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13
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/INTERNATIONAL/Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.md
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@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ relations:
start: 1976
fn: 2
created: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-15
---
The [[Abu Dhabi]] Investment Authority (ADIA) is, in its own description to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, "a public institution established by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1976 as an independent investment institution."[^1] From 1980 it held 10 percent of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]] (BCCI), and its secretary general from 1976, [[Ghanim Faris al-Mazrui|Ghanim Faris al-Mazrui]], represented it on BCCI's board from 1981 and became the bank's chairman.[^2]
@ -33,12 +33,15 @@ The [[Abu Dhabi]] Investment Authority (ADIA) is, in its own description to the
According to the [[BCCI Kerry-Brown Senate Report|Kerry-Brown Senate Report]], after the fall in 1980 of Abdullah Darweish, the adviser who managed the investments of the ruling family, Sheikh [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Zayed]] directed ADIA to acquire a 10 percent stake in BCCI from [[ICIC]], BCCI's Cayman affiliate, which had agreed to buy back the shares of the departing [[Bank of America]]. Unlike the ruling family, which appeared to have contributed no more than 500,000 dollars to BCCI's capital before April 1990, ADIA "appears to have made some cash payments for its interest in BCCI," whose book value was about 250 million dollars at the end of 1989.[^2]
After BCCI's closure ADIA joined the Private Department of the UAE president in suing the bank's former executives in Abu Dhabi, and on June 14, 1994, the court awarded it 1.347 billion dollars of the 9.13 billion dollars in damages.[^3] ADIA held 10 percent of Union National Bank, the former Bank of Credit and Commerce Emirates. In January 1995 BCCI's liquidators agreed to sell the bank's 40 percent stake in it back to the Abu Dhabi government for about 27.4 million dollars, and an Abu Dhabi official said the government would later transfer its 50 percent holding to ADIA; the purchase was completed in May 1996.[^4][^5]
A Federal Reserve enforcement release of July 29, 1991 reproduced BCCI's ownership tables for 1989, which list the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among the shareholders. A note to the tables states that ADIA sold 1,273 shares acquired in the July 1989 rights offering to Sheikh [[Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan|Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan]] on July 18, 1989.[^3]
After BCCI's closure ADIA joined the Private Department of the UAE president in suing the bank's former executives in Abu Dhabi, and on June 14, 1994, the court awarded it 1.347 billion dollars of the 9.13 billion dollars in damages.[^4] ADIA held 10 percent of Union National Bank, the former Bank of Credit and Commerce Emirates. In January 1995 BCCI's liquidators agreed to sell the bank's 40 percent stake in it back to the Abu Dhabi government for about 27.4 million dollars, and an Abu Dhabi official said the government would later transfer its 50 percent holding to ADIA; the purchase was completed in May 1996.[^5][^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, "Abu Dhabi Investment Authority." https://www.ifswf.org/members/abu-dhabi-investment-authority
[^2]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 14, "Abu Dhabi: BCCI's Founding and Majority Stockholders." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/14abudhabi.htm
[^3]: Hussain, Thomas. "UAE jails and fines BCCI executives," United Press International, June 14, 1994. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/06/14/UAE-jails-and-fines-BCCI-executives/7650771566400/
[^4]: "Abu Dhabi to buy BCCI share in UAE bank," United Press International, January 31, 1995. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/01/31/Abu-Dhabi-to-buy-BCCI-share-in-UAE-bank/6991791528400/
[^5]: "BCCI small depositors paid in UAE," United Press International, October 11, 1997. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/10/11/BCCI-small-depositors-paid-in-UAE/2814876542400/
[^3]: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, press release, "formal enforcement proceeding against BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg) S.A.," July 29, 1991, with the attached BCCI shareholder tables for 1989 and note 1 to the rights-offering table. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/19910729.pdf
[^4]: Hussain, Thomas. "UAE jails and fines BCCI executives," United Press International, June 14, 1994. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/06/14/UAE-jails-and-fines-BCCI-executives/7650771566400/
[^5]: "Abu Dhabi to buy BCCI share in UAE bank," United Press International, January 31, 1995. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/01/31/Abu-Dhabi-to-buy-BCCI-share-in-UAE-bank/6991791528400/
[^6]: "BCCI small depositors paid in UAE," United Press International, October 11, 1997. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/10/11/BCCI-small-depositors-paid-in-UAE/2814876542400/

22
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/Martinet Press.md
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@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ The FBI paid Sutter more than $140,000 between 2003 and at least 2021 for intell
Martinet Press's primary publications, all drawn from O9A source material and produced under Tempel ov Blood's collective authorship, include:
*Iron Gates* (October 18, 2014; ISBN 9780692306581): An ultraviolent novel depicting a post-collapse race war and mass genocide, framed within O9A's [[Insight Roles]] doctrine as spiritually necessary transgression. Became required AWD reading after Sutter's infiltration; its distribution through Terrorgram channels gave it reach far beyond the original O9A audience. The book is available through the [[Internet Archive]] in full text and was carried by multiple commercial booksellers including WORD Bookstore, ThriftBooks, and Better World Books.
*Iron Gates* (listed October 18, 2014 on Amazon and Goodreads; announced by the press on July 28, 2014 and posted as available on October 29, 2014; ISBN 9780692306581; 404 pages on the Amazon listing, 406 on Goodreads): An ultraviolent novel depicting a post-collapse race war and mass genocide, framed within O9A's [[Insight Roles]] doctrine as spiritually necessary transgression. Became required AWD reading after Sutter's infiltration; its distribution through Terrorgram channels gave it reach far beyond the original O9A audience. The book is available through the [[Internet Archive]] in full text and was carried by multiple commercial booksellers including WORD Bookstore, ThriftBooks, and Better World Books.
*Liber 333*: An O9A initiation text containing practical instructions for the Seven Fold Way, including descriptions of the Insight Roles doctrine and guidance for the initiate's progression through transgressive acts.
@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The relationship between Martinet Press and Sutter's FBI informant status is a m
- February 2003: Sutter arrested in [[Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania]] by [[Philadelphia JTTF]]
- May 2003: Guilty plea entered, [[United States v. Sutter (2003)]], 2:03-cr-00158-ER-1 ([[Eastern District of Pennsylvania]])
- 2004: Released from federal prison; informant deployment as "deep-cover" source begins
- 2014: *Iron Gates* published by Martinet Press (October 18, 2014; ISBN 9780692306581)
- 2014: *Iron Gates* announced by Martinet Press on July 28, listed for retail on October 18 and posted as available on October 29 (ISBN 9780692306581)[^12]
- 2017: Tempel ov Blood members integrated into AWD; Sutter joins AWD as "swissdiscipline"
- February 7, 2018: FBI payment period specifically associated with the AWD investigation begins ($78,133.20 in payments + $4,378.60 expenses)
- 2019-2020: Martinet Press publishes additional works including *Choronzon IV*, *Goetia Daemonium*, *Egregoroi*, and *PREDATOR* issues[^3]
@ -92,9 +92,9 @@ The court documents disclosing Sutter's informant status, obtained and published
### Court Description of the Publishing Operation
In the August 13, 2021 [[motion to suppress]] filed in [[United States v. Shea et al. (2020)|United States v. Cole]], 2:20-cr-00032-JCC ([[Western District of Washington|W.D. Wash.]]), Cole's defense described the CI, without using Sutter's name, as: "a convicted felon and currently owns and operates a publishing company that distributes white supremacist writings." The motion also stated that the informant had been paid over $140,000 since 2003 and "$78,133.20 plus an expense advance of $4,378.60, since February 7, 2018, which almost entirely coincides with his work on the investigation into Mr. Cole and Atomwaffen."[^12]
In the August 13, 2021 [[motion to suppress]] filed in [[United States v. Shea et al. (2020)|United States v. Cole]], 2:20-cr-00032-JCC ([[Western District of Washington|W.D. Wash.]]), Cole's defense described the CI, without using Sutter's name, as: "a convicted felon and currently owns and operates a publishing company that distributes white supremacist writings." The motion also stated that the informant had been paid over $140,000 since 2003 and "$78,133.20 plus an expense advance of $4,378.60, since February 7, 2018, which almost entirely coincides with his work on the investigation into Mr. Cole and Atomwaffen."[^13]
The government's response of August 20, 2021 (Dkt. 200), signed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas M. Woods and Seth Wilkinson, stated that the informant had received about $140,000, "which included both compensation and reimbursement for expenses," and argued that paying him for about sixteen years "tends to suggest that the informant is reliable."[^13] Judge [[John C. Coughenour]] denied the motion to suppress and for a hearing under *Franks v. Delaware* on August 30, 2021, writing that the compensation "does not impugn his credibility. If anything, it suggests that he demonstrated reliability."[^14]
The government's response of August 20, 2021 (Dkt. 200), signed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas M. Woods and Seth Wilkinson, stated that the informant had received about $140,000, "which included both compensation and reimbursement for expenses," and argued that paying him for about sixteen years "tends to suggest that the informant is reliable."[^14] Judge [[John C. Coughenour]] denied the motion to suppress and for a hearing under *Franks v. Delaware* on August 30, 2021, writing that the compensation "does not impugn his credibility. If anything, it suggests that he demonstrated reliability."[^15]
The affidavit itself, which was attached to the motion as Exhibit A, had not previously been public; it was the first time the original search warrant application against Cole's home was released.
@ -108,7 +108,9 @@ Martinet Press continued operating after Sutter's informant status was publicly
### Distribution Through Terrorgram
Martinet Press publications achieved their widest distribution not through direct sale or the O9A organizational network but through Terrorgram Collective's Telegram channels, which distributed them alongside other accelerationist propaganda to an audience that included individuals with no prior AWD or O9A connection. This secondary distribution made Martinet Press texts - especially *Iron Gates* - standard reference points within the broader [[Siege Culture]] and [[Nihilistic Violent Extremism|nihilistic violent extremism]] ecosystem, contributing to the ideological environment in which the [[764 Network|764]] network and its predecessor [[CVLT]] operated, and shaping the content cited in the manifestos of self-radicalizing attackers including the perpetrators of the [[2026 Islamic Center of San Diego Shooting]].[^15]
The [[Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism]] at the [[Middlebury Institute of International Studies]] wrote that Martinet Press used its place in Atomwaffen Division to "disseminate its hyper violent content across the burgeoning Telegram accelerationist ecosystem," and that its books became "required readings for recruits."[^16]
Martinet Press publications achieved their widest distribution not through direct sale or the O9A organizational network but through Terrorgram Collective's Telegram channels, which distributed them alongside other accelerationist propaganda to an audience that included individuals with no prior AWD or O9A connection. This secondary distribution made Martinet Press texts - especially *Iron Gates* - standard reference points within the broader [[Siege Culture]] and [[Nihilistic Violent Extremism|nihilistic violent extremism]] ecosystem, contributing to the ideological environment in which the [[764 Network|764]] network and its predecessor [[CVLT]] operated, and shaping the content cited in the manifestos of self-radicalizing attackers including the perpetrators of the [[2026 Islamic Center of San Diego Shooting]].[^17]
### Footnotes
@ -123,7 +125,9 @@ Martinet Press publications achieved their widest distribution not through direc
[^9]: "The Mainstream Publishers, Distributors and Bookshops Selling Satanist Neo-Nazi Books." *Bellingcat,* June 30, 2023. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/06/30/the-mainstream-publishers-distributors-and-bookshops-selling-satanist-neo-nazi-books
[^10]: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. "Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Attempting To Murder Fellow Service Members In Deadly Ambush," March 3, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-us-army-soldier-sentenced-45-years-prison-attempting-murder-fellow-service
[^11]: Winston, Ali. "Plea Deal in the Satanist Neo-Nazi Plot to Murder U.S. Soldiers," *Rolling Stone,* July 6, 2022. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/neo-nazi-1378280/
[^12]: Defense motion to suppress and Exhibit A (original search warrant affidavit), United States v. Cole, 2:20-cr-00032-JCC, Dkt. 194 (W.D. Wash.), August 13, 2021. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/kaleb-cole-august-13-2021-motion-to-suppress-1
[^13]: Government's Response to Motion to Suppress, *United States v. Cole*, Dkt. 200 (W.D. Wash., August 20, 2021), pp. 10-11 and 17. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.284365/gov.uscourts.wawd.284365.200.0.pdf
[^14]: Order Denying Motion to Suppress, United States v. Cole, Case No. CR20-0032-JCC (W.D. Wash., August 30, 2021). Leagle.com: infdco20210901708.
[^15]: ISD Global. Research reports on Terrorgram and Martinet Press distribution networks.
[^12]: Martinet Press, "New Book: Iron Gates," October 29, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20180827050101/https://martinetpress.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/new-book-iron-gates/ ; "Forthcoming Novel: Iron Gates," July 28, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140923120337/http://martinetpress.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/forthcoming-novel-iron-gates/ ; Amazon.com listing, Wayback capture of November 25, 2018: https://web.archive.org/web/20181125012801/https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Gates-Tempel-ov-Blood/dp/0692306587 ; Goodreads, ISBN 9780692306581: https://www.goodreads.com/book/isbn/9780692306581
[^13]: Defense motion to suppress and Exhibit A (original search warrant affidavit), United States v. Cole, 2:20-cr-00032-JCC, Dkt. 194 (W.D. Wash.), August 13, 2021. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/kaleb-cole-august-13-2021-motion-to-suppress-1
[^14]: Government's Response to Motion to Suppress, *United States v. Cole*, Dkt. 200 (W.D. Wash., August 20, 2021), pp. 10-11 and 17. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.284365/gov.uscourts.wawd.284365.200.0.pdf
[^15]: Order Denying Motion to Suppress, United States v. Cole, Case No. CR20-0032-JCC (W.D. Wash., August 30, 2021). Leagle.com: infdco20210901708.
[^16]: Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Order of Nine Angles." September 29, 2023. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-order-nine
[^17]: ISD Global. Research reports on Terrorgram and Martinet Press distribution networks.

