and the many ways people express their support. Thank you. We deeply value your confidence, and we eagerly look forward to continuing to earn your respect.

Betty Hill could pack a lot into a letter. In a roughly 500-word note penned in 1993, the woman known for her 1961 interrupted journey suggested she was doubtful about the abundance of claims of alien abduction, emphasized her lack of confidence in those who investigated the claims, and shared two personal anecdotes as to why that was the case. She also asserted she was paid by government and intelligence agencies for her research and to lecture at military bases. The letter comes to us compliments of the Ann Druffel Special Collection, a section of the online Expanding Frontiers Archive. The April 23, 1993, note was apparently written as part of ongoing correspondence. It does not seem difficult to envision why Druffel, a pioneer of modern UFO research, may have identified this particular message from Betty as one to keep on file. Betty opens the letter by seemingly agreeing with Druffel that the abduction scene is in chaos. She says she receives a couple of phone calls a week from people thinking they have been abducted and tells them to contact Budd Hopkins (who was a relatively famous – if dubious - researcher of alien abduction and an advocate of hypnosis as a memory enhancer). “I know I am not going to believe them,” Betty adds. She suggests investigators share the blame for the chaos. Betty describes how she watched a well-known investigator over the course of a few days pressure a woman into submitting to his hypnosis to uncover what he told the woman were her abductions. He persisted through her resistance and even though she declared she never so much as had a UFO sighting. The investigator told her this was because her mind had been blocked. “She continued to refuse,” Betty explained to Druffel. “Then he suggested hypnosis, to cut down on her smoking, and she agreed. He said a few words, and then told her to tell him about her abduction. She said she was not in a trance, and she never had an abduction. The argument went on for a while, and she finally decided, to get rid of him, by saying she was told to never discuss this. He went home, happy, he had uncovered another abduction.” I wonder how happy his hypnosis subjects were. Betty suggested investigators suppress information that contradicts their preferred narratives and sensationalize circumstances to appeal to wider audiences. This is arguably very much a staple of the UFO subculture, then and now. “I have found if information disappears,” Betty explained, “it is not the government, but other investigators. I gave a report I wrote to one, and later he told me, he took my report, changed it a bit, and sold it for a good price.” Betty then proceeded to tell Druffel, “Our best friend in the 1960s was head of intelligence at Pease AF Base, and I have been paid by them to give lectures about ufos, at different bases. Also I have been paid by different government agencies for some of my research.” I don't recall Donald Keyhoe ever mentioning that part during any of his monologues about Air Force and CIA cover-ups. Go figure. Continuing to describe the nature of her relationships with government agencies and military personnel, Betty concluded, “When some one [sic] writes to them asking for ufo information, they check with me as to the identity of the writer.” The 1993 letter from Betty Hill to Ann Druffel:

By Jack Brewer and Erica Lukes The state of Utah is suing TikTok, accusing the social media company of contributing harm to the mental health of youth. The office of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes suggested TikTok is lying about the safety of its product and exploiting the public while disregarding the terrible effects it has on mental health, physical development, family, and social life. At a recent news conference, Governor Spencer Cox indicated the lawsuit is grounded in consumer protection. Urged to elaborate on what the company did that was specifically illegal, Attorney General Reyes stated TikTok engages in “deception.” Some might consider that to be a stark contrast from the Attorney General's endorsements of activities conducted at Skinwalker Ranch. The ranch crew is widely known for its unapologetic cultivation and promotion of dubious, unverified tales. Those tales include claims of mysterious, Havana Syndrome-like phenomena, as well as the uncontrolled spread of a purported deadly contagion, dubbed the “hitchhiker effect.” Such claims of public health dangers made by Skinwalker Ranch television cast members were extensively covered by Expanding Frontiers Research as well as Stephen Greenstreet of the New York Post. Expanding Frontiers Research reached out to the Utah Office of the Attorney General for comment. No responses had been received at the time of this post. Reyes is widely known to publicly support the activities of Skinwalker Ranch and Brandon Fugal, the reported owner of the property. This includes Reyes taking the time to participate in a Skinwalker Ranch panel at the 2022 FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention. Skinwalker Ranch may not currently be at the top of the list of daily priorities reviewed by staffers in the Attorney General office. Their hands are full fielding - or deflecting, depending on who you ask - questions about Reyes's relationship with Tim Ballard, who is at the center of a civil lawsuit involving sexual assault, fraud and emotional abuse. Reyes was supportive of Ballard and his activities prior to his pending fall from grace. Tim Ballard is the founder of Operation Underground Railroad, an organization supposed to be combating human trafficking. The Ballard lawsuit represents yet another public relations blow to Utah anti-human trafficking groups, already reeling after some 31 felony charges were leveled against the director of Exitus, a Utah nonprofit organization at least ostensibly dedicated to the cause. Reyes went all-in on the Skinwalker Ranch narrative when he appeared on episodes of the cable television show, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. The Attorney General “lent his credibility to the investigation of paranormal activities" portrayed on the show, KSL reported.

