When the FBI Guys Come Knocking...

[Tim May]

On Tuesday, September 25, 2001, at 06:06 PM, Sandy Sandfort wrote:

> Tim wrote:
>
>> I haven't been "visited," at least not so
>> far. Maybe I never will be.
>>
>> I hope I have the presence of mind to say
>> "You're trespassing. Get the fuck off my
>> property."
>
> When I was visited (by a clichi salt-and-pepper team, no less), I 
> actually
> invited them in.  The reason?  I wanted to find out why they were there.
>
> The first thing I said was, "I do not give my permission to being 
> recorded."
> Not worth much, but I wanted to see how they reacted.  (For what it's 
> worth,
> the assured me they weren't recording.)
>
> I then asked them why they were there.  When they told me, I said, "I'm 
> not
> interested in discussing that subject."  Then I stood up and showed 
> them to
> the door.  They obviously knew that further discussion would be futile 
> so
> they left without further comment.
>
> Whether you take my approach or Tim's approach isn't all that important.
> What is vital, is that you maintain your sense of moral superiority.  
> Any
> personal fear, guilt or subservience on your part are your own worst
> enemies.


To repeat, I haven't been visited, so I have no certainty how I'll 
respond.

In my personal situation, I would NEVER invite them into my house. For 
various reasons. Inviting any agent of the government in is an 
invitation for them to "look around." If they see something that 
interests them, they are free to pursue it. For another reason, I don't 
even invite my _neighbors_ in to my house anymore.

(Yes, I held a couple of Cypherpunks parties at my house in 1995-6, No 
more. A lot of people I had never met showed up "for the party." No harm 
done, but they might have been agents, might have sought ways to plant 
things. I haven't held a "public invited" party since Choate rolled over 
on us. There might be Choate-type people in the Bay Area who would 
attend one of my parties.)

I am not criticizing Sandy for inviting the agents in, but it's 
something I hope I will never do.

"Get the fuck off my property!" is what I hope I will have the presence 
of mind to say.

They can arrest me, of course. My personal view is that if an arrest is 
not justified, one government agent must <censored> for every 24-hour 
period that I am held unjustly.

--Tim May