My Experiences With the Secret Service

Myself | 4/07/04 | RightFighter

[RightFighter]

As some of you may have seen, on February 14^th, I posted a thread entitled “Need Some Freeper Advice Here” on Free Republic regarding something an incident at work where a fellow employee made a threatening comment toward President Bush a couple of days before the President arrived in town for the Daytona 500 race.  When I posted this thread, I was pretty sure I knew the answer that I was going to get from my fellow Freepers, but wanted the extra confidence that comes from having my peers tell me that I was doing the right thing in reporting this employee to the US Secret Service.  I was also pretty sure that, just by posting the thread, the Secret Service or FBI would be alerted to the situation and that I might be contacted regarding my post.  That’s why, because of my initial lack of confidence about the whole situation, I referred to “my friend” in the post rather than myself.  I think anyone who read the post could tell without much thought that I was really referring to myself (which should have been obvious to anyone who read the first sentence, in which I put the words “my friend” in quotes). 

Anyway, after almost 50 posts came in within a few minutes telling me to report the guy, I did so.  You can see in post number 51 that I indicated that “my friend” was actively calling the Secret Service, and then in post number 55, I reported that the call had been made.  I then stated in post number 58 that I was really talking about myself, not my friend, and soon thereafter I asked the moderator to lock the thread to further postings because I didn’t want this to become a huge thread which would move to the top of the “Latest Posts” page all night long. 

My call that evening was to the United States Secret Service field office in Orlando, Florida, which I reached by calling 407-648-6333.  A young lady took my call and seemed to be typing in the details I was giving her, which included my name and home address and cellular telephone number and a general description of what had happened, but not the name of the employee in question.  She stated that she was sure an agent would want to contact me about the situation and that I should expect a call. 

The call never came.  I woke up the next morning for church worried that someone would be contacting me during church, so I actually took my cellular phone into church, which I rarely do.  Still, no call ever came.  The Daytona 500 came and went that afternoon and the next few weeks were a blur, and still, no call.  I finally just mentally wrote it off as evidence that the USSS must not take the type of comment the guy made very seriously, and I stopped thinking about it.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, on March 19^th, things changed.  I received a call on my cellular phone from a someone who I will identify as “PC”.  PC stated that he was a Secret Service agent based in Jacksonville and that he had been forwarded some information from DC that he was following up on regarding this situation and he needed me to call him.  I called him that afternoon on my way home from work and we spoke a couple of times that evening, during which time I gave him the whole story along with names of witnesses, etc..  During the course of these conversations, he told me something that concerned me.  The reason that it had taken so long for him to contact me was that the USSS had to SUBPOENA Free Republic for my records so that they could track me down by IP address through my ISP. 

Now, I was not at all surprised that they were able to track me down this way.  To the contrary, I would be surprised if they couldn’t.  What I was surprised about was that they felt like they HAD to track me down in this way, considering that I had made a PHONE CALL TO THE USSS to report the guy!  I mentioned this to the agent, and he was shocked.  He asked me some details about my phone call and then he told me that he was sure that this would spawn some kind of internal investigation on their end to find out why my call was not given any kind of attention at all by the Orlando field office. 

Anyway, after giving PC all the details and even doing him the favor of looking up the guy’s home address on the Internet so that he could contact the guy over the weekend, we hung up with the stipulation that he would contact me if he needed more information.  This was on Friday evening, March 19^th.  The following Monday morning, March 22^nd, I was in a meeting at work when my cellular phone rang.  I recognized the number as PC’s number, but couldn’t take the call.  After my meeting, I listened to his voicemail and it was a message asking me if I knew if the individual was going to be at his place of employment that day.  About an hour had elapsed since he called me, and I returned his call, but could not reach him, so I left him a voice mail. 

At this point, I felt that I had to tell our Chief Operating Officer what was happening.  I was a little disappointed that PC hadn’t just gone to the guy’s home over the weekend instead of waiting and coming to the workplace, but I figured our COO should know that a USSS agent might be showing up at the job site that day to see this employee, so I told him the whole story.  He had a strange look on his face and he said “Well, let me tell you what I know.  This morning, during our meeting, two Homeland Security ‘suits’ showed up at the site flashing pictures of you and [employee_name]” and saying they needed to talk to you both.”  He went on to say “…any idea you might have had that this would be anonymous was wrong.” 