Ronilyn L. McDonald is the daughter of the late Dr. James E. McDonald, who was a senior physicist at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics and a professor of meteorology at the University of Arizona. Dr. McDonald became widely known for his UFO research. One could reasonably presume his children, were they inclined to be interested, developed familiarity with the people and issues making up the mid 20th century UFO genre. The younger McDonald became an exceptional academic student and apparently developed just such an interest. In 1967 while earning a Bachelors in Psychology, Ronilyn McDonald was recognized as one of the top ten students at the University of Arizona. That same year, she authored an honors thesis titled Psychological Aspects of Unidentified Flying Objects. The work will be explored in this blogpost. McDonald's thesis is part of the Ann Druffel Special Collection, located in the online Expanding Frontiers Archive. The select items posted online are part of a larger collection of files compiled by pioneer investigator Ann Druffel. The material was generously donated for the benefit of researchers and interested parties by her daughter, Allis Druffel. Learn more about Ann Druffel, the McDonalds, and our online and physical archives at the Expanding Frontiers Archive. Psychological Aspects of Unidentified Flying Objects assesses the reporting of UFOs and related phenomena from a psychological point of view. McDonald expresses interest in what UFO reports may offer psychologists for study and consideration. She thoroughly considers multiple emotional aspects of reported UFO encounters, including either fear or elation, and suggests the seemingly subjective conditions that manifest such emotions are in themselves worthy of study. This leads McDonald to sharing her observations that some who report UFOs seem in search of catharsis in the face of uncertainty and at least some negative public consequences, if not many negative consequences as a result of becoming known as UFO witnesses. McDonald equally, however, acknowledges the complexity of the “sighters,” observing a percentage of them are quite intent on gaining publicity. There are many different types of people who report UFOs and there are many different potential explanations, and each of the two points are ongoing themes of the thesis. Sighters and the circumstances they orbit are complicated. Some empathy for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and the UFO community at large is apparent, but her 100-page thesis mostly explores social dynamics and cites publications to establish the existence of those dynamics. McDonald aptly seems less interested in arguing UFOs than staying on point about the issues that can be competently dissected, or at least that may have been the case when she wrote it. Arguably, not much has changed on either side of the aisle, with skeptics and believers alike showing willingness to insert their preferred notions. Leading figures often speak in absolutes and sweeping generalizations, even when grossly inaccurate, and those are valid observations then, now, and all points in between. McDonald's paper is a salient and on point consideration of subjectivity and cultural influence, even if somewhat – and interestingly - serving as an artifact of same. McDonald explores circumstances surrounding select known hoaxes, including a stunt pulled by some Cal Tech students, and offers readers insights into how widely reports differed of what was actually observed. This provides obvious implications about the lack of witness reliability, even when one is thoroughly convinced of the accuracy of their account. The inherently vague nature of the entire shooting match is considered. “It seems that a recurring feature of considerations related to UFOs,” McDonald writes, “is the simultaneous existence of two directly opposite yet apparently equally plausible explanations of a single set of facts.” This leads to pointing out circumstances most skywatchers would not accurately recognize even under ideal conditions, such as an inversion layer or refraction phenomenon. Challenges in depth perception with objects in the sky are duly noted. This is potentially compounded with illusions subject to take place as lights dim and brighten. Witnesses may incorrectly interpret such sights as an object coming closer or moving farther away, yet the instability of the perception is rarely understood by the witness. Motivated perception – seeing what we want to see – undoubtedly factors in some reports. However, McDonald considers, “[T]he question of distortion of perception of an object due to factors of personal motivation is superseded by the question of the existence of the object itself.” Circumstances surrounding motivated perception and the related personal conditioning is not limited to creation of spaceships in the eye of the beholder. It may also lead people to prefer to not see something they deem out of the ordinary or unidentified. McDonald cites an interesting account of psychologists witnessing a UFO from a commercial airline flight and finding themselves emotionally averting from alerting other passengers or crew to the object. One of them later remarked they found that more concerning than the sighting itself: their reluctance to ask others to take a look. McDonald addresses media coverage of the UFO phenomenon. The context of 1967 should be considered, as this was a point in time that NICAP was pushing hard for Congressional hearings. The organization was quite successful in its public relations efforts, as some are likewise today. McDonald makes an interesting observation about the Air Force's Project Blue Book abandoning a news clipping service due to the sheer number of reports regularly being published. It was pointless to compile so many witness accounts of UFOs, seemingly validated in the newspaper or not. McDonald devotes ample space to addressing the “crackpot” factor, a term we might suspect was more widely in use and socially acceptable at the time than might be considered the case today. She adequately writes about different types of emotionally distressed and/or delusional people. Like other aspects of the complex social situations surrounding UFO reports, even the crackpots come in multiple shapes and sizes with layers of agendas. Such an exploration simply cannot be done without addressing cults. McDonald cites the work of H. Taylor Buckner, “who emphasizes the embedding of the saucer clubs in a social substratum of occult 'seekers.'” Consideration is given to Buckner's observations that the most important thing to know about saucer clubs is they are organized by people already functioning within the occult social world. Buckner described saucer clubs as “open-door cults.” Further explaining, McDonald quotes Buckner, “The flying saucer thus becomes a flying Rorschach blot. Anyone with an occult line to sell can hook it up to flying saucers in some way and have it accepted.” Alas, however, McDonald refuses to throw the sighter baby out with the crackpot bathwater. She notes