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/Order of Nine Angles.md
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@ -88,25 +88,25 @@ Between April 2019 and April 2021, HOPE not hate documented eight individuals li
[[Harry Vaughan]], 18, of Kingston-upon-Thames, a grammar school student at [[Tiffin School]] who had achieved A-grade A-levels in maths, further maths, physics, and history, was arrested on 19 June 2019 in a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into [[Fascist Forge]], an online extremist forum. He was charged with one count of encouraging terrorism (section 1, Terrorism Act 2006), one count of disseminating a terrorist publication (section 2, Terrorism Act 2006), 12 counts of possessing documents useful to a terrorist (section 58, Terrorism Act 2000), and two counts of possessing indecent images. He pleaded guilty on all counts. The documents on his devices included Sonnenkrieg Division propaganda of his own creation, bomb-making manuals, and a guide to killing people. Sentenced at the Old Bailey in November 2020 by Mr Justice Sweeney, who described him as "a dangerous offender," he received a two-year detention sentence suspended for two years, a result that drew criticism from counter-extremism researchers.[^14]
The cases of the unnamed Cornish teenager ([[Feuerkrieg Division]] UK leader, sentenced February 2021) and [[Benjamin Hannam]] (Metropolitan Police constable, sentenced May 2021) are documented in the existing page and in the [[National Action]] vault entry respectively. The unnamed Cornish defendant received a 24-month youth rehabilitation order; the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] press release confirmed that a copy of Iron Gates, the O9A-affiliated novel published by Martinet Press, was found during the 2019 police search of his home.[^15]
The cases of the unnamed Cornish teenager ([[Feuerkrieg Division]] UK leader, sentenced February 2021) and [[Benjamin Hannam]] (Metropolitan Police constable, sentenced May 2021) are documented in the existing page and in the [[National Action]] vault entry respectively. The unnamed Cornish defendant received a 24-month youth rehabilitation order; the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] press release confirmed that a copy of Iron Gates, the O9A-affiliated novel published by Martinet Press, was found during the 2019 police search of his home.[^15] The [[Institute for Strategic Dialogue]] records that he was 16 at the time of the search and that he pleaded guilty in February 2021 to 12 terrorism-related charges.[^16]
[[Danyal Hussein]], an 18-year-old Iraqi Kurd from [[Wembley]], was convicted on 6 July 2021 at the Old Bailey of the murders of sisters [[Bibaa Henry]] (46) and [[Nicole Smallman]] (27) in [[Fryent Country Park]], London, on 6 June 2020. Hussein had signed a handwritten contract in his own blood addressed to the demon [[Lucifuge Rofocale]], pledging to kill six women every six months in exchange for lottery winnings. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years. Investigators found that he had been in contact with an individual closely associated with the Order of Nine Angles. The case was cited by [[Stephanie Peacock MP]] in October 2021 in renewed calls for O9A's proscription.[^16]
[[Danyal Hussein]], an 18-year-old Iraqi Kurd from [[Wembley]], was convicted on 6 July 2021 at the Old Bailey of the murders of sisters [[Bibaa Henry]] (46) and [[Nicole Smallman]] (27) in [[Fryent Country Park]], London, on 6 June 2020. Hussein had signed a handwritten contract in his own blood addressed to the demon [[Lucifuge Rofocale]], pledging to kill six women every six months in exchange for lottery winnings. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years. Investigators found that he had been in contact with an individual closely associated with the Order of Nine Angles. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue states that he was "closely associated" with the Order of Nine Angles and took part in an O9A internet forum.[^16] The case was cited by [[Stephanie Peacock MP]] in October 2021 in renewed calls for O9A's proscription.[^17]
[[Ben John]], 21, of Lincoln, a criminology student at [[De Montfort University]] Leicester, was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on 12 August 2021 of one count of possessing a document useful to a terrorist under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing's East Midlands unit found a hard drive containing the Anarchy Cookbook, alongside white supremacist and antisemitic literature and material relating to O9A. Judge [[Timothy Spencer QC]] sentenced John on 31 August 2021 to two years' imprisonment suspended for two years, ordering him to read works of classic literature including Dickens and Austen, a direction that attracted widespread press criticism. Solicitor General [[Alex Chalk QC MP]] referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal under section 36 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]] as unduly lenient. On 19 January 2022, the Court of Appeal increased the sentence to two years' immediate custody plus one year on licence.[^17]
[[Ben John]], 21, of Lincoln, a criminology student at [[De Montfort University]] Leicester, was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on 12 August 2021 of one count of possessing a document useful to a terrorist under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing's East Midlands unit found a hard drive containing the Anarchy Cookbook, alongside white supremacist and antisemitic literature and material relating to O9A. Judge [[Timothy Spencer QC]] sentenced John on 31 August 2021 to two years' imprisonment suspended for two years, ordering him to read works of classic literature including Dickens and Austen, a direction that attracted widespread press criticism. Solicitor General [[Alex Chalk QC MP]] referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal under section 36 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]] as unduly lenient. On 19 January 2022, the Court of Appeal increased the sentence to two years' immediate custody plus one year on licence.[^18]
[[Luca Benincasa]], 20, of Cardiff, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 26 January 2023 by Judge [[Jane Miller KC]] to five years and seven months for terrorism charges and an additional consecutive eight months for child images offences, with a three-year extended licence on the terrorism counts, for a total custodial term of approximately nine years and three months. He had pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court on 15 July 2022 to one count of membership of the proscribed organisation Feuerkrieg Division under section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and four counts of possessing documents useful to a terrorist under section 58, including improvised explosive device and pipe-bomb manuals. Benincasa was the first person convicted of FKD membership since that group's proscription in July 2020. He had described himself as the "UK cell leader" of FKD and one of its key recruiters; Judge Miller KC found him to be "a prominent member." Press coverage described him as a "prominent ONA member," though the published sentencing remarks' specific language on O9A has not been independently verified and constitutes an open thread.[^18]
[[Luca Benincasa]], 20, of Cardiff, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 26 January 2023 by Judge [[Jane Miller KC]] to five years and seven months for terrorism charges and an additional consecutive eight months for child images offences, with a three-year extended licence on the terrorism counts, for a total custodial term of approximately nine years and three months. He had pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court on 15 July 2022 to one count of membership of the proscribed organisation Feuerkrieg Division under section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and four counts of possessing documents useful to a terrorist under section 58, including improvised explosive device and pipe-bomb manuals. Benincasa was the first person convicted of FKD membership since that group's proscription in July 2020. He had described himself as the "UK cell leader" of FKD and one of its key recruiters; Judge Miller KC found him to be "a prominent member." Press coverage described him as a "prominent ONA member," though the published sentencing remarks' specific language on O9A has not been independently verified and constitutes an open thread.[^19]
[[Ashley Podsiad-Sharp]], 42, a prison officer at [[HMP Armley]] in Leeds, was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of one count of possessing terrorist material under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (acquitted of a second count of dissemination). He was sentenced on 31 August 2023 by Judge [[Jeremy Richardson KC]] to eight years' imprisonment plus five years' extended licence. His devices contained the White Resistance Manual, a 200-page publication containing sections on arson, poisoning, infrastructure sabotage, bomb-making, and evading police capture. He had been a former member of National Action before its proscription and had subsequently founded the [[White Stag Athletics Club]], which required members to hold white-supremacist and antisemitic views. Podsiad-Sharp showed, in the judge's assessment, "not one iota of remorse." The sentencing remarks are published on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.[^19]
[[Ashley Podsiad-Sharp]], 42, a prison officer at [[HMP Armley]] in Leeds, was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of one count of possessing terrorist material under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (acquitted of a second count of dissemination). He was sentenced on 31 August 2023 by Judge [[Jeremy Richardson KC]] to eight years' imprisonment plus five years' extended licence. His devices contained the White Resistance Manual, a 200-page publication containing sections on arson, poisoning, infrastructure sabotage, bomb-making, and evading police capture. He had been a former member of National Action before its proscription and had subsequently founded the [[White Stag Athletics Club]], which required members to hold white-supremacist and antisemitic views. Podsiad-Sharp showed, in the judge's assessment, "not one iota of remorse." The sentencing remarks are published on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.[^20]
[[Declan George-Candiani]], 26, of Streatham, was stopped at [[Stansted Airport]] on 13 August 2024 by Counter Terrorism Command officers using Schedule 7 powers. His phone was analysed and he was arrested; an iPad was also seized from his home. He was convicted at the Old Bailey on 3 October 2024 of two counts of collecting material likely useful to a terrorist under section 58(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 (acquitted of two further counts), and sentenced on 28 November 2024 to 23 months' imprisonment plus one year on licence, plus a 10-year terrorism notification requirement. Devices contained extreme right-wing manifestos, mass killer writings, and lone-wolf attack guides. In police interview, George-Candiani told officers he had developed an interest in O9A's "traditional Satanism," attributing his downloading of the material to that interest.[^20]
[[Declan George-Candiani]], 26, of Streatham, was stopped at [[Stansted Airport]] on 13 August 2024 by Counter Terrorism Command officers using Schedule 7 powers. His phone was analysed and he was arrested; an iPad was also seized from his home. He was convicted at the Old Bailey on 3 October 2024 of two counts of collecting material likely useful to a terrorist under section 58(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 (acquitted of two further counts), and sentenced on 28 November 2024 to 23 months' imprisonment plus one year on licence, plus a 10-year terrorism notification requirement. Devices contained extreme right-wing manifestos, mass killer writings, and lone-wolf attack guides. In police interview, George-Candiani told officers he had developed an interest in O9A's "traditional Satanism," attributing his downloading of the material to that interest.[^21]
[[Cameron Finnigan]], 19, of Horsham, West Sussex, joined the 764 online extremist group in late 2023. Counter Terrorism Policing became aware of him in March 2024. He pleaded guilty on 4 October 2024 to five counts: one count of possessing a document for terrorist purposes under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (an 11-page PDF outlining truck, knife, and firearm mass-casualty attack planning), one count of doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting suicide under section 2 of the [[Suicide Act 1961]] as amended (encouraging a young woman to livestream her suicide to his Telegram group), two counts of criminal damage, and one count of possessing indecent images. He was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 16 January 2025 by Mr Justice Jay to six years' imprisonment plus three years' extended licence. The judge assessed him as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public, including children, and applied a 25% reduction for youth and mental health. The sentencing remarks are published on the judiciary.uk website.[^21]
[[Cameron Finnigan]], 19, of Horsham, West Sussex, joined the 764 online extremist group in late 2023. Counter Terrorism Policing became aware of him in March 2024. He pleaded guilty on 4 October 2024 to five counts: one count of possessing a document for terrorist purposes under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (an 11-page PDF outlining truck, knife, and firearm mass-casualty attack planning), one count of doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting suicide under section 2 of the [[Suicide Act 1961]] as amended (encouraging a young woman to livestream her suicide to his Telegram group), two counts of criminal damage, and one count of possessing indecent images. He was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 16 January 2025 by Mr Justice Jay to six years' imprisonment plus three years' extended licence. The judge assessed him as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public, including children, and applied a 25% reduction for youth and mental health. The sentencing remarks are published on the judiciary.uk website.[^22]
### Criminal Cases Linked to O9A: International
Documented individuals who committed or planned violence while affiliated with or influenced by O9A include:
[[Ethan Phelan Melzer]], a U.S. Army Private in the 173rd Airborne Brigade who, under the alias "Etil Reggad," transmitted classified information about his unit's planned deployment to Turkey to O9A members on [[Telegram]], conspiring to facilitate a mass-casualty attack on his own soldiers. Arrested May 2020 in Vicenza, Italy; pleaded guilty on June 24, 2022 in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]]; sentenced on March 3, 2023 to 45 years in prison. The Southern District stated that Melzer sent details of his unit's location, movements and security to O9A members, "in particular, a sub-group of O9A known as the 'RapeWaffen Division'."[^22] [[Patrik Hermansson]] reported on that Telegram channel for Hope Not Hate on June 23, 2020.[^23]
[[Ethan Phelan Melzer]], a U.S. Army Private in the 173rd Airborne Brigade who, under the alias "Etil Reggad," transmitted classified information about his unit's planned deployment to Turkey to O9A members on [[Telegram]], conspiring to facilitate a mass-casualty attack on his own soldiers. Arrested May 2020 in Vicenza, Italy; pleaded guilty on June 24, 2022 in the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]]; sentenced on March 3, 2023 to 45 years in prison. The Southern District stated that Melzer sent details of his unit's location, movements and security to O9A members, "in particular, a sub-group of O9A known as the 'RapeWaffen Division'."[^23] [[Patrik Hermansson]] reported on that Telegram channel for Hope Not Hate on June 23, 2020.[^24]
[[Guilherme Von Neutegem]], a Canadian O9A adherent charged with murder for killing a victim outside a mosque in Toronto in 2020.
@ -118,27 +118,27 @@ Documented individuals who committed or planned violence while affiliated with o
### The Proscription Non-Decision
O9A has not been proscribed in the United Kingdom as of mid-2026. The [[Home Office]] proscription criteria under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 require the Home Secretary to believe that an organisation is "concerned in terrorism," meaning it: (a) commits or participates in acts of terrorism; (b) prepares for terrorism; (c) promotes or encourages terrorism; or (d) is otherwise concerned in terrorism. If the statutory test is met, the Home Secretary then applies discretionary factors including the nature and scale of the organisation's activities and the need to support the international counter-terrorism community.[^24]
O9A has not been proscribed in the United Kingdom as of mid-2026. The [[Home Office]] proscription criteria under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 require the Home Secretary to believe that an organisation is "concerned in terrorism," meaning it: (a) commits or participates in acts of terrorism; (b) prepares for terrorism; (c) promotes or encourages terrorism; or (d) is otherwise concerned in terrorism. If the statutory test is met, the Home Secretary then applies discretionary factors including the nature and scale of the organisation's activities and the need to support the international counter-terrorism community.[^25]
The legal and structural problem O9A presents for proscription is its deliberate decentralisation. O9A has no formal membership rolls, no governing body, no public leadership structure, and no legal entity. Its basic unit is the autonomous nexion, connected by shared texts rather than hierarchy. Proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000 operates on the premise that there is an "organisation" whose members can then be charged with membership offences under Section 11. If the Home Office concludes that O9A's structure is too diffuse to constitute an "organisation" in the statutory sense, the proscription mechanism becomes legally uncertain even if the substantive test of concern in terrorism is met. This structural problem does not appear to have been definitively addressed in any published government document, but it is widely cited by counter-extremism researchers as the most likely non-political reason for the non-decision.[^25]
The legal and structural problem O9A presents for proscription is its deliberate decentralisation. O9A has no formal membership rolls, no governing body, no public leadership structure, and no legal entity. Its basic unit is the autonomous nexion, connected by shared texts rather than hierarchy. Proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000 operates on the premise that there is an "organisation" whose members can then be charged with membership offences under Section 11. If the Home Office concludes that O9A's structure is too diffuse to constitute an "organisation" in the statutory sense, the proscription mechanism becomes legally uncertain even if the substantive test of concern in terrorism is met. This structural problem does not appear to have been definitively addressed in any published government document, but it is widely cited by counter-extremism researchers as the most likely non-political reason for the non-decision.[^26]
### Parliamentary Campaign for Proscription: Timeline
March 2020: HOPE not hate formally called for O9A proscription in its *State of Hate 2020* report, characterising O9A as "an incubator of terrorism."[^26]
March 2020: HOPE not hate formally called for O9A proscription in its *State of Hate 2020* report, characterising O9A as "an incubator of terrorism."[^27]
March 2020: [[Yvette Cooper]], chair of the [[Home Affairs Select Committee]], called on the Home Secretary to "immediately" refer O9A to the proscription review group, following the New Statesman investigation that documented O9A materials being held under restricted access at the [[British Library]].[^27]
March 2020: [[Yvette Cooper]], chair of the [[Home Affairs Select Committee]], called on the Home Secretary to "immediately" refer O9A to the proscription review group, following the New Statesman investigation that documented O9A materials being held under restricted access at the [[British Library]].[^28]
19 April 2021: HOPE not hate published "Government misses opportunity to proscribe Order of Nine Angles" on the same day the Home Office announced the proscription of Atomwaffen Division; [[The Base]] followed in July 2021.[^28] Hope not Hate CEO Nick Lowles stated: "The government's counter-terrorism strategy against the far-right threat remains deeply troubling." The statement argued that O9A had been recommended for proscription over a year earlier and that its influence on proscribed groups including Atomwaffen Division made the omission incoherent.[^29]
19 April 2021: HOPE not hate published "Government misses opportunity to proscribe Order of Nine Angles" on the same day the Home Office announced the proscription of Atomwaffen Division; [[The Base]] followed in July 2021.[^29] Hope not Hate CEO Nick Lowles stated: "The government's counter-terrorism strategy against the far-right threat remains deeply troubling." The statement argued that O9A had been recommended for proscription over a year earlier and that its influence on proscribed groups including Atomwaffen Division made the omission incoherent.[^30]
13 July 2021: Parliamentary debate, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism" (HC Deb), featuring extended discussion of O9A. [[Stephanie Peacock]] (Labour, Barnsley East) and [[Stephen Doughty]] (Labour, Cardiff South and Penarth) both called on the Home Secretary to proscribe O9A. The minister's response was the standard formula: the government "will not provide any commentary on which groups are or are not being considered for proscription by the review group" and that "the proscription review process is robust and working as it should."[^30]
13 July 2021: Parliamentary debate, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism" (HC Deb), featuring extended discussion of O9A. [[Stephanie Peacock]] (Labour, Barnsley East) and [[Stephen Doughty]] (Labour, Cardiff South and Penarth) both called on the Home Secretary to proscribe O9A. The minister's response was the standard formula: the government "will not provide any commentary on which groups are or are not being considered for proscription by the review group" and that "the proscription review process is robust and working as it should."[^31]
October 2021: Peacock renewed her call for proscription in response to the Danyal Hussein conviction, citing his contact with an O9A-associated individual as evidence that O9A's influence was translating into direct harm on British streets.[^16]
October 2021: Peacock renewed her call for proscription in response to the Danyal Hussein conviction, citing his contact with an O9A-associated individual as evidence that O9A's influence was translating into direct harm on British streets.[^17]
18 July 2023: CONTEST 2023, the fourth iteration of the UK counter-terrorism strategy, identified extreme right-wing terrorism as accounting for approximately 22 per cent of UK attacks since 2018 and approximately 25 per cent of MI5's caseload. It listed proscribed far-right organisations including Feuerkrieg Division, Atomwaffen Division, [[Sonnenkrieg Division]], and The Base, but did not name O9A in accessible sections as either proscribed or under active review.[^31]
18 July 2023: CONTEST 2023, the fourth iteration of the UK counter-terrorism strategy, identified extreme right-wing terrorism as accounting for approximately 22 per cent of UK attacks since 2018 and approximately 25 per cent of MI5's caseload. It listed proscribed far-right organisations including Feuerkrieg Division, Atomwaffen Division, [[Sonnenkrieg Division]], and The Base, but did not name O9A in accessible sections as either proscribed or under active review.[^32]
15 September 2023: The Home Office Proscription Factsheet described the proscription review process and criteria in general terms but made no reference to O9A.[^32]
15 September 2023: The Home Office Proscription Factsheet described the proscription review process and criteria in general terms but made no reference to O9A.[^33]
2 July 2025: The [[House of Commons]] debated the draft Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025, which proscribed three new organisations: [[Maniac Murder Cult]] (a US-based accelerationist group with documented O9A and 764 connections), [[Palestine Action]], and the [[Russian Imperial Movement]]. The Order was approved by 385 votes to 26 after a division. O9A was not included. During the debate, the parliamentary chair of HOPE not hate again urged the government to consider O9A proscription; the minister's response was the standard formula that the government does not comment on groups under or not under consideration. The Order bears SI number 9780348273373.[^33]
2 July 2025: The [[House of Commons]] debated the draft Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025, which proscribed three new organisations: [[Maniac Murder Cult]] (a US-based accelerationist group with documented O9A and 764 connections), [[Palestine Action]], and the [[Russian Imperial Movement]]. The Order was approved by 385 votes to 26 after a division. O9A was not included. During the debate, the parliamentary chair of HOPE not hate again urged the government to consider O9A proscription; the minister's response was the standard formula that the government does not comment on groups under or not under consideration. The Order bears SI number 9780348273373.[^34]
No proscription of O9A has been announced as of mid-2026. The government's consistent refusal to explain the non-decision stands in contrast to the public reasoning given for other proscriptions. When National Action was proscribed in December 2016, [[Amber Rudd]] made a public statement characterising it as "a racist, antisemitic and homophobic organisation which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology." No equivalent statement characterising O9A as below the threshold, or as failing the statutory test on structural grounds, has been published.
@ -146,25 +146,31 @@ No proscription of O9A has been announced as of mid-2026. The government's consi
The gap between O9A's legal status and that of its downstream networks is substantial. The following proscribed organisations have documented O9A connections:
Sonnenkrieg Division (proscribed February 2020): explicitly modelled on O9A philosophy and Atomwaffen Division; five members convicted of terrorism charges in the UK.[^34]
Sonnenkrieg Division (proscribed February 2020): explicitly modelled on O9A philosophy and Atomwaffen Division; five members convicted of terrorism charges in the UK.[^35]
Atomwaffen Division (proscribed April 2021): ideologically shaped by O9A through Tempel ov Blood and Joshua Caleb Sutter; considered O9A texts required reading.[^29]
Atomwaffen Division (proscribed April 2021): ideologically shaped by O9A through Tempel ov Blood and Joshua Caleb Sutter; considered O9A texts required reading.[^30]
The Base (proscribed July 2021): structurally influenced by O9A's nexion model; [[Rinaldo Nazzaro]] incorporated O9A aesthetics and doctrine.[^29]
The Base (proscribed July 2021): structurally influenced by O9A's nexion model; [[Rinaldo Nazzaro]] incorporated O9A aesthetics and doctrine.[^30]
[[Combat 18]] (banned in Germany in January 2020; not proscribed in the United Kingdom): the organisation in which David Myatt, O9A's attributed founder, served as "ideological heavyweight."[^35] The Order of 2020, S.I. 2020/200, added only the Sonnenkrieg Division among far-right groups.[^28]
[[Combat 18]] (banned in Germany in January 2020; not proscribed in the United Kingdom): the organisation in which David Myatt, O9A's attributed founder, served as "ideological heavyweight."[^36] The Order of 2020, S.I. 2020/200, added only the Sonnenkrieg Division among far-right groups.[^29]
### New Zealand Designation
[[New Zealand]] designated O9A as a terrorist organisation in 2025, making it one of the few countries to have taken formal legal action against the organisation itself rather than merely prosecuting individual adherents. The OpenSanctions database records the NZ listing.[^36]
[[New Zealand]] designated O9A as a terrorist organisation in 2025, making it one of the few countries to have taken formal legal action against the organisation itself rather than merely prosecuting individual adherents. The OpenSanctions database records the NZ listing.[^37]
### O9A Texts and the British Library
A specific detail from the March 2020 New Statesman investigation: O9A materials were being held in a secure, supervised section of the British Library, accessible only under controlled conditions. This is a standard British Library procedure for materials assessed as potentially harmful rather than a formal legal restriction, but it was cited in the Yvette Cooper proscription call as evidence of the state's implicit recognition of O9A's dangerous character while formal proscription remained absent.[^27]
A specific detail from the March 2020 New Statesman investigation: O9A materials were being held in a secure, supervised section of the British Library, accessible only under controlled conditions. This is a standard British Library procedure for materials assessed as potentially harmful rather than a formal legal restriction, but it was cited in the Yvette Cooper proscription call as evidence of the state's implicit recognition of O9A's dangerous character while formal proscription remained absent.[^28]
### O9A and the 764 Ecosystem
O9A's influence on 764 is documented but operates at one remove. 764 is not an O9A nexion and its members do not generally identify as O9A adherents. The connection works through three channels: first, aesthetic adoption, as 764 groups took on O9A visual symbolism and nomenclature; second, structural parallel, as the insight roles doctrine of committing crimes as spiritual progression mirrors 764's content economy in which criminal acts are required for advancement; third, distribution pipeline, as *Iron Gates* and other O9A texts circulated through Terrorgram channels that overlapped with the 764 radicalization environment. The ISD characterized O9A materials as having "directly influenced the operational practices of 764."[^37]
O9A's influence on 764 is documented but operates at one remove. 764 is not an O9A nexion and its members do not generally identify as O9A adherents. The connection works through three channels: first, aesthetic adoption, as 764 groups took on O9A visual symbolism and nomenclature; second, structural parallel, as the insight roles doctrine of committing crimes as spiritual progression mirrors 764's content economy in which criminal acts are required for advancement; third, distribution pipeline, as *Iron Gates* and other O9A texts circulated through Terrorgram channels that overlapped with the 764 radicalization environment. The ISD characterized O9A materials as having "directly influenced the operational practices of 764."[^38]
### Parliament and Prosecutions
On June 24, 2020, Stephen Doughty tabled a written question asking when the Home Secretary planned to proscribe the Order of Nine Angles. The Home Office answered on June 29, 2020: "The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription."[^39]
In November 2025 sentencing remarks at the [[Central Criminal Court]] recorded that a defendant had, on June 28, 2024, "joined, via Telegram, the Order of the 9 Angles or 'ONA Middle school'," which the judge described as "a group connected to extreme right-wing views and satanism."[^40]
### Footnotes
@ -183,25 +189,28 @@ O9A's influence on 764 is documented but operates at one remove. 764 is not an O
[^13]: ITV News Tyne Tees. "Neo-Nazi teenager convicted of preparing to commit terrorist acts." November 20, 2019. https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2019-11-20/neo-nazi-teenager-convicted-of-preparing-to-commit-terrorist-acts; Enfield Independent (PA). "Nazi terrorist named after judge rejects anonymity bid." 2021. https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/national/19002125.nazi-terrorist-named-judge-rejects-anonymity-bid/
[^14]: ITV News London. "Teenage Satanist neo-Nazi avoids jail after admitting 14 terror offences." November 2, 2020. https://www.itv.com/news/london/2020-11-02/teenage-satanist-neo-nazi-harry-vaughan-sentenced-for-terror-offences; Far-Right Criminals. "Harry Vaughan: Neo-Nazi teenager sentenced." November 2, 2020. https://far-rightcriminals.com/2020/11/02/harry-vaughan-neo-nazi-teenager-sentenced/
[^15]: Crown Prosecution Service. "Youngest British terrorist sentenced for neo-Nazi manuals stash." February 2021. https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/youngest-british-terrorist-sentenced-neo-nazi-manuals-stash
[^16]: GB News. "Campaigners renew call to ban Nazi-occultist group following Satanist murders of two sisters." 2021. https://www.gbnews.com/news/campaigners-renew-call-to-ban-nazi-occultist-group-following-satanist-murders-of-two-sisters/149664; Stephanie Peacock MP website. https://www.stephaniepeacock.org.uk/stephanie_calls_on_home_secretary_to_proscribe_murderous_nazi_occultist_group/
[^17]: GOV.UK. "Ben John's sentence increased following personal intervention by the Solicitor General." January 2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ben-johns-sentence-increased-following-personal-intervention-by-the-solicitor-general--3; ITV News Central. "White supremacist Ben John told to read books by Judge who spared him jail imprisoned upon appeal." January 19, 2022. https://www.itv.com/news/central/2022-01-19/white-supremacist-ben-john-told-to-read-books-by-judge-who-spared-him-jail-imprisoned-upon-appeal
[^18]: ITV News Wales. "Neo-Nazi, 20, from Cardiff jailed for being member of far-right terror group." January 26, 2023. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2023-01-26/dangerous-neo-nazi-jailed-for-being-a-member-of-far-right-terror-group; Tell MAMA. "Neo-Nazi Luca Benincasa jailed for terrorism offences and child abuse images." 2023. https://tellmamauk.org/neo-nazi-luca-benincasa-jailed-for-terrorism-offences-and-child-abuse-images/
[^19]: R v Ashley Podsiad Sharp, Sentencing Remarks, Sheffield Crown Court, 31 August 2023. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/R-v-Ashley-Podsiad-Sharp.pdf; ITV News Calendar. "Leeds Prison officer Ashley Podsiad-Sharp jailed over 'white supremacist murder manual'." August 31, 2023. https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-08-31/prison-officer-had-white-supremacist-murder-manual
[^20]: Metropolitan Police. "Man convicted of terrorism offences after schedule 7 stop." https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-convicted-of-terrorism-offences-after-schedule-7-stop-501766; Metropolitan Police. "Man jailed for offences under the Terrorism Act." https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-jailed-for-offences-under-the-terrorism-act-503818; Counter Terrorism Policing. "Man convicted of terrorism offences after schedule 7 stop." https://www.counterterrorism.police.uk/man-convicted-of-terrorism-offences-after-schedule-7-stop/
[^21]: R v Cameron Finnigan, Sentencing Remarks, Central Criminal Court, 16 January 2025. Mr Justice Jay. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/R-v-Finnigan.pdf; Sussex Police. "Man sentenced for terror offences." January 2025. https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/man-sentenced-for-terror-offences/
[^22]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-SDNY. "Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Attempting To Murder Fellow Service Members In Deadly Ambush." Press Release, March 2023. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-us-army-soldier-sentenced-45-years-prison-attempting-murder-fellow-service
[^23]: Patrik Hermansson. "The Rapewaffen Telegram Channel." *Hope Not Hate,* June 23, 2020. https://hopenothate.org.uk/2020/06/23/the-rapewaffen-telegram-channel/
[^24]: Section 3, Terrorism Act 2000. https://www.lawglobalhub.com/section-3-terrorism-act-2000-uk/; Home Office Factsheet: Proscription, September 15, 2023. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/15/factsheet-proscription/
[^25]: Northumbria Journal of Law and Practice. "The law relating to Proscription of terrorist organisations." https://www.northumbriajournals.co.uk/index.php/sjppar/article/download/873/1276/2703
[^26]: HOPE not hate. "Order of Nine Angles: An Incubator of Terrorism. State of Hate 2020." https://hopenothate.org.uk/chapter/order-of-nine-angles-an-incubator-of-terrorism/
[^27]: New Statesman. "A Nazi-satanist cult is fuelling far-right groups - overlooked by the UK authorities," March 2020. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2020/03/nazi-satanist-cult-fuelling-far-right-terrorist-groups-overlooked-uk-authorities-order-nine-angles
[^28]: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2020, S.I. 2020/200, art. 2, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/200/made; Home Office, "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations," updated July 7, 2026, GOV.UK.
[^29]: HOPE not hate. "Government misses opportunity to proscribe Order of Nine Angles," April 19, 2021. https://hopenothate.org.uk/2021/04/19/atomwaffen-order-nine-angles/; Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2021, UK Statutory Instrument 2021/9780348229288.
[^30]: Hansard, HC Deb, 13 July 2021, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism." https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-07-13/debates/673D4D8F-D90C-450B-B7E8-26B63018E5D3/PreventionAndSuppressionOfTerrorism
[^31]: Counter-Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST) 2023. Home Office / GOV.UK, 18 July 2023. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1186413/CONTEST_2023_English_updated.pdf
[^32]: Home Office. "Factsheet: Proscription." 15 September 2023. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/15/factsheet-proscription/
[^33]: Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025. SI 9780348273373. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348273373; Hansard, HC Deb, 2 July 2025, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism." https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-07-02/debates/6C9338E8-E516-494A-81A2-B3FEF549DD48/PreventionAndSuppressionOfTerrorism
[^34]: Counter Terrorism Policing. "Neo-Nazi Group Sonnenkrieg Division Proscribed." https://www.counterterrorism.police.uk/news/neo-nazi-group-sonnenkrieg-division-proscribed-counter-terrorism-police/; Middlebury CTEC. "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Sonnenkrieg Division." https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-2
[^35]: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2020, S.I. 2020/200. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/200/contents/made
[^36]: OpenSanctions. "Order of Nine Angles (O9A)." https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/nz-terr-order-of-nine-angles-o9a/
[^37]: Rise to Peace. "The 764 Network and the Architecture of Digital Nihilism." February 2026. https://www.risetopeace.org/2026/02/11/the-764-network-and-the-architecture-of-digital-nihilism/fellows/
[^16]: Institute for Strategic Dialogue. "The Order of Nine Angles." August 2022. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/O9A-ISD-External-August2022.pdf
[^17]: GB News. "Campaigners renew call to ban Nazi-occultist group following Satanist murders of two sisters." 2021. https://www.gbnews.com/news/campaigners-renew-call-to-ban-nazi-occultist-group-following-satanist-murders-of-two-sisters/149664; Stephanie Peacock MP website. https://www.stephaniepeacock.org.uk/stephanie_calls_on_home_secretary_to_proscribe_murderous_nazi_occultist_group/
[^18]: GOV.UK. "Ben John's sentence increased following personal intervention by the Solicitor General." January 2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ben-johns-sentence-increased-following-personal-intervention-by-the-solicitor-general--3; ITV News Central. "White supremacist Ben John told to read books by Judge who spared him jail imprisoned upon appeal." January 19, 2022. https://www.itv.com/news/central/2022-01-19/white-supremacist-ben-john-told-to-read-books-by-judge-who-spared-him-jail-imprisoned-upon-appeal
[^19]: ITV News Wales. "Neo-Nazi, 20, from Cardiff jailed for being member of far-right terror group." January 26, 2023. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2023-01-26/dangerous-neo-nazi-jailed-for-being-a-member-of-far-right-terror-group; Tell MAMA. "Neo-Nazi Luca Benincasa jailed for terrorism offences and child abuse images." 2023. https://tellmamauk.org/neo-nazi-luca-benincasa-jailed-for-terrorism-offences-and-child-abuse-images/
[^20]: R v Ashley Podsiad Sharp, Sentencing Remarks, Sheffield Crown Court, 31 August 2023. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/R-v-Ashley-Podsiad-Sharp.pdf; ITV News Calendar. "Leeds Prison officer Ashley Podsiad-Sharp jailed over 'white supremacist murder manual'." August 31, 2023. https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-08-31/prison-officer-had-white-supremacist-murder-manual
[^21]: Metropolitan Police. "Man convicted of terrorism offences after schedule 7 stop." https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-convicted-of-terrorism-offences-after-schedule-7-stop-501766; Metropolitan Police. "Man jailed for offences under the Terrorism Act." https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-jailed-for-offences-under-the-terrorism-act-503818; Counter Terrorism Policing. "Man convicted of terrorism offences after schedule 7 stop." https://www.counterterrorism.police.uk/man-convicted-of-terrorism-offences-after-schedule-7-stop/
[^22]: R v Cameron Finnigan, Sentencing Remarks, Central Criminal Court, 16 January 2025. Mr Justice Jay. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/R-v-Finnigan.pdf; Sussex Police. "Man sentenced for terror offences." January 2025. https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/man-sentenced-for-terror-offences/
[^23]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-SDNY. "Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Attempting To Murder Fellow Service Members In Deadly Ambush." Press Release, March 2023. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-us-army-soldier-sentenced-45-years-prison-attempting-murder-fellow-service
[^24]: Patrik Hermansson. "The Rapewaffen Telegram Channel." *Hope Not Hate,* June 23, 2020. https://hopenothate.org.uk/2020/06/23/the-rapewaffen-telegram-channel/
[^25]: Section 3, Terrorism Act 2000. https://www.lawglobalhub.com/section-3-terrorism-act-2000-uk/; Home Office Factsheet: Proscription, September 15, 2023. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/15/factsheet-proscription/
[^26]: Northumbria Journal of Law and Practice. "The law relating to Proscription of terrorist organisations." https://www.northumbriajournals.co.uk/index.php/sjppar/article/download/873/1276/2703
[^27]: HOPE not hate. "Order of Nine Angles: An Incubator of Terrorism. State of Hate 2020." https://hopenothate.org.uk/chapter/order-of-nine-angles-an-incubator-of-terrorism/
[^28]: New Statesman. "A Nazi-satanist cult is fuelling far-right groups - overlooked by the UK authorities," March 2020. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2020/03/nazi-satanist-cult-fuelling-far-right-terrorist-groups-overlooked-uk-authorities-order-nine-angles
[^29]: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2020, S.I. 2020/200, art. 2, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/200/made; Home Office, "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations," updated July 7, 2026, GOV.UK.
[^30]: HOPE not hate. "Government misses opportunity to proscribe Order of Nine Angles," April 19, 2021. https://hopenothate.org.uk/2021/04/19/atomwaffen-order-nine-angles/; Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2021, UK Statutory Instrument 2021/9780348229288.
[^31]: Hansard, HC Deb, 13 July 2021, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism." https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-07-13/debates/673D4D8F-D90C-450B-B7E8-26B63018E5D3/PreventionAndSuppressionOfTerrorism
[^32]: Counter-Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST) 2023. Home Office / GOV.UK, 18 July 2023. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1186413/CONTEST_2023_English_updated.pdf
[^33]: Home Office. "Factsheet: Proscription." 15 September 2023. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/15/factsheet-proscription/
[^34]: Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025. SI 9780348273373. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348273373; Hansard, HC Deb, 2 July 2025, "Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism." https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-07-02/debates/6C9338E8-E516-494A-81A2-B3FEF549DD48/PreventionAndSuppressionOfTerrorism
[^35]: Counter Terrorism Policing. "Neo-Nazi Group Sonnenkrieg Division Proscribed." https://www.counterterrorism.police.uk/news/neo-nazi-group-sonnenkrieg-division-proscribed-counter-terrorism-police/; Middlebury CTEC. "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Sonnenkrieg Division." https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-2
[^36]: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2020, S.I. 2020/200. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/200/contents/made
[^37]: OpenSanctions. "Order of Nine Angles (O9A)." https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/nz-terr-order-of-nine-angles-o9a/
[^38]: Rise to Peace. "The 764 Network and the Architecture of Digital Nihilism." February 2026. https://www.risetopeace.org/2026/02/11/the-764-network-and-the-architecture-of-digital-nihilism/fellows/
[^39]: House of Commons, written question UIN 64196, tabled June 24, 2020 by Stephen Doughty, answered June 29, 2020 by the Home Office. https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1217642
[^40]: *R v Declan George Candiani*, sentencing remarks of HHJ Nigel Lickley KC, Central Criminal Court, November 28, 2025. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/R-v-Declan-Candiani.pdf

7
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia).md
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@ -12,17 +12,18 @@ tags:
summary: "First-run cinema at 1529-1531 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, which cancelled a February 1975 midnight showing of R.C. Horsch's Black Mass after reported pressure from the Archdiocese."
location: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
created: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-15
---
The Arcadia Theatre was a cinema at 1529-1531 Chestnut Street in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City]], [[Philadelphia]], recorded by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia with a seating capacity of 500 and with the Sablosky Corporation and Frank DeLong among its clients. In February 1975 it cancelled a midnight booking of *[[Black Mass (1975 film)|Black Mass]]*, a film about a satanic rite by Ray Hoersch, later [[R.C. Horsch]], after what *The Philadelphia Inquirer* called reported pressure from the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia|Philadelphia Archdiocese]].[^1][^2]
### Black Mass
"Chestnut Hill filmmaker Ray Hoersch" was to show *Black Mass* at midnight at the Arcadia. The *Inquirer* reported on February 28, 1975, that the showing "was cancelled after reported pressure by the Philadelphia Archdiocese, according to the Bandbox's [[Art Carduner]], who gave the film a new home" at the [[Bandbox Theater]] in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]].[^2] A joint statement of sixteen Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders of Philadelphia, led by Cardinal [[John Krol]], called the film "a blasphemous attack on the religious rites held in sacred reverence by millions of Christian believers" and urged "believers of every religious conviction to use every moral force to discourage the showing of this film."[^3]
"Chestnut Hill filmmaker Ray Hoersch" was to show *Black Mass* at midnight at the Arcadia. The *Inquirer* reported on February 28, 1975, that the showing "was cancelled after reported pressure by the Philadelphia Archdiocese, according to the Bandbox's [[Art Carduner]], who gave the film a new home" at the [[Bandbox Theater]] in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]].[^2] The *Inquirer*'s news story of the same date reported the film as scheduled at a center-city theater and one in Germantown, and that the center-city house called the report "a mistake."[^3] A joint statement of sixteen Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders of Philadelphia, led by Cardinal [[John Krol]], called the film "a blasphemous attack on the religious rites held in sacred reverence by millions of Christian believers" and urged "believers of every religious conviction to use every moral force to discourage the showing of this film."[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, "Arcadia Theatre," 1529-1531 Chestnut St. (clients "Sablosky Corporation; DeLong, Frank"; "Seating capacity: 500"). https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/8403
[^2]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/
[^3]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/
[^3]: "Protest Raised Here On 'Black Mass' Film," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173364962/
[^4]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/

5
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Bandbox Theater.md
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@ -12,14 +12,14 @@ tags:
summary: "Art-house cinema at 20-22 East Armat Street in Germantown, owned by Art Carduner from 1966 to 1975, which screened R.C. Horsch's condemned film Black Mass in 1975."
location: "Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
created: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-15
---
The Bandbox Theater, also written Band Box, was a cinema at 20-22 East Armat Street in the [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]] section of [[Philadelphia]], recorded with a seating capacity of 499. [[Art Carduner]] bought it, then shuttered, in 1966 and ran it as a house for foreign and art films until 1975. It screened films of Ray Hoersch, later [[R.C. Horsch]], in 1969 and 1975.[^1][^2]
### Hoersch
In late 1969, when the city's [[Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections|Department of Licenses and Inspections]] closed Hoersch's [[Underground Cinema 16]] on Sansom Street, the Bandbox ran the Vietnam documentary *[[In the Year of the Pig]]*, which Cinema 16 had under contract.[^3] In February 1975 the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] on Chestnut Street cancelled a midnight booking of Hoersch's *[[Black Mass (1975 film)|Black Mass]]* after what the *Inquirer* called reported pressure from the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia|Philadelphia Archdiocese]], and a joint statement of sixteen religious leaders led by Cardinal [[John Krol]] condemned the film. Carduner gave it a midnight screening at the Bandbox on Saturday, March 1, 1975, as a benefit for the Friends of the Bandbox, with Hoersch attending.[^4][^5]
In late 1969, when the city's [[Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections|Department of Licenses and Inspections]] closed Hoersch's [[Underground Cinema 16]] on Sansom Street, the Bandbox ran the Vietnam documentary *[[In the Year of the Pig]]*, which Cinema 16 had under contract.[^3] In February 1975 the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] on Chestnut Street cancelled a midnight booking of Hoersch's *[[Black Mass (1975 film)|Black Mass]]* after what the *Inquirer* called reported pressure from the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia|Philadelphia Archdiocese]], and a joint statement of sixteen religious leaders led by Cardinal [[John Krol]] condemned the film. Carduner gave it a midnight screening at the Bandbox on Saturday, March 1, 1975, as a benefit for the Friends of the Bandbox, with Hoersch attending.[^4][^5] The *Inquirer* column of February 28, 1975 announced the midnight showing at the Bandbox and reported that Hoersch would attend the opening.[^4] The *Inquirer*'s news story of the same date reported the film as scheduled at a center-city theater and one in Germantown; the center-city house called the report "a mistake," and the Germantown theater said it was not yet known whether the film would be shown there.[^6]
### Footnotes
@ -28,3 +28,4 @@ In late 1969, when the city's [[Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspecti
[^3]: *The Distant Drummer,* no. 65, December 25, 1969, p. 8, Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p16002coll34/id/473
[^4]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/
[^5]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/
[^6]: "Protest Raised Here On 'Black Mass' Film," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173364962/

