It began with a 3 quick knocks on my door. It was 11:00 a.m on June 15th, 2011. Someone knocking on my door that time of day isn't an usual event. After all, my aunt Francella, cousin Luke, cousin Rudy and others normally come to pay a visit and sit down for a chat, bring some food or take a look at my garden.
But what was unusual about that day was who was at the door. 2 FBI agents came to pay me a visit. The CSI looking agents, with hands on their pistols, opened a folder with my Facebook picture on the front page and asked "are you Mr. Cope?"
I said "yes I am, what did I do now, and are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Agent #1 played good cop. He responded by saying "you are not in trouble, but we have some questions we want you to answer." Agent #2 played bad cop. He responded saying "if we wanted to give you a heart attack, we wouldn't have knocked."
What was going on? Was this just a bad dream? Unfortunately it was real; so very real. They soon began questioning me about 2 five minute phone calls I received last June from Afghanistan. They asked to see cell phone call logs. They asked could they come in as they opened the door before I could respond.
Once inside I immediately began explaining my love for our country and that I would never do anything to harm the USA. They scoped out my living room seeing pictures of all my family members and relatives who served, and is now serving our country in a military capacity.
They were impressed with the picture and article hanging on the wall showing my oldest brother receiving the U.S. Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his supporting role in combat operations off the coast of Viet Nam while serving aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Midway. As a member of the Midway's crew, he was instrumental in the success of the carrier's aircraft while conducting air strikes against the Communist and Viet Cong forces in Viet Nam.
I next showed them a picture of another brother, Army Captain Cope who served for 20 years. I then went on to show them my 2 little sisters who served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. But was that enough? I didn't think so. I went on to show them a article I recently wrote regarding the killing and capturing of the world's #1 terrorist.
"Osama Bin Laden dead. Congratulations Mr. President. Mission Accomplished."
I really couldn't believe what had just happened. I told them it was the first time I've ever had contact with the FBI. I began thinking that I had been under surveillance for nearly 1 year. I had mixed emotions knowing that our intelligence agencies were on the ball, but they had dropped the ball with this investigation. The only good thing about this whole episode is that I knew I didn't do anything wrong. That is why I'm telling my story; being transparent.
STAY TUNED FOR PART III " The Conclusion," OF THE MOST INTRIGUING WEEK IN MY LIFE. I'll report and you'll decide whether our intelligence agencies are doing their job or just looking for straws in a haystack.
Follow Lloyd Cope at Twitter and Facebook
©2011 by Lloyd Cope for Gather.com. All rights reserved.
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Comments: 95
Hope all goes well!
~M
Questions, questions, questions, etc., etc......
Arthur, if there were anything wrong with the visit, I doubt I'd be here telling the story, being transparent.
I had no reason to ask them to leave. I wasn't accused of anything. In the end they were just doing their job. I thanked them and shook their hands.
A little tidbit: We did receive a couple of calls from Afghanistan.
BeePepper'sMom, you've asked the right questions. My answer to one of the two questions you asked will explain this whole debacle.
Thanks for submitting to
The Surreal Circus.
I once was very unaware of how the "powers that be" abused their powers, but I don't believe anything would surprise me at this stage in my life. I am tearful as well my friend that the FBI knocked at your door, because all of us are at risk for any sort of invasion. Thank God, I try to live a peaceful and clean life. I was raised to follow the rules and to be a "good American Citizen," but even that is not enough. I have know doubt that my latest venture of writing about injustices will lead to a knock on my door or worse, but I know we must step out of the box at times, especially if it will assist othr American's.
My friend, you are writing encouraging articles about the current president and enlightening our fellow humans about other righteous events; surely you contemplated some form of recourse? Keep writing as the pen is a inexpensive form of power as long as you stay honest... Like other friends here, I will review part I and anxiously await part II.
In conclusion, I need to correct you about your current logic regarding individual rights; trust me brothers and sisters, we are not "innocent until proven guilty," if the powers that be want you, establishing guilt is an easy task. What you are my friend, is fortunate that your noise was determined to be appropriate and average (smile). You have experienced the first line of warning and hopefully the last... I will be praying for you and all of us. I will include a special prayer for your relatives that assist in protecting our country... God bless America and the protections of free speech that were promised.
Latonya S. Peterson; Author and Monitor of Injustice
In a perfect world this whole episode should be construed as a abuse of power. However, I believe they were just doing their jobs monitoring calls coming into the United States coming from Afghanistan.
Where they dropped the ball was in taking it to level of actually coming to my door. The calls were received in June, 2010. Obviously they've been monitoring my activities since then and should have concluded that I posed no real threat.
Like you, I live a peaceful life; not always clean though. LOL!
"My friend, you are writing encouraging articles about the current president and enlightening our fellow humans about other righteous events; surely you contemplated some form of recourse? Keep writing as the pen is a inexpensive form of power as long as you stay honest... Like other friends here, I will review part I and anxiously await part II."
Latonya, in this particular instance I believe transparency is the best policy. Many would have sat on this story, hoping it was just a bad dream that would go away. As you can see, I'm not one of those people.
Once again, thanks for stopping by and lending your support. I appreciate it.
Lloyd.
LOL
Like you said, he was watching for my reaction.