I later contacted PC again and he told me that as far as the USSS is concerned, this is a non-issue and that the employee has been warned that comments similar to this in the future will be taken very seriously.  He said that he didn’t think the employee knew for sure that it was me who had reported him, but that he indicated it could be me or one of several other people who he had made the comment to.  Of course, by flashing my picture around, I think the USSS made it pretty clear that I was involved. 

My question is – would any of you be as upset as I was at this?  I’m upset for several reasons.  First, that it took so long for the USSS to contact me.  I love President Bush, and I’m very concerned that they would not take seriously a threat to his life reported by telephone to one of their field offices so close to his arrival in town.  Second, I’m concerned about the way the whole thing was handled when PC showed up at my place of employment.  Those who NEEDED to know that I had reported this guy had been made aware of it, but by coming to the front desk at my place of employment waving around a picture of me and making it obvious to everyone, they could have put my life or my job or both in jeopardy. 

So, I’m back where I started.  I need to know what my fellow Freepers would suggest that I do here in follow-up to this situation.  Should I just leave it alone or should I start writing letters to Washington to inform them of what happened here?  Obviously the issue of the lack of response needs to be addressed, but of almost equal concern to me is the issue of the way it was handled.  It makes me want to think twice next time before speaking up and being a responsible citizen, and nobody should feel like that after doing what was right to report a situation like this.  Any thoughts?

[RightFighter]

I hope this isn't considered a vanity. If so, I'm sorry.

[ruiner]

I'm afraid to post for fear of a USSS subpoena against me for posting . . .

[ruiner]

. . . CRAP!!!!!

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[Old Sarge]

The answer, FRiend, is simple.

There are still too many USSS agents loyal to HRC. They're only going through the motions of protecting #43, because they all hope that She Who Must Not Be Named will return to power as #44.

[BlazingArizona]

A similar thing happened to me a few years ago when I made an uncomplimentary remark about the IRS in a Usenet post. Apparently the IRS has its own police force that handles public remarks made about it in the way that the Secret Service handles actual threats against the president.

[joonbug]

Loyal to HRC? After throwing lamps at them and treating them like crap? I would think they would be thrilled to be working for GWB.

[Hans]

Remarkable story. Are you sure you're not talking
about the FBI?

[MAWG]

I think that there are Marines in Iraq right now who would laugh at your fear.

[RightFighter]

The "tongue-in-cheekiness" of your remark is hilarious!!!

[RightFighter]

You know, MAWG, that was uncalled for. Nothing I have said has in any way indicated that I would even BEGIN to equate what I went through with the type of real and deadly battle those patriots go through every day. I just want to make that clear.

[blanknoone]

This is a vanity, but it is one that is worthwhile enough to be worth posting.

That said, I think the USSS handling of the case is outrageous. I would contact them and ask about their complaint filing system and follow it. I would also contact my congressman and both Senators. I would also write to the President's office directly...he needs to know his security is not what it should be.

You did everything right. They screwed up by the numbers...including not investigating a viable threat on the President's life. Their actions clearly deter citizens from doing the right thing in the future...making their job harder. The subpoena delay was idiotic given that you called them and left your number.

It is this type of bureaucratic idiocy that allowed 9/11 to happen. It needs to be eradicated not only with regards to terrorism, but also with regards to our President's security.

If it receives no attention from any of the quarters mentioned, I would call a local reporter. It would make an interesting local interest story.

[Old Sarge]

The Praetorian Guard is only too happy to serve, even as ash tray targets.

She Who Must Not Be Named had eight years to staff the ranks, and you can't convince me there wasn't a party loyalty litmus test for hiring.

[koba37]

You got screwed. Your boss is wrong, they should have protected your identity. They had no way of knowing that the guy who said something about Pres. Bush would not attack you or others. I'm sure they meant no harm, but you know how big organizations are....

[HardStarboard]

Sounds like a Chinese firedrill performed by Keystone Cops.

Pathetic.....makes one afraid to enlist the governments help for anything....except taking 30% of my earnings at tax time!

[Itzlzha]

In the Immortal words of "Stewie"...