101
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Bank of Credit and Commerce International.md
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@ -27,11 +27,11 @@ relations:
role: "shareholder, 30 percent in 1977, divested 1978"
start: 1972
end: 1978
fn: 3
fn: 4
- type: owned
with: "[[First American Bank]]"
role: "secret owner through nominees"
fn: 7
fn: 8
---
BCCI was a financial institution that became embroiled in a major scandal involving money laundering, drug trafficking, and covert operations. Its collapse had far-reaching implications and was a significant focus of [[Danny Casolaro]]'s "[[The Octopus]]" investigation.[^1] The [[BCCI Kerry-Brown Senate Report|Kerry-Brown Senate Report]] of 1992 described it as "a $23 billion criminal bank operating in some 73 countries."[^2]
@ -43,92 +43,95 @@ Danny Casolaro was investigating the BCCI scandal as part of his broader "The Oc
[[Bill Turner]], a friend and confidante of Danny Casolaro, claimed to have seen papers from Casolaro that connected [[Oliver North]] and BCCI.[^1]
Beaty and Gwynne wrote that the Swiss banker [[Bruce Rappaport]] was involved with the [[National Bank of Oman]], which channeled millions of dollars supplied by the CIA and by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan for the Afghan freedom fighters, and that the Bank of Oman was a major BCCI affiliate holding a large chunk of its stock.[^3]
### Founding and Bank of America
According to the Senate report, Abedi's first choice of a Western partner, [[American Express]], "insisted on having a major say in BCCI's management, which Abedi would not tolerate." He turned instead to [[Bank of America]], for which BCCI offered "a potentially lucrative entry to Arab oil wealth, at a tiny capitalization cost of just $2.5 million." After what Abedi called "an historic lunch" in [[San Francisco]], the American bank agreed to be a passive partner; Abedi told *Euromoney* in 1978: "Bank of America agreed to become a shareholder, but we made it a condition that we would establish the management style." BCCI began with 3 million dollars in total capital. Bank of America officials sat on its board: Yves Lamarche, formerly head of its [[Middle East]] operations; J.D. Van Oenen; P.C. Twitchen; and, from Iran, [[Roy P. M. Carlson|Roy Carlson]], who later became president of the [[National Bank of Georgia]] when it was secretly owned by BCCI. The ruling family of [[Abu Dhabi]], whose initial cash investment of 500,000 dollars was acknowledged to the Senate subcommittee for the first time on May 14, 1992, provided deposits; the Middle Eastern royal shareholders were given "hold harmless agreements" against loss, and insiders called the board "RAF," for "rent-a-face."[^3]
According to the Senate report, Abedi's first choice of a Western partner, [[American Express]], "insisted on having a major say in BCCI's management, which Abedi would not tolerate." He turned instead to [[Bank of America]], for which BCCI offered "a potentially lucrative entry to Arab oil wealth, at a tiny capitalization cost of just $2.5 million." After what Abedi called "an historic lunch" in [[San Francisco]], the American bank agreed to be a passive partner; Abedi told *Euromoney* in 1978: "Bank of America agreed to become a shareholder, but we made it a condition that we would establish the management style." BCCI began with 3 million dollars in total capital. Bank of America officials sat on its board: Yves Lamarche, formerly head of its [[Middle East]] operations; J.D. Van Oenen; P.C. Twitchen; and, from Iran, [[Roy P. M. Carlson|Roy Carlson]], who later became president of the [[National Bank of Georgia]] when it was secretly owned by BCCI. The ruling family of [[Abu Dhabi]], whose initial cash investment of 500,000 dollars was acknowledged to the Senate subcommittee for the first time on May 14, 1992, provided deposits; the Middle Eastern royal shareholders were given "hold harmless agreements" against loss, and insiders called the board "RAF," for "rent-a-face."[^4]
A Bank of America record of September 30, 1977, listed BCCI's majority owner as [[ICIC]], its Cayman affiliate, with 50.1 percent; Bank of America held 30 percent, Majid Al-Futaim of [[Dubai]] 4 percent, and the Abu Dhabi ruling family 3.4 percent. A Bank of America executive vice president, Alvin C. Rice, wrote in a memorandum of May 10, 1976: "We are just not operating on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation that make the whole effort and exercise worthwhile," and later told journalists that BCCI believed regulatory obstacles could be fixed through "baksheesh." By early 1978 an examiner of the Comptroller of the Currency in London concluded that Bank of America was "substantially at risk from BCCI." Bank of America sold its stake to ICIC, announcing on January 30, 1978, that "the close co-operation that has developed between the two banks will be maintained"; over the following decade it kept correspondent relationships with BCCI and, the report found, colluded "in at least one of BCCI's purchases of foreign banks through nominees in [[South America]]."[^3]
A Bank of America record of September 30, 1977, listed BCCI's majority owner as [[ICIC]], its Cayman affiliate, with 50.1 percent; Bank of America held 30 percent, Majid Al-Futaim of [[Dubai]] 4 percent, and the Abu Dhabi ruling family 3.4 percent. A Bank of America executive vice president, Alvin C. Rice, wrote in a memorandum of May 10, 1976: "We are just not operating on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation that make the whole effort and exercise worthwhile," and later told journalists that BCCI believed regulatory obstacles could be fixed through "baksheesh." By early 1978 an examiner of the Comptroller of the Currency in London concluded that Bank of America was "substantially at risk from BCCI." Bank of America sold its stake to ICIC, announcing on January 30, 1978, that "the close co-operation that has developed between the two banks will be maintained"; over the following decade it kept correspondent relationships with BCCI and, the report found, colluded "in at least one of BCCI's purchases of foreign banks through nominees in [[South America]]."[^4]
### Chronology
1972: [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] organizes BCCI with the intention of forming the Third World's first multinational bank.[^4]
1972: [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] organizes BCCI with the intention of forming the Third World's first multinational bank.[^5]
1975: Using [[Abbas Gokal]] as a front, BCCI attempts to acquire [[Chelsea National Bank]] in [[New York City]]. Regulators reject the bid due to concerns about BCCI's involvement.[^4]
1975: Using [[Abbas Gokal]] as a front, BCCI attempts to acquire [[Chelsea National Bank]] in [[New York City]]. Regulators reject the bid due to concerns about BCCI's involvement.[^5]
1976: BCCI opens its [[Cayman Islands]] subsidiary ICIC, which becomes BCCI's repository for loans to privileged insiders. ICIC Holdings and ICIC (Overseas) Ltd. were incorporated on April 6, 1976.[^4][^5]
1976: BCCI opens its [[Cayman Islands]] subsidiary ICIC, which becomes BCCI's repository for loans to privileged insiders. ICIC Holdings and ICIC (Overseas) Ltd. were incorporated on April 6, 1976.[^5][^6]
1977: [[Eugene Holley]] introduces [[Bert Lance]] to Abedi.[^4]
1977: [[Eugene Holley]] introduces [[Bert Lance]] to Abedi.[^5]
1978: [[Ghaith R. Pharaon]] finalizes his acquisition of National Bank of Georgia from Bert Lance with Abedi's help. Abedi pays off Lance's $3.5-million bank loan. BCCI orchestrates a hostile bid for [[Financial General Bankshares]] of [[Washington, D.C.]] with Lance's help; on January 30, 1978, the BCCI officer [[Abdus Sami]] advised Abedi to spread ownership among "4 persons of substance" to keep each below 5 percent.[^6] [[Joseph E. Vaez]] submits a report on BCCI characterizing it as dangerously out of control. The [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] files suit against BCCI, Abedi, Lance, and others in connection with the purchase of Financial General Bankshares stock.[^4][^7]
1978: [[Ghaith R. Pharaon]] finalizes his acquisition of National Bank of Georgia from Bert Lance with Abedi's help. Abedi pays off Lance's $3.5-million bank loan. BCCI orchestrates a hostile bid for [[Financial General Bankshares]] of [[Washington, D.C.]] with Lance's help; on January 30, 1978, the BCCI officer [[Abdus Sami]] advised Abedi to spread ownership among "4 persons of substance" to keep each below 5 percent.[^7] [[Joseph E. Vaez]] submits a report on BCCI characterizing it as dangerously out of control. The [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] files suit against BCCI, Abedi, Lance, and others in connection with the purchase of Financial General Bankshares stock.[^5][^8]
1979: The [[Soviet Union]] invades [[Afghanistan]], making [[Pakistan]] a key strategic priority for the [[United States]].[^4]
1979: The [[Soviet Union]] invades [[Afghanistan]], making [[Pakistan]] a key strategic priority for the [[United States]].[^5]
1981: Regulators approve the sale of Financial General to Middle Eastern investors connected with BCCI, based on [[Clark Clifford]]'s assurances of no link between BCCI and Financial General Bankshares. The Federal Reserve later found that BCCI owned at least 25 percent of the holding company, [[Credit and Commerce American Holdings]], when it acquired [[First American Bank|First American]] in 1982.[^4][^7]
1981: Regulators approve the sale of Financial General to Middle Eastern investors connected with BCCI, based on [[Clark Clifford]]'s assurances of no link between BCCI and Financial General Bankshares. The Federal Reserve later found that BCCI owned at least 25 percent of the holding company, [[Credit and Commerce American Holdings]], when it acquired [[First American Bank|First American]] in 1982.[^5][^8]
1982: Lance introduces Abedi to [[Jimmy Carter]]. BCCI illegally acquires [[Independence Bank of Encino]] using [[Ghaith Pharaon]] as a front man. BCCI helps Adnan Khashoggi finance arms sales to [[Iran]] as part of the [[Reagan Administration]]'s Iran-Contra Affair. BCCI suffers over $440 million in losses from options trading through its subsidiary [[Capcom]], according to Beaty and Gwynne; the Senate report, citing [[Price Waterhouse]], dated the Capcom losses to 1985 and put them at 500 million dollars.[^4][^8]
1982: Lance introduces Abedi to [[Jimmy Carter]]. BCCI illegally acquires [[Independence Bank of Encino]] using [[Ghaith Pharaon]] as a front man. BCCI helps Adnan Khashoggi finance arms sales to [[Iran]] as part of the [[Reagan Administration]]'s Iran-Contra Affair. BCCI suffers over $440 million in losses from options trading through its subsidiary [[Capcom]], according to Beaty and Gwynne; the Senate report, citing [[Price Waterhouse]], dated the Capcom losses to 1985 and put them at 500 million dollars.[^5][^9]
1986: The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] issues a report stating that BCCI has owned First American Bank since 1982.[^4]
1986: The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] issues a report stating that BCCI has owned First American Bank since 1982.[^5]
1987: Pharaon becomes a partner in [[David L. Paul]]'s [[CenTrust Savings Bank]] of [[Miami]]. First American Bank buys the National Bank of Georgia from Ghaith Pharaon for $227 million, according to Beaty and Gwynne; the Senate report gives 220 million dollars.[^4][^9]
1987: Pharaon becomes a partner in [[David L. Paul]]'s [[CenTrust Savings Bank]] of [[Miami]]. First American Bank buys the National Bank of Georgia from Ghaith Pharaon for $227 million, according to Beaty and Gwynne; the Senate report gives 220 million dollars.[^5][^10]
1988: Clifford and [[Robert Altman]] sell their stock in First American to [[Mohammed Hammoud]]. Abedi's heart attack ends his direct control of BCCI, and [[Swaleh Naqvi]] becomes chief executive. [[Amjad Awan]] tells an undercover agent that BCCI owns First American and National Bank of Georgia. On October 8, American Customs agents of [[Operation C-Chase]] arrest BCCI bankers at a staged wedding in [[Tarpon Springs, Florida|Tarpon Springs]], with arrests in London and Paris, on money laundering charges.[^4][^10]
1988: Clifford and [[Robert Altman]] sell their stock in First American to [[Mohammed Hammoud]]. Abedi's heart attack ends his direct control of BCCI, and [[Swaleh Naqvi]] becomes chief executive. [[Amjad Awan]] tells an undercover agent that BCCI owns First American and National Bank of Georgia. On October 8, American Customs agents of [[Operation C-Chase]] arrest BCCI bankers at a staged wedding in [[Tarpon Springs, Florida|Tarpon Springs]], with arrests in London and Paris, on money laundering charges.[^5][^11]
1989: [[Jack Blum]] visits Manhattan District Attorney [[Robert Morgenthau]] to persuade him to take on the BCCI case.[^4]
1989: [[Jack Blum]] visits Manhattan District Attorney [[Robert Morgenthau]] to persuade him to take on the BCCI case.[^5]
1990: BCCI pleads guilty to money laundering in Tampa, Florida, in January, forfeiting $14 million. A Tampa jury convicts the BCCI officers on July 29, and they are sentenced on November 30, Awan and Akbar Bilgrami to twelve years each. The first Price Waterhouse audit reveals a $1.7 billion black hole in the bank's accounts. A second Price Waterhouse audit details thousands of irregular transactions and confirms BCCI's control of First American. The [[Bank of England]] agrees to let BCCI move its headquarters and records to Abu Dhabi.[^4][^10][^11]
1990: BCCI pleads guilty to money laundering in Tampa, Florida, in January, forfeiting $14 million. A Tampa jury convicts the BCCI officers on July 29, and they are sentenced on November 30, Awan and Akbar Bilgrami to twelve years each. The first Price Waterhouse audit reveals a $1.7 billion black hole in the bank's accounts. A second Price Waterhouse audit details thousands of irregular transactions and confirms BCCI's control of First American. The [[Bank of England]] agrees to let BCCI move its headquarters and records to Abu Dhabi.[^5][^11][^12]
1991: [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] acquires 77 percent control of BCCI. The [[Federal Reserve]] orders BCCI to sell illegally acquired shares in First American Bank. Regulators worldwide seize BCCI offices on July 5, placing over 75 percent of the bank's assets in government hands. On July 29 a New York State grand jury indicts BCCI, Abedi, and Naqvi for fraud, bribery, grand larceny, and money laundering, and the [[Federal Reserve Board]] fines BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control of First American Bank, National Bank of Georgia, and CenTrust Savings. Clifford and Altman resign from First American. BCCI's liquidators plead guilty and agree to forfeit $550 million.[^4][^7][^12]
1991: [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] acquires 77 percent control of BCCI. The [[Federal Reserve]] orders BCCI to sell illegally acquired shares in First American Bank. Regulators worldwide seize BCCI offices on July 5, placing over 75 percent of the bank's assets in government hands. On July 29 a New York State grand jury indicts BCCI, Abedi, and Naqvi for fraud, bribery, grand larceny, and money laundering, and the [[Federal Reserve Board]] fines BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control of First American Bank, National Bank of Georgia, and CenTrust Savings. Clifford and Altman resign from First American. BCCI's liquidators plead guilty and agree to forfeit $550 million.[^5][^8][^13]
1992: [[Khalid bin Mahfouz]] is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. [[Kamal Adham]] pleads guilty in New York and agrees to cooperate with Morgenthau and the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]. Clifford and Altman are indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and a federal grand jury.[^4]
1992: [[Khalid bin Mahfouz]] is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. [[Kamal Adham]] pleads guilty in New York and agrees to cooperate with Morgenthau and the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]. Clifford and Altman are indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and a federal grand jury.[^5]
### Closure
Through late 1990 and the spring of 1991, according to the Senate report, BCCI, Abu Dhabi and the Bank of England worked on a plan to reconstitute the bank as three institutions based in London, Abu Dhabi and [[Hong Kong]], while all of them, with Price Waterhouse, "worked together to keep what they knew about BCCI secret," including from Morgenthau. The Federal Reserve "had been fully alerted to the state of affairs at BCCI for the first time not by the Bank of England, but by the Manhattan District Attorney." In March 1991 the Bank of England commissioned Price Waterhouse to investigate under Section 41 of the Banking Act; its draft report of June 22, 1991, the [[Sandstorm Report]], in which BCCI was code-named "Sandstorm," found "fraud on a significant scale." One week later the Bank of England alerted the [[Serious Fraud Office]], and four days after that, on July 5, 1991, BCCI was closed internationally.[^11] The Senate report concluded that "the pressure from a single, local prosecutor's office that would not relent when it found evidence of global criminality, proved sufficient to shut down a $23 billion criminal bank operating in some 73 countries," since the Bank of England "had reason to know that the New York District Attorney was only a few weeks away from indicting BCCI."[^2][^11] The British inquiry into the Bank's supervision, the [[Bingham Report]], found the closure "an appropriate course of action."[^13]
Through late 1990 and the spring of 1991, according to the Senate report, BCCI, Abu Dhabi and the Bank of England worked on a plan to reconstitute the bank as three institutions based in London, Abu Dhabi and [[Hong Kong]], while all of them, with Price Waterhouse, "worked together to keep what they knew about BCCI secret," including from Morgenthau. The Federal Reserve "had been fully alerted to the state of affairs at BCCI for the first time not by the Bank of England, but by the Manhattan District Attorney." In March 1991 the Bank of England commissioned Price Waterhouse to investigate under Section 41 of the Banking Act; its draft report of June 22, 1991, the [[Sandstorm Report]], in which BCCI was code-named "Sandstorm," found "fraud on a significant scale." One week later the Bank of England alerted the [[Serious Fraud Office]], and four days after that, on July 5, 1991, BCCI was closed internationally.[^12] The Senate report concluded that "the pressure from a single, local prosecutor's office that would not relent when it found evidence of global criminality, proved sufficient to shut down a $23 billion criminal bank operating in some 73 countries," since the Bank of England "had reason to know that the New York District Attorney was only a few weeks away from indicting BCCI."[^2][^12] The British inquiry into the Bank's supervision, the [[Bingham Report]], found the closure "an appropriate course of action."[^14]
### Prosecutions and Forfeiture
On July 29, 1991, the day of Morgenthau's indictment, the Federal Reserve announced a 200 million dollar civil penalty against BCCI and related banks and sought to bar Abedi, Naqvi, Hasan Mahmood Kazmi, Adham, Faisal Saud Al-Fulaij, [[A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil|A. R. Khalil]], Sayed Jawhary, Pharaon and Khusro Elley from American banking. It found that BCCI had acquired CCAH shares in its customers' names through loans "with side agreements that the customer would not be required to repay," and that BCCI "resorted to these arrangements because BCCI was told it could not receive the necessary approvals from the Federal Reserve Board to acquire a bank in the United States."[^7] By December 1991 BCCI's liquidators had pleaded guilty to the first six counts of the New York indictment "as part of an agreement concerning BCCI's assets in the United States," and a superseding information was filed in the federal court in Washington on December 19, 1991.[^2][^8] British prosecutions followed: [[Syed Ziauddin Ali Akbar]], head of the treasury division, was sentenced in 1993 and Abbas Gokal of the [[Gulf Group]] in 1997.[^14]
On July 29, 1991, the day of Morgenthau's indictment, the Federal Reserve announced a 200 million dollar civil penalty against BCCI and related banks and sought to bar Abedi, Naqvi, Hasan Mahmood Kazmi, Adham, Faisal Saud Al-Fulaij, [[A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil|A. R. Khalil]], Sayed Jawhary, Pharaon and Khusro Elley from American banking. It found that BCCI had acquired CCAH shares in its customers' names through loans "with side agreements that the customer would not be required to repay," and that BCCI "resorted to these arrangements because BCCI was told it could not receive the necessary approvals from the Federal Reserve Board to acquire a bank in the United States."[^8] By December 1991 BCCI's liquidators had pleaded guilty to the first six counts of the New York indictment "as part of an agreement concerning BCCI's assets in the United States," and a superseding information was filed in the federal court in Washington on December 19, 1991.[^2][^9] British prosecutions followed: [[Syed Ziauddin Ali Akbar]], head of the treasury division, was sentenced in 1993 and Abbas Gokal of the [[Gulf Group]] in 1997.[^15]
BCCI's Washington defense was coordinated in part by former federal prosecutors. [[Lawrence Wechsler]] recruited [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.]] "to coordinate the bank's defense" shortly after the October 1988 Tampa indictment, and the Senate report stated that "the full extent of Barcella's activities on behalf of BCCI remains unknown."[^15] The Senate subcommittee could not determine what, if any, services [[Paul Laxalt]] performed for the bank, although Barcella had tried in 1988 to persuade Laxalt, his firm's lead partner, to meet BCCI's chief executive in London.[^15]
BCCI's Washington defense was coordinated in part by former federal prosecutors. [[Lawrence Wechsler]] recruited [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.]] "to coordinate the bank's defense" shortly after the October 1988 Tampa indictment, and the Senate report stated that "the full extent of Barcella's activities on behalf of BCCI remains unknown."[^16] The Senate subcommittee could not determine what, if any, services [[Paul Laxalt]] performed for the bank, although Barcella had tried in 1988 to persuade Laxalt, his firm's lead partner, to meet BCCI's chief executive in London.[^16]
A 1992 press account gave a different date, stating that BCCI hired Barcella in 1990.[^16] Barcella and Wechsler represented the bank in the meetings at which Tampa prosecutors agreed to a plea in January 1990.[^17] [[Robert Parry]] wrote that Barcella and his firm earned more than $2 million from BCCI, and that the Laxalt and BCCI links were omitted from the public report on the October Surprise investigation.[^18]
A 1992 press account gave a different date, stating that BCCI hired Barcella in 1990.[^17] Barcella and Wechsler represented the bank in the meetings at which Tampa prosecutors agreed to a plea in January 1990.[^18] [[Robert Parry]] wrote that Barcella and his firm earned more than $2 million from BCCI, and that the Laxalt and BCCI links were omitted from the public report on the October Surprise investigation.[^19]
On December 9, 1992, BCCI's court-appointed liquidators sued Khalid bin Mahfouz, Haroon Kahlon and the [[National Commercial Bank]] in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, seeking more than 10.5 billion dollars trebled. The court enjoined bin Mahfouz and Kahlon from moving assets in the United States on December 10, 1992, issued a preliminary injunction against bin Mahfouz on February 12, 1993, and on July 26, 1993 conditionally dismissed the action on forum non conveniens grounds in favor of a parallel English suit for the same amount.[^19]
On December 9, 1992, BCCI's court-appointed liquidators sued Khalid bin Mahfouz, Haroon Kahlon and the [[National Commercial Bank]] in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, seeking more than 10.5 billion dollars trebled. The court enjoined bin Mahfouz and Kahlon from moving assets in the United States on December 10, 1992, issued a preliminary injunction against bin Mahfouz on February 12, 1993, and on July 26, 1993 conditionally dismissed the action on forum non conveniens grounds in favor of a parallel English suit for the same amount.[^20]
### Congressional Inquiries and CIA Accounts
A CIA memorandum, undated and approved for release in August 2003, refers to a [[House October Surprise Task Force|House task force]] "formed to investigate allegations that officials from the Reagan campaign sought to delay release of the hostages in Iran until after the 1980 election," a body the House created on February 5, 1992.[^20][^21] The memorandum states that the [[House Banking Committee]] had subpoenaed First American for all of its records pertaining to CIA accounts in its investigation of BCCI, and that the agency did not then hold any accounts at First American.[^20] The agency had briefed two cleared committee staffers on the First American accounts and had provided the committee with intelligence reports on BCCI, and it had indicated a desire to cooperate "so long as it would not require access to operational information." The committee nonetheless sent a letter to the ADCI asserting its right to review all records and interview CIA officers "regardless of the sensitivity of the information."[^20]
A CIA memorandum, undated and approved for release in August 2003, refers to a [[House October Surprise Task Force|House task force]] "formed to investigate allegations that officials from the Reagan campaign sought to delay release of the hostages in Iran until after the 1980 election," a body the House created on February 5, 1992.[^21][^22] The memorandum states that the [[House Banking Committee]] had subpoenaed First American for all of its records pertaining to CIA accounts in its investigation of BCCI, and that the agency did not then hold any accounts at First American.[^21] The agency had briefed two cleared committee staffers on the First American accounts and had provided the committee with intelligence reports on BCCI, and it had indicated a desire to cooperate "so long as it would not require access to operational information." The committee nonetheless sent a letter to the ADCI asserting its right to review all records and interview CIA officers "regardless of the sensitivity of the information."[^21]
The agency had also tried to obtain the help of the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] to act as a surrogate for the Banking Committee in reviewing sensitive operational information, but the Banking Committee had refused to accept any role for it.[^20] The memorandum proposed points to be made to the committee, including that the agency was "prepared to resist demands for access by the Banking Committee to sensitive operational information, and will, as a last resort, seek to protect this type of information from disclosure by requesting that the President invoke Executive Privilege." The agency was also prepared to ask the Department of Justice "to seek a Temporary Restraining Order that would relieve First American Bank from having to comply with the Banking Committee subpoena."[^20]
The agency had also tried to obtain the help of the [[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] to act as a surrogate for the Banking Committee in reviewing sensitive operational information, but the Banking Committee had refused to accept any role for it.[^21] The memorandum proposed points to be made to the committee, including that the agency was "prepared to resist demands for access by the Banking Committee to sensitive operational information, and will, as a last resort, seek to protect this type of information from disclosure by requesting that the President invoke Executive Privilege." The agency was also prepared to ask the Department of Justice "to seek a Temporary Restraining Order that would relieve First American Bank from having to comply with the Banking Committee subpoena."[^21]
The memorandum records a request from the October Surprise Task Force for information on official and unofficial arms sales to Iran of U.S. origin or U.S. content from November 1977 through August 1985, including field reporting and operational strategies. It states that a "similar concern could also arise with the October Surprise Task Force investigation," and that the agency would "attempt to work out a compromise that would satisfy the Task Force's desire for information while protecting intelligence sources and methods."[^20]
The memorandum records a request from the October Surprise Task Force for information on official and unofficial arms sales to Iran of U.S. origin or U.S. content from November 1977 through August 1985, including field reporting and operational strategies. It states that a "similar concern could also arise with the October Surprise Task Force investigation," and that the agency would "attempt to work out a compromise that would satisfy the Task Force's desire for information while protecting intelligence sources and methods."[^21]
### Liquidation
The liquidators, [[Touche Ross]], reported a year into the liquidation that the true picture of BCCI's activities had been distorted by practices such as "loan parking" and "artificial fund transfers."[^8] The Abu Dhabi shareholders, who held 77.4 percent of BCCI at its closure, agreed a 1.8 billion dollar compensation package for creditors in November 1994, which received its last legal clearance, from a court in Luxembourg, in December 1995. An agreement with the liquidators in May 1996 allowed an initial payment of 1.55 billion dollars, a first dividend of 20 percent to more than 250,000 creditors, with 10 to 20 percent more to follow; by October 1997, 80 percent of small depositors in the [[United Arab Emirates]] had been repaid in full.[^22] In 2005 the liquidators abandoned their suit against the Bank of England, [[Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England]].[^23]
The liquidators, [[Touche Ross]], reported a year into the liquidation that the true picture of BCCI's activities had been distorted by practices such as "loan parking" and "artificial fund transfers."[^9] The Abu Dhabi shareholders, who held 77.4 percent of BCCI at its closure, agreed a 1.8 billion dollar compensation package for creditors in November 1994, which received its last legal clearance, from a court in Luxembourg, in December 1995. An agreement with the liquidators in May 1996 allowed an initial payment of 1.55 billion dollars, a first dividend of 20 percent to more than 250,000 creditors, with 10 to 20 percent more to follow; by October 1997, 80 percent of small depositors in the [[United Arab Emirates]] had been repaid in full.[^23] In 2005 the liquidators abandoned their suit against the Bank of England, [[Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England]].[^24]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. _The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal_. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 9, "BCCI and Law Enforcement: District Attorney of New York." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/09ny.htm
[^3]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 3, "The Origin and Early Years of BCCI." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/03hist.htm
[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. _The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI_. New York: Random House, 1993, pp. 11-14.
[^5]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^6]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry and FGB and NBG Takeovers." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
[^7]: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, press release, July 29, 1991. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/19910729.pdf
[^8]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality" (Price Waterhouse and Touche Ross findings). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^9]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 7, "BCCI in the United States: Part Two." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/07later.htm
[^10]: United States v. Awan, 966 F.2d 1415 (11th Cir. 1992). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/966/966.F2d.1415.90-4114.html
[^11]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 12, "The Regulators." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/12reg.htm
[^12]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 1, "Executive Summary." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/01exec.htm
[^13]: House of Commons, "BCCI (Bingham Report)," *Hansard,* October 22, 1992. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1992/oct/22/bcci-bingham-report
[^14]: "BCCI official gets six years for fraud charges," United Press International, September 28, 1993. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/09/28/BCCI-official-gets-six-years-for-fraud-charges/3315749188800/; "Gokal sentenced to 14 years for BCCI fraud," *The Irish Times,* May 9, 1997. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/gokal-sentenced-to-14-years-for-bcci-fraud-1.70650
[^15]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 17, "BCCI's Lawyers and Lobbyists." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/17law.htm
[^16]: "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," *Hartford Courant*, May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
[^17]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 8, "BCCI and Law Enforcement: The Justice Department and the U.S. Customs Service." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/08just.htm
[^18]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files (Part 8): Lies Spun into History." *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile8.html
[^19]: *BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg), Societe Anonyme v. Mahfouz*, 828 F. Supp. 92 (D.D.C. July 26, 1993) (Green, J.), Civ. A. No. 92-2763. https://static.case.law/f-supp/828/cases/0092-01.json
[^20]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum, undated, "BCCI and October Surprise Task Force," approved for release August 2003. CIA Reading Room document 0000984226. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0000984226
[^21]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, Legislative History (task force formed February 5, 1992 under H. Res. 258). https://archive.org/details/6199732-Joint-Report-of-the-October-Surprise-Task-Force
[^22]: "BCCI small depositors paid in UAE," United Press International, October 11, 1997. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/10/11/BCCI-small-depositors-paid-in-UAE/2814876542400/
[^23]: Three Rivers District Council and Others v. The Governor and Company of the Bank of England [2006] EWHC 816 (Comm). https://web.archive.org/web/20260203100053/https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2006/816.html
[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 311.
[^4]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 3, "The Origin and Early Years of BCCI." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/03hist.htm
[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. _The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI_. New York: Random House, 1993, pp. 11-14.
[^6]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^7]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry and FGB and NBG Takeovers." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
[^8]: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, press release, July 29, 1991. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/19910729.pdf
[^9]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality" (Price Waterhouse and Touche Ross findings). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^10]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 7, "BCCI in the United States: Part Two." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/07later.htm
[^11]: United States v. Awan, 966 F.2d 1415 (11th Cir. 1992). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/966/966.F2d.1415.90-4114.html
[^12]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 12, "The Regulators." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/12reg.htm
[^13]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 1, "Executive Summary." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/01exec.htm
[^14]: House of Commons, "BCCI (Bingham Report)," *Hansard,* October 22, 1992. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1992/oct/22/bcci-bingham-report
[^15]: "BCCI official gets six years for fraud charges," United Press International, September 28, 1993. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/09/28/BCCI-official-gets-six-years-for-fraud-charges/3315749188800/; "Gokal sentenced to 14 years for BCCI fraud," *The Irish Times,* May 9, 1997. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/gokal-sentenced-to-14-years-for-bcci-fraud-1.70650
[^16]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 17, "BCCI's Lawyers and Lobbyists." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/17law.htm
[^17]: "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," *Hartford Courant*, May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
[^18]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 8, "BCCI and Law Enforcement: The Justice Department and the U.S. Customs Service." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/08just.htm
[^19]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files (Part 8): Lies Spun into History." *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile8.html
[^20]: *BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg), Societe Anonyme v. Mahfouz*, 828 F. Supp. 92 (D.D.C. July 26, 1993) (Green, J.), Civ. A. No. 92-2763. https://static.case.law/f-supp/828/cases/0092-01.json
[^21]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum, undated, "BCCI and October Surprise Task Force," approved for release August 2003. CIA Reading Room document 0000984226. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0000984226
[^22]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, Legislative History (task force formed February 5, 1992 under H. Res. 258). https://archive.org/details/6199732-Joint-Report-of-the-October-Surprise-Task-Force
[^23]: "BCCI small depositors paid in UAE," United Press International, October 11, 1997. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/10/11/BCCI-small-depositors-paid-in-UAE/2814876542400/
[^24]: Three Rivers District Council and Others v. The Governor and Company of the Bank of England [2006] EWHC 816 (Comm). https://web.archive.org/web/20260203100053/https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2006/816.html