the differences between a number of more sober UFO witnesses and those who flock to saucer clubs, in that the former lack occult interests, among other reasons. It is also noted that those who observe UFOs and subsequently seek further understanding of the occurrence through saucer clubs typically do not learn anything of value from the clubs about UFOs, not to mention might have to avoid extremist religious indoctrination. “The person whose interest in the UFO phenomenon has been aroused by a sighting of what he absolutely cannot identify will soon discover that the flying saucer clubs will have little information to give him about the status of the UFO problem,” McDonald writes. Moreover, the crackpots may often be recognized by their unshakable yet entirely unearned confidence. “Few, if any, crackpots have ever demonstrated humility,” McDonald notes from a 1964 Science article. “The crackpot is almost always overly impressed with his discoveries – they're earthshaking.” McDonald objectively observes commonalities between saucer clubs, religious extremists, and others who share such traits as participating in movements that have a splintering of sects. None of the movements and resulting sects can prove their beliefs, yet assert them with defiant confidence. McDonald argues a staple of such groups is if their doctrine is not unintelligible, then it will often be vague, and if neither vague nor unintelligible, it must necessarily be unverifiable. The “salvationist saucer club,” by any other name, offers hope, as a movement must. It offers activities for the bored, meaning for the self-important, and optimism for those who have otherwise thrown in the towel on the things their culturally and socioeconomically more well-adjusted peers prioritize. Yet a percentage of compelling reports persist, McDonald acknowledges throughout her thesis, or at least a category of reports that stubbornly resist easy and conclusive dismissal. Is this the Low Information Zone (LIZ) as Mick West asserts? An argument can be made, even for reports that leave trace evidence and physical circumstances in their wake. The LIZ may still apply, or at least obviously does until enough information is obtained to provide a conclusive explanation, however extraordinary that explanation may or may not prove to be. McDonald writes on what she considers to be the difficulty in either dismissing or accepting accounts involving UFO occupants when reported by those other than crackpot fringe, or, in other words, not obvious cultist crackpots. She considers a number of such reports, including the Woodrow Derenberger encounter with “Mr. Cold,” of November 2, 1966, which provides some interesting context given the 1967 date of McDonald's thesis. Other cases are referenced that are now considered classics, as well, including the work of Dr. Olavo T. Fontes on what we can recognize as the alleged alien abduction of Antonio Vilas-Boas. Students of fringe history will appreciate the Easter eggs located in McDonald's work along with the references to Derenberger and Vilas-Boas. For instance, consideration is given to the ways hallucinations may arise as put forth by “L.J. West,” or Louis Jolyon West, a psychiatrist and professor destined to be controversial, thrust into the public spotlight due to his examination of infamous criminals and when heavily implicated in Project MKULTRA. No psychological thesis on UFOs would be complete without quoting Jung, particularly one authored in 1967. McDonald reflects, via the words of the famous psychoanalyst, “Even if UFOs are physically real, the corresponding psychic projections are not actually caused, but are only occasioned, by them... This particular projection, together with its psychological context, the rumour, is specific of our age and highly characteristic of it.” Yet McDonald does not seek the coattails of Jung, quite the contrary. She asserts Jung's arguments are not convincing. McDonald takes Jung to task for what she describes as his failure to adequately address the complexities of some specific UFO reports and his minimization thereof through selective omission. Moreover, she questions the logic of his dismissal of UFOs in the face of uncritically exploring unverified, arguably paranormal, beliefs, such as religious visions and related phenomena. McDonald essentially argues Jung picks low hanging fruit and asserts explanations that lack scientific validity. “At this point it appears that Jung himself fits the description of 'a man [who] with an excess of intuition lives in a world of unproven possibilities.'” McDonald intermittently argues throughout her work that cross-cultural consistencies contained in UFO reports make it difficult to attribute a significant number of the more intriguing accounts to psychological conditions. She makes some well-supported and competent arguments, but one might counterargue that selective citation is required to compile consistencies across global cultures; there are arguably as many different accounts as similar. It might also be on point to assert that in the decades since she wrote her worthy work, the psychological paradigm has evolved to better understand the manifestations of symptoms of emotional trauma and the fallibility of memory, among other salient issues. What consistencies we may observe across varying cultures and time periods may more be our inherent responses to select shared conditions than descriptions of physical flying objects and the characteristics and actions of alleged nonhuman entities. Very much in McDonald's defense, however, such literature was much less available in 1967 and her sober work was contributing to its ongoing emergence. The vast majority of UFO researchers still carefully shield themselves and their followings today from relevant material published by qualified psychology experts, which is to say people outside the psychological establishment know little about it now, much less then. McDonald was correctly identifying issues demanding to be adequately addressed and, in time, they were of course studied more sufficiently, even as some of her questions remain pointed and their answers elusive. She was not wrong in pointing out longer ladders are required to reach higher hanging fruit. Ultimately, however, do we collectively even want answers? McDonald quotes Russell Baker: After the first few landings, the public will begin to find the whole business tiresome... Nothing palls nowadays as rapidly as a miracle. After the first few saucer arrivals, we will ask, 'What's the idea of interrupting 'Bonanza' to report another saucer-load of moss balls?' This is why the psychologists are wrong. We do not want flying saucers to exist because, once their existence is established, something exciting will go out of life and saucer landings will take their place in the humdrum of daily existence along with the comings and goings of Lyndon B. Johnson, the crash of airliners, and the billingsgate of politics. What we want is to preserve the possibility that flying saucers exist without ever having to confront the real thing.