"What have YOU learned?!"

Seriously...take care of "business" in private as much as possible! Avoid the Washington Intellegentsia at ALL costs, because as you have learned, the spatter will hit YOU worse than any perp!

Remember, the guilty/accused have MORE rights than the innocent/accuser...remember Linda Tripp!

[7.62 x 51mm]

Last Fall, I received an email from an irate, left-wing wacko - have it on the home machine, or I'd post it with some redaction - berating me and threatening to kill President Bush. I emailed the FBI in Philly and Pittsburgh immediately, with a copy of the death threat note.

Within 6hrs, a Secret Service Agent - can't remember the field office location - called and asked me to expand the header in netscape v4.79 (now using v7.1 so he could trace the path.

He thanked me for my concern and promised he'd take it from there.

I printed out the email with the expanded header, and attached a copy of it in a *.doc file, and emailed it to him.

Haven't heard diddly-squat, since. Don't expect to. Hope they nailed the scumbag real good.

If this thread is still around in the morning, I'll bring a copy of it into the office on a Zip disk, and post it here.

[kenth]

The reason that it had taken so long for him to contact me was that the USSS had to SUBPOENA Free Republic for my records so that they could track me down by IP address through my ISP.

Now, I was not at all surprised that they were able to track me down this way. To the contrary, I would be surprised if they couldn’t. What I was surprised about was that they felt like they HAD to track me down in this way, considering that I had made a PHONE CALL TO THE USSS to report the guy!

So, if he knew nothing of your call, how did his investigation start? Did someone else read the thread and call in their concerns or do agents peruse the political sites?

[Sprite518]

That is the Federal Government for you. The joke in Washington DC is that if two people know about it, then it is not a secret. I do not think there is much you can do about this. I think you did the right thing, but you may have been burnt in the process. Doing the right thing does not always work to your advantage. I would still do what you did in a heartbeat. Its called having morals, and that should apply to anyone not just politicians.

[wideminded]

1. How did they get a picture of you?

2. You could write to you congressperson or contact the press (perhaps a columnist), but it seems unlikely that you will be able to remain anonymous. Unless this turns into even more of a bureaucratic nightmare, maybe the ensuing problems for you will not be worth it.

I didn't read the original post, but it sounds like you did the right thing. Your experience will probably frighten others away from following your example.

[RightFighter]

If you read the original thread, they discussed the fact that the FBI watches sites like this.

[Steven W.]

you did the right thing in contacting the USSS. They were lacking in their follow-up. Their probing of FR was correct as was FR's actions in response to subpoena. The major failing (and it seems a major failing) I see here was your informing the COO and further bringing the matter into the workplace. If you'd just kept cool nobody would have ever known and, worst case, the only thing they'd know is that you were likewise reported as having been present or aware of such charges and folks might even presume it was somebody else who followed up in that manner.

[cynicom]

Fighter...

In this day and age, Sargeant Shultz should be your mentor.

When it comes to ANY federal badge carrier, you know nothing, you see nothing, and most of all, you SAY NOTHING.

[Steven W.]

There are still too many USSS agents loyal to HRC

You've got to be kidding! Gary Aldrich would differ on that! ROFLMAO

[GraniteStateConservative]

Keep your head down and your nose clean. Don't get involved with the feds unless you want to get involved with the feds. Just ignore leftists who say things about Bush. They are a bunch of pu$$ies generally and wouldn't act. The people who would attack Bush would be nutcases. Not DU goofballs.

[GOP_1900AD]

I would have used a high volume well used fax machine to send a tip. That way, you would have done your own duty, and the ball would have been in the USSC's court. Unlike posting on the web, or sending email, any tracing would end at a fax machine used by many. So they would have surmised that the tip had come from the place of employment of the perp [in and of itself a credibility factor], but you would have remained anonymous. Lesser of evils, etc.

[RightFighter]

How did they get a picture of you?

Drivers license photo, from what I'm told.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Amen. No good deed goes unpunished.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Smile, you're on Big Brother camera!

[nw_arizona_granny]

PING

[GraniteStateConservative]

It was probably his DMV photo.

[GraniteStateConservative]

We're paying the FBI to FReep at work? Great.