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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.md
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@ -25,27 +25,27 @@ relations:
role: "sole bidder and awardee, firm fixed price order HHM402-08-C-0072 (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications)"
start: 2008-09-22
end: 2010-12-21
fn: 12
fn: 17
- type: investigated
with: "[[Marc Cecotti]]"
reverse: true
start: 2021-12-08
end: 2023-06-20
role: "filed FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records mentioning AAWSAP and BAASS (2008 to 2012); one responsive document, 'BAASS Goals 2011/2012', released June 20, 2023 under case 2022-HQFO-00386"
fn: 10
fn: 15
- type: subject_of
with: "[[Department of Homeland Security]]"
start: 2023-06-20
role: "the Office of the Chief Information Officer's search for BAASS and AAWSAP records dated 2008 to 2012 returned one document, released in full without exemptions"
fn: 10
fn: 15
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Colm Kelleher]]"
reverse: true
role: "deputy administrator, 2008 to 2011 (offering circular); deputy administrator running day-to-day AAWSAP operations (Micah Hanks Program description, May 2023)"
start: 2008
end: 2011
fn: 2
updated: 2026-10-12
fn: 4
updated: 2026-10-15
---
Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) was a subsidiary of [[Robert Bigelow]]'s aerospace and real estate enterprise, established as a scientific research and contracting organization to pursue anomalous phenomena investigation, including unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). It was the primary contractor for the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]]'s [[Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program|AATIP]]-related research program (formally designated the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program, AAWSAP) from 2008 to approximately 2010.[^1]
@ -58,41 +58,41 @@ In 1996, Bigelow purchased the [[Sherman family]]'s ranch in northeastern [[Utah
### AAWSAP Contract
In 2008, the Defense Intelligence Agency awarded a firm fixed price order to BAASS, with a one-year base period and one option year, to conduct the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. The contract was secured through the advocacy of Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and two colleagues, Senators [[Ted Stevens]] (R-Alaska) and [[Daniel Inouye]] (D-Hawaii), who obtained the funding as an earmark. The contract specified research into advanced aerospace threats including potential foreign developments - the framework that allowed UAP investigation to be packaged as a defense intelligence requirement rather than a paranormal inquiry.[^1]
In 2008, the Defense Intelligence Agency awarded a firm fixed price order to BAASS, with a one-year base period and one option year, to conduct the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program. The contract was secured through the advocacy of Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and two colleagues, Senators [[Ted Stevens]] (R-Alaska) and [[Daniel Inouye]] (D-Hawaii), who obtained the funding as an earmark. The [[New York Times]] reported on December 16, 2017 that Reid said he summoned Stevens and Inouye to a secure room in the Capitol and that the Times named both as supporters of the program.[^2] A DIA information memo of about December 2010 names Reid and Inouye: the program "was first sponsored in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Defense Supplemental Appropriation Act by Senators Reid and Inouye with a $10 [million] add."[^3] The contract specified research into advanced aerospace threats including potential foreign developments - the framework that allowed UAP investigation to be packaged as a defense intelligence requirement rather than a paranormal inquiry.[^1]
BAASS employed approximately 50 full-time researchers and contracted hundreds more to staff the program. The chief scientist was [[Hal Puthoff]], the physicist who had directed the original [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] remote viewing program in the 1970s and maintained decades of research interest in advanced propulsion and UAP physics. BAASS investigators conducted site visits to UAP encounter locations, collected witness testimony, analyzed materials, and commissioned studies on advanced propulsion, exotic physics, and human physiological effects from UAP encounters.[^1]
[[Colm Kelleher]], a biochemist who had led the National Institute for Discovery Science team at Skinwalker Ranch, is described in the September 29, 2017 offering circular of [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] as having served from 2008 to 2011 as "Deputy Administrator of a United States Government funded threat assessment program focused on advanced aerospace technology." The circular does not name BAASS, the program or the agency.[^2] The description of a May 2023 episode of [[The Micah Hanks Program]], published by [[The Debrief]], states that in 2008 Kelleher became deputy administrator of BAASS, "where he led the day-to-day operations in executing the AAWSAP contract with Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)."[^3] In written testimony to the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets for its hearing of September 9, 2025, [[George Knapp]] described Kelleher as the principal manager of AAWSAP in Las Vegas, said that Kelleher worked for Bigelow, and said that BAASS was awarded the DIA contract.[^4] The Black Vault's AAWSAP archive describes [[James Lacatski]] as the director of the program.[^5]
[[Colm Kelleher]], a biochemist who had led the National Institute for Discovery Science team at Skinwalker Ranch, is described in the September 29, 2017 offering circular of [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] as having served from 2008 to 2011 as "Deputy Administrator of a United States Government funded threat assessment program focused on advanced aerospace technology." The circular does not name BAASS, the program or the agency.[^4] The description of a May 2023 episode of [[The Micah Hanks Program]], published by [[The Debrief]], states that in 2008 Kelleher became deputy administrator of BAASS, "where he led the day-to-day operations in executing the AAWSAP contract with Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)."[^5] In written testimony to the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets for its hearing of September 9, 2025, [[George Knapp]] described Kelleher as the principal manager of AAWSAP in Las Vegas, said that Kelleher worked for Bigelow, and said that BAASS was awarded the DIA contract.[^6] The Black Vault's AAWSAP archive describes [[James Lacatski]] as the director of the program.[^7]
### Skinwalker Ranch and Anomalous Phenomena
BAASS investigators conducted detailed ongoing research at Skinwalker Ranch during the contract period. The ranch had been the site of continued anomalous events since NIDS's initial investigation, and BAASS deployed instrumented observation posts, camera systems, and resident researchers. The scope of reported phenomena at the ranch - which Colm Kelleher and George Knapp documented in *[[Hunt for the Skinwalker]]* (Paraview Pocket Books, 2005) - included UAP, cattle mutilations, poltergeist-type effects, and what researchers described as a "hitchhiker effect," in which phenomena reportedly followed investigators home.[^1]
BAASS investigators conducted detailed ongoing research at Skinwalker Ranch during the contract period. The ranch had been the site of continued anomalous events since NIDS's initial investigation, and BAASS deployed instrumented observation posts, camera systems, and resident researchers. The scope of reported phenomena at the ranch - which Colm Kelleher and George Knapp documented in *[[Hunt for the Skinwalker]]* (Paraview Pocket Books, 2005) - included UAP, cattle mutilations, poltergeist-type effects, and what researchers described as a "hitchhiker effect," in which phenomena reportedly followed investigators home.[^1] AARO wrote that the contractor team "also conducted UAP and paranormal research at a property owned by the private sector organization."[^8] A 101-page BAASS report dated June 21, 2010 and titled "Utah Ranch Database Analysis" is reported by Basterfield to examine a CAPELLA database of ranch events up to June 2010.[^9]
### Reports and DIRD Studies
BAASS produced a series of Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) - technical reports on advanced aerospace science topics relevant to UAP propulsion and performance. Hal Puthoff and other contributors addressed topics including warp drives, traversable wormholes, high-frequency gravitational wave communications, and exotic materials. The reports, produced between 2009 and 2010, were contracted at $25,000 each from subject matter experts in theoretical physics and advanced engineering. Several were later declassified and released as part of the post-2017 UAP transparency process.[^1]
BAASS produced a series of Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (DIRDs) - technical reports on advanced aerospace science topics relevant to UAP propulsion and performance. Hal Puthoff and other contributors addressed topics including warp drives, traversable wormholes, high-frequency gravitational wave communications, and exotic materials. The reports, produced between 2009 and 2010, were contracted at $25,000 each from subject matter experts in theoretical physics and advanced engineering.[^1] The DIA list of titles credits Hal Puthoff with "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering" and [[Eric Davis]] with "Traversable Wormholes, Stargates, and Negative Energy" and "Antigravity for Aerospace Applications."[^10] DIA released 37 of the 38 reports under FOIA in response to a March 25, 2022 letter.[^11]
A document titled "BAASS Ten Month Report," 530 pages, dated July 30, 2009, circulated online from May 30, 2025, when researchers including [[Jonathan Davies]] received an email from the [[Phenomainon]] website announcing a function called PhenomGPT through which two BAASS files could be retrieved. A second file, 141 pages, carries the title "BAASS Summary Report on BAASS' UAP Analysis Capabilities" and the date November 23, 2010. [[Keith Basterfield]] wrote on June 5, 2025 that he used no images from these documents and gave no links, and noted that Appendix 1 of James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher and George Knapp's [[Skinwalkers at the Pentagon]] (2021) lists "BAASS July 2009 Ten Month report" (530 pages) and "Summary Report on BAASS UAP Analysis Capabilities" (141 pages) among the BAASS deliverables lodged with the Defense Intelligence Agency.[^6]
A document titled "BAASS Ten Month Report," 530 pages, dated July 30, 2009, circulated online from May 30, 2025, when researchers including [[Jonathan Davies]] received an email from the [[Phenomainon]] website announcing a function called PhenomGPT through which two BAASS files could be retrieved. A second file, 141 pages, carries the title "BAASS Summary Report on BAASS' UAP Analysis Capabilities" and the date November 23, 2010. [[Keith Basterfield]] wrote on June 5, 2025 that he used no images from these documents and gave no links, and noted that Appendix 1 of James Lacatski, Colm Kelleher and George Knapp's [[Skinwalkers at the Pentagon]] (2021) lists "BAASS July 2009 Ten Month report" (530 pages) and "Summary Report on BAASS UAP Analysis Capabilities" (141 pages) among the BAASS deliverables lodged with the Defense Intelligence Agency.[^9]
Basterfield wrote on June 28, 2025, citing page 3 of the Ten Month Report, that the first BAASS monthly report (for September 22 to October 2008) records two employees, "Robert Bigelow and senior analyst [[John Schuessler]] (In September 2008, a BAASS administrator was hired, but shortly thereafter resigned.)"[^7]
Basterfield wrote on June 28, 2025, citing page 3 of the Ten Month Report, that the first BAASS monthly report (for September 22 to October 2008) records two employees, "Robert Bigelow and senior analyst [[John Schuessler]] (In September 2008, a BAASS administrator was hired, but shortly thereafter resigned.)"[^12]
Basterfield wrote on July 7, 2025, quoting the Ten Month Report, that its description of Project Campus gives the objective as "to stimulate, motivate and encourage the senior levels of the academic community within the [[United States]] to involve themselves in study and research of very advanced aerial spacecraft that is presently considered phenomenological." As a "test case" BAASS approached senior management at the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]], which "responded positively"; BAASS proposed ten scenarios, including announcements by the [[United States Air Force]] or other officials that unidentified aerial phenomena were real and extraterrestrial, for the university to study with regard to "the media, economy, department of defense, political groups, science, the general public, religion, public health and academia." The report states: "Dr. Smith and four others have expressed strong interest in submitting a specific proposal to BAASS by August 2009."[^8]
Basterfield wrote on July 7, 2025, quoting the Ten Month Report, that its description of Project Campus gives the objective as "to stimulate, motivate and encourage the senior levels of the academic community within the [[United States]] to involve themselves in study and research of very advanced aerial spacecraft that is presently considered phenomenological." As a "test case" BAASS approached senior management at the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]], which "responded positively"; BAASS proposed ten scenarios, including announcements by the [[United States Air Force]] or other officials that unidentified aerial phenomena were real and extraterrestrial, for the university to study with regard to "the media, economy, department of defense, political groups, science, the general public, religion, public health and academia." The report states: "Dr. Smith and four others have expressed strong interest in submitting a specific proposal to BAASS by August 2009."[^13]
According to Basterfield's quotation, BAASS also sought proposals from [[Battelle Memorial Institute]], Southwestern Research Institute, the [[Center for American Progress]] and [[Sandia National Laboratories]] for a study budgeted at 400,000 dollars. The request for proposals states: "For the purpose of the proposed study we take the presence of such advanced exotic aerospace craft as a given." It asks whether "by 2050 there will be confirmation to the public by the U.S. government and its military authorities" of craft "beyond those of our own most advanced military craft," what format such a confirmation should take and what its effects would be on the military and "the U.S. body politic in the areas of commerce, religion, academia and so forth," and what steps could be taken to "soften the societal blow." As of the report date: "BAASS has not received a reply from CAP or SWRI regarding the RFP. Sandia National Laboratories volunteered that they did not have the expertise for the project and Battelle Memorial Institute declined the RFP."[^8]
According to Basterfield's quotation, BAASS also sought proposals from [[Battelle Memorial Institute]], Southwestern Research Institute, the [[Center for American Progress]] and [[Sandia National Laboratories]] for a study budgeted at 400,000 dollars. The request for proposals states: "For the purpose of the proposed study we take the presence of such advanced exotic aerospace craft as a given." It asks whether "by 2050 there will be confirmation to the public by the U.S. government and its military authorities" of craft "beyond those of our own most advanced military craft," what format such a confirmation should take and what its effects would be on the military and "the U.S. body politic in the areas of commerce, religion, academia and so forth," and what steps could be taken to "soften the societal blow." As of the report date: "BAASS has not received a reply from CAP or SWRI regarding the RFP. Sandia National Laboratories volunteered that they did not have the expertise for the project and Battelle Memorial Institute declined the RFP."[^13]
### Medical Effects Research
BAASS research included investigation of physiological effects reported by individuals claiming proximity to UAP, building on a database of cases with reported biological effects. [[Kit Green]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] neurophysiologist who had overseen the original SRI remote viewing program from 1972, contributed to this aspect of the research, applying forensic neurological analysis to reported injury patterns. The physiological effects research represented a continuity between the 1970s government anomalous phenomena programs and the AATIP-era research.[^9]
BAASS research included investigation of physiological effects reported by individuals claiming proximity to UAP, building on a database of cases with reported biological effects. [[Kit Green]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] neurophysiologist who had overseen the original SRI remote viewing program from 1972, contributed to this aspect of the research, applying forensic neurological analysis to reported injury patterns. The physiological effects research represented a continuity between the 1970s government anomalous phenomena programs and the AATIP-era research.[^14]
### Termination and Legacy
The BAASS contract was not renewed after its initial two-year period. The AAWSAP program transitioned to a smaller successor effort designated AATIP, directed by [[Luis Elizondo]] within the [[Pentagon]]'s [[Washington Headquarters Services]]. BAASS's accumulated research and case files remained with the program's intelligence customers. Robert Bigelow later sold Skinwalker Ranch to a new ownership group in 2016.[^1]
The BAASS contract was not renewed after its initial two-year period. AARO wrote that "AAWSAP/AATIP was terminated in 2012 upon the completion of its deliverables due to DIA and DoD concerns about the project."[^8] The AAWSAP program transitioned to a smaller successor effort designated AATIP, directed by [[Luis Elizondo]] within the [[Pentagon]]'s [[Washington Headquarters Services]]. BAASS's accumulated research and case files remained with the program's intelligence customers. Robert Bigelow later sold Skinwalker Ranch to a new ownership group in 2016.[^1]
### Department of Homeland Security Records, Case 2022-HQFO-00386
[[Marc Cecotti]] submitted a [[Freedom of Information Act]] request to the [[Department of Homeland Security]] on December 8, 2021 for "a copy of all records, including but not limited to e-mails, reports, memorandum, presentations, mentioning: 'Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program' or the acronym 'AAWSAP' 'Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies' or the acronym 'BAASS.'" with a record-search date range of January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012. The department's final response, dated June 20, 2023 and signed by Jimmy Wolfrey, Senior Director, FOIA Operations and Management, was assigned case number 2022-HQFO-00386. It states: "Following a search of the Office of the Chief Information officer (OCIO), we are granting your request under FOIA ... After carefully reviewing the responsive document, we have determined that it is appropriate for public release. The documents are enclosed in their entirety; DHS has claimed no deletions or exemptions."[^10]
[[Marc Cecotti]] submitted a [[Freedom of Information Act]] request to the [[Department of Homeland Security]] on December 8, 2021 for "a copy of all records, including but not limited to e-mails, reports, memorandum, presentations, mentioning: 'Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program' or the acronym 'AAWSAP' 'Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies' or the acronym 'BAASS.'" with a record-search date range of January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012. The department's final response, dated June 20, 2023 and signed by Jimmy Wolfrey, Senior Director, FOIA Operations and Management, was assigned case number 2022-HQFO-00386. It states: "Following a search of the Office of the Chief Information officer (OCIO), we are granting your request under FOIA ... After carefully reviewing the responsive document, we have determined that it is appropriate for public release. The documents are enclosed in their entirety; DHS has claimed no deletions or exemptions."[^15]
Cecotti posted the letter and its enclosure on [[X]] on June 20, 2023, writing: "According to Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, AAWSAP officials tried to find alternative locations to house the program and attempts were made to transfer it to the Dept of Homeland Security in 2011. I went after DHS records, this is what they found."[^10]
Cecotti posted the letter and its enclosure on [[X]] on June 20, 2023, writing: "According to Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, AAWSAP officials tried to find alternative locations to house the program and attempts were made to transfer it to the Dept of Homeland Security in 2011. I went after DHS records, this is what they found."[^15]
The enclosure is a single page headed "BAASS Goals 2011/2012." It has no author, date or letterhead on its face. Its text reads in full:
@ -116,71 +116,74 @@ Area 3
NOTE: Unclassified separate organization
1. Create an open organization for collection of data on AAV performance.
2. Liaison with civilian groups for AAV data collection.[^10]
2. Liaison with civilian groups for AAV data collection.[^15]
Basterfield transcribed the page on June 22, 2023 and set beside it the nine areas of work in BAASS's original proposal to the DIA as listed in *Skinwalkers at the Pentagon* (global data collection; contact with people who know of novel technologies; a laboratory program with Skinwalker Ranch as a "living lab"; oral history; use of Bigelow space platforms; existing DIA data; biological effects; remote sensing; expert analysis and synthesis), of which the DIA approved areas 1 to 4, 6 and 9 for the first year. His comments on the DHS page were: "Area 1:1. Analyze recovered AAV technolgy - to my knowledge, no such recovered material ever found its way to AAWSAP, and therefore none was ever analyzed"; and "Areas 2:1 and 2:2. These read very much like the current goals of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)." On November 30, 2023 he called it "a very overlooked BAASS document."[^11]
Basterfield transcribed the page on June 22, 2023 and set beside it the nine areas of work in BAASS's original proposal to the DIA as listed in *Skinwalkers at the Pentagon* (global data collection; contact with people who know of novel technologies; a laboratory program with Skinwalker Ranch as a "living lab"; oral history; use of Bigelow space platforms; existing DIA data; biological effects; remote sensing; expert analysis and synthesis), of which the DIA approved areas 1 to 4, 6 and 9 for the first year. His comments on the DHS page were: "Area 1:1. Analyze recovered AAV technolgy - to my knowledge, no such recovered material ever found its way to AAWSAP, and therefore none was ever analyzed"; and "Areas 2:1 and 2:2. These read very much like the current goals of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)." On November 30, 2023 he called it "a very overlooked BAASS document."[^16]
### Solicitation and award
The Defense Intelligence Agency published its request for proposals on August 18, 2008, listing twelve technical areas: lift, propulsion, control, armament (radio-frequency and directed energy), spatial and temporal translation, signature reduction, materials, configuration and structure, power generation, human effects, human interface, and technology integration. A DIA talking paper dated May 4, 2009 states that DIA "received only one bid, from Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), in response to the RFP," determined the proposal responsive, and signed the contract on September 22, 2008.[^12] A second DIA memorandum describes BAASS as "the only bid, headquartered in [[North Las Vegas]], Nevada." The November 17, 2009 talking points describe the award to "the sole bidder" as covering "unclassified research in 11 technical areas" with technical reports due July 31, 2009.[^13][^14] The solicitation number is HHM402-08-R-0211, and the awarded contract number appears on DIA's own forms as HHM402-08-C-0072.[^15][^16] Block 6 of the order form gives the solicitation issue date as September 1, 2008, block 8 gives an offer due date of September 10, 2008, and the order incorporates the BAASS proposal dated September 3, 2008; the DIA talking paper dates the request for proposals August 18, 2008.[^12][^15]
The Defense Intelligence Agency published its request for proposals on August 18, 2008, listing twelve technical areas: lift, propulsion, control, armament (radio-frequency and directed energy), spatial and temporal translation, signature reduction, materials, configuration and structure, power generation, human effects, human interface, and technology integration. A DIA talking paper dated May 4, 2009 states that DIA "received only one bid, from Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), in response to the RFP," determined the proposal responsive, and signed the contract on September 22, 2008.[^17] A second DIA memorandum describes BAASS as "the only bid, headquartered in [[North Las Vegas]], Nevada." The November 17, 2009 talking points describe the award to "the sole bidder" as covering "unclassified research in 11 technical areas" with technical reports due July 31, 2009.[^3][^18] The solicitation number is HHM402-08-R-0211, and the awarded contract number appears on DIA's own forms as HHM402-08-C-0072.[^11][^19] Block 6 of the order form gives the solicitation issue date as September 1, 2008, block 8 gives an offer due date of September 10, 2008, and the order incorporates the BAASS proposal dated September 3, 2008; the DIA talking paper dates the request for proposals August 18, 2008.[^17][^19]
The award document is a Standard Form 1449 (Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items) issued by the [[Virginia Contracting Activity]] at [[Bolling Air Force Base]] (issuing office code HHQ402, administered by ZD50). It names "Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, LLC, 4640 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas NV 89119" as contractor (CAGE 54JU7) and designates the [[NSA]] Finance and Accounting Office at [[Fort Meade|Fort George G. Meade]], Maryland as the paying office. Block 26 of this copy gives the total award amount as 21,948,810 dollars. The copy of the same Standard Form 1449 reproduced at the front of the modification P00001 package (block 3 award date September 22, 2008, block 6 solicitation issue date September 1, 2008) gives the total award amount in block 26 as 10,000,000 dollars.[^17] The contract type is firm fixed price, with a base year of September 22, 2008 to September 29, 2009 and an option year of September 22, 2009 to September 21, 2010; the order incorporates BAASS's proposal dated September 3, 2008. The line items are monthly status reports, project management plans for the tasks listed as 3.a.1 through 3.a.12, research reports for the same tasks, a "Comprehensive Integrated Threat Assessment," travel, and other direct costs; the unit prices and line amounts are redacted under FOIA Exemption 4.[^15] The statement of work (section 5.1) required the contractor to provide a work facility with a Top Secret facility clearance granted by the [[Defense Security Service]], and states that cleared facilities "are not required at contract inception."[^16] Modification P00001 refers to the order as dated September 22, 2008.[^17]
The award document is a Standard Form 1449 (Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items) issued by the [[Virginia Contracting Activity]] at [[Bolling Air Force Base]] (issuing office code HHQ402, administered by ZD50). It names "Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, LLC, 4640 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas NV 89119" as contractor (CAGE 54JU7) and designates the [[NSA]] Finance and Accounting Office at [[Fort Meade|Fort George G. Meade]], Maryland as the paying office. Block 26 of this copy gives the total award amount as 21,948,810 dollars. The copy of the same Standard Form 1449 reproduced at the front of the modification P00001 package (block 3 award date September 22, 2008, block 6 solicitation issue date September 1, 2008) gives the total award amount in block 26 as 10,000,000 dollars.[^20] The contract type is firm fixed price, with a base year of September 22, 2008 to September 29, 2009 and an option year of September 22, 2009 to September 21, 2010; the order incorporates BAASS's proposal dated September 3, 2008. The line items are monthly status reports, project management plans for the tasks listed as 3.a.1 through 3.a.12, research reports for the same tasks, a "Comprehensive Integrated Threat Assessment," travel, and other direct costs; the unit prices and line amounts are redacted under FOIA Exemption 4.[^19] The statement of objectives dated July 18, 2008 (section 5.1) required the contractor to provide a work facility with a Top Secret facility clearance granted by the [[Defense Security Service]], and states that cleared facilities "are not required at contract inception."[^11] Modification P00001 refers to the order as dated September 22, 2008.[^20]
DIA's response letter in case FOIA-00269-2018, which released a single six-page document, is dated June 26, 2023; its response letter in case FOIA-00349-2018, a request that cited contract HHM402-08-R-0211, is dated October 13, 2022 and covers nine documents (36 pages).[^15][^16] Two documents (13 pages) were withheld in full under 10 U.S.C. 424 and 41 U.S.C. 2102(a)(1) (contract source selection information).[^16]
DIA's response letter in case FOIA-00269-2018, which released a single six-page document, is dated June 26, 2023; its response letter in case FOIA-00349-2018, a request that cited contract HHM402-08-R-0211, is dated October 13, 2022 and covers nine documents (36 pages).[^11][^19] Two documents (13 pages) were withheld in full under 10 U.S.C. 424 and 41 U.S.C. 2102(a)(1) (contract source selection information).[^11]
### Payments, funding and modifications
A DIA contract status briefing dated December 16, 2008 for contract HHM402-08-C-0072 states that "equal amount monthly payments to contractor have commenced and allow for research subcontracts to be put into place quickly," that the technical approaches were "established, traditional techniques within intended scope of contract," and that the effort was "on track, on schedule, and within cost." It records that the first contract status brief was given on November 10, that Senator Harry Reid raised the subject in a meeting on November 13, and that BAASS submitted program management plans for the twelve technical areas on November 21, 2008.[^18]
A DIA contract status briefing dated December 16, 2008 for contract HHM402-08-C-0072 states that "equal amount monthly payments to contractor have commenced and allow for research subcontracts to be put into place quickly," that the technical approaches were "established, traditional techniques within intended scope of contract," and that the effort was "on track, on schedule, and within cost." It records that the first contract status brief was given on November 10, that Senator Harry Reid raised the subject in a meeting on November 13, and that BAASS submitted program management plans for the twelve technical areas on November 21, 2008.[^21]
A briefing of August 24, 2009 states that BAASS was "in full compliance," had delivered 12 project management plans and 26 detailed research reports ("twice minimum requirement") by June 30, 2009, that DIA should proceed with option year 1 "subject to available funding," and that 12 million dollars for continuation had been submitted in the fiscal 2010 defense budget. It records that the contracting officer would extend the contract through September 30 to use fiscal 2010 funds in option year 1 at no additional cost to the government, and that BAASS had indicated it was "willing to operate 'at risk' in option year 1 until FY10 funding arrives."[^19] A later briefing states that the 12 million dollars "also covers BAASS overhead, staff, facilities, IT, security, databases, etc."[^20]
A briefing of August 24, 2009 states that BAASS was "in full compliance," had delivered 12 project management plans and 26 detailed research reports ("twice minimum requirement") by June 30, 2009, that DIA should proceed with option year 1 "subject to available funding," and that 12 million dollars for continuation had been submitted in the fiscal 2010 defense budget. It records that the contracting officer would extend the contract through September 30 to use fiscal 2010 funds in option year 1 at no additional cost to the government, and that BAASS had indicated it was "willing to operate 'at risk' in option year 1 until FY10 funding arrives."[^22] A later briefing states that the 12 million dollars "also covers BAASS overhead, staff, facilities, IT, security, databases, etc."[^23]
The modifications released in FOIA-00349-2018 are:
Modification P00001, effective September 2, 2009 (signed September 4, 2009): extended the period of performance to September 30, 2009, revised the option year to October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, and exercised option year 1 "subject to availability of funds" under FAR 52.217-9, with a modification amount of 0.00 dollars. The contractor address on this form is 1899 W Brooks Ave, North Las Vegas.[^17]
Modification P00001, effective September 2, 2009 (signed September 4, 2009): extended the period of performance to September 30, 2009, revised the option year to October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, and exercised option year 1 "subject to availability of funds" under FAR 52.217-9, with a modification amount of 0.00 dollars. The contractor address on this form is 1899 W Brooks Ave, North Las Vegas.[^20]
Modification P00002, effective February 2, 2010: provided funding (amount redacted) for the exercise of option year 1, removed the availability-of-funds clause of P00001, and directed BAASS to "identify impacts to deliverables as a result of reduced funding for Option Year 1" and to identify "technical risks of reduced funding."[^21]
Modification P00002, effective February 2, 2010: provided funding (amount redacted) for the exercise of option year 1, removed the availability-of-funds clause of P00001, and directed BAASS to "identify impacts to deliverables as a result of reduced funding for Option Year 1" and to identify "technical risks of reduced funding."[^24]
Modifications P00003 and P00004, both distributed May 18, 2010: administrative changes concerning the contracting officer's representative.[^21]
Modifications P00003 and P00004, both distributed May 18, 2010: administrative changes concerning the contracting officer's representative.[^24]
Modification P00005, September 28, 2010: extended the period of performance from September 21, 2010 to December 21, 2010 under FAR 52.217-8, with no funding required.[^21]
Modification P00005, September 28, 2010: extended the period of performance from September 21, 2010 to December 21, 2010 under FAR 52.217-8, with no funding required.[^24]
DIA's October 30, 2009 memorandum lists 26 technical reports delivered in fiscal 2009. It states that eight reviews were performed by other authors listed in its table and five by outside reviewers, among them three research staff members at Sandia National Laboratories, and that "based on draft budget guidance, [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] apparently will fund the contract's option year one at $12 million."[^14] A 2010 memorandum to the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics]] states that the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations Act "included a $12 million add for the project," that twelve additional reports were produced and delivered, and that one of the 26 reports, "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering," was published in March 2010.[^14]
DIA's October 30, 2009 memorandum lists 26 technical reports delivered in fiscal 2009. It states that eight reviews were performed by other authors listed in its table and five by outside reviewers, among them three research staff members at Sandia National Laboratories, and that "based on draft budget guidance, [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] apparently will fund the contract's option year one at $12 million."[^3] A 2010 memorandum to the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics]] states that the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations Act "included a $12 million add for the project," that twelve additional reports were produced and delivered, and that one of the 26 reports, "Advanced Space Propulsion Based on Vacuum (Spacetime Metric) Engineering," was published in March 2010.[^3]
### Counterintelligence notation
Talking points prepared for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Senator Reid contain the entry "August 2008: DIA learned of counter-intelligence concerns with Bigelow Aerospace, the parent company of Bigelow Aerospace Advance Space Studies. These concerns do not appear to be directly related to Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program (AAWSAP)." The next entry reads "September 2008: DIA awarded the contract to the sole bidder." The document does not state the nature of the concerns. The talking points are attached to a memorandum signed by [[James Clapper|James R. Clapper Jr.]], [[Under Secretary of Defense]] for Intelligence, recommending against a Special Access Program; it states that the program manager and his leadership "saw no justification for Special Access protections based on the content of the FY09 deliverables or the anticipated FY10 work."[^13]
Talking points prepared for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Senator Reid contain the entry "August 2008: DIA learned of counter-intelligence concerns with Bigelow Aerospace, the parent company of Bigelow Aerospace Advance Space Studies. These concerns do not appear to be directly related to Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program (AAWSAP)." The next entry reads "September 2008: DIA awarded the contract to the sole bidder." The document does not state the nature of the concerns. The talking points are attached to a memorandum signed by [[James Clapper|James R. Clapper Jr.]], [[Under Secretary of Defense]] for Intelligence, recommending against a Special Access Program; it states that the program manager and his leadership "saw no justification for Special Access protections based on the content of the FY09 deliverables or the anticipated FY10 work."[^18]
The redactions leave the nature of the concerns and the component that learned of them unstated.
### Appropriation as described in DIA papers
The talking points state that "Senators Reid and Inouye co-sponsored a $10M earmark in the July 2008 supplemental" and that "a $12M earmark has been allocated to support the program in FY2010," and record that Reid met a DIA analyst "at a technical conference" in early 2008. They list that a Reid staff member, [[Robert T. Herbert|Bob Herbert]], made "multiple phone calls" between July and October 2009 to [[Marcel Lettre]] (listed as "PDASDILA"), asking about the status of the response to Reid's June 24, 2009 letter, and that DIA met Herbert on November 4, 2009, who "relayed the Senator's impatience."[^13]
The talking points state that "Senators Reid and Inouye co-sponsored a $10M earmark in the July 2008 supplemental" and that "a $12M earmark has been allocated to support the program in FY2010," and record that Reid met a DIA analyst "at a technical conference" in early 2008. They list that a Reid staff member, [[Robert T. Herbert|Bob Herbert]], made "multiple phone calls" between July and October 2009 to [[Marcel Lettre]] (listed as "PDASDILA"), asking about the status of the response to Reid's June 24, 2009 letter, and that DIA met Herbert on November 4, 2009, who "relayed the Senator's impatience."[^18]
### Foundations at the contractor's address
The [[Robert Thomas Bigelow Educational Foundation]] Inc (EIN 93-3962948) and the [[Robert Thomas Bigelow Medical Foundation]] Inc (EIN 93-3974535), both with a March 2024 [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] ruling date as 501(c)(3) organizations, list their address as 4640 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, Nevada, the contractor address on the 2008 order. Their Forms 990-PF for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024 report contributions of 62,000 dollars to each, all from Robert Thomas Bigelow, expenses of 105 and 8,158 dollars, and year-end assets of 61,895 and 53,953 dollars. The returns list Robert Thomas Bigelow as president and director and as treasurer and director, [[Donna Stauch]] as secretary and director, and Colm Kelleher and [[Jody Erickson]] as directors.[^22]
The [[Robert Thomas Bigelow Educational Foundation]] Inc (EIN 93-3962948) and the [[Robert Thomas Bigelow Medical Foundation]] Inc (EIN 93-3974535), both with a March 2024 [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] ruling date as 501(c)(3) organizations, list their address as 4640 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, Nevada, the contractor address on the 2008 order. Their Forms 990-PF for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024 report contributions of 62,000 dollars to each, all from Robert Thomas Bigelow, expenses of 105 and 8,158 dollars, and year-end assets of 61,895 and 53,953 dollars. The returns list Robert Thomas Bigelow as president and director and as treasurer and director, [[Donna Stauch]] as secretary and director, and Colm Kelleher and [[Jody Erickson]] as directors.[^25]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Lacatski, James T., Kelleher, Colm A., and Knapp, George. *Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insider's Account of the Secret Government UAP Program*. RTMA, 2021. Elizondo, Luis. *IMMINENT: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs*. Morrow, 2024.
[^2]: To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, Form 253G2 offering circular, September 29, 2017, biography of Dr. Colm Kelleher. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420417050693/
[^3]: Micah Hanks, "Colm Kelleher: AAWSAP and the Skinwalker Enigma," The Debrief, May 25, 2023, description of The Micah Hanks Program episode. https://thedebrief.org/colm-kelleher-aawsap-and-the-skinwalker-enigma/
[^4]: George Knapp, written testimony, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, hearing "Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection," Serial No. 119-44, September 9, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/George-Knapp-Written-Testimony.pdf ; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-119hhrg61718/html/CHRG-119hhrg61718.htm
[^5]: John Greenewald, The Black Vault, AAWSAP documentation archive. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/?p=16063
[^6]: Keith Basterfield, "More BAASS AAWSAP documents emerge," June 5, 2025. https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/06/more-baass-aawsap-documents-emerge.html . Lacatski, James T., Kelleher, Colm A., and Knapp, George. *Skinwalkers at the Pentagon*. RTMA, 2021, Appendix 1 (as described by Basterfield).
[^7]: Keith Basterfield, "There was a BAASS AAWSAP administrator before Robert Bigelow," June 28, 2025. https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/06/there-was-baass-aawsap-administrator.html .
[^8]: Keith Basterfield, "The BAASS 'Project Campus,'" July 7, 2025, quoting the BAASS Ten Month Report (July 30, 2009). https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-baass-project-campus.html .
[^9]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^10]: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, final response letter of June 20, 2023, case 2022-HQFO-00386, to Marc Cecotti, signed Jimmy Wolfrey, Senior Director, FOIA Operations and Management, and one-page enclosure "BAASS Goals 2011/2012," as posted by Marc Cecotti on X, June 20, 2023. https://x.com/MC05A/status/1671217484685246478 ; images https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzFa762X0AA4b7W.jpg (letter) and https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzFa76yXwAE4d8N.png (enclosure).
[^11]: Keith Basterfield, "Was the Department of Homeland Security keen to take on the AAWSAP?," June 22, 2023, https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2023/06/was-department-of-homeland-security.html ; "Lockheed Martin and BAASS," November 30, 2023, https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2023/11/lockheed-martin-and-baass.html .
[^12]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Talking Paper, "Senator Reid Visit to Director, DIA," May 4, 2009, released by DIA to The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/DR_Reid_Mtg_May09.pdf
[^13]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, final packet for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Senator Harry Reid, including the memorandum signed by James R. Clapper Jr. and the talking points. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/09117-Final_Packet_Presented_to_DepSecDef.pdf
[^14]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Info Memo U-10-2552CE to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, "Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program," 2010; and Info Memo U-429-09 of October 30, 2009, "Review of Advanced Aerospace Contract Deliverables." https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/U-10-2552CE-IM-ATL.pdf and https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/U-429-09-DWO-IM.pdf
[^15]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Standard Form 1449, order HHM402-08-C-0072, signed September 22, 2008, released with a DIA letter dated June 26, 2023 in FOIA-00269-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00269-2018-.pdf
[^16]: DIA letter U-22-8017/IMO-2 (FOIA) of October 13, 2022 and attached records (statement of work sections 5.1 and 9; modifications), FOIA-00349-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00349-2018.pdf ; document index with release notes: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/the-advanced-aerospace-weapon-system-applications-program-aawsap-documentation/
[^17]: Modification P00001 (Standard Form 30), effective September 2, 2009, with the attached copy of Standard Form 1449 for order HHM402-08-C-0072. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_FY10.pdf
[^18]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Contract Status," contract HHM402-08-C-0072, December 16, 2008. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/DI_Brief_2008.pdf
[^19]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Aerospace Contract Status," August 24, 2009. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_Status_24Aug09.pdf
[^20]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Contract Status," 2009 (undated), slide on option year 1 deliverables. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_Status_Briefing.pdf
[^21]: Modifications P00002 (February 2, 2010), P00003 and P00004 (May 18, 2010) and P00005 (September 28, 2010), contract HHM402-08-C-0072, in FOIA-00349-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00349-2018.pdf
[^22]: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Exempt Organization Search e-file data, Form 990-PF, The Robert Thomas Bigelow Educational Foundation Inc (EIN 93-3962948, object ID 202403379349100410) and The Robert Thomas Bigelow Medical Foundation Inc (EIN 93-3974535, object ID 202413379349100411), tax period ended January 31, 2024, in https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/990/xml/2024/2024_TEOS_XML_12A.zip ; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API records for the same EINs. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/933962948.json and https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/933974535.json
[^2]: Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean, "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program," *The New York Times*, December 16, 2017 (New York Times News Service text: https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2017/12/16/are-ufos-real-a-pentagon-program-tried-to-find-out).
[^3]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Info Memo U-10-2552CE to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, "Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program," 2010; and Info Memo U-429-09 of October 30, 2009, "Review of Advanced Aerospace Contract Deliverables." https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/U-10-2552CE-IM-ATL.pdf and https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/U-429-09-DWO-IM.pdf
[^4]: To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, Form 253G2 offering circular, September 29, 2017, biography of Dr. Colm Kelleher. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1710274/000114420417050693/
[^5]: Micah Hanks, "Colm Kelleher: AAWSAP and the Skinwalker Enigma," The Debrief, May 25, 2023, description of The Micah Hanks Program episode. https://thedebrief.org/colm-kelleher-aawsap-and-the-skinwalker-enigma/
[^6]: George Knapp, written testimony, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, hearing "Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection," Serial No. 119-44, September 9, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/George-Knapp-Written-Testimony.pdf ; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-119hhrg61718/html/CHRG-119hhrg61718.htm
[^7]: John Greenewald, The Black Vault, AAWSAP documentation archive. https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/?p=16063
[^8]: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, *Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)*, Volume I, 2024, p. 23 (termination) and p. 34 (Utah property). https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF
[^9]: Keith Basterfield, "More BAASS AAWSAP documents emerge," June 5, 2025. https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/06/more-baass-aawsap-documents-emerge.html . Lacatski, James T., Kelleher, Colm A., and Knapp, George. *Skinwalkers at the Pentagon*. RTMA, 2021, Appendix 1 (as described by Basterfield).
[^10]: Defense Intelligence Agency letter U-18-2148/FAC-2A1, January 16, 2019, enclosing the 38-title list of Defense Intelligence Reference Documents. https://archive.org/download/aatip-list/aatip-list.pdf
[^11]: DIA letter U-22-8017/IMO-2 (FOIA) of October 13, 2022 and attached records (statement of work sections 5.1 and 9; modifications), FOIA-00349-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00349-2018.pdf ; document index with release notes: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/the-advanced-aerospace-weapon-system-applications-program-aawsap-documentation/
[^12]: Keith Basterfield, "There was a BAASS AAWSAP administrator before Robert Bigelow," June 28, 2025. https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/06/there-was-baass-aawsap-administrator.html .
[^13]: Keith Basterfield, "The BAASS 'Project Campus,'" July 7, 2025, quoting the BAASS Ten Month Report (July 30, 2009). https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-baass-project-campus.html .
[^14]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^15]: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, final response letter of June 20, 2023, case 2022-HQFO-00386, to Marc Cecotti, signed Jimmy Wolfrey, Senior Director, FOIA Operations and Management, and one-page enclosure "BAASS Goals 2011/2012," as posted by Marc Cecotti on X, June 20, 2023. https://x.com/MC05A/status/1671217484685246478 ; images https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzFa762X0AA4b7W.jpg (letter) and https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzFa76yXwAE4d8N.png (enclosure).
[^16]: Keith Basterfield, "Was the Department of Homeland Security keen to take on the AAWSAP?," June 22, 2023, https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2023/06/was-department-of-homeland-security.html ; "Lockheed Martin and BAASS," November 30, 2023, https://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com/2023/11/lockheed-martin-and-baass.html .
[^17]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Talking Paper, "Senator Reid Visit to Director, DIA," May 4, 2009, released by DIA to The Black Vault. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/DR_Reid_Mtg_May09.pdf
[^18]: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, final packet for the Deputy Secretary of Defense's November 17, 2009 meeting with Senator Harry Reid, including the memorandum signed by James R. Clapper Jr. and the talking points. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/09117-Final_Packet_Presented_to_DepSecDef.pdf
[^19]: Defense Intelligence Agency, Standard Form 1449, order HHM402-08-C-0072, signed September 22, 2008, released with a DIA letter dated June 26, 2023 in FOIA-00269-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00269-2018-.pdf
[^20]: Modification P00001 (Standard Form 30), effective September 2, 2009, with the attached copy of Standard Form 1449 for order HHM402-08-C-0072. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_FY10.pdf
[^21]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Contract Status," contract HHM402-08-C-0072, December 16, 2008. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/DI_Brief_2008.pdf
[^22]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Aerospace Contract Status," August 24, 2009. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_Status_24Aug09.pdf
[^23]: Defense Intelligence Agency, briefing "Contract Status," 2009 (undated), slide on option year 1 deliverables. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/Contract_Status_Briefing.pdf
[^24]: Modifications P00002 (February 2, 2010), P00003 and P00004 (May 18, 2010) and P00005 (September 28, 2010), contract HHM402-08-C-0072, in FOIA-00349-2018. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/dia/AAWSAP/FOIA-00349-2018.pdf
[^25]: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Exempt Organization Search e-file data, Form 990-PF, The Robert Thomas Bigelow Educational Foundation Inc (EIN 93-3962948, object ID 202403379349100410) and The Robert Thomas Bigelow Medical Foundation Inc (EIN 93-3974535, object ID 202413379349100411), tax period ended January 31, 2024, in https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/990/xml/2024/2024_TEOS_XML_12A.zip ; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API records for the same EINs. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/933962948.json and https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/933974535.json