Press Release For immediate release Expanding Frontiers Research to Launch Online UFO Archive Expanding Frontiers Research (EFR) is set to launch an online archive about UFO reports and investigators. The Salt Lake City nonprofit organization will publish the archive Thursday, Sep. 14, at its website, Expanding Frontiers Research dot org. Records spanning decades will be freely accessible to researchers and anyone interested in browsing and downloading the material. Historic documents and audio recordings reflecting events surrounding UFO investigations, correspondence between high-profile researchers, the intelligence community and much more will be featured. EFR Executive Director Erica Lukes says the timing of publishing the archive couldn't be better, given all the recent interest in UFOs and what some are calling UAP. “With the UFO hearings in Washington and all the public interest,” Lukes said, “the archive launch comes at an exciting and critical time to look at this subject, understand its history, and see the potential for disinformation and spy games, all while considering the possibility of life out there.” Lukes began collecting UFO memorabilia several years ago. People started donating their personal collections to her growing file cabinets of material. Donors included investigators who spent lifetimes compiling case files and correspondence. Lukes now maintains a substantial physical collection making up one of the most important UFO archives in the United States. She subsequently co-founded Expanding Frontiers Research in 2022 and got to work scanning records and preparing them for posting. The online archive will include selections from the special collections of the late UFO research pioneers Ann Druffel and Gordon Lore, as well as records donated by longtime archivist Barry Greenwood. Work and correspondence with scientists J. Allen Hynek and James McDonald, as well as famous alleged alien abductee Betty Hill, will be featured. “While UFOs can be a fun and fascinating topic to explore, it's important for people to get a complete view of the individuals who made up the UFO subculture over the decades,” Lukes explained. “When we can browse the notes made by investigators and their contacts for ourselves, it better informs our perspectives than when we are limited to cherry-picked data that promotes a single point of view. At EFR we strive to publish reliable information that helps peel back some layers and show what's really been happening. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.” The Emma Woods Special Collection will be among the sections maintained in the online archive. “Emma Woods,” a pseudonym, became a controversial figure in the UFO genre after she voiced objections to the actions and methodologies of UFO investigator and author David Jacobs. Her complaints arose out of her 2002-2007 interactions with Jacobs which included his highly questionable uses of hypnosis. Woods has been contributing records to the EFR archive for publication. The archive will also highlight records obtained from intelligence agencies through the Freedom of Information Act. This includes FBI documents pertaining to intelligence officers who were active in the UFO community throughout their careers. EFR conducts FOIA requests as an ongoing part of its standard operations. “More clearly understanding the past helps us more accurately understand the present,” Lukes explained, “and there are no better ways of learning the past than through official documents and going right to the original sources.” Browse the Expanding Frontiers Research archive when it goes live Sep. 14 and learn more about the organization's activities at expandingfrontiersresearch.org.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released two more pages Sep. 8 responsive to a Freedom of Information Act request for records pertaining to SafeMoon and submitted by Expanding Frontiers Research. The latest material obtained from the FTC reflects a consumer complaint leveled at a bogus web extension purporting to be associated with an online cryptocurrency wallet. The individual reported they lost over $15,000 invested in SafeMoon coins and hundreds of hours of time trying unsuccessfully to resolve the issue after a criminal gained access to their assets in January 2022. The complainant further explained the fake extension, calling itself Polkadot, was offered on the Google app store and had what are described as hundreds of fake 5-star ratings posted by sockpuppet accounts. The goal of the scam is to gain information needed to rob assets from the victim, the complainant suggested. “I know I will never see my investment back to me,” they wrote the FTC, “but I prefer the person who stole it never gains anything from it.” The latest responsive records do not directly involve SafeMoon activities, yet nonetheless suggest the vulnerabilities and lack of recourse inherent to many online financial transactions. The material obtained Friday from the FTC is in addition to 143 complaints filed with the agency against SafeMoon and already released to EFR, as previously reported. FOIA requests seeking info on SafeMoon and submitted to the FTC were part of a wider investigation into individuals who promote both cryptocurrency and dubious UFO stories. Along with the FTC, records pertaining to SafeMoon were received from the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Browse a folder containing correspondence and records received from each agency, including a successfully submitted appeal of documents withheld by the CFPB and its administrative response. EFR continues to await a final release of the appealed material. The vast majority of the complaints filed and obtained to date show consumers who indicate they believe SafeMoon personnel willfully manipulated the coin and its software to deplete them of their investments. Problems for SafeMoon involved multiple class action lawsuits, including one reported in February 2022 that accused the company of conducting a “pump and dump” scam. It was alleged that the currency's value was artificially inflated to the benefit of those conducting the scheme, while investors lost their funds and complained they were obstructed from withdrawing their money as they watched it dwindle. In spite of a widely reported SafeMoon 2021 crash and February 2022 lawsuit, controversial cast member of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch and purveyor of unsubstantiated paranormal tales, Brandon Fugal, continued to promote the volatile cryptocurrency. He used his high-profile social media accounts to tell followers about his SafeMoon optimism and relationship with its management. When his position was challenged, Fugal defended his knowledge of investing in cryptocurrency as late as March 2022 and stated he owned more SafeMoon than most. He would later tell EFR in a February 2023 email he lost over 90 percent of his investment in SafeMoon.