[Dr._Joseph_Warren]

Hunting you down through the IPS is amazing.

If they did that for you, can you IMAGINE how busy they must be hunting down people from DU?????

The DU administrater must have a subpoena punch card.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Yep and double yep.

[JimRed]

There are still too many USSS agents loyal to HRC.

Why? Everything I ever heard about her indicates that she treated them like garbage.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Hey, we'll get our turn at being hunted down for thought crime when Hillary, or Kerry, gets elected.

[Doctor Stochastic]

I would say that if you expected different, you were naïve.

[ContemptofCourt]

Dontcha wonder what is in your FBI file now? LOL.

[society-by-contract]

When it comes to ANY federal badge carrier, you know nothing, you see nothing, and most of all, you SAY NOTHING.

Agreed. All LEOs should be viewed as suspect.

[Walkingfeather]

your daft

[don-o]

bump for later

[7.62 x 51mm]

It is amazing. Apparently, there's a pretty specific electronic trail left by every email or forum post. I truly hope they're closely watching the DU scum, as the ferocity of their threatening posts would be enough to keep hundreds/thousands of agents busy.

"...subpoena punch card." LOL!

[Rocky Mountain High]

RF, I would probably let this go, unless you want to go to the media with it. That might not be a bad course of action since you could end up on Fox News being interviewed by Laurie Dhur ;).

I had a somewhat similar experience and I share your frustration:

As we all know, after 9/11 we the public were advised to be vigilant and report suspicious activites, etc. I used to work in a building that also had an IRS office a few floors above us. One day, my receptionist came in with a 4-page rambling letter that she had found on her car. The letter had pro-Bin Laden remarks as well as anti-US, anti-President Bush and anti-IRS remarks. Needless to say, we were a little concerned.
First I called the FBI and left a VM message. Then I called the El Paso County (Colorado) Sheriff's office. The dispatcher was very concerned and professional and said she would send someone asap.
About 4 hours later, a deputy arrived with a sour-puss look on his face. This guy was totally put out that he had been dispatched to something like this. He was rude and unprofessional and could have not have possibly cared less. He also seemed to be in complete denial (imagine that) that this could be a real threat. He took the letters, of which I had made copies and left.
Shortly after, the FBI agent called back and asked me to fax the letters over to him. He called back the next morning and said that they knew who the author was and not to worry, he was just a fruitcake that they had delt with before. The FBI guy was polite and professional.

That was my experience, though the moron in this story was at the local level.

[FourtySeven]

Did someone else read the thread and call in their concerns or do agents peruse the political sites?

Yeah, it's called "Carnivore".

[Enterprise]

At face value, it sounds like they handled it amateurishly. You did what was needed, do nothing more.

[The Other Harry]

I learned a long time ago that being pro-active when dealing with law enforcement agencies is usually a bad idea. That is unfortunate, but that is the way it is.

There are some good reasons why that is. A large percentage of the calls they receive come from crackpots who themselves are the real threats. It doesn't sound like that applies to you, but they need to look at you. And they aren't always delicate in the ways they do that.

Except in dire emergencies, my experience is that it is usually best to keep a low profile.

[kidd]

How many times, or how frequently, do you receive subpoenas for our personal information?

In general, do you immediately comply?

[Cobra Scott]

So unless you told the girl who took your call that you had posted about this on FR, the only way they got this info was from someone reading FR.

Maybe someone took your reservations to heart and started the ball rolling without you (meaning well of course), and if that were the case you were targeted in the investigation along with the perp. In fact, that sounds plausible, especially if the anonymous "helper" posted through TIPS.

The third possibility is that the feds are perusing this board (maybe off duty?) and the red flag came from an internal source, while your call was ignored/lost. Has the USSS outsourced too?

[Old Sarge]

Did someone else read the thread and call in their concerns or do agents peruse the political sites?

Yeah, it's called "Carnivore".

Not any more. It's now, "DCS-2000". Or was, last year. Google on it.

[7thson]

I don't know what type of company you are in or the size, but I would start looking for another company to work for. Why? From your story, I am not sure of the boss's loyalty. The guy who made the initial remarks probably knows it is you. I think any chance of upward mobility is more or less in the tank. What if this guy who made the threat is promoted over you? Put out resumes.