21
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Future Enterprises.md
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
- Future Enterprises
- Future Enterprises Inc.
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-15
tags:
- Organization
- CIA
@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ tags:
category: "Private Organization"
summary: "Washington D.C.-area computer training company associated with The Finders that provided CIA employee software training in the 1980s, cited by investigators as evidence of a direct CIA-Finders organizational link."
location: "Washington, D.C."
relations:
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 1980
end: 1989
role: computer training of CIA employees during the 1980s
fn: 1
---
Future Enterprises was a Washington D.C.-area computer training company associated with [[The Finders]] that provided software training to [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] employees during the 1980s. The existence of this business relationship was confirmed publicly in 1993 by CIA spokesman David Christian, who stated: "CIA sent some employees to a company called Future Enterprises, Inc. for computer training in the nineteen eighties." Christian denied that the company was a CIA front or that it was "in any sense owned or operated by anyone for the CIA."[^1]
@ -24,23 +31,25 @@ Future Enterprises was a Washington D.C.-area computer training company associat
[[Robert Garder Terrell]], a certified public accountant and former IRS appeals officer who served as The Finders' principal spokesman and financial manager, was associated with Future Enterprises as a computer trainer. The CIA's characterization of his role was "part-time accountant." Terrell's own accounts described computer training work.[^1]
Vice president Joseph Marinich confirmed in contemporaneous reporting that CIA employees received training at the company during the 1980s.[^1]
[[Joseph Marinich]], president of Future Enterprises, confirmed in contemporaneous reporting that the company had once had a contract to train CIA employees in computers. Marinich denied that he or his firm had any involvement with the Finders or acted as a front company for the cult on behalf of the CIA, and said that when the February 1987 reports broke he learned that his tax accountant, Terrell, was a member of the group.[^2] The copy of the U.S. News article enclosed in the FBI file attributes the statement about computer training to a CIA official who asked not to be named.[^2]
An MPD report filed February 19, 1987 by Sgt. John H. Stitcher Jr. described a CIA official confirming that the agency was sending personnel to "a Finders Corp., Future Enterprises, for training in computer operations." The phrase "Finders Corp." in this document represented a direct institutional identification of Future Enterprises as a Finders corporate entity, though the CIA's public position maintained the connection was incidental.[^2]
An MPD report filed February 19, 1987 by Sgt. John H. Stitcher Jr. described a CIA official confirming that the agency was sending personnel to "a Finders Corp., Future Enterprises, for training in computer operations." The phrase "Finders Corp." in this document represented a direct institutional identification of Future Enterprises as a Finders corporate entity, though the CIA's public position maintained the connection was incidental.[^3]
### Infrastructure Context
The physical infrastructure of The Finders' properties and the technical capabilities implied by the Future Enterprises training relationship were related in investigators' assessments. The warehouse at 1307 Fourth Street NE and the Glover Park duplex both contained extensive networked computer equipment with satellite dish antennas. [[Ramon J. Martinez|U.S. Customs Agent Ramon J. Martinez]] found [[Stuart Miles Silverstone]] inside a satellite-equipped computer room at the Glover Park duplex during the February 1987 raids. Telex messages on the group's systems referenced international contacts and included what Martinez described as communications relating to children in multiple countries.[^2]
The physical infrastructure of The Finders' properties and the technical capabilities implied by the Future Enterprises training relationship were related in investigators' assessments. The warehouse at 1307 Fourth Street NE and the Glover Park duplex both contained extensive networked computer equipment with satellite dish antennas. [[Ramon J. Martinez|U.S. Customs Agent Ramon J. Martinez]] found [[Stuart Miles Silverstone]] inside a satellite-equipped computer room at the Glover Park duplex during the February 1987 raids. Telex messages on the group's systems referenced international contacts and included what Martinez described as communications relating to children in multiple countries.[^3]
Whether CIA employees who received computer training at Future Enterprises had any operational contact with The Finders' broader activities through this arrangement has not been established in accessible primary sources.
### The 1993 DOJ Investigation
The Future Enterprises connection was a central element of the 1993 Department of Justice and FBI reinvestigation of The Finders, prompted by congressional pressure from Representatives Tom Lewis (R-FL) and [[Charlie Rose]] (D-NC). Reporter Paul M. Rodriguez of the *Washington Times* published the key investigative article on December 17, 1993, citing the MPD document identifying Future Enterprises as "Finders Corp."[^1] The *U.S. News & World Report* contemporaneous investigation also cited the CIA training relationship as one of three documented overlaps between The Finders and the intelligence community, alongside [[Isabelle Pettie]]'s CIA employment and [[George Pettie|George Pettie's]] work for [[Air America]].[^1]
The Future Enterprises connection was a central element of the 1993 Department of Justice and FBI reinvestigation of The Finders, prompted by congressional pressure from Representatives Tom Lewis (R-FL) and [[Charlie Rose]] (D-NC). Reporter Paul M. Rodriguez of the *Washington Times* published the key investigative article on December 17, 1993, citing the MPD document identifying Future Enterprises as "Finders Corp."[^1] The *U.S. News & World Report* contemporaneous investigation also cited the CIA training relationship as one of three documented overlaps between The Finders and the intelligence community, alongside [[Isabelle Pettie]]'s CIA employment and [[George Pettie|George Pettie's]] work for [[Air America]].[^1] A December 22, 1993 memorandum from [[Larry A. Potts]] lists Future Enterprises among the entities checked in the FBI inquiry, and the FBI's 1993 indices search lists Future Enterprises, Inc. among eight names with two index references.[^4]
The DOJ inquiry concluded without criminal charges. The CIA maintained its characterization of the training relationship as an incidental procurement arrangement.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." *U.S. News & World Report*, December 27, 1993 / January 3, 1994. Also: Rodriguez, Paul M. "CIA tied to cult accused of abuse; Justice probes links to Finders." *Washington Times*, December 17, 1993.
[^2]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service Reports, February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders. Also: FBI Vault, "The Finders," vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019).
[^2]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." *U.S. News & World Report*, December 27, 1993. Text as enclosed in FBI WMFO teletype dated December 23, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4. https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04
[^3]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service Reports, February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders. Also: FBI Vault, "The Finders," vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019).
[^4]: Potts, Larry A., memorandum dated December 22, 1993, and FBI indices search, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4. https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04

37
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Mellon Family.md
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@ -21,17 +21,17 @@ relations:
- type: member_of
with: "[[Paul Mellon]]"
reverse: true
role: "son of Andrew W. Mellon; major in the Office of Strategic Services in Europe"
role: "son of Andrew W. Mellon; major in the Office of Strategic Services in England, 1943 to 1945"
start: 1943
end: 1945
fn: 2
fn: 5
- type: funded
with: "[[Galileo Project]]"
role: "the Richard King Mellon Foundation granted 575,000 dollars on April 26, 2024 for a third observatory station in Allegheny or Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; Christopher Mellon 'was instrumental in stewarding this grant'"
start: 2024-04-26
fn: 3
fn: 11
created: 2026-10-03
updated: 2026-10-03
updated: 2026-10-15
---
The Mellon family of [[Pittsburgh]] includes the persons named below. A 2003 *Roll Call* "Heard on the Hill" item by [[Ed Henry]] on the hiring of [[Christopher Mellon]] by the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] described him as "of that Mellon family," a descendant of Judge Thomas Mellon whose "great-grandfather started the [[Gulf Oil]] Co."[^1]
@ -41,27 +41,32 @@ The Mellon family of [[Pittsburgh]] includes the persons named below. A 2003 *Ro
### Paul Mellon, David K. E. Bruce and the Office of Strategic Services
Ailsa Mellon married [[David K. E. Bruce]]; after the marriage Bruce "became a confidant and art adviser to his father-in-law," according to a review of Nelson D. Lankford's biography *The Last American Aristocrat*. The review adds that Bruce "began a diplomatic career through his friendship with William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, the founder of the OSS (later the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]])," and served as ambassador to France and Britain and on a special mission to China.[^4] Bruce's appointments from the [[United States Department of State]]'s Office of the Historian listing were ambassador to France (1949 to 1952), under secretary of state (1952 to 1953), ambassador to Germany (1957 to 1959) and to the [[United Kingdom]] (1961 to 1969), chief of the United States Liaison Office in China (1973 to 1974) and permanent representative to [[NATO]] (1974 to 1976).[^9] Paul Mellon studied at [[Clare College, Cambridge]] (M.A. 1938), enrolled at St. John's College in Annapolis after returning to the United States in 1940, joined the [[United States Army]] six months later, received cavalry training and a commission at [[Fort Riley]], Kansas, and "subsequently served with the OSS ([[Office of Strategic Services]]) in Europe, attaining the rank of Major." In 1945 he and his wife Mary founded the [[Bollingen Foundation]], which published works including the *I Ching* and closed in 1969; the National Gallery of Art states that the Mellons' interest in the work of [[Carl Jung]] had taken them to Europe in the late 1930s.[^2]
Ailsa Mellon married [[David K. E. Bruce]]; after the marriage Bruce "became a confidant and art adviser to his father-in-law," according to a review of Nelson D. Lankford's biography *The Last American Aristocrat*. The review adds that Bruce "began a diplomatic career through his friendship with William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, the founder of the OSS (later the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]])," and served as ambassador to France and Britain and on a special mission to China.[^3] Bruce's appointments from the [[United States Department of State]]'s Office of the Historian listing were ambassador to France (1949 to 1952), under secretary of state (1952 to 1953), ambassador to Germany (1957 to 1959) and to the [[United Kingdom]] (1961 to 1969), chief of the United States Liaison Office in China (1973 to 1974) and permanent representative to [[NATO]] (1974 to 1976).[^4] Paul Mellon studied at [[Clare College, Cambridge]] (M.A. 1938), enrolled at St. John's College in Annapolis after returning to the United States in 1940, joined the [[United States Army]] six months later, received cavalry training and a commission at [[Fort Riley]], Kansas, and "subsequently served with the OSS ([[Office of Strategic Services]]) in Europe, attaining the rank of Major." In 1945 he and his wife Mary founded the [[Bollingen Foundation]], which published works including the *I Ching* and closed in 1969; the National Gallery of Art states that the Mellons' interest in the work of [[Carl Jung]] had taken them to Europe in the late 1930s.[^2]
Paul Mellon enlisted as an Army private when the United States entered the war, joined the cavalry, and rose to the rank of major in the Office of Strategic Services.[^5] The [[Frick Collection]] research directory gives his Army service as 1941 to 1943 and his work overseas with the Office of Strategic Services as 1943 to 1945; the [[Yale Center for British Art]] states that after two years at Fort Riley, Kansas, he served in the Office of Strategic Services in England.[^6] The obituary calls Jung his friend and former analyst.[^5] The *Public Domain Review* essay on his collecting of William Blake states that wartime service "forced an end to the relationship with Jung," and describes a scheme from early 1945 "for Mellon to enlist Jung's help with psychological propaganda against the retreating German army." Germany's surrender made the mission redundant, and Mellon was back in [[Virginia]] by August 1945. The essay states that "almost immediately" afterward the Mellons established the Bollingen Foundation, under the direction of [[Jack Barrett]], with the goal of publishing Jung's collected works in English translation.[^7] Mellon also established the Bollingen Prize for poetry, the first of which went to [[Ezra Pound]] while Pound was under indictment for treason.[^5]
### Richard Mellon Scaife
[[Richard Mellon Scaife]], an heir to the Mellon banking, oil and aluminum fortunes and publisher of the *[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]*, spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" of an estimated net worth of 1.4 billion dollars on conservative causes and sat on the boards of the [[Heritage Foundation]] and the [[Hoover Institution]]. He was a major underwriter of the *American Spectator* magazine's "Arkansas Project" on [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s. He died July 4, 2014, at 82.[^5] The Mellon heiress [[Cordelia Scaife May]] met [[John Tanton]] in 1978 and gave 50,000 dollars to start the [[Federation for American Immigration Reform]], according to [[Nicholas Kulish]] and [[Mike McIntire]] of the *[[New York Times]]*.[^10]
[[Richard Mellon Scaife]], an heir to the Mellon banking, oil and aluminum fortunes and publisher of the *[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]*, spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" of an estimated net worth of 1.4 billion dollars on conservative causes and sat on the boards of the [[Heritage Foundation]] and the [[Hoover Institution]]. He was a major underwriter of the *American Spectator* magazine's "Arkansas Project" on [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s. He died July 4, 2014, at 82.[^8] The Mellon heiress [[Cordelia Scaife May]] met [[John Tanton]] in 1978 and gave 50,000 dollars to start the [[Federation for American Immigration Reform]], according to [[Nicholas Kulish]] and [[Mike McIntire]] of the *[[New York Times]]*.[^9]
### Christopher Mellon
*Roll Call* reported on February 12, 2003 that Senator [[Jay Rockefeller]] had hired Christopher Mellon as minority staff director of the Intelligence Committee, writing: "It's starting to look like [[Rockefeller family|the Rockefellers]] and Mellons are taking over the [[United States Senate|Senate]] Select Intelligence Committee." The same item said he had spent a decade on intelligence issues for Senator [[William S. Cohen]], followed Cohen to the [[Pentagon]] when Cohen became Secretary of Defense, and had until recently served under Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]].[^1] [[Politico]]'s [[Bryan Bender]] described Mellon in 2021 as "a scion of the [[Pennsylvania]] oil and banking family."[^6]
*Roll Call* reported on February 12, 2003 that Senator [[Jay Rockefeller]] had hired Christopher Mellon as minority staff director of the Intelligence Committee, writing: "It's starting to look like [[Rockefeller family|the Rockefellers]] and Mellons are taking over the [[United States Senate|Senate]] Select Intelligence Committee." The same item said he had spent a decade on intelligence issues for Senator [[William S. Cohen]], followed Cohen to the [[Pentagon]] when Cohen became Secretary of Defense, and had until recently served under Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]].[^1] [[Politico]]'s [[Bryan Bender]] described Mellon in 2021 as "a scion of the [[Pennsylvania]] oil and banking family."[^10]
Christopher Mellon was a paid adviser to [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] from 2017, per Bender, and its annual report for 2020 states he resigned from the advisory board in November 2020 (see the page on the company). On October 30, 2021 he became a research affiliate of [[Harvard University|Harvard]]'s [[Galileo Project]]. On April 26, 2024 the Galileo Project announced a grant of 575,000 dollars from the [[Richard King Mellon Foundation]] for a third instrument station in Allegheny or [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania|Westmoreland County]], Pennsylvania, stating that Christopher Mellon "was instrumental in stewarding this grant"; the press release quotes him: "It is exciting and deeply gratifying to see the Richard King Mellon Foundation continue to support cutting edge science here in Western Pennsylvania."[^3][^7] The foundation's EIN, as listed by [[ProPublica]]'s Nonprofit Explorer, is 25-1127705.[^8]
Christopher Mellon was a paid adviser to [[To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science]] from 2017, per Bender, and its annual report for 2020 states he resigned from the advisory board in November 2020 (see the page on the company). On October 30, 2021 he became a research affiliate of [[Harvard University|Harvard]]'s [[Galileo Project]]. On April 26, 2024 the Galileo Project announced a grant of 575,000 dollars from the [[Richard King Mellon Foundation]] for a third instrument station in Allegheny or [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania|Westmoreland County]], Pennsylvania, stating that Christopher Mellon "was instrumental in stewarding this grant"; the press release quotes him: "It is exciting and deeply gratifying to see the Richard King Mellon Foundation continue to support cutting edge science here in Western Pennsylvania."[^11][^12] The foundation's EIN, as listed by [[ProPublica]]'s Nonprofit Explorer, is 25-1127705.[^13]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Henry, Ed. "Unholy Alliance?" *Roll Call,* February 12, 2003. https://rollcall.com/2003/02/12/unholy-alliance/
[^2]: "Paul Mellon: A Legacy." National Gallery of Art press release, 1999 (Internet Archive copy). https://www.nga.gov/press/archive/mellon-legacy-1999.html
[^3]: "Richard King Mellon Foundation awards $575,000 to Galileo Project." The Galileo Project, Harvard University, April 26, 2024. https://galileo.hsites.harvard.edu/news/richard-king-mellon-foundation-awards-575000-galileo-project (Internet Archive copy).
[^4]: Review of Lankford, Nelson D., *The Last American Aristocrat: The Biography of David K. E. Bruce, 1898-1977.* *Kirkus Reviews,* August 19, 1996. https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nelson-d-lankford/the-last-american-aristocrat. The review gives the Donovan friendship and the ambassadorships.
[^5]: "Richard Mellon Scaife, 82, billionaire publisher." *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 5, 2014. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20140705_Richard_Mellon_Scaife__82__billionaire_publisher.html
[^6]: Bender, Bryan. "The Hidden History of How Washington Embraced UFOs." *Politico Magazine,* May 28, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900
[^7]: The Galileo Project. "The Galileo Project Welcomes Christopher Mellon and Luis Elizondo as Research Affiliates," October 30, 2021. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/galileo/files/mellon-elizondo_announcement_final_2.pdf (Internet Archive copy).
[^8]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search, "Richard King Mellon Foundation" (listed as "Richard King Mellon Foundation Dtd 01-01-47," Ligonier, Pennsylvania). https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/search.json?q=Richard+King+Mellon+Foundation
[^9]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. "David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898-1977)." https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bruce-david-kirkpatrick-este
[^10]: Kulish, Nicholas, and Mike McIntire. "Why an Heiress Spent Her Fortune Trying to Keep Immigrants Out." *The New York Times,* August 14, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/us/anti-immigration-cordelia-scaife-may.html (as read for the vault page on the Federation for American Immigration Reform).
[^3]: Review of Lankford, Nelson D., *The Last American Aristocrat: The Biography of David K. E. Bruce, 1898-1977.* *Kirkus Reviews,* August 19, 1996. https://kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nelson-d-lankford/the-last-american-aristocrat. The review gives the Donovan friendship and the ambassadorships.
[^4]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. "David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898-1977)." https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bruce-david-kirkpatrick-este
[^5]: "Philanthropist Paul Mellon Dead at 91," *Seattle Times*, February 3, 1999. https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990203/2942169/philanthropist-paul-mellon-dead-at-91----son-of-industrialist-used-fortune-to-contribute-to-arts
[^6]: "Mellon, Paul," Frick Collection research directory, https://research.frick.org/directory/detail/1001; "Paul Mellon: Founder," Yale Center for British Art, https://britishart.yale.edu/stories/paul-mellon-founder
[^7]: "William Blake and Paul Mellon: The Life of the Mind," *Public Domain Review*. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/william-blake-and-paul-mellon-the-life-of-the-mind
[^8]: "Richard Mellon Scaife, 82, billionaire publisher." *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 5, 2014. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20140705_Richard_Mellon_Scaife__82__billionaire_publisher.html
[^9]: Kulish, Nicholas, and Mike McIntire. "Why an Heiress Spent Her Fortune Trying to Keep Immigrants Out." *The New York Times,* August 14, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/us/anti-immigration-cordelia-scaife-may.html (as read for the vault page on the Federation for American Immigration Reform).
[^10]: Bender, Bryan. "The Hidden History of How Washington Embraced UFOs." *Politico Magazine,* May 28, 2021. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900
[^11]: "Richard King Mellon Foundation awards $575,000 to Galileo Project." The Galileo Project, Harvard University, April 26, 2024. https://galileo.hsites.harvard.edu/news/richard-king-mellon-foundation-awards-575000-galileo-project (Internet Archive copy).
[^12]: The Galileo Project. "The Galileo Project Welcomes Christopher Mellon and Luis Elizondo as Research Affiliates," October 30, 2021. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/galileo/files/mellon-elizondo_announcement_final_2.pdf (Internet Archive copy).
[^13]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search, "Richard King Mellon Foundation" (listed as "Richard King Mellon Foundation Dtd 01-01-47," Ligonier, Pennsylvania). https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/search.json?q=Richard+King+Mellon+Foundation

5
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/National Bank of Oman.md
View file

@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ summary: "Oman's first incorporated bank, founded in 1973, in which BCCI bought
start: 1973
location: "Muscat, Oman"
created: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-15
relations:
- type: owned
with: "[[W.J. Towell & Co.]]"
@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ In its chapter on BCCI and intelligence, where it also called the bank "the Bank
The same chapter recorded dealings between the bank and [[Bruce Rappaport]]: "The National Bank of Oman and its CEO, Case Zawawi, also did business with Bruce Rappaport." [[Jerry Townsend]], president of Colonial Shipping in [[Atlanta]], who said he had worked as a Soviet analyst for the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and was employed by Rappaport from 1981 to 1990, told the subcommittee that Rappaport had business relations in Oman with Zawawi at the bank, and that Rappaport once flew [[Zubin Mehta]] and the London Philharmonic to Oman to entertain the Sultan. The report cited a 1985 *[[New York Times]]* article on a [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] company, [[Tetra Tech]], "operated by a former CIA agent," which "helps manage several key Omani government agencies," and listed BCCI loans outstanding on March 3, 1991, to Omani borrowers, among them 8 million dollars to Oman Aviation Service, 13 million to Oman Flour Mills, 13 million to the Oman Development Bank, 16 million to Oman Building and Contracting Services, and 14 million to the Sultanate of Oman.[^3]
Jonathan Beaty and S. C. Gwynne wrote that Bruce Rappaport was involved with the National Bank of Oman, which channeled millions of dollars supplied by the CIA and by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan for the Afghan freedom fighters, and that the Bank of Oman was a major affiliate of BCCI, which held a large chunk of its stock.[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "About National Bank of Oman," National Bank of Oman SAOG. https://www.nbo.om/en/Pages/About-Us/About-National-Bank-of-Oman.aspx
@ -78,3 +80,4 @@ The same chapter recorded dealings between the bank and [[Bruce Rappaport]]: "Th
[^3]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 11, "BCCI, the CIA and Foreign Intelligence," section "Oman." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/11intel.htm
[^4]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^5]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 21, "Capcom: A Case Study of Money Laundering." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/21capcom.htm
[^6]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 311.