It has now been a year since the launch of Expanding Frontiers Research. In August 2022 the organization was formally incorporated in Utah after months of careful consideration. We spent the next few weeks obtaining IRS charity status, preparing a website, and conducting related administrative tasks, all while keeping primary organizational objectives at the forefront. Expanding Frontiers Research is dedicated to publishing original, reliable research and making historical records available for public review. It has been and will continue to be my absolute pleasure to collaborate on fascinating investigations, the production of video and blog content, and making a wide range of material accessible to the public. I consider it both a privilege and responsibility as the designated leader of EFR to contribute to the research community in productive and responsible ways. Looking back over the past twelve months, I am pleased beyond expectations with the accomplishments of our still-young organization. EFR hit the ground running when we obtained public records indicating tax funds were used to finance PhenomeCon, a paranormal-themed annual conference that vigorously promotes sensational and unsubstantiated beliefs. The records revealed that tens of thousands of dollars were directly paid to cast members of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch for their appearances at PhenomeCon, circumstances that create significant conflicts of interest, given the cast members' repeated claims of conducting scientific research. To be clear, the individuals dubiously claim to conduct scientific study while documented to have financial incentives paid through public funds to express premature, fantastic findings that promote credulous beliefs. Public response to our work on the PhenomeCon story was very encouraging. Our reporting was picked up by investigative journalist Nate Carlisle of FOX 13 News and cited in video work published by Steven Greenstreet with the New York Post. Additional blog highlights include records obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to investigations of Joseph Firmage corporations; the questionable alliance of venture capitalists, UAP start-ups, and the intelligence community; the overlap between promoters of cryptocurrency and credulous UFO tales; and documents obtained from the FBI on historical figures in the UFO subculture, among other interesting reads. We frequently submit records requests and subsequently publish resulting documents as part of our corresponding stories. Meanwhile, we regularly produce a YouTube show, Expanding Frontiers. It consists of discussions with journalists, researchers, authors, content creators, human rights activists, and advocates for victims of domestic violence, among others. Our ever-growing collection of exclusive videos includes material addressing many issues. Combined with our blog, we are consistently publishing content on topics ranging from The Poe Museum and the Freedom of Information Act to the importance of archiving and an Ivy League-educated researcher following the money trail through the UAP genre. I am proud of the organization I represent, its work, its volunteers, and the board of directors. I am equally enthusiastic about what is yet to come. I am pleased that we will soon be launching our online archive. It will represent select materials from our physical archive located in Salt Lake City, as well as additional records obtained by EFR and content donated by valued individuals. We are happy to make the material available for interested parties ranging from recreational readers to researchers and scholars. The Expanding Frontiers Archive will be an ongoing work in progress, but we anticipate launching it on our website in the coming weeks. As we have been conducting our regular ongoing operations, we have also been composing and submitting grant proposals. We are committed to obtaining funding - expanding our frontiers, if you will – into a variety of areas. We intend to make meaningful contributions to disciplines such as the humanities, using our already established framework to execute additional projects of public significance. Objectives include producing relevant content for audiences while facilitating a rewarding work environment. I am enormously proud to help coordinate this effort. We will also continue to conduct records requests and subsequently produce quality blog posts. The next year of operation also includes continuing to grow our show, Expanding Frontiers, with various informative guests and exploring rich and intriguing subject matter. We have a full plate – just like I like it. EFR has ambitious goals and a growing team of focused personnel committed to excellence. We are proud of where we've been, pleased with where we are, and excited about where we're going. On behalf of Expanding Frontiers Research, thank you for your interest and your support of our organization. Please reach out to us with any questions or comments. It's been a great first year and we're tracking a strong second. We're just getting started. Erica Lukes Executive Director Expanding Frontiers Research

Jensine Andresen, PhD, is an expert in religious studies and anthropology. She is an independent scholar whose areas of interest include demilitarizing space and related issues of importance to planet and space. In her most recent book, Hyperconflation: Recommending a Relational Alternative to the Datacentric Approach to UAP, Dr. Andresen takes readers through her research and resulting concerns about the exploitation of the UFO narrative for reasons ranging from financial gain to religious fanaticism. Those implicated include start-up corporations, their board members & funding entities. This writer recently spoke with the author and you may view the discussion below. Andresen identified Kirsten Bartok Touw as previously listed as a source of pre-seed funding for Enigma Labs, Inc., a recently launched company outwardly dedicated to UAP investigation and transparency, yet seemingly much less forthcoming than their self-description suggests. As documented by Andresen, the role of Bartok