BTW, the U.S. government even reads my emails. I have really good evidence. A few years ago, I got email from the IRS reminding me to declare my lotto winnings even though I have never played. The emails came shortly after I got spam offering lotto or stating that I had won.
Greetings BeePepper'sMom, you are correct as well and the thought of Osama as a "martyr" is very uncomfortable.
I jumped off truck near Buckingham Palace and got a ride to the Thames River. I jumped in and swam hundreds of meters to the Atlantic Ocean where I picked up by a cargo ship heading to the port of Newark, New Jersey.
I was fed turtle soup and drank whiskey with the crew. The rest is history.
Darn! They pay me to write creative material? I am admiring your creative thoughts; what an imagination... (Smile); very nice Lloyd, Latonya Peterson; Author
One proofreader’s thoughts! Smiles!
J. Reid, I couldn't resist the temptation. LOL!
J. Reid, you won't believe how simple a matter this whole episode was. Here's a little tidbit.
'Our family has been in the real estate business for nearly 50 years.'
A forthright presentation would have been best, now I question everything you write.
OK J. Reid. Here we go.
"I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. PART III, The Conclusion" is now in the making. Stay tuned.
I'm sorry you doubt my authenticity, but I'm not capable of pulling off such a stunt. It may seem like fantasy to you, but you haven't walked in my shoes.
I am so fortunate!
So, there you go, the truth is, if there is any at all, is cloaked in the fallacies you invented for filler.
Rule # 1 is to read the first paragraph of the article before any critical analyst. In PART ONE, the first paragraph went like this.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979471892
"The last week has been one of the most intriguing weeks in my life. Last week my Yahoo and Verizon email accounts were hacked and the following email was sent to everyone on my email list. Here is the email that all received."
What part of "hacked" don't you understand? Everyone else understood that first paragraph. Why didn't you?
Have you noticed that you are alone in accusing me of making this story up? I couldn't have done it. What would have made me sit back and think to deceive everyone with such a fantasy? THIS REALLY HAPPENED!
There shall be no further interactions from me on this post.
Did they enter without consent?
In part III, the Conclusion, I will discuss further aspects of this episode, including the questions asked about a business associate and how I was asked not to tip him off that they were on their way to his office.
Matthew, nothing could be further from the truth. One cannot just make this stuff up. I'm not that creative. Why on earth would I try and pull a stunt like this?
Ya gotta get up pretty early in the morning to pull that one over on me, plus I had just heard of cybernaping.
I'm so sorry you were a victim of that also and more than that, I'm glad you're alright.
WoW! Sometimes it seems like if it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. Be safe and Be Blessed."
Otelia, one of my Facebook friends was ready to send money on my behalf. My cousin in England went as far as contacting the United States Embassy in London on my behalf.
I know that you and I would immediately sniff out this scam, but many aren't like you and I. Many of my friends and family freaked out when they received the email.
Thank you so much Otelia. I'm alive and well. However, the episode won't end. I walked into my credit union last week and was asked, "are you alright, is everything OK?"
I said "yes, the balance transfers went through without a glitch."
She said "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about you getting robbed in England." She had also received the email.
I told her it was all a big scam and everyone in the bank had a good laugh. It's really nice to know that people really care.
Thanks,
Lloyd
Ed, could you please further expand on that comment? Although the FBI dropped the ball in this case, it's nice to know that they were monitoring all calls coming from Afghanistan before our duly elected 44th President Obama put a hit on the world's #1 terrorist, Osama Bin Laden.
Although the intelligence my be a little intrusive, if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
It's just the times we live in. We cannot let down our guards.
Also, I have met several former "military advisors" from the USA that helped the AFghanstain "resistance" to the soviet invasion that had signed a petition to permit a "friendly assignation" of Osama Bin Laden.
...That was refused in 1983 or 1984..
...What good is it to live cowered in fear, with our freedoms diminished, to live in safety??
Thomans Jefferson once said "Those who give up freedoms for safety deserve neither.
Have a wonderful 4th of July.
I guess your heart skipped a beat or two when the FBI came knocking. Consider this analogy: A child goes missing - the police are deluged with "tips" . . . the Police are OBLIGATED to follow every lead with professionalism and expediantcy. Most are "dead-ends". As for the "War on Terror", the FBI & Dept. of Homeland Sceurity are obligated to follow ANY suspicious activity of ANYONE - citizen, non-citizen, illegal immigrant, ANYONE. It may appear to be a waste of taxpayer funds, but IF they capture one "terrorist" before he/she can commit a horendous act against our country, then every dime spent is well worth it. I am happy for you that all worked out in your favor. As for the E-mail "Tears in my eyes" - I've had several of them - - - they make me laugh - as well as those saying; "My client, John Phelps, an executive of Shell Oil Co. & his entire family were killed in an auto accident here in Nigeria. He left an estate of 10million U.S. Dollars. I want you to be his next of kin. I will then transfer 90% of this estate into your bank account. Please send me your name, date of birth, city, state, bank name, account number, phone number . . . etc." Yeah right - they expect an American to fall for this scam!
Best regards, Happy 4th. of July,
Michael Phelps
Michael, that is why I give them a pass this time. Hopefully they won't make the same mistake again. They were just doing their jobs. I understand that.