17
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.md
View file

@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ summary: "Roman Catholic see erected in 1808 and made an archdiocese in 1875, wh
start: 1808-04-08
location: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
created: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-15
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Michael Egan (bishop)|Michael Egan]]"
@ -43,15 +43,22 @@ The western part of Pennsylvania was separated as the Diocese of [[Pittsburgh]]
John Krol, born in [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] in 1910, was appointed archbishop of Philadelphia on February 11, 1961, was made a cardinal by [[Pope Paul VI]] on June 26, 1967, and retired on February 11, 1988. He died at his home in Philadelphia on March 3, 1996.[^2][^3]
### Movie Boycott of 1934
On May 23, 1934, [[Dennis Dougherty|Cardinal Dougherty]] called on the area's 800,000 Catholics to boycott motion picture theaters, and declared it sinful for them to enter one.[^4] Over 300,000 Catholics signed pledges to stay away from the movies, and ticket sales fell about 20 percent.[^4] Dougherty did not release anyone from the pledge, and he never officially ended the boycott.[^4] In June 1934 the [[Motion Picture Association of America]] agreed to stronger self-censorship and set up the [[Production Code Administration]], headed by the Catholic layman [[Joseph Breen]].[^4] The Catholic movie-review body that followed, the [[Legion of Decency]], grew in influence during the same years.[^4]
### Black Mass
In late February 1975 a midnight run of *Black Mass*, a film of a satanic mass by the Philadelphia filmmaker Ray Hoersch, later R.C. Horsch, was cancelled at the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] "after reported pressure by the Philadelphia Archdiocese," according to [[Art Carduner]] of the [[Bandbox Theater]] in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]], which screened it instead on March 1.[^4] Sixteen Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Jewish leaders of Philadelphia, led by Krol, signed a statement calling the film "a blasphemous attack on the religious rites held in sacred reverence by millions of Christian believers" and urging "believers of every religious conviction to use every moral force to discourage the showing of this film in the Philadelphia area."[^5] Horsch said in an interview recorded in 2013 that the archdiocese had the run cancelled after one screening.[^6]
In late February 1975 a midnight run of *Black Mass*, a film of a satanic mass by the Philadelphia filmmaker Ray Hoersch, later R.C. Horsch, was cancelled at the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] "after reported pressure by the Philadelphia Archdiocese," according to [[Art Carduner]] of the [[Bandbox Theater]] in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]], which screened it instead on March 1.[^5] The *Inquirer* of February 28, 1975 announced the midnight showing there.[^5] Sixteen Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Jewish leaders of Philadelphia, led by Krol, signed a statement calling the film "a blasphemous attack on the religious rites held in sacred reverence by millions of Christian believers" and urging "believers of every religious conviction to use every moral force to discourage the showing of this film in the Philadelphia area."[^6] The statement was issued on Thursday, February 27, 1975, and the *Inquirer* reported the next morning that the film had been reported booked at a center-city theater and one in Germantown, that the center-city house said the report "was a mistake," and that the Germantown theater said it was not yet known whether the film would be shown there.[^7] United Methodist Bishop [[James M. Ault]] of the Philadelphia Area was named among those opposing it.[^8] Horsch said in an interview recorded in 2013 that the archdiocese had the run cancelled after one screening.[^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Loughlin, James. "Archdiocese of Philadelphia," *The Catholic Encyclopedia,* vol. 11, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11793b.htm
[^2]: "Cardinal Krol laid to rest," United Press International, March 8, 1996. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/08/Cardinal-Krol-laid-to-rest/8760826261200/
[^3]: Weil, Martin. "Cardinal John Krol Dies; Philadelphia Archbishop," *The Washington Post,* March 4, 1996. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/03/04/cardinal-john-krol-dies/8d845f35-61a2-4b44-934a-0bdc39ca14df/
[^4]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/
[^5]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/
[^6]: West, Ashley. "Unknowing Ray Horsch, Episode 2: Performance," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 172, September 20, 2026, audio at 30:51 to 32:04, republishing interviews recorded in 2013. https://www.therialtoreport.com/2026/09/20/ray-horsch-3/
[^4]: "Dougherty's Movie Boycott," Catholic Historical Research Center, Philadelphia, February 6, 2019, citing Cardinal Dougherty, "Letter to Priests of the Archdiocese," May 25, 1934 (MC78-.1934.05.25). https://chrc-phila.org/doughertys-movie-boycott/
[^5]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/
[^6]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/
[^7]: "Protest Raised Here On 'Black Mass' Film," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173364962/
[^8]: "U.M. bishop joins those against satanist movie," Religious News Service, *The United Methodist Reporter* (Louisiana edition), March 14, 1975, p. 3. https://archive.org/details/louisianaunitedm1975unit
[^9]: West, Ashley. "Unknowing Ray Horsch, Episode 2: Performance," *The Rialto Report,* Podcast 172, September 20, 2026, audio at 30:51 to 32:04, republishing interviews recorded in 2013. https://www.therialtoreport.com/2026/09/20/ray-horsch-3/

221
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/The Finders.md
View file