Touw has since been removed from websites. Bartok Touw is a “Special Government Employee” at the Office of Strategic Capital (under the Office of the Secretary of Defense), as well as a managing partner at New Vista Capital and AirFinance, among other roles of potential significance. If designated a “Special Government Employee,” or SGE, one may simultaneously represent the interests of big tech companies, banks, venture capital funds, military contractors, intelligence agencies, defense tech start-ups and, pretty much, anybody with skin in the game. Ms. Bartok Touw did not immediately respond to a request for comment for potential inclusion in this article. Andresen documents in her new book how ethics experts are voicing concern about SGEs, even if capitalists, start-ups, and intelligence officers are more than pleased with the arrangements. Working for private and public sectors simultaneously carries inherent conflicts of interest, some argue. “Outsourcing defense to a corporate adviser doesn't seem like an ideal way to put the public's interest first,” ethics official Walter Shaub, formerly of the Obama administration, is quoted by Andresen. The circumstances evolved out of the activities of agencies such as the CIA, which utilized a venture capital fund, In-Q-Tel, to both develop tech products and apparently make money. In-Q-Tel provided the CIA with a means to invest in start-ups. In years past, such arrangements were typically limited to more discreet use of shell corporations and nonprofits, acting as covert funding arms of intelligence agencies. The CIA and other agencies are now, in a manner of speaking, outsourcing research and development while investing in futures, and a whole lot of people are recognizing the wide and profitable coattails created in the wake. In the UFO, or UAP, arena, however, it's not just about creating funding dollars for threat narratives or making cool apps to document UFO reports. It's about data collection. Decades of it. Then, Andresen suggests, artificial intelligence is subject to being used to conduct analysis and produce reports out of the mountains of data collected – and some of the data involves you and your phone. This, it is argued, gives rise to privacy concerns that result from less than transparent companies using anonymous and questionable characters to hoover up archives, obtain databases, and put software on your tech devices in the questionable name of UAP research. The activities may be circumventing legislation that limits law enforcement and intelligence agency domestic surveillance of American citizens. Moreover, there is little that restricts the start-ups, which purport to use AI and machine learning to generate reports on data collected, from marketing those reports to a wide variety of customers. It may simply depend on what various potential customers want gleaned and projected from the data, regardless of the pretenses under which it was initially obtained. Andresen presents herself as a humanitarian who is concerned about both the open, honest treatment of global citizens, as well as maximizing the functionality of opportunities to interact with potential extraterrestrials. She is clear in expressing her concerns that a data-driven approach to UAP investigation, conducted under layered veils of secrecy, is an ill-advised first step to embracing co-inhabitants of the universe. All the more so if the approach is a charade for other agendas. Edited for update, August 13: Dr. Andresen informed Expanding Frontiers Research via email of the following information concerning the funding of Enigma Labs and advised that the passage below has been added to her book, Hyperconflation. "Update of August 13, 2023 [to Hyperconflation]: This book was first published on July 25, 2023. At 4:09 AM EST today, Australian researcher Keith Basterfield emailed me to state that the financials tab was now appearing again on the Crunchbase site for Enigma Labs. I verified this at 5:43 AM. The site now appears precisely the way it did when I first viewed it in April 2023, with Kirsten Bartok Touw showing as one of the two investors for pre-seed funding on the Summary tab, and with the Financials tab restored, also showing her name. "Furthermore, her own Crunchbase site has been restored to how it looked in April 2023, with Enigma Labs listed as the Organization name under the April 21, 2022 date (where the name of the Organization had been replaced by a hyphen in July 2023, right before I published the book originally). While I am glad that whoever is making these changes decided to put things right, this mysterious website change forgot to go back and fix the January 20, 2023 version of the Enigma Labs page on the Wayback Machine. Although it has a Financials tab, it does not list Kirsten Bartok Touw. In addition, the Summary tab on the Wayback Machine version is still the same as what I saw on the main Crunchbase cite in July 2023, namely only one pre-seed funder is listed, FJ Labs, with no mention of Kirsten Bartok Touw. I will check periodically to see if the Wayback Machine version is 'fixed,' too, since on logical grounds, by January 20, 2023, it was already known that Kirsten Bartok Touw had provided pre-seed funding on April 21, 2022. "Furthermore, it strains credulity to suggest that the Wayback Machine version of January 20, 2023 simply was 'wrong' and now things have been fixed on the regular site for the company, given that in July 2023, right before I published this book, the regular site appeared the same way that the Wayback Machine version still appears this morning, August 13, 2023. Only the regular site has been rather 'magically' corrected, only two days since the blogpost on this book was published on the Expanding Frontiers Research site, and only five days since my YouTube interview on this book was posted. However, I do see that it would have been problematic to 'fix' the Wayback Machine version, since it would suggest an ability to manipulate websites that many people would like to think does not exist. "I close by commending whoever for listing Kirsten Bartok Touw again as an Enigma Labs pre-seed funder."

