I had a visit at my house from the FBI and the US Department of Agriculture today concerning my blog post about SuperWeed. I am fully complying with them and they are taking this very seriously.
Overall my interview with the Feds went well and served as a reminder about how curiosity could put me too close to trouble than I’d like.
Photos are of the receipt, so to speak.
UPDATE: I have been asked to pay a $250 civil penalty.
Comments 12
Wow. Thats pretty heavy.
Sean
Posted 22 Dec 2006 at 15:55 ¶That’s really heavy. Did they just show up at your door?
Posted 22 Dec 2006 at 16:04 ¶Wow! I was 1/2 expecting to see something like that to happen. But, who at the USDOA has time to sit and read your BLOG? Maybe they are watching you for other things.. - Hey, at least you’ve got your wings now. Otherwise, that could have been fun++
Posted 22 Dec 2006 at 16:58 ¶Moe- Yeah, they showed up when I wasn’t here, talked to my roommate and then came back.
Tim- Not funny - not fun. I honestly had no idea WTF to do with the package. At least at this point I can help the USDA find out if this is a real threat or not. And I’m still a student pilot.
Posted 22 Dec 2006 at 17:47 ¶Yeah, that would probably be my fault, with the good judgement exercised in my comment.
So sorry about that!
Posted 26 Dec 2006 at 09:06 ¶smooth d- I honestly think they were more interested in the fact that seeds were sent to my house (in conjunction with the fact I am learning to fly) than they were about your humorous comment on my site. One of the men that was interviewing me about this actually made a joke about what you said. Either way I’m pretty sure they would have gotten ahold of me regardless of your comment.
Posted 26 Dec 2006 at 09:11 ¶Hehehe! That’s pretty neat. Feds need to ease up on the suspicion. Probably some blog tracking software triggered the alarm and these folks showed up at your door step.
I’d be careful for the next year or so. You’ll probably be under some sort of semi-regular surveillance. …ask me how I know.
Posted 27 Dec 2006 at 06:22 ¶You’ve got to fight, for your right…to par^W^W from warrantless search and seizure.
Posted 28 Dec 2006 at 18:02 ¶Good points, Cowbert. For clarification, I maintained the entire interview on my front porch, which is before my main front door. I offered to meet there. They initially offered to meet at the public location where I was when they initially showed up and contacted me. I was clear that I did not consent to any search but I did allow one of them to escort me and another guy from the USDA to my bedroom and back to get the seeds. I verbally offered the seeds to them before we could deal with the seizure question. I understand that by allowing them to escort me basically gives them the right to use anything they see inside my house as information in their case. Their justification was a concern that if I went alone I could pull a gun. I believe it was my right to not allow them into my house. At the same time, I wanted to be as cooperative as possible. To my benefit, they got to see that my house supports the fact I am a normal person not participating in criminal activity. The downside is that I didn’t exercise my privacy rights to their fullest. It’s hard.
My roommate Allen spoke to them first and volunteered my mobile phone number, place of employment and current location to them without them showing identification first. He assumed it was “the Feds” because of the vehicle they drove and they addressed him by his surname before any introduction. Allen won’t be giving my information out like that again although I don’t think it mattered much in the end. I’m not hard to find.
Posted 28 Dec 2006 at 18:40 ¶Pull a gun? Were they serious? That seems like a stretch for a reason to follow you into your house.
Posted 29 Dec 2006 at 09:56 ¶I thought I was the only big shot reading this blog.
Posted 29 Dec 2006 at 17:23 ¶Jason- ROFL.
Posted 29 Dec 2006 at 17:24 ¶Post a Comment