@ -3,82 +3,125 @@ title: The Finders
aliases:
- The Finders
- Finders
- The Finders group
- The Finders cult
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-15
tags:
- Organization
- CIA
- ChildTrafficking
- FBIVault
- Tallahassee
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- WashingtonDC
category: "Private Organization"
summary: "The Finders was a Washington D.C.-based communal group led by Marion Pettie that came to public attention in 1987 when members were arrested transporting malnourished children, with a subsequent federal investigation abruptly closed after the CIA acknowledged an interest in the group."
summary: "The Finders was a Washington D.C. communal group led by Marion Pettie whose members were arrested in 1987 transporting malnourished children, and whose federal investigation closed after the CIA acknowledged an interest."
location: "Washington, D.C."
start: 1970-01-01
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Marion Pettie]]"
reverse: true
start: 1971
role: founder and Game Caller
fn: 4
- type: investigated
with: "[[Metropolitan Police Department]]"
reverse: true
start: 1987-02-05
fn: 2
- type: investigated
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
reverse: true
start: 1987-02-06
end: 1995-05-09
fn: 3
- type: investigated
with: "[[United States Customs Service]]"
reverse: true
start: 1987-02-04
end: 1987-04-13
fn: 2
---
The Finders was a Washington D.C.-based communal group led by former [[U.S. Air Force]] Master Sergeant [[Marion Pettie]] that came to public attention on February 4, 1987, when two of its members were arrested in Tallahassee, Florida while transporting six malnourished children in a van. The ensuing investigation uncovered extensive computer networks with satellite communications, international files referencing operations in multiple countries, and documents describing methods for obtaining children. A federal inquiry was opened, then abruptly closed after the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] acknowledged an interest in the group. The case was partially reopened in 1993 following congressional pressure, then closed again without criminal charges. In November 2019, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] released several hundred pages of investigative records through its online Vault repository under FOIA case number 1372462-0.[^2][^3][^4]
The Finders was a Washington D.C.-based communal group led by former [[U.S. Air Force]] Master Sergeant [[Marion Pettie]] that came to public attention on February 4, 1987, when two of its members were arrested in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] while transporting six malnourished children in a van. The ensuing investigation uncovered extensive computer networks with satellite communications, international files referencing operations in multiple countries, and documents describing methods for obtaining children. A federal inquiry was opened, then abruptly closed after the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] acknowledged an interest in the group. The case was partially reopened in 1993 following congressional pressure, then closed again without criminal charges. In November 2019, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] released several hundred pages of investigative records through its online Vault repository under FOIA case number 1372462-0.[^1][^2][^3]
### Origins and Structure
The Finders coalesced in the late 1960s around Marion Pettie, who had been hosting open-house gatherings at his Washington D.C. residence since at least the 1940s. The formal communal structure took shape around 1971 at Pettie's home in the Glover Park neighborhood.[^5] Pettie described no formal membership requirements: "Nobody signs anything."[^5] Members pooled finances into what [[Robert Garder Terrell]] called the "Invisible Bank," with some members contributing life savings to the communal fund.[^5]
The Finders coalesced in the late 1960s around Marion Pettie, who had been hosting open-house gatherings at his Washington D.C. residence since at least the 1940s. The formal communal structure took shape around 1971 at Pettie's home in the [[Glover Park]] neighborhood.[^4] Pettie described no formal membership requirements: "Nobody signs anything."[^4] A group of about 40 people lived in the Glover Park house, a Northeast Washington warehouse and a farm in rural Virginia.[^5] Hippies and peace activists had visited Pettie Farm, a 90-acre property in [[Madison County, Virginia|Madison County]], from about 1968, and four visitors between 1968 and 1973 recalled a leader in his forties, "a charismatic and wealthy man"; about 1982 neighbors saw the hippie followers replaced by men in business suits and women in professional clothes.[^5] Pettie originally based his teachings on the writings of [[Carlos Castaneda]], according to cult experts quoted at the time.[^5] Former followers called him "The Student," "The Stroller," "The Game Caller" or "The Pathfinder," and said he lectured at the Glover Park house on "the New Age way of living" and Eastern mysticism.[^6] Members pooled finances into what [[Robert Garder Terrell]] called the "Invisible Bank," with some members contributing life savings to the communal fund.[^4]
The group blended Taoist philosophy with New Age and Human Potential Movement concepts. Members were typically well-educated professionals who rejected conventional employment as an obstacle to what Pettie called spontaneity. Pettie functioned as the "Game Caller," a title the children in the group also used for him, directing members on assignments called "projects" that could range from mundane tasks to international travel, and exercising final authority over communal life.[^5][^6] His stated life philosophy, offered to journalist Eddie Dean in 1996, was "to know everything and do nothing."[^5]
Terrell told Washington City Paper that under the original arrangement money put into the group could be retrieved, and that Pettie later introduced what he called "The Last Man's Club," under which it could not.[^4] Terrell testified in a later suit over the group's partnership assets that the group "deteriorated during the two decades he was a member" and shifted "from an idealistic utopian community to more of a militarylike organization where following orders became more" central to it.[^4]
Beginning around 1980, children were raised communally rather than by biological parents. The group believed this practice replicated what members described as original Native American child-rearing. Children were not enrolled in conventional schools and were separated from their parents for months during group-organized trips described as educational adventures. Neighbors reported seeing dozens of children at the Virginia farm during summer periods, sometimes naked or appearing distressed.[^7]
The group blended Taoist philosophy with New Age and Human Potential Movement concepts. Members were typically well-educated professionals who rejected conventional employment as an obstacle to what Pettie called spontaneity. Pettie functioned as the "Game Caller," a title the children in the group also used for him, directing members on assignments called "projects" that could range from mundane tasks to international travel, and exercising final authority over communal life.[^4][^7] His stated life philosophy, offered to journalist Eddie Dean in 1996, was "to know everything and do nothing."[^4] Terrell gave the same formulation in his 2009 memoir, quoting Pettie: "Know everything and do nothing until your knowledge is called for by the people that you're loyal to."[^7]
The Finders' own communal life was described by Pettie to [[U.S. News & World Report]] in December 1993 as a communal, holistic-living and learning arrangement of some 20 members, who did freelance journalism, research and "competitor intelligence" for mostly foreign clients and worked, he said, for no foreign governments.[^8] Washington City Paper put the peak membership of the 1980s at nearly three dozen people.[^4]
Former members told the Washington Post in February 1987 that a number of the older members had left careers and families to join, that some members used up to 20 aliases, and that in the early 1980s Pettie's second-in-command died at the Glover Park house of untreated appendicitis, after which the group became more secretive and members stopped seeing relatives and friends outside it.[^6] Beginning around 1980, children were raised communally rather than by biological parents. The group believed this practice replicated what members described as original Native American child-rearing. Children were not enrolled in conventional schools and were separated from their parents for months during group-organized trips described as educational adventures. Neighbors reported seeing as many as a dozen children at the Virginia farm in summer, and a Glover Park neighbor recalled that the children often went without clothes in summer.[^5][^9]
### Properties
The group maintained several interconnected properties:
- 3918-3920 W Street NW, Glover Park, Washington D.C.: Two attached red brick buildings containing approximately eight apartments, renting rooms at five dollars per night. Women and children lived here. A duplex portion contained a satellite communications setup.[^5][^2]
- 3918-3920 W Street NW, Glover Park, Washington D.C.: Two attached red brick buildings containing approximately eight apartments, renting rooms at five dollars per night. Women and children lived here. A duplex portion contained a satellite communications setup.[^2][^4]
- 1307 Fourth Street NE, Washington D.C.: A 10,000-square-foot warehouse owned of record by Robert Garder Terrell. Men lived here. The space contained a large library, two kitchens, a sauna, a hot tub, a video production room, extensive computer equipment, and satellite dish antennas on the roof.[^2][^3]
- The Farm, Nethers, Madison County, Virginia: Approximately 90 acres near Shenandoah National Park and Old Rag Mountain. Neighbors reported vans arriving at night with children who were sometimes heard crying.[^5][^7]
- The Farm, Nethers, Madison County, Virginia: Approximately 90 acres near [[Shenandoah National Park]] and Old Rag Mountain. Neighbors reported vans arriving at night with children who were sometimes heard crying.[^4][^9]
Residents of [[Culpeper, Virginia]] told U.S. News in 1993 that the Finders had operated an office there from time to time, containing computer terminals and clocks showing different time zones around the world.[^8]
### Membership
The active membership roster circulated during the 1987 investigations listed: [[Ronald L. Alleman]]; [[Mary Grogan]]; [[Christian Herbst]]; [[Kristin Knauth]]; [[Theodore G. Reiss]]; [[Allen Schoen]]; [[Stuart Miles Silverstone]] (operating under the alias Steve Learner); [[Randolph Winn]]; and [[Steve Usdin]]. Former members included [[Patricia H. Livingston]], [[Carolyn Said]], and others who maintained contact with the group.[^2]
Robert Garder Terrell, a former [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] appeals officer and certified public accountant, served as the group's principal spokesman and financial manager. He was associated with [[Future Enterprises]], a computer training company that conducted business with the CIA.[^2][^3]
Robert Garder Terrell, a former [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] appeals officer and certified public accountant, served as the group's principal spokesman and financial manager. He was associated with [[Future Enterprises]], a computer training company that conducted business with the CIA.[^2][^3] Washington City Paper reported that Terrell left the group in 1991 and later testified in a suit seeking to liquidate the group's partnership.[^4]
### John J. Cox and General Scientific
An unsigned investigative memo of unknown provenance, circulated among researchers in the mid-1990s and described by journalist Wendell Minnick in the publication Unclassified (Winter 1995) as a document of "unknown origin" in which "some of the data has been independently verified," claims that in 1979 Pettie recruited John J. Cox, described as a computer specialist and founder of General Scientific, a firm specializing in classified defense contracts. The memo alleges Cox trained several Finders members in computer programming and communications, and took two or more of them to Costa Rica and Panama in 1980-81.[^11]
An unsigned investigative memo of unknown provenance, circulated among researchers in the mid-1990s and described by journalist [[Wendell Minnick]] in the publication Unclassified (Winter 1995) as a document of "unknown origin" in which "some of the data has been independently verified," claims that in 1979 Pettie recruited [[John J. Cox]], described as a computer specialist and founder of [[General Scientific Corporation|General Scientific]], a firm specializing in classified defense contracts. The memo alleges Cox trained several Finders members in computer programming and communications, and took two or more of them to Costa Rica and Panama in 1980-81.[^10]
A separate and partially contradicting account appears in MPD Intelligence documents included in the 2019 FBI Vault release, which describe The Finders as having "attempted to infiltrate General Scientific Corporation, Rockville, Maryland," framing the relationship as an infiltration effort rather than Cox recruiting into the group.[^3] The December 1993 Secretary of State query generated during the DOJ reinvestigation listed General Scientific Corporation, Rockville, Maryland as one of several entity names associated with the Finders.[^3] Cox appears in supplemental Finders membership documents listed as a former member, without aliases or biographical detail. He has not given any known public interview, and his specific role - whether as founder, employee, or point of contact - has not been established in independently accessible primary sources.[^11]
A separate and partially contradicting account appears in MPD Intelligence documents included in the 2019 FBI Vault release, which describe The Finders as having "attempted to infiltrate General Scientific Corporation, Rockville, Maryland," framing the relationship as an infiltration effort rather than Cox recruiting into the group.[^3] The December 1993 Secretary of State query generated during the DOJ reinvestigation listed General Scientific Corporation, Rockville, Maryland as one of several entity names associated with the Finders.[^3] Cox appears in supplemental Finders membership documents listed as a former member, without aliases or biographical detail.[^10]
### Marion Pettie's Background and Intelligence Connections
Marion Pettie was born in 1920 and grew up in Culpeper, Virginia, where his family had lived for ten generations. He dropped out of school after ninth grade. He served as a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and retired in 1956.[^5] His wife, [[Isabelle Pettie]], was a CIA employee; FBI Vault documents confirm her employment, though the precise dates cited across sources vary, with estimates ranging from approximately 1952 to 1961, and the Stitcher MPD report citing 1950 to 1971.[^3] She was listed as a staff stenographer but was issued passports to North Korea, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, travel that would not ordinarily be approved for an employee in that category.[^3] Pettie confirmed in a 1993 interview with U.S. News & World Report that his wife "once worked for the Central Intelligence Agency."[^4]
Marion Pettie was born in 1920 and grew up in Culpeper, Virginia, where his family had lived for ten generations. He dropped out of school after ninth grade. He served as a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and retired in 1956.[^4] Terrell's memoir gives the birth year as 1920 in Culpeper and records that Pettie left home at thirteen and changed his name as a teenager from Marion Buford Pettie to Marion David Pettie.[^7]
Pettie's son [[George Pettie]] worked for [[Air America]], the CIA proprietary airline that operated in Southeast Asia during the [[Vietnam War]] and was documented to have transported narcotics from the [[Golden Triangle]].[^4] George Pettie had broken contact with his father by 1985 and was operating a home inspection business in Northern Virginia at the time of the 1987 investigations. In a 1987 interview he described the circa-1971 Glover Park gatherings as "the beginning of a new life" for his father and followers.[^5]
Pettie's own account, as Terrell recorded it, described his Air Force service as chauffeur work for the Secretary of the Air Force, and said that General [[Ira Eaker]] offered him a chance to attend intelligence school in Germany.[^7] An anonymous three-page investigative memo circulated among researchers in the 1990s alleged that in 1946 Pettie served as chauffeur to General Eaker, then commanding general of Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean, and that publisher [[Charles Marsh]] subsequently arranged for Pettie to receive counterintelligence training.[^11] The memo further alleged that Colonel [[Leonard N. Weigner]] of the USAF directed Pettie to retire from active service and surround himself with what Weigner called "kooks," to provide cover for intelligence recruitment and infiltration of counterculture movements. Weigner died in September 1990; his [[Washington Post]] obituary confirmed a career in Air Force intelligence and the CIA.[^4] The memo's author is not identified.
Marion Pettie consistently denied CIA employment in public interviews, stating: "The reason the CIA wouldn't hire me is that they wouldn't have the control factor over me."[^5] He acknowledged studying intelligence agencies since the 1930s and described himself as Taoist by inclination. His open houses in Washington from the 1930s onward drew intelligence figures, diplomats, and journalists, though Pettie described these gatherings as self-financed social events rather than operational meetings.[^5]
His wife, [[Isabelle Pettie]], was a CIA employee; FBI Vault documents confirm her employment, though the precise dates cited across sources vary, with estimates ranging from approximately 1952 to 1961, and the Stitcher MPD report citing 1950 to 1971.[^3] She was listed as a staff stenographer but was issued passports to North Korea, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, travel that would not ordinarily be approved for an employee in that category.[^3] In his December 1993 interview with U.S. News & World Report, Pettie said that the CIA's interest in the Finders might stem from the fact that his "late wife once worked for the agency."[^8]
An anonymous three-page investigative memo circulated among researchers in the 1990s alleged a more formal intelligence relationship: that in 1946 Pettie served as chauffeur to General [[Ira Eaker]], then commanding general of Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean, and that publisher [[Charles Marsh]] subsequently arranged for Pettie to receive counterintelligence training. The memo further alleged that Colonel [[Leonard N. Weigner]] of the USAF directed Pettie to retire from active service and surround himself with what Weigner called "kooks," to provide cover for intelligence recruitment and infiltration of counterculture movements. Weigner died in September 1990; his Washington Post obituary confirmed a career in Air Force intelligence and the CIA.[^5] These claims are unverified and the memo's authorship is unknown.
Pettie's son [[George Pettie]] worked for [[Air America]], the CIA proprietary airline that operated in Southeast Asia during the [[Vietnam War]] and was documented to have transported narcotics from the [[Golden Triangle]].[^8] Pettie told U.S. News that his son had worked for "a CIA proprietary firm, Air America."[^8] George Pettie had not spoken to his father in two years and owned a home inspection business in Northern Virginia at the time of the 1987 investigations. He told the Washington Post that his father, then 66, retired from the Air Force in 1956 as a master sergeant and had done little formal work since, and that around 1971 Pettie gathered his followers at the W Street house: "That was the beginning of a new life for him." He said the group was like an extended family of people who had dropped out of professional careers, that he did not know of members practicing satanism or abusing children, and that he would not want to be a child there, "without a reliable day-in-day-out parent figure."[^5]
Marion Pettie consistently denied CIA employment in public interviews, stating: "The reason the CIA wouldn't hire me is that they wouldn't have the control factor over me."[^4] In the 1993 U.S. News interview he said the group had never been connected to the CIA, and that the group had never been involved in child abuse, pornography, Satanism, or animal slaughter.[^8] He acknowledged studying intelligence agencies since the 1930s and described himself as Taoist by inclination. His open houses in Washington from the 1930s onward drew intelligence figures, diplomats, and journalists, though Pettie described these gatherings as self-financed social events rather than operational meetings.[^4]
Pettie gave an account of his connection with [[Timothy Leary]] in which Leary sent people to his communal property in [[Virginia]] during the 1960s, and Leary gave Pettie LSD.[^4]
Marion Pettie died on October 24, 2003, in Culpeper, Virginia. Terrell's memoir dates his death to October 2003 and records that Terrell took Pettie the first draft of the book on his deathbed, where Pettie told him that what Terrell had written "sounds more like me than I sound like myself."[^7]
### The Tallahassee Arrest, February 4, 1987
At Myers Park in Tallahassee, Florida, on February 4, 1987, local police received reports of two well-dressed men with six visibly dirty and malnourished children living out of a van. The men were identified as [[Douglas Ammerman]], age 27, and [[James Michael Holwell]], age 23, both from Washington D.C.[^2][^8]
At Myers Park in Tallahassee, Florida, on February 4, 1987, local police received reports of two well-dressed men with six visibly dirty and malnourished children living out of a van. The men were identified as [[Douglas Ammerman]], age 27, and [[James Michael Holwell]], age 23, both from Washington D.C.[^2][^12]
The six children ranged in age from approximately two to seven years. They were described by police and medical personnel as bug-bitten, dirty, underfed, and on a raw food diet dispensed only as behavioral reward. The children appeared unfamiliar with modern technology including telephones, televisions, and toilets, and demonstrated unfamiliarity with the names of rooms in a house. When questioned about their origins, the children stated they were being taken to a special school in Mexico for brilliant children. They indicated they had been "weaned from their mothers" and were "under the control of the game caller." One child stated that the group would go to people's houses, babysit, and eat whatever was available and "do what those people wanted" but would not elaborate further.[^1][^2]
The arrest followed an anonymous telephone call to Tallahassee police about two well-dressed men supervising six disheveled children in a park. Customs records identify the van as a Dodge bearing Virginia plates, in which the eight persons appeared to be living, and one of the men produced a business card stating that its bearer knew his constitutional rights and intended to remain silent.[^13][^14] Holwell gave police the name Michael Houlihan.[^15] The six children ranged in age from approximately two to seven years. They were described by police and medical personnel as bug-bitten, dirty, underfed, and on a raw food diet dispensed only as behavioral reward. The children appeared unfamiliar with modern technology including telephones, televisions, and toilets, and demonstrated unfamiliarity with the names of rooms in a house. When questioned about their origins, the children stated they were being taken to a special school in Mexico for brilliant children. They indicated they had been "weaned from their mothers" and were "under the control of the game caller." One child stated that the group would go to people's houses, babysit, and eat whatever was available and "do what those people wanted" but would not elaborate further.[^1][^2]
Florida HRS physician Dr. Moorer found physical evidence consistent with possible sexual abuse in two of the six children. A subsequent psychiatric examination by Dr. Nahman Greenberg found "no signs of recent sexual or physical abuse."[^8] Items found in the van included a TRS-80 computer, twenty floppy computer disks, a telephone connection device, and a Chinese-English dictionary.[^2]
Florida HRS physician Dr. Moorer found physical evidence consistent with possible sexual abuse in two of the six children.[^12] Nathan Greenberg, an Illinois psychologist retained by Florida's social service agency, concluded that the evidence was insufficient to say whether the children had been sexually abused and found no evidence of recent physical harm; Tallahassee police then dropped their description of the group as a satanic cult while standing by their statement that two children appeared to have been sexually abused.[^16] Items found in the van included a TRS-80 computer, twenty floppy computer disks, a telephone connection device, and a Chinese-English dictionary.[^2]
Douglas Ammerman and James Michael Holwell were charged with misdemeanor child abuse; Holwell faced an additional count of resisting arrest without violence. Bond was initially set at $100,000 each, reduced to $20,000 on February 19. Five women identifying as the children's mothers arrived in Tallahassee from Washington around February 12: Kristin Knauth, [[Judy Evans]], [[Paula Arico]], Carolyn Said, and Patricia H. Livingston.[^8]
Douglas Ammerman and James Michael Holwell were charged with misdemeanor child abuse; Holwell faced an additional count of resisting arrest without violence. Bond was initially set at $100,000 each, reduced to $20,000 on February 19, and the Washington Post reported the two as held on a total bond of $10,000 by March.[^12][^17] Five women identifying as the children's mothers arrived in Tallahassee from Washington around February 12: Kristin Knauth, [[Judy Evans]], [[Paula Arico]], Carolyn Said, and Patricia H. Livingston.[^12] A Tallahassee investigator later told U.S. News of the D.C. police: "They dropped this case," adding that they had done so "like a hot rock."[^18]
The arrest ran on the front page of the [[Tallahassee Democrat]], whose reporter Jan Pudlow covered the case.[^19]
### Custody Proceedings and Outcomes
Florida state awarded temporary custody of all six children on February 5, 1987. On February 28, Judge Victor Cawthon awarded temporary custody of all six to the mothers pending a final hearing. On March 11, 1987, Cawthon ruled that three of the children be returned to their mothers unconditionally, while three older children were declared state dependents and placed under state supervision. Two mothers, directed by Pettie not to hire lawyers and not to respond to court proceedings, returned to Washington D.C. and forfeited their custody proceedings; their children became the state dependents. On June 1, 1987, a Florida judge sent two of the three state-dependent children to foster homes. The final disposition, as documented in press coverage, left four children returned to mothers and two in foster care.[^8]
Florida state awarded temporary custody of all six children on February 5, 1987. On February 28, Judge Victor Cawthon awarded temporary custody of all six to the mothers pending a final hearing. Terrell said on February 10 that the mothers did not plan to go to Florida and, "as of right now, we're not planning to defend ourselves."[^16] In March 1987 Cawthon awarded custody of the three youngest children to their mothers; the Washington Post reported that two others were declared dependent but allowed to remain with their mothers in Tallahassee, and that one child, whose mother was not present, remained in foster care.[^17] Skeptical Inquirer described the March 11 ruling differently: three children returned unconditionally and three older children declared state dependents, two of whose mothers, directed by Pettie not to hire lawyers or respond to the proceedings, returned to Washington and forfeited their cases.[^12] On June 1, 1987, a Florida judge sent two of the children to foster homes.[^12] The final disposition, as documented in press coverage, left four children returned to mothers and two in foster care.[^12]
All charges against Ammerman and Holwell were dropped for lack of evidence, and both were released on March 17-18, 1987.[^8]
Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds dismissed the charges against Ammerman and Holwell on March 17, 1987, on the motion of assistant public defender Michael Minerva that the evidence was insufficient; Ammerman and Holwell were released on March 17-18, 1987. The prosecution did not challenge the summary of the depositions, and Tallahassee police Lt. Roy Dickey said the arrests had been justified on the information then available and that a follow-up investigation indicated "the facts of the case were not as they seemed."[^17] Authorities told the Post that the reports of child pornography and satanic rituals were unfounded and attributable in part to confusion over the members' life style.[^17]
### The Washington Raids, February 5-6, 1987
The white van used to transport the children was registered to the 1307 Fourth Street NE warehouse. Metropolitan Police in Washington D.C. already had preexisting information from an informant about The Finders' practices. Search warrants were secured for the warehouse and the Glover Park property, and Virginia State Police separately raided the Madison County farm on February 6.[^2]
The white van used to transport the children was registered to the 1307 Fourth Street NE warehouse. [[Metropolitan Police Department|Metropolitan Police]] Detective James Bradley of the Intelligence Division had opened an investigation of the two addresses in December 1986 on information from an informant who described a cult called the Finders operating businesses from a warehouse at 1307 Fourth Street NE and housing children at 3918 and 3920 W Street NW, with "blood rituals," sexual orgies involving children, and an unsolved murder in which the group might be involved; on December 15 a detective had observed a clearing behind the W Street house with round stones gathered in a circle, which a former resident later said had been laid in 1972 as part of a garden.[^5][^13][^14] On February 5 Customs Special Agent Walter Kreitlow in Tallahassee asked Customs headquarters to run the names and van through the Child Pornography and Protection Unit database, and Bradley, who consulted Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Benner, obtained the warrants that day.[^13] The FBI's Washington Field Office opened a kidnapping case (7-1685) on February 6, and its own 1993 review of the file recorded that no evidence of child sexual exploitation, kidnapping or related crimes was observed or obtained in the searches.[^20] Search warrants were secured for the warehouse and the Glover Park property, and [[Virginia State Police]] separately raided the Madison County farm on February 6.[^2] U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova said that day that authorities were investigating "the crime of kidnaping" and that the inquiry was "not limited to that as the evidence evolves."[^14]
U.S. Customs Special Agent [[Ramon J. Martinez]] was the principal federal investigator at the Washington D.C. properties. His reports, filed February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987, constitute the primary documentary record of what investigators found.[^2][^3]
U.S. Customs Special Agent [[Ramon J. Martinez]] was the principal federal investigator at the Washington D.C. properties. His reports, filed February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987, constitute the primary documentary record of what investigators found.[^2][^3] A [[Walter Kreitlow|Customs Service report from Tallahassee]] dated February 12, 1987 documented the Tallahassee end of the inquiry.[^21]
### Warehouse Findings
@ -88,23 +131,26 @@ At the warehouse, investigators found:
- A large library including books on mind control and psychological operations
- A video screening room with production capability
- Sauna and hot tub facilities
- Files referencing international contacts and activities in London, Germany, the Bahamas, Japan, [[Hong Kong]], Malaysia, Africa, and Costa Rica
- Files referencing international contacts and activities in London, Germany, the Bahamas, Japan, [[Hong Kong]], Malaysia, Africa, and [[Costa Rica]]
- A file labeled "Pentagon Break-In" (see below)
- Photographs of unidentified individuals including nude images and images of children
- Photographs of unidentified individuals including nude images and images of children, among them one of a child "on display" and "appearing to accent the child's genitals" in Martinez's words[^13]
- Documents describing "explicit sexual conduct" between members
- Documents with what Martinez described as "detailed instructions for obtaining children for unspecified purposes," including methods described as: impregnation of female members, purchasing, trading, and kidnapping[^2][^3]
- A file identified as "Palestinian," files by member name and by "project" name that appeared to Martinez to be commercial operations under front names, and a large amount of data on child care organizations[^13]
- A video room that appeared to Martinez to be set up as an indoctrination center, training areas for children, an altar in a residential area of the warehouse, and many jars of urine and feces[^13]
- A photograph album, presented to Martinez by an MPD officer, of adults and children in white sheets in what Martinez called a "blood ritual" centered on the execution of at least two goats[^13]
Martinez documented that files contained printouts of messages transmitted through an MCI telex account to networked computer terminals across the United States and in foreign locations. Among the telex messages, Martinez identified what he described as a purchase order for two children in Hong Kong to be arranged through a contact at the Chinese Embassy.[^2][^3] No second investigator present at the raid independently confirmed this specific document in accessible records.[^8]
At the W Street duplex the telexes found with Silverstone, according to Martinez, included one expressing interest in "bank secrecy" situations, and other documents showed interests in high-technology transfers to the United Kingdom, terrorism, explosives and the evasion of law enforcement, together with a set of instructions that appeared to be broadcast over a computer network advising participants to move "the children" and keep them moving through different jurisdictions.[^13] Martinez documented that files contained printouts of messages transmitted through an MCI telex account to networked computer terminals across the United States and in foreign locations. Among the telex messages, Martinez identified what he described as a purchase order for two children in Hong Kong to be arranged through a contact at the Chinese Embassy there.[^2][^22] Washington Field Office agents who reviewed the file in 1993 recorded no evidence of kidnapping or child sexual exploitation from the searches.[^20]
Additional documents referenced bank secrecy practices, technology transfers to the United Kingdom, and currency movement across multiple international jurisdictions. Martinez's overall assessment was that the files indicated "international trafficking in children, high tech transfer to the United Kingdom, and international transfer of currency."[^2]
Additional documents referenced bank secrecy practices, technology transfers to the United Kingdom, and currency movement across multiple international jurisdictions. Martinez's overall assessment was that the files indicated "international trafficking in children, high tech transfer to the United Kingdom, and international transfer of currency."[^2][^3] U.S. News & World Report quoted the same Customs memorandum in 1993.[^23]
### The "Pentagon Break-In" File
Among the documents observed at the warehouse, Martinez noted in his April 13, 1987 report the existence of a file entitled "Pentagon Break-In." His report records only the title; he did not describe the file's contents, and his subsequent loss of access to the seized materials - after the FBI transferred jurisdiction and classified the case - prevented any follow-up examination. No investigator, journalist, or FOIA release has produced a description of what the file contained. It is unknown whether the title referred to a literal unauthorized entry, surveillance of Pentagon personnel, an exercise or game, or something else. The file is mentioned in secondary sources only as a notation from Martinez's memo.[^2][^3]
Among the documents observed at the warehouse, Martinez noted in his April 13, 1987 report the existence of a file entitled "Pentagon Break-In." His report records only the title, in a list of files that also included "Palestinian," and gives no description of the contents; the April 1987 report records that the investigation had by then passed out of Customs' hands.[^2][^3][^13]
### The Babysitter and Tutor Advertisement Method
Martinez's April 13, 1987 report documented information provided by an MPD officer regarding an intelligence-gathering method used by the group: "the group would respond to local newspaper advertisements for babysitters, tutors, etc. and then a member of the Finders would gather as much information as possible about the habits, identity, occupation, etc., of the family." Evidence of this activity was found among the warehouse documents, described in the FBI file summary as "intelligence files on private families." The specific newspapers targeted, the geographic scope, the volume of families targeted, and the period over which this was conducted are not established in available records. The 1993 DOJ reinvestigation did not examine this method independently.[^2][^3]
Martinez's April 13, 1987 report documented information provided by an MPD officer regarding an intelligence-gathering method used by the group: "the group would respond to local newspaper advertisements for babysitters, tutors, etc. and then a member of the Finders would gather as much information as possible about the habits, identity, occupation, etc., of the family." The officer's account was relayed to Martinez, who recorded that the use to which the information was to be put was unknown; the FBI file summary describes the material as "intelligence files on private families."[^2][^3][^13]
### Glover Park and Stuart Miles Silverstone
@ -112,105 +158,136 @@ At the Glover Park duplex, investigators found Stuart Miles Silverstone inside a
### Virginia Farm
Virginia State Police found at the Madison County farm what they described as evidence of cult or ritual activity. This characterization was subsequently disputed; photographs later described in some sources as showing ritual activity appear to depict livestock butchering. No criminal charges resulted from the farm search.[^7]
Virginia State Police searched the Finders' Madison County land on February 6 and over the weekend of February 7-8, and found goat skins, a goat's head, computer equipment and documents; spokesman Charles Vaughan did not comment on their significance. The affidavit supporting the search included photographs from a scrapbook titled "The Execution of Henrietta and Igor," showing three white-robed men and several children dismembering two goats, one captioned "Ben finds Henrietta's Womb."[^15] On February 10 state police dug up a 30-by-12-foot plot on the farm after tips that bodies were buried there and found nothing; Vaughan said "the investigation is becoming routine."[^16] A Washington educator who said he had worked closely with Pettie described the ceremonies as slaughter of goats in white robes, "a very Alice-in-Wonderland kind of fun," and a former member said the goats had been vicious and the group decided to eat them, the robes and staging being meant to impress on the children the seriousness of killing an animal.[^15][^16] A Culpeper lawyer said Finders members sent him profane letters and slashed his car's tires when he represented a former member in a divorce three years earlier, and that the harassment stopped after he obtained a court order.[^15] Virginia State Police described what they found at the farm as evidence of cult or ritual activity. This characterization was subsequently disputed; photographs later described in some sources as showing ritual activity appear to depict livestock butchering.[^14] No criminal charges resulted from the farm search.[^9]
### CIA Involvement and Investigation Suppression
On February 6, 1987, the FBI took over the investigation and took possession of computers and floppy disks seized from Finders properties. The FBI's Foreign Counterintelligence Division directed the Metropolitan Police Department to classify all MPD reports related to The Finders as Secret, and further directed MPD not to advise the FBI's own Washington Field Office of what had occurred.[^2][^3]
MPD Sgt. [[John H. Stitcher Jr.]] filed a report on February 19, 1987, titled "Re: Finders involvement with the CIA," marked Confidential and Do Not Disseminate. The report documented a conversation with a CIA special agent (name redacted in released versions) that included several significant admissions. When Stitcher asked whether the investigation was "treading on anyone's toes," the CIA agent responded "Sort of." The CIA agent stated the agency had "had someone working on the case since it first broke." The report confirmed Isabelle Pettie's CIA employment and documented that travel by at least one Finders member to Moscow, North Korea, and Vietnam during 1969-1971 had been conducted with CIA awareness and facilitation. Large sections of the released version of the report remain redacted.[^3]
MPD Sgt. [[John H. Stitcher Jr.]] filed a report on February 19, 1987, titled "Re: Finders involvement with the CIA," marked Confidential and Do Not Disseminate. The report documented a conversation with a CIA special agent that included several significant admissions. When Stitcher asked whether the investigation was "treading on anyone's toes," the CIA agent responded "Sort of." The CIA agent stated the agency had had someone on the case since it first broke in the news. The report confirmed Isabelle Pettie's CIA employment and documented that travel by at least one Finders member to Moscow, North Korea, and Vietnam during 1969-1971 had been conducted with CIA awareness and facilitation. Large sections of the released version of the report remain redacted.[^3][^24]
A separate MPD Intelligence Division report dated April 13, 1987 - distinct from Stitcher's February report and labeled Secret - concluded that "the Finders organization is and has been utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency as a disinformation service." This is among the most direct official characterizations in any government document of the relationship between the group and the CIA.[^3]
The report's text as quoted in a later FBI teletype also states that the CIA "apparently has a vested interest" in the group, and that the CIA had not contacted any of the investigating agencies while it was working on the case.[^24]
In late March or early April 1987, Martinez met with Stitcher, who told him the investigation "had become a CIA internal matter." A November 1, 1993 DOJ summary notes that Stitcher had been contacted by an unnamed party and "told him to step away from the Finders case." Martinez's April 13, 1987 report concluded: "The MPD report has been classified SECRET... FBI had withdrawn from the investigation... FBI Foreign Counter Intelligence Division had directed MPD not to advise the FBI Washington Field Office... No further information will be available. No further action will be taken."[^2]
A separate MPD Intelligence Division report dated April 13, 1987, distinct from Stitcher's February report and labeled Secret, concluded that "the Finders organization is and has been utilized by the CIA as a disinformation service spreading nonessential, non-critical information to various organizations throughout the United States and overseas." This is among the most direct official characterizations in any government document of the relationship between the group and the CIA.[^3][^24] The same report quotes its author as saying: "I do not think that child abuse was a planned tactic of this group."[^24]
Stitcher died on May 28, 1993, from septic shock, at age 48. He was working as a security guard at the Australian Embassy at the time of his death. His death came approximately five months before the DOJ formally initiated its 1993 reinvestigation, rendering him unavailable for interview. The FBI's 1993-1994 inquiry notes specifically record his death and his unavailability as a witness.[^3]
When Martinez went to the MPD on April 2, 1987 to review the seized documents, a source there who spoke to him on an "off the record" basis said that the MPD report had been classified secret, that the FBI had directed MPD not to advise the FBI's Washington Field Office, and that the investigation of the Finders had become a CIA internal matter.[^2][^25] The same source told Martinez that all passport data had been turned over to the State Department, which advised MPD that all travel and use of the passports by their holders, including travel to Moscow, North Korea and North Vietnam from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, was within the law and that no action would be taken; and that the FBI had withdrawn from the investigation several weeks earlier.[^13] Martinez's April 13, 1987 report concluded: "No further information will be available. No further action will be taken."[^25] A 1993 FBI memorandum records that Stitcher, by then deceased, had been contacted by an unidentified party who "had told him to step away from the Finders case."[^26]
Terrell later wrote that once the news broke, the CIA issued a public denial that the group was connected with it, while the press treated the denial with skepticism.[^27] Stitcher died on May 28, 1993, from septic shock, at age 48. He was working as a security guard at the Australian Embassy at the time of his death. His death came approximately five months before the DOJ formally initiated its 1993 reinvestigation, rendering him unavailable for interview. The FBI's 1993-1994 inquiry notes specifically record his death and his unavailability as a witness.[^3]
In 1994, the U.S. Customs Service proposed to remove Martinez from his position for what it described as improper disclosure of case information. The penalty was mitigated by letter of December 7, 1994 to a five-day suspension without pay and reassignment from Special Agent to Physical Security Specialist, GS-080-13.[^3]
### Future Enterprises and the Computer Training Connection
Future Enterprises was a private company that provided computer training to CIA employees during the 1980s. In a 1993 public statement, CIA spokesman David Christian confirmed: "CIA sent some employees to a company called Future Enterprises, Inc. for computer training in the nineteen eighties." Christian denied any CIA ownership of or organizational relationship with the company, characterizing the Finders connection as involving one member who worked as a "part-time accountant."[^4]
Future Enterprises was a private company that provided computer training to CIA employees during the 1980s. In a 1993 public statement, CIA spokesman [[David Christian]] confirmed: "CIA sent some employees to a company called Future Enterprises, Inc. for computer training in the nineteen eighties." Christian denied any CIA ownership of or organizational relationship with the company, characterizing the Finders connection as involving one member who worked as a "part-time accountant."[^8][^28] The copy of the U.S. News article enclosed in the FBI file attributes the statement about computer training to a CIA official who asked not to be named.[^8]
Robert Garder Terrell, described in sources as a former IRS appeals officer and the warehouse's owner of record, was that member. Vice president Joseph Marinich confirmed in contemporaneous reporting that CIA employees had received training at the company during the 1980s.[^4] An MPD report dated February 19, 1987 cited a CIA agent confirming the agency was sending personnel to "a Finders Corp., Future Enterprises, for training in computer operations," using language that directly identified Future Enterprises as a Finders corporate entity.[^4]
Robert Garder Terrell, described in sources as a former IRS appeals officer and the warehouse's owner of record, was that member. [[Joseph Marinich]], president of Future Enterprises, confirmed in contemporaneous reporting that the company had once had a contract to train CIA employees in computers. Marinich denied that he or his firm had any involvement with the Finders or acted as a front company for the cult on behalf of the CIA, and said that when the February 1987 reports broke he learned that his tax accountant, Terrell, was a group member.[^8][^28]
An MPD report dated February 19, 1987 cited a CIA agent confirming the agency was sending personnel to "a Finders Corp., Future Enterprises, for training in computer operations," using language that directly identified Future Enterprises as a Finders corporate entity.[^3][^28] Current and former members said Terrell's work for Future Enterprises was separate from the group's other activities.[^8]
### The 1993 Congressional and DOJ Investigation
The case was revived in 1993 when [[Henry "Skip" Clements]], a private consultant in Stuart, Florida, obtained copies of Martinez's customs reports. Clements, who had become involved in investigating child abuse networks following his child's victimization at the Glendale Montessori School in Stuart, provided the documents to U.S. Representatives [[Tom Lewis]] (R-FL) and [[Charlie Rose]] (D-NC). Lewis made public statements questioning whether the government had protected The Finders at the expense of the children: "Could our own government have something to do with this Finders organization and turned their backs on these children?"[^4]
The case was revived in 1993 when [[Henry "Skip" Clements]], a private consultant in Stuart, Florida, obtained copies of Martinez's customs reports. Clements, who had become involved in investigating child abuse networks following his child's victimization at the Glendale Montessori School in Stuart, provided the documents to U.S. Representatives [[Tom Lewis]] (R-FL) and [[Charlie Rose]] (D-NC).[^8][^29] Lewis made public statements questioning whether the government had protected The Finders at the expense of the children: "Could our own government have something to do with this Finders organization and turned their backs on these children?"[^8] U.S. News described Rose as chairman of the House Administration Committee.[^8]
Congressional pressure, combined with the prospect of a CBS 48 Hours segment that was in active preparation on the case and which was ultimately never broadcast, prompted the Department of Justice to reopen the matter. No CBS staff member or producer has publicly explained why the segment was killed. An October 26, 1993 memo from Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Keeney tasked FBI Assistant Director Larry A. Potts with a preliminary inquiry into the CIA interference allegations.[^3]
Congressional pressure, combined with the prospect of a CBS 48 Hours segment that was in active preparation on the case and which was ultimately never broadcast, prompted the Department of Justice to reopen the matter. No CBS staff member or producer has publicly explained why the segment was killed. An October 26, 1993 memo from Acting Assistant Attorney General [[John C. Keeney]] to FBI Assistant Director [[Larry A. Potts]] requested a preliminary inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse by a group known as the "Finders" and into what role, if any, the United States intelligence community had played.[^3][^30]
The Washington Times published what became the key investigative piece in the reopening: reporter Paul M. Rodriguez, a four-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] nominee, published "CIA tied to cult accused of abuse; Justice probes links to Finders" on December 17, 1993.[^3] U.S. News & World Report followed on December 27, 1993 with "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation" by Gordon Witkin, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez, which contained the interview with Marion Pettie confirming his wife's CIA employment and his son's Air America service, as well as CIA spokesman Christian's formal statement.[^4]
The Washington Times published what became the key investigative piece in the reopening: reporter Paul M. Rodriguez, a four-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] nominee, published "CIA tied to cult accused of abuse; Justice probes links to Finders" on December 17, 1993.[^11][^31] The article reported that a Justice Department special task force was investigating whether the CIA had used the group as a front organization to provide computer training to intelligence agents in the 1980s.[^31] U.S. News & World Report followed on December 27, 1993 with "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation" by Gordon Witkin, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez, which contained the interview with Marion Pettie about his wife and son, as well as CIA officials' description of allegations about links between the agency and the Finders as "hogwash."[^8]
The DOJ and FBI concluded their inquiry in late 1993 and early 1994. A November 16, 1993 memo from Tallahassee Police Chief Mel Tucker stated that no outside agency had contacted anyone in his department to influence the investigation.[^8] No criminal charges resulted and the case was again closed.
The FBI's Washington Metropolitan Field Office opened the matter as a preliminary inquiry (file 31C-WF-189911) captioned "Finders Group; White Slave Traffic Act - Sexual Exploitation of Children; Obstruction of Justice." Tallahassee Police Chief Melvin Tucker told FBI agents from the Jacksonville Division on November 16, 1993 that no outside agency, inside or outside the intelligence community, had contacted anyone in his department to influence the investigation, that the evidence had been returned to its owners or destroyed, and that he had been asked for all reports on the group by Representative Charlie Rose and by CBS News 48 Hours.[^20] A December 22, 1993 Potts memorandum lists Future Enterprises among the entities checked in the inquiry.[^30] In May 1994 the Criminal Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General asked the FBI to locate the confidential source whose information Detective Bradley used in his February 5, 1987 warrant affidavits, to find out what a CIA Office of Security file on a CIA staff employee who had been the agency's point of contact for authorities during the 1987 investigation actually contained, and to obtain the CIA's report of that employee's February 1987 conversation with an MPD detective; the field office contacted the CIA Office of General Counsel on May 13, 17 and 23, 1994, and was told the request would be acted on. A further lead sent to the Miami Division concerned a claim, passed on from Stuart, Florida, that unnamed individuals had entered the two Finders properties and "cleared out evidence" before the February 1987 searches.[^32] On September 23, 1994, FBI supervisors met Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin DeGregory and Criminal Division attorneys at the Main Justice Building; DeGregory said it did not appear that any additional investigation remained for the FBI, and noted that a Congressman, whose name is withheld in the released copy, had asked to meet him and that he would not do so until he had further reviewed the matter. On December 13, 1994 a Justice Department attorney told the FBI that DeGregory had completed his review and wanted further investigation, and the field office reopened the matter on January 27, 1995.[^32] All requested investigation but one reinterview had been completed by June 1994; that interview was done on January 30, 1995, and on May 9, 1995 the field office closed its file, recording that the matter remained open at FBI headquarters pending a Justice Department decision and that there were no outstanding leads.[^32] No criminal charges resulted.
Lewis introduced a resolution requiring the U.S. Customs Service to reinstate its Child Pornography and Protection Unit, citing data that child abuse arrests and convictions had fallen by half since its dismantling, though the resolution's fate in the 103rd Congress has not been established in accessible records.[^12]
Lewis's "Dear Colleague" letter of January 25, 1993, a copy of which is in the FBI file, asked members to cosponsor "the Lewis bill to reestablish child pornography unit," in the text a Concurrent Resolution calling on Customs to reestablish its Child Pornography and Protection Unit, which Customs had integrated into its Smuggling Investigations Division in February 1992. He wrote that Customs' own figures, for 1988 through 1992, showed "a dramatic and inexcusable decline": since the unit's peak year of 1990, arrests and convictions had been "nearly halved" (110 arrests in 1990 and 57 in 1992) and employee-hours had fallen to barely one-fourth of earlier levels (100,524 in 1990, 27,435 in 1992).[^33]
### Connection to John David Norman's Odyssey Network
The two men arrested in Tallahassee were found carrying an address book. According to FBI file notes cited in secondary sources, individuals named in that address book included one person appearing in an FBI Buffalo field office file concerning [[NAMBLA]] members suspected of murder connections, and two persons appearing in FBI Dallas field office file 145-0 relating to [[John David Norman]]'s [[Odyssey Foundation]] child prostitution investigation.[^1][^2]
John David Norman (October 13, 1927 - May 22, 2011) was convicted multiple times between 1960 and 1998 on child molestation and child pornography charges. He founded the Odyssey Foundation in Dallas in the mid-1960s as a front for procuring teenage boys for prostitution and distributing child pornography nationally. The address-book overlaps represent the primary documented connection between The Finders and Norman's network.[^9]
John David Norman (October 13, 1927 to May 22, 2011) was convicted multiple times between 1960 and 1998 on child molestation and child pornography charges. He founded the Odyssey Foundation in Dallas in the mid-1960s as a front for procuring teenage boys for prostitution and distributing child pornography nationally. The address-book overlaps represent the primary documented connection between The Finders and Norman's network.[^34]
### Intelligence Program Context
The group's formation between 1969 and 1971 falls within the operational period of [[Operation CHAOS]] (codename MHCHAOS), the CIA domestic counterintelligence program run from August 1967 to March 1974 under the Counterintelligence Staff headed by [[James Angleton]]. CHAOS used civilian infiltrators through Project MERRIMAC to penetrate antiwar and counterculture organizations, and a separate mechanism to compile dossiers on tens of thousands of Americans connected to dissident groups. Most CHAOS records were destroyed under DCI Helms's orders in 1973. No surviving primary source directly names The Finders in CHAOS operational files.[^3][^14]
The group's formation between 1969 and 1971 falls within the operational period of [[Operation CHAOS]] (codename MHCHAOS), the CIA domestic counterintelligence program run from August 1967 to March 1974 under the Counterintelligence Staff headed by [[James Angleton]]. CHAOS used civilian infiltrators through Project MERRIMAC to penetrate antiwar and counterculture organizations, and a separate mechanism to compile dossiers on tens of thousands of Americans connected to dissident groups. Most CHAOS records were destroyed under DCI Helms's orders in 1973. No surviving primary source directly names The Finders in CHAOS operational files.[^3][^35]
The April 13, 1987 MPD Intelligence Division report's characterization of the group as a CIA "disinformation service" describes a function consistent with CHAOS-era methodology: a civilian group embedded within the counterculture milieu, gathering intelligence on private families through placement of tutor and babysitter advertisements, and maintaining a layer of separation from official CIA operations. The group's ideological profile placed it squarely within the demographic CHAOS targeted. Its formation timing coincides with CHAOS at its 1971 peak staffing of 52 personnel.[^3][^14]
The April 13, 1987 MPD Intelligence Division report's characterization of the group as a CIA "disinformation service" describes a function consistent with CHAOS-era methodology: a civilian group embedded within the counterculture milieu, gathering intelligence on private families through placement of tutor and babysitter advertisements, and maintaining a layer of separation from official CIA operations. The group's ideological profile placed it squarely within the demographic CHAOS targeted. Its formation timing coincides with CHAOS at its 1971 peak staffing of 52 personnel.[^3][^35]
One element complicates a straightforward CHAOS attribution: the entity that classified the 1987 MPD investigation as Secret and directed MPD not to brief the FBI's Washington Field Office was the FBI's Foreign Counterintelligence Division, not a domestic surveillance unit. This suggests the CIA framed whatever relationship it had with the group as a foreign rather than domestic counterintelligence matter, which would place it in a different institutional compartment from CHAOS proper.[^3]
The group also operated through the same years as [[Project MKUltra]] and its successor programs. The warehouse library's mind control literature, the communal behavioral conditioning structure the group called "projects," and the documented separation of children from their parents for months at a time have been noted by researchers examining the case in relation to documented CIA behavioral modification research. MKUltra Subproject 136, funded in August 1961, explicitly sought methods to induce dissociative states in children through drugs and hypnosis. No primary source links The Finders to any specific MKUltra subproject.[^15]
The group also operated through the same years as [[Project MKUltra]] and its successor programs. The warehouse library's mind control literature, the communal behavioral conditioning structure the group called "projects," and the documented separation of children from their parents for months at a time have been noted by researchers examining the case in relation to documented CIA behavioral modification research. MKUltra Subproject 136, funded in August 1961, was a project titled "Experimental Analysis of Extrasensory Perception" whose proposal stated that an attempt would be made to induce dissociative states, from abaissement de niveau mental to multiple personality in so-called mediums, using hypnosis; the writer S. Dovey wrote that it sought to induce dissociative states in children through drugs and hypnosis.[^36] No primary source links The Finders to any specific MKUltra subproject.[^36]
### Ted Gunderson's Investigation
[[Ted Gunderson]], a former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles, Memphis, and Dallas field offices who retired from the bureau in 1979, obtained copies of the Martinez customs reports and made them widely available before any official release, hosting them on his website and distributing them to journalists and researchers. Gunderson authored a pamphlet titled "U.S. Customs Service Report on the Finders" and made public assertions regarding CIA orchestration of child trafficking networks.[^3] He died on July 31, 2011.
[[Ted Gunderson]], a former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles, Memphis, and Dallas field offices who retired from the bureau in 1979, obtained copies of the Martinez customs reports and made them widely available before any official release, hosting them on his website and distributing them to journalists and researchers. Gunderson authored a pamphlet titled "U.S. Customs Service Report on the Finders" and made public assertions regarding CIA orchestration of child trafficking networks.[^2][^37] He died on July 31, 2011.
### Connections Drawn in Secondary Literature
Nebraska attorney and former state senator [[John DeCamp]], who published "The Franklin Cover-Up" (1992) about the [[Franklin Credit Union Scandal]] - a separate and contemporaneous case involving allegations of a child prostitution network connected to Omaha credit union operator [[Lawrence King Jr.]] - drew explicit connections between the Franklin case and The Finders in the second edition of his book (1996), characterizing both as CIA-connected child exploitation networks. Nick Bryant's "The Franklin Scandal" (Trine Day, 2009) similarly opens with a prologue titled "The Finders of Lost Children" and incorporates U.S. Customs documentation from the Finders investigation as supporting evidence.
Nebraska attorney and former state senator [[John DeCamp]], who published "The Franklin Cover-Up" (1992) about the [[Franklin Credit Union Scandal]], a separate and contemporaneous case involving allegations of a child prostitution network connected to Omaha credit union operator [[Lawrence King Jr.]], drew explicit connections between the Franklin case and The Finders in the second edition of his book (1996), characterizing both as CIA-connected child exploitation networks. Nick Bryant's "The Franklin Scandal" (Trine Day, 2009) similarly opens with a prologue titled "The Finders of Lost Children" and incorporates U.S. Customs documentation from the Finders investigation as supporting evidence.[^38]
No publicly available government record establishes a documented operational or investigative link between the Franklin Credit Union investigation and the Finders investigation. The two were run as separate FBI matters. The "CIA internal matter" termination documented in the 1987 U.S. Customs Service report regarding The Finders has no documented equivalent in the Franklin investigation's public record. DeCamp's and Bryant's connections between the two cases are secondary-source assertions, not corroborated in the documentary evidence available from either case.[^16]
No publicly available government record establishes a documented operational or investigative link between the Franklin Credit Union investigation and the Finders investigation. The two were run as separate FBI matters. The "CIA internal matter" termination documented in the 1987 U.S. Customs Service report regarding The Finders has no documented equivalent in the Franklin investigation's public record. DeCamp's and Bryant's connections between the two cases are secondary-source assertions, not corroborated in the documentary evidence available from either case.[^38]
### Media Coverage and the Satanic Panic Context
Initial coverage broke in the Washington Post on February 7, 1987, through a series of articles by Marc Fisher and John Mintz describing cult rituals and the warehouse contents.[^1] D.C. Police Chief Maurice T. Turner announced on February 10, 1987 that police had found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.[^1]
Initial coverage broke in the Washington Post on February 7, 1987, in an article by Saundra Saperstein and Victoria Churchville quoting court documents that described the Finders as a "cult" that allegedly conducted "brainwashing" and used children "in rituals," and in a companion profile by Marc Fisher and John Mintz; Mintz and Fisher followed on Sunday, February 8, with "Ex-Finders Tell of Games, Complex Beliefs."[^5][^6][^14] D.C. Police Chief [[Maurice T. Turner]] told a news conference on Monday, February 9, 1987 that the Metropolitan Police Department had "not uncovered any evidence of criminal wrongdoing by members of the group," while adding that seized documents were still under review.[^1][^15] The Sunday Washington Post ran two Page One stories on the Finders in February 1987, one headlined "Cult Member Defends 2 Men in Child Abuse Case," in which Terrell told the paper: "We are all in a state right now where we are afraid. We've been made almost dysfunctional by the reports."[^39]
The case emerged during the height of what social scientists later termed the "satanic panic," a period characterized by widespread allegations of ritual abuse at daycare centers and by organized cults. The FBI's own supervisory special agent Kenneth Lanning, who had written the bureau's primary analytical report on child sexual exploitation, published a 1992 monograph concluding that there was no credible evidence for organized satanic cult abuse as a phenomenon. This institutional position, circulated widely within law enforcement before the 1993 reopening of the Finders case, shaped how federal investigators framed the evidence.[^13] Washington City Paper journalist Eddie Dean conducted the definitive long-form profile of Pettie in a May 24, 1996 piece titled "Finders' Keeper," based on direct interview with Pettie in Culpeper, Virginia. It remains the most substantial journalistic account based on primary access to the group's founder.[^5]
The case emerged during the height of what social scientists later termed the "satanic panic," a period characterized by widespread allegations of ritual abuse at daycare centers and by organized cults. The FBI's own supervisory special agent [[Kenneth Lanning]], who had written the bureau's primary analytical report on child sexual exploitation, published a January 1992 monograph in which he wrote that allegations of murder and abuse as part of organized satanic cults had "little or no corroborative evidence."[^40] This institutional position, circulated widely within law enforcement before the 1993 reopening of the Finders case, shaped how federal investigators framed the evidence.[^40] Washington City Paper journalist Eddie Dean conducted a long-form profile of Pettie in a May 24, 1996 piece titled "Finders' Keeper," based on direct interview with Pettie in Culpeper, Virginia. It remains the most substantial journalistic account based on primary access to the group's founder. Minnick, the author of the Unclassified piece, told Dean: "The Finders would love you to think they're a CIA front, but I would say they're really nothing."[^4][^41]
### The 2019 FBI Document Release
In November 2019, the FBI released several hundred pages of documents about The Finders through its FBI Vault online repository (vault.fbi.gov/the-finders), organized in four parts, under FOIA case number 1372462-0. The FBI described The Finders as among the most-requested topics in its Vault system.[^3]
In November 2019, the FBI released several hundred pages of documents about The Finders through its FBI Vault online repository (vault.fbi.gov/the-finders), organized in four parts, under FOIA case number 1372462-0. The FBI described The Finders as among the most-requested topics in its Vault system.[^3] The CIA's own FOIA case log for April 2019 lists under F-2019-01304 a request for "Records on 'The Finders,' cult based out of Culpeper, VA, led by Marion David Pettie," dated April 8, 2019.[^42] A separate June 10, 2013 request to the CIA for "all records regarding The Finders cult" was declined in a final response of August 6, 2013 (F-2013-01931), which stated that the Agency's mission is foreign intelligence, that Section 103(d)(1) of the National Security Act gives it "no police, subpoena, law-enforcement powers, or internal security functions," and that Executive Order 12333 places domestic intelligence collection generally with the FBI.[^43]
The released documents confirmed the classification of MPD reports as Secret, the direction not to brief the FBI's own Washington Field Office, the Stitcher CIA report, and the April 13, 1987 MPD Intelligence Division conclusion that the group had been "utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency as a disinformation service." They did not resolve whether the CIA maintained a formal operational relationship beyond the Future Enterprises training connection, whether the Hong Kong telex represented a genuine trafficking order, or whether child trafficking as described in Martinez's reports occurred.[^3][^8]
U.S. News also reported in December 1993 that law enforcement sources said some of the Finders were listed in the FBI's classified counterintelligence files.[^44] The released documents confirmed the classification of MPD reports as Secret, the direction not to brief the FBI's own Washington Field Office, the Stitcher CIA report, and the April 13, 1987 MPD Intelligence Division conclusion that the group had been "utilized by the CIA as a disinformation service." They did not resolve whether the CIA maintained a formal operational relationship beyond the Future Enterprises training connection, whether the Hong Kong telex represented a genuine trafficking order, or whether child trafficking as described in Martinez's reports occurred.[^3][^12]
When the FBI assembled its released file, the documents included diagrams by Ted Gunderson relating to the McMartin preschool tunnel allegations, placed near the beginning of the first document batch alongside more substantive investigative materials including the Martinez customs reports and the Stitcher MPD report. The placement prompted commentary among researchers about whether the sequencing was incidental or designed to contextualize the Finders material within the broader satanic panic framework.[^3]
### Dissolution and Continued Activity
On March 11, 1987, Robert Garder Terrell announced that The Finders were "breaking up" after approximately seventeen years. He gave a follow-up statement to the [[Associated Press]] on March 23, 1987 confirming dissolution: "You won't hear from the Finders again until the year 2000."[^5][^2]
On March 11, 1987, Robert Garder Terrell announced that The Finders were "breaking up" after approximately seventeen years. He gave a follow-up statement to the [[Associated Press]] on March 23, 1987 confirming dissolution: "You won't hear from the Finders again until the year 2000."[^2][^4]
On October 22, 1991, MPD Intelligence officers observed activity at the former Fourth Street NE warehouse, which the group did not sell until 1994. Officers documented "numerous well-dressed males, who operate rental cars and expensive luxury type models" entering the building at late-night and early-morning hours. Officers also observed adult males with a young male child entering the building. A van operator stopped by officers claimed to have "baby sat children for diplomats" and acknowledged the neighborhood was "not fit for babysitting activity." The MPD report, included in the FBI Vault release (pages 147-148 of the released materials), noted "possible child pornography." No follow-up federal investigation of this incident was documented in accessible records.[^3]
On October 22, 1991, MPD Intelligence officers observed activity at the former Fourth Street NE warehouse, which the group did not sell until 1994. Officers documented "numerous well-dressed males, who operate rental cars and expensive luxury type models" entering the building at late-night and early-morning hours. Officers also observed adult males with a young male child entering the building. A van operator stopped by officers claimed to have "baby sat children for diplomats" and acknowledged the neighborhood was "not fit for babysitting activity." The MPD report, included in the FBI Vault release (pages 147-148 of the released materials), noted "possible child pornography."[^3]
Marion Pettie died on October 24, 2003, in Culpeper, Virginia.[^5]
In 2018, Robert Garder Terrell gave his first public interview in over twenty-five years to journalist Derrick Broze of The Conscious Resistance Network, followed by another in 2021. Both were incorporated into Broze's documentary "Who Will Find What The Finders Hide?" released in March 2019.[^10] Terrell denied all criminal allegations throughout.
In 2018, Robert Garder Terrell gave his first public interview in over twenty-five years to journalist Derrick Broze of The Conscious Resistance Network, followed by another in 2021. Both were incorporated into Broze's documentary "Who Will Find What The Finders Hide?" released in March 2019.[^45] Terrell denied all criminal allegations throughout.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
[^2]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service Reports, February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders.
[^3]: FBI Vault, "The Finders," FOIA case number 1372462-0, vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019, four parts). Also cited: MintPress News, "Losing Finders" series, 2019-2021. https://www.mintpressnews.com/losing-finders-buried-documents-link-infamous-cult-to-cia/277756/.
[^4]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993 / January 3, 1994.
[^5]: Dean, Eddie. "Finders' Keeper." Washington City Paper, May 24, 1996. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/287890/finders-keeper/.
[^6]: Fisher, Marc and John Mintz. "Finders Group Has Its Roots in Popular '60s Hippie Refuge." Washington Post, February 7, 1987.
[^7]: Fisher, Marc and John Mintz. "Officials Describe 'Cult Rituals' in Child Abuse Case." Washington Post, February 7, 1987.
[^8]: Sword, Autumn. "Were 'The Finders' a CIA-Fronted Satanic Cult?" Skeptical Inquirer, February 28, 2023. https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/were-the-finders-a-cia-fronted-satanic-cult/. Also: Washington Post, "Fla. Judge Sends 2 Finders Children to Foster Homes," June 1, 1987.
[^9]: Norman, John David. See also [[John David Norman]].
[^10]: Broze, Derrick, and Jeremy Martin. "Who Will Find What The Finders Hide?" Documentary. The Conscious Resistance Network, March 2019. https://theconsciousresistance.com/thefinders/.
[^11]: Minnick, Wendell L. "The Finders: The CIA and the Cult of Marion David Pettie." Unclassified, No. 35, Winter 1995. Unsigned "Investigative Leads" memo, no author or date, circulated mid-1990s.
[^12]: Rodriguez, Paul M. "CIA tied to cult accused of abuse; Justice probes links to Finders." Washington Times, December 17, 1993.
[^13]: Lanning, Kenneth V. "Investigator's Guide to Allegations of 'Ritual' Child Abuse." National Center for Missing and Exploited Children / NCAVC, FBI Academy, January 1992. ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf.
[^14]: Church Committee. *Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans*, Book II. S. Rept. 94-755, 94th Congress, 2d Session, April 26, 1976.
[^15]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar. Also: *Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification*, Joint Senate Hearing, August 3, 1977.
[^16]: DeCamp, John W. *The Franklin Cover-Up*. AWT Inc., 1992. Second edition 1996. Bryant, Nick. *The Franklin Scandal*. Trine Day, 2009. FBI Vault, "The Finders," FOIA case number 1372462-0, vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019).
[^2]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service Reports, February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987, as reproduced in Ted Gunderson's compilation. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders.
[^3]: FBI Vault, "The Finders," FOIA case number 1372462-0, vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019, four parts). Parts 1 to 4 at https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04. Also cited: MintPress News, "Losing Finders" series, 2019-2021. https://www.mintpressnews.com/losing-finders-buried-documents-link-infamous-cult-to-cia/277756/.
[^4]: Dean, Eddie. "Finders' Keeper." Washington City Paper, May 24, 1996. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/287890/finders-keeper/.
[^5]: Fisher, Marc, and John Mintz. "Finders Group Has Its Roots in Popular '60s Hippie Refuge." Washington Post, February 7, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/07/finders-group-has-its-roots-in-popular-60s-hippie-refuge/2d6b5d9d-904f-4acd-a371-f560fca68b39/.
[^6]: Mintz, John, and Marc Fisher. "Ex-Finders Tell of Games, Complex Beliefs." Washington Post, February 8, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/08/ex-finders-tell-of-games-complex-beliefs/dcb48101-8d06-4777-a8e3-fcf46fd7ed0f/.
[^7]: Terrell, Tobe. *The Gamecaller*. Old Rag Publishing, Gainesville, Florida, 2009. Memoir by a former member, covering Pettie's background (birth in Culpeper in 1920, name change, Air Force chauffeur service, Eaker intelligence school), the Leary and Sandstone connections, and Pettie's death in October 2003.
[^8]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993. Text as enclosed in FBI WMFO teletype dated December 23, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4.
[^9]: Saperstein, Saundra, and Victoria Churchville. "Officials Describe 'Cult Rituals' in Child Abuse Case." Washington Post, February 7, 1987. Fisher, Marc, and John Mintz. "Finders Group Has Its Roots in Popular '60s Hippie Refuge." Washington Post, February 7, 1987.
[^10]: Minnick, Wendell L. "The Finders: The CIA and the Cult of Marion David Pettie." Unclassified, No. 35, Winter 1995. Unsigned "Investigative Leads" memo, no author or date, circulated mid-1990s.
[^11]: Rodriguez, Paul M. "CIA tied to cult accused of abuse; Justice probes links to Finders." Washington Times, December 17, 1993.
[^12]: Sword, Autumn. "Were 'The Finders' a CIA-Fronted Satanic Cult?" Skeptical Inquirer, February 28, 2023. https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/were-the-finders-a-cia-fronted-satanic-cult/. Also: Washington Post, "Fla. Judge Sends 2 Finders Children to Foster Homes," June 1, 1987.
[^13]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service, Report of Investigation, "Finders," Memo to File dated February 7, 1987, and Report of Investigation (Continuation) on the April 2, 1987 contact at the Metropolitan Police Department. https://archive.org/details/report_of_investigation_finders.
[^14]: Saperstein, Saundra, and Victoria Churchville. "Officials Describe 'Cult Rituals' in Child Abuse Case." Washington Post, February 7, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/07/officials-describe-cult-rituals-in-child-abuse-case/11f05df1-48e0-41f7-b46d-249c0bd2bc39/.
[^15]: Churchville, Victoria, and Marc Fisher. "D.C. Police: Finders Odd, Not Criminal." Washington Post, February 10, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/02/10/dc-police-finders-odd-not-criminal/7571c820-de20-4800-9781-711a8351f52f/.
[^16]: Fisher, Marc. "Finding Truth About Finders Proves to Be No Simple Matter." Washington Post, February 11, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/11/finding-truth-about-finders-proves-to-be-no-simple-matter/01c16d17-c301-4894-951f-b87052c9fd4f/.
[^17]: Stevenson, Douglas. "Two Finders Released." Washington Post, March 18, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/03/18/two-finders-released/35b2bc13-e56d-4c72-a587-97fe83f9b7da/.
[^18]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly," U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993 (Tallahassee investigator quoted; text as in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4).
[^19]: Tallahassee Democrat, February 1987 coverage of the Myers Park arrest, reproduced in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4 (clipping citing the Tallahassee Democrat's Page One and reporter Jan Pudlow).
[^20]: FBI Washington Metropolitan Field Office teletype on the 1987 file review and 1993 interviews (including the November 16, 1993 interview of Tallahassee Police Chief Melvin Tucker), FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4 and Part 3. https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04.
[^21]: FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4 (U.S. Customs Service report of Walter Kreitlow, Tallahassee, dated February 12, 1987 per the Kreitlow page).
[^22]: Martinez, Ramon J. Customs telex summary as reproduced in Gunderson compilation, archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders (passage on the Hong Kong purchase order and the Chinese Embassy contact).
[^23]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993. Text as enclosed in FBI WMFO teletype dated December 23, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4.
[^24]: FBI WMFO teletype to FBIHQ and Miami, November 24, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4, quoting Sergeant J.H. Stitcher's MPD report of February 19, 1987 and the MPD Intelligence Division overview report of April 13, 1987.
[^25]: U.S. Customs Service Report of Investigation, Continuation, dated April 13, 1987 (signed by Ramon J. Martinez), FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 2 of 4, passages on the MPD report and the CIA internal matter.
[^26]: FBI memorandum, WMFO, 1993 (undated in the released copy), FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, copy at https://archive.org/details/the.finders.fbi.foia.
[^27]: Terrell, Tobe. *The Gamecaller*. Old Rag Publishing, Gainesville, Florida, 2009 (passage on the CIA public denial and the rumor mill after the 1987 news broke). The writer's characterization of press skepticism is Terrell's own.
[^28]: FBI Vault "Future Enterprises, Inc.," FBI file reproduced at https://archive.org/details/future-enterprises-inc, and MPD report of February 19, 1987 as quoted in the FBI Vault release.
[^29]: FBI WFO communication, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Section 1 (WFO file), reporting an October 1993 meeting with Congressman Rose on the Finders matter.
[^30]: Potts, Larry A., memorandum dated December 22, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4 (listing of entities examined, including Future Enterprises). Keeney memorandum dated October 26, 1993 appears in the FBI WMFO communication of November 1993 in the same release.
[^31]: Rodriguez, Paul M., Washington Times, December 17, 1993, as reproduced in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4.
[^32]: FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 3: FBIHQ and WMFO teletypes of May 10 to May 24, 1994 (file 31C-WF-189911); FBI airtel of September 1994 recording the September 23, 1994 meeting with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin DeGregory; airtel of December 1994; FD-302 of January 31, 1995; WMFO closing memorandum of May 9, 1995. https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04.
[^33]: Lewis, Tom. "Help End Child Pornography and Exploitation: Cosponsor the Lewis Bill to Reestablish Child Pornography Unit," "Dear Colleague" letter, House of Representatives, January 25, 1993, reproduced in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4.
[^34]: Norman, John David. See also [[John David Norman]]. Court records of convictions 1960-1998 as summarized on that page.
[^35]: Church Committee. *Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans*, Book II. S. Rept. 94-755, 94th Congress, 2d Session, April 26, 1976.
[^36]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar. Also: *Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification*, Joint Senate Hearing, August 3, 1977; proposal "Experimental Analysis of Extrasensory Perception," CIA Subproject 136 file, 1961.
[^37]: Gunderson, Ted, compilation of Martinez customs reports, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders. Gunderson's pamphlet text includes the author's own commentary; the Martinez passages are cited as reproduced.
[^38]: DeCamp, John W. *The Franklin Cover-Up*. AWT Inc., 1992. Second edition 1996. Bryant, Nick. *The Franklin Scandal*. Trine Day, 2009. FBI Vault, "The Finders," FOIA case number 1372462-0, vault.fbi.gov/the-finders (released November 2019).
[^39]: Fisher, Marc and John Mintz, "Cult Member Defends 2 Men in Child Abuse Case," Washington Post, Sunday, February 1987, Page One, as clipped in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4.
[^40]: Lanning, Kenneth V. "Investigator's Guide to Allegations of 'Ritual' Child Abuse." National Center for Missing and Exploited Children / NCAVC, FBI Academy, January 1992. ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf.
[^41]: Dean, Eddie. "Finders' Keeper." Washington City Paper, May 24, 1996. https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/287890/finders-keeper/ (quotation of Wendell Minnick).
[^42]: CIA Reading Room, document 06835030, FOIA case log April-June 2019, entry F-2019-01304, "Records on 'The Finders,' cult based out of Culpeper, VA, led by Marion David Pettie," dated April 8, 2019. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-06835030.
[^43]: Central Intelligence Agency, Information and Privacy Coordinator, final response to FOIA request F-2013-01931, August 6, 2013. CIA Reading Room document 06089249. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-06089249.
[^44]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly," U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993 (law enforcement sources quoted; text as in FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4).
[^45]: Broze, Derrick, and Jeremy Martin. "Who Will Find What The Finders Hide?" Documentary. The Conscious Resistance Network, March 2019. https://theconsciousresistance.com/thefinders/.