Simone Mendez was a young Air Force airman in 1981. She was granted Top Secret clearance as a telecommunications specialist with the 2069th Communications Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base of Area 51 fame. As she explained by telephone while this writer was conducting research for the book The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community, Mendez had an interest in UFOs before ever arriving at Nellis. She experienced a sighting years prior in her native Illinois. This resulted in forming relationships with members of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), who Mendez continued to interact with throughout her Air Force service. In October 1981, a male coworker, “Airman Green,” a pseudonym, approached Mendez at her off-base apartment. He had in his possession a multi-carbon copy of a purported classified transmission allegedly received at the message center where they worked. The document suggested the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracked a group of unknown objects originating from deep space. Some of the objects allegedly entered earth atmosphere, headed to Moscow, and hovered for over an hour. Mendez retained a copy of the form containing the message. What unfolded over the next few months was a complex series of events that, now some 40-plus years later, are still muddled and murky. Airman Green's former girlfriend – a civilian - showed up at the apartment of Mendez in January 1982, informing Simone the mysterious document was a fake and she was to immediately accompany her to the base. Mendez voluntarily did as requested and turned over her copy to the Air Force. She then underwent months of emotionally grueling interrogation from both the FBI and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which included threats of long-term imprisonment. Her apartment was thoroughly searched and correspondence was confiscated. She was eventually cleared of all spying and espionage charges, but not before her security clearance was revoked. She was relegated to working in the laundry at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Interestingly, OSI continued to occasionally visit her and discuss her activities, such as attendance at a MUFON conference. It should not be difficult for most UFO enthusiasts to empathize with the precariousness of the unforeseen situation in which the 21 year-old Mendez abruptly found herself that October day in 1981. She more recently indicated she now suspects the document was, in fact, a forgery. That was the position of the Air Force as clarified and pointedly explained via FOIA documents eventually released. Researchers such as George Hansen (The Trickster and the Paranormal) and your author suspect Mendez may have gotten caught up in a counterintelligence operation, something potentially designed to track information lines through MUFON and the UFO community and, more specifically, identify bad actors within. Think throwing a dye pack in a sinkhole and seeing where it comes out. Hansen in particular suggested that Mendez's interest in UFOs and contacts in MUFON may have not been coincidental, but exploited. For more information on the Simone Mendez case, see Just Cause: Number 28, June, 1991: Airman Mendez vs the Bureaucracy: A Case of UFO “Espionage” and Just Cause: Number 29, September, 1991: Airman Mendez vs the Bureaucracy – Part Two. The two publications reflect the successful efforts of Mendez and researcher Barry Greenwood to obtain her service records and select material released through the FOIA, which validated her descriptions of the chain of events. See also a 2018 interview of Mendez conducted by Paul Carr of Aerial Phenomena Investigations. Richard Doty To better understand the context of the Mendez case, it is useful to consider the Wild West era of 1980s ufology and, particularly, events surrounding the Air Force's Richard Doty. It was during the same time Mendez was approached with bean-spilling records that Linda Moulton Howe, Bill Moore, and the ill-fated Paul Bennewitz do-si-doed with Doty around Kirtland Air Force Base. Not entirely unlike Mendez, Moulton Howe was shown records by Doty, purporting to represent paradigm-shifting official documentation of an extraterrestrial presence on a grand scale. Significantly, Bennewitz was also presented with documents co-conspirators Moore and Doty would later acknowledge were false, but not before furthering the man's descent into delusional fear the planet was under attack by aliens. Quite interestingly, Doty received no clear consequences or scrutiny for floating the fraudulent records around, and certainly not to the extent as experienced by Mendez, who was not even the creator of the document passed to her. Neither did Mendez circulate any such bogus records as was the case with Doty. Was OSI tilling the UFO community in an effort to uproot spies? George Hansen put forth in The Trickster and the Paranormal that individuals such as Doty might be recruited for OSI precisely because of their troubled UFO pasts, not in spite of them. By the time Doty was dancing with Moore and Moulton Howe, his dubious involvement with ufology was already known and, Hansen argued, may have been viewed as advantageous: He could be easily discredited if he was caught in something that embarrassed the Office. Moreover, it was possible OSI had similar plans for Mendez after she was cleared of charges, which might explain its continuing contact with her. For further information on the Doty entourage, see Mark Pilkington and company's Mirage Men, Greg Bishop's Project Beta, and Adam Gorightly's Saucers, Spooks and Kooks. Vincente DePaula Other 1980s news of note includes the case of Vincente “Vinnie” DePaula. He immigrated to the United States from Cuba as a child and grew up to work in the defense industry. According to a website maintained by Ron Regehr, DePaula worked on classified satellite systems. Regehr also worked in the defense industry, and that's how he apparently met and befriended Vinnie. In addition to career paths, the men also shared an interest in UFOs. Regehr was a longtime staple of MUFON and the UFO community. DePaula seems to have likewise become active in MUFON circles. Vinnie DePaula subsequently had reason to draw an alien head. Whatever those reasons may have been, they involved the identity of an individual DePaula preferred to keep secret. The drawing received a certain amount of notoriety around ufology, reportedly triggering a series of interrogations conducted by the Defense Intelligence Service, or DIS, later integrated into the Defense Security Service. The DIS seemingly wanted to know who described the alien to DePaula that was portrayed in the drawing. According to Regehr's website, four interrogations took place between April 18 and October 31, 1986, totaling 41 hours. A session initiated on August 22 reportedly went on for some 28 hours. Vinnie would later proclaim he “didn't tell them a damned thing.” Unfortunately, FOIA requests submitted in 2015 did not bear fruit. The Defense Security Service indicated it did not retain any such records that may have been compiled by its predecessor on DePaula in 1986. Those in MUFON circles and the surrounding community at large seemed to believe DePaula was harassed for reasons related to government investigation of extraterrestrials. This also seemed to be thought to involve his awareness of how satellite systems worked and the data that could be mined from them, presumably further informing DePaula's knowledge of alleged aliens and how their spacecraft maneuvered about the planet. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt that the timeline of events is close enough to accurate, alternative theories might include intelligence services becoming concerned with activities of employees. That might be the case when those issued security clearance and charged with classified satellite operations develop contacts who erode loyalties and confidence in the employer. That might be of further concern when those contacts seemingly undermine employers through the use of stories about aliens to the extent the employees conceal the identities of the contacts. It might be considered that extraction of classified information was of substantially more likely concern to intelligence agencies than pursuit of ET. Boyd Bushman Such scenarios were by no means exclusively limited to distant yesteryear. In 2014 a video featuring an interview of scientist Boyd Bushman made a bit of a splash, at least around UFO circles, in which Bushman narrated sensational stories of the cover-up of alleged aliens. He even shared photos. Unfortunately for the late Mr. Bushman, the images of aliens were soon shown to bear striking resemblance to figurines sold at Walmart. Other images in his files were likewise adequately demonstrated to be out of context and misrepresented, or, simply put, fake. The then-aged Bushman explained how during his career at Lockheed Martin he developed a network of contacts who exchanged stories – and obviously photos – about alleged otherworldly activities at Area 51. Bushman also made remarks about Chinese and Russian scientists collaborating with Americans, and that their interests included anti-gravity technology. Some of those scientists and he believed, Bushman added, that a great deal of classified information concealed at Area 51 should be brought out of the shadows so people could see it. Suffice it to say that's a pretty bright red flag of a position expressed by someone issued security clearance. As a matter of fact, FOIA records released in 2016 show that in 1999, Lockheed Martin investigators became so concerned that Boyd Bushman was targeted for extraction of proprietary and/or classified government information that they notified the FBI. From the FBI records: Additional FBI records released demonstrate the suspicious activities and subsequent questionable motives of those in Bushman's “network” who were presumably encouraging the sharing of classified information under the premise of penetrating the UFO cover-up: In spite of what might seem to some as rather obvious instances of attempts to exploit one's interest in UFOs as a means to manipulate them, skeptics and believers alike often fail to grasp the implications. In some circumstances they no doubt simply do not understand the situations. After all, this is how people wake up to find themselves in the precarious and often legally perilous conditions in the first place: They were thinking about UFOs and didn't see it coming. Others may have emotional aversion – as much as intellectual blinders - to the topic of UFOs as espionage tools. It tends to take all the fun out of a good goosebump-inducing tale of alien abduction or simple dismissal out of hand when fake photos and documents are involved. As Hansen suggested, the very absurdity of the circumstances potentially serves the perpetrators. It also just doesn't fit the agenda of certain influencers or the UFO genre as a whole to drill down through the circumstances. It obviously is not in the interest of those who use the topic to exploit others to change streams and embark on increasing public awareness of the potential pitfalls of viewing the world exclusively through UFO glasses. It has now been 70 years since the CIA funded a UFO think tank commissioned to assess the situation. While the purposes and intentions of the 1953 Robertson Panel will continue to be debated – as everything always is – within segments of the UFO subculture, perhaps the most salient section of the resulting report continues to ring true. Although evidence of any direct threat from UFO sightings was deemed “wholly lacking,” Panel members and intelligence professionals were in agreement related dangers might well exist. That danger? Subjectivity of the public resulting in mass hysteria and greater vulnerability to possible enemy psychological warfare.

A consumer who owns stock in To The Stars sought advice from the Securities and Exchange Commission on how to recover their “investment,” Expanding Frontiers Research learned Friday through a Freedom of Information Act request. It was not entirely clear how much money the individual gave Tom DeLonge and his UFO-promoting corporation, but they indicated to the SEC they owned 200 shares. For some context, a 2022 To The Stars Class A Common Stock offering stated a minimum investment of $750 yielded 150 shares. “I own 200 shares of 'To the stars academy' [sic],” the consumer wrote the SEC in 2020. “I have never seen anything telling me how to sell the stock to return my investment. Can you advise me as to the options in selling my stock?” The SEC explained there is no guarantee Class A stock will ever develop an actual value. The Commission replied in part: The FOIA final determination letter and responsive records received by EFR from the SEC: A visit to the To The Stars investor resources page provided in the SEC response revealed transcripts from annual meetings. In both 2022 and 2023, Jim Semivan is quoted as speaking favorably about a 5-year Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army. “The goal of this CRADA,” Semivan is quoted in 2023, “is to advance developments in material science, space-time metric engineering, quantum physics, beamed energy propulsion and active camouflage.” To the uninitiated, that means something or other about alleged crashed flying saucer debris. Some readers will recall this involved acquiring extremely dubious material with a $35,000 price tag from longtime UFO personality Linda Moulton Howe. To The Stars likewise reported to the SEC in 2019 it entered into a purchase agreement with DeLonge for 35 grand “to purchase a set of metamaterials.” It is entirely unclear how UFO Disclosure advocates can simultaneously claim to be both in possession of and feverishly searching for the evidence they purport to so desperately want published, all while themselves obstructing its transparency. To wit, researcher D. Dean Johnson reports that part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Intelligence Authorization Act contains language paving a path for individuals in possession of materials or information derived from unidentified anomalous phenomena to cough it up already. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) wants to hear from them. In related news, experienced FOIA man John Greenewald, Jr. recently obtained documents from the Department of Defense that indicate it established as early as 2017 the grandiose claims of Luis Elizondo were not credible. The former DOD man left the Department to launch To The Stars with Tom DeLonge and was widely reported to have run a UFO program - mostly because he said so. Select reporters such as Keith Kloor tapped the brakes on the runaway story, pointing out not only was there a lack of evidence supporting Elizondo's claims, but a Pentagon spokesperson directly contradicted the narrative. Greenewald has now shared DOD records indicating numerous concerns that seemingly arose over Elizondo's departure and actions, ultimately including a dismissal of his complaints of unfair treatment and alleged retaliation for his interest in UFOs.