29
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/Terrorgram Collective.md
View file

@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ tags:
- FashFront
summary: "International accelerationist neo-Nazi Telegram network linked to attacks in several countries, whose members were prosecuted in the US, Canada, Slovakia, Denmark and Australia."
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-05-22
updated: 2026-10-15
start: 2019
location: "Telegram (online)"
---
@ -121,11 +121,13 @@ The "Wisconsin murder-for-hire plot" referenced in Humber's indictment and in DO
The Terrorgram Collective's genealogical connection to Atomwaffen Division and the Order of Nine Angles runs through both personnel and doctrine. Althorpe had served as an AWD propagandist before joining Terrorgram's founding efforts. Nippak had produced AWD videos before creating Terrorgram content. Brandon Russell used multiple Terrorgram pseudonyms to distribute accelerationist content from prison. [[Taylor Parker-Dipeppe]], who briefly took over some FKD organizational functions following KAPO's 2020 intervention with FKD's teenage Commander, was also documented in the AWD-to-Terrorgram ecosystem.
[[Joshua Caleb Sutter]] and [[Tempel ov Blood]]'s 2017 infiltration of AWD carried O9A ideology (treating murder as spiritual service, transgressive violence as initiatory progression) into the broader accelerationist space. [[Martinet Press]] O9A texts including *[[Iron Gates]]* circulated through Terrorgram channels reaching audiences with no prior direct AWD or O9A connection.[^13]
[[Joshua Caleb Sutter]] and [[Tempel ov Blood]]'s 2017 infiltration of AWD carried O9A ideology (treating murder as spiritual service, transgressive violence as initiatory progression) into the broader accelerationist space.[^13] [[Martinet Press]] O9A texts including *[[Iron Gates]]* circulated through Terrorgram channels reaching audiences with no prior direct AWD or O9A connection. The [[Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism]] at the [[Middlebury Institute of International Studies]] wrote that the Martinet Press books "gained significant purchase from which to disseminate its hyper violent content across the burgeoning Telegram accelerationist ecosystem."[^14]
Europol's TE-SAT 2023 (covering 2022) records that Terrorgram released two propaganda pieces in 2022, The Hard Reset (July) and White Terror (October), and that the perpetrator of the October 12, 2022 Bratislava attack named it as a source of inspiration.[^15] TE-SAT 2024 states in a footnote that the UK Home Office proscribed the Terrorgram collective on April 26, 2024.[^16]
### FKD/InJekt Division Bridge
When Feuerkrieg Division reemerged on Telegram in May 2021, a co-leader established himself as a central figure in the Terrorgram community and as a core organizer of two coalition structures: the [[United Acceleration Front]] and the [[National Socialist Coalition]]. FKD partnered specifically with [[InJekt Division]], a Texas-based group founded by [[Coleman Thomas Blevins]] (arrested May 2021 for a Walmart mass-shooting threat, sentenced to 60 months). The [[Middlebury Institute CTEC]] and [[Tech Against Terrorism]] documented 21 distinct entities within this coalition network, all operating through Terrorgram channels, establishing the infrastructure link between the FKD era and the 764/CVLT era.[^14]
When Feuerkrieg Division reemerged on Telegram in May 2021, a co-leader established himself as a central figure in the Terrorgram community and as a core organizer of two coalition structures: the [[United Acceleration Front]] and the [[National Socialist Coalition]]. FKD partnered specifically with [[InJekt Division]], a Texas-based group founded by [[Coleman Thomas Blevins]] (arrested May 2021 for a Walmart mass-shooting threat, sentenced to 60 months). The [[Middlebury Institute CTEC]] and [[Tech Against Terrorism]] documented 21 distinct entities within this coalition network, all operating through Terrorgram channels, establishing the infrastructure link between the FKD era and the 764/CVLT era.[^17]
Noah Licul, one of the three individuals receiving SDGT designations alongside Terrorgram in January 2025, had been previously identified as active in FKD-linked chats in Croatia circa 2019-2020, representing a documented named individual who participated in both FKD-adjacent networks and subsequently Terrorgram.
@ -137,7 +139,7 @@ United States: SDGT designation of Terrorgram Collective and three individuals (
Australia: Counter-terrorism financing sanctions imposed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs under section 15 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 in February 2025, making Terrorgram the first entirely online entity subjected to Australian CT financing sanctions. Formally listed as a terrorist organization under Division 102 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 via Criminal Code (Terrorist Organisation, Terrorgram) Regulations 2025, F2025L00762. Penalties up to 25 years imprisonment.
Canada: Listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code via Regulations Amending the Regulations Establishing a List of Entities, SOR/2025-263, published in the Canada Gazette, Part 2, Vol. 159, No. 26, December 17, 2025. Order in Council P.C. 2025-914, December 8, 2025. Listed alongside [[764 Network|764]], [[Maniac Murder Cult]], and Islamic State-Mozambique.[^15]
Canada: Listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code via Regulations Amending the Regulations Establishing a List of Entities, SOR/2025-263, published in the Canada Gazette, Part 2, Vol. 159, No. 26, December 17, 2025. Order in Council P.C. 2025-914, December 8, 2025. Listed alongside [[764 Network|764]], [[Maniac Murder Cult]], and Islamic State-Mozambique.[^18]
### Status After Arrests
@ -145,11 +147,11 @@ The Terrorgram Collective's inner organizational core was effectively dismantled
Violence attributed to Terrorgram-inspired individuals continued post-arrests. The network's content, once released, proved impossible to fully remove from the accelerationist ecosystem.
[[FashFront]], a neo-Nazi web forum launched in mid-2025 at fashfront.st, emerged as the most developed successor infrastructure. It modeled itself on Iron March's forum architecture while maintaining a companion Telegram channel and [[Odysee]] video distribution. With 941 registered users as of late 2025, including former Iron March members and at least one identified former AWD cell leader ([[Ryan Hatfield]], alias "Ryan Arthur"), FashFront represented the most significant consolidation of post-Terrorgram accelerationist organizing infrastructure as of May 2026. No law enforcement action against FashFront or its administrators has been publicly announced.[^16][^17]
[[FashFront]], a neo-Nazi web forum launched in mid-2025 at fashfront.st, emerged as the most developed successor infrastructure. It modeled itself on Iron March's forum architecture while maintaining a companion Telegram channel and [[Odysee]] video distribution. With 941 registered users as of late 2025, including former Iron March members and at least one identified former AWD cell leader ([[Ryan Hatfield]], alias "Ryan Arthur"), FashFront represented the most significant consolidation of post-Terrorgram accelerationist organizing infrastructure as of May 2026. No law enforcement action against FashFront or its administrators has been publicly announced.[^19][^20]
### Platform Migration After the September 2024 Indictment Unsealing
The unsealing of the Terrorgram indictment on September 9, 2024, combined with the August 24, 2024 arrest of [[Pavel Durov|Telegram CEO Pavel Durov]] and Telegram's resulting announcement of law-enforcement cooperation, produced a documented migration wave. The [[Counter Extremism Project]] documented white supremacist Telegram channels immediately discussing the need for alternative platforms with better encryption. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue monitored a large number of neo-Nazi accelerationist groups migrating to a new decentralized, encrypted platform (which ISD declined to name); within 24 hours of ISD's September 25, 2024 monitoring period, users in those channels had posted calls for three political assassinations and multiple race-war declarations.[^18]
The unsealing of the Terrorgram indictment on September 9, 2024, combined with the August 24, 2024 arrest of [[Pavel Durov|Telegram CEO Pavel Durov]] and Telegram's resulting announcement of law-enforcement cooperation, produced a documented migration wave. The [[Counter Extremism Project]] documented white supremacist Telegram channels immediately discussing the need for alternative platforms with better encryption. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue monitored a large number of neo-Nazi accelerationist groups migrating to a new decentralized, encrypted platform (which ISD declined to name); within 24 hours of ISD's September 25, 2024 monitoring period, users in those channels had posted calls for three political assassinations and multiple race-war declarations.[^21]
### Footnotes
@ -165,9 +167,12 @@ The unsealing of the Terrorgram indictment on September 9, 2024, combined with t
[^10]: "Terrorgram: Exporting Terrorism" (Raw Investigates), Raw Story, March 7, 2025. https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/terrorgram-terrorism/
[^11]: ProPublica / PBS FRONTLINE. "After Downfall, Terrorgram Still Inspires Violence." April 18, 2025. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-assassionation-plot-nikita-casap-terrorgram-wisconsin-frontline; DOJ OPA. "Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction and Attempting to Destroy an Energy Facility in Nashville." September 9, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-pleads-guilty-attempting-use-weapon-mass-destruction-and-attempting-destroy-energy
[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Leader of Transnational Terrorist Group Pleads Guilty." August 8, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-transnational-terrorist-group-pleads-guilty-soliciting-hate-crimes-soliciting-murder
[^13]: ARC Research. "The Three Phases of Terrorgram." https://www.accresearch.org/accreports/the-three-phases-of-terrorgram; Rolling Stone. "The Satanist Neo-Nazi Plot to Murder U.S. Soldiers." 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/the-satanist-neo-nazi-plot-to-murder-u-s-soldiers-1352629/
[^14]: Middlebury Institute CTEC / Tech Against Terrorism. "Militant Accelerationism Coalitions: A Case Study in Neo-Fascist Accelerationist Coalition Building Online." 2022. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/militant-accelerationism-coalitions-case-study; ADL. "Feuerkrieg Division." https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/feuerkrieg-division-fkd
[^15]: UK Home Secretary. Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2024, S.I. 2024/569. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2024/9780348260656/pdfs/ukdsiem_9780348260656_en_001.pdf; Australia. Criminal Code (Terrorist Organisation, Terrorgram) Regulations 2025, F2025L00762. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00762/asmade; Government of Canada. "Government of Canada Lists Four New Terrorist Entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html; Canada Gazette, Part 2, Vol. 159, No. 26. SOR/2025-263. December 17, 2025. https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2025/2025-12-17/html/sor-dors263-eng.html
[^16]: ISD Global. "Dismantling Digital Terror: Lessons Learned from the Collapse of Terrorgram." https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/dismantling-digital-terror-lessons-learned-from-the-collapse-of-terrorgram/
[^17]: Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. "New Neo-Nazi Web Forum 'Fash Front' Reinvigorating Violent Accelerationist Movement." 2025. https://globalextremism.org/post/fash-front/
[^18]: ISD Global. "Neo-Nazi accelerationists seek new digital refuge amid looming Telegram crackdown." September 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/neo-nazi-accelerationists-seek-new-digital-refuge-amid-looming-telegram-crackdown/; Counter Extremism Project. "Extremist Content Online: White Supremacist Telegram Channels Identify Need for Alternative Platform After State Department's Terrorgram Collective Designation." 2025. https://www.counterextremism.com/press/extremist-content-online-white-supremacist-telegram-channels-identify-need-alternative
[^13]: Rolling Stone. "The Satanist Neo-Nazi Plot to Murder U.S. Soldiers." 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/the-satanist-neo-nazi-plot-to-murder-u-s-soldiers-1352629/
[^14]: Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: Order of Nine Angles." September 29, 2023. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/publications/dangerous-organizations-and-bad-actors-order-nine
[^15]: Europol. European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2023. https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/European%20Union%20Terrorism%20Situation%20and%20Trend%20report%202023.pdf
[^16]: Europol. TE-SAT 2024, note 66. https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/TE-SAT%202024.pdf
[^17]: Middlebury Institute CTEC / Tech Against Terrorism. "Militant Accelerationism Coalitions: A Case Study in Neo-Fascist Accelerationist Coalition Building Online." 2022. https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/militant-accelerationism-coalitions-case-study; ADL. "Feuerkrieg Division." https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/feuerkrieg-division-fkd
[^18]: UK Home Secretary. Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2024, S.I. 2024/569. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2024/9780348260656/pdfs/ukdsiem_9780348260656_en_001.pdf; Australia. Criminal Code (Terrorist Organisation, Terrorgram) Regulations 2025, F2025L00762. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00762/asmade; Government of Canada. "Government of Canada Lists Four New Terrorist Entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html; Canada Gazette, Part 2, Vol. 159, No. 26. SOR/2025-263. December 17, 2025. https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2025/2025-12-17/html/sor-dors263-eng.html
[^19]: ISD Global. "Dismantling Digital Terror: Lessons Learned from the Collapse of Terrorgram." https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/dismantling-digital-terror-lessons-learned-from-the-collapse-of-terrorgram/
[^20]: Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. "New Neo-Nazi Web Forum 'Fash Front' Reinvigorating Violent Accelerationist Movement." 2025. https://globalextremism.org/post/fash-front/
[^21]: ISD Global. "Neo-Nazi accelerationists seek new digital refuge amid looming Telegram crackdown." September 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/neo-nazi-accelerationists-seek-new-digital-refuge-amid-looming-telegram-crackdown/; Counter Extremism Project. "Extremist Content Online: White Supremacist Telegram Channels Identify Need for Alternative Platform After State Department's Terrorgram Collective Designation." 2025. https://www.counterextremism.com/press/extremist-content-online-white-supremacist-telegram-channels-identify-need-alternative