I was living in San Francisco in 2004 and George W Bush was President. The Iraq War was happening and hundreds of thousands of people in the Bay Area protested every week, me included. One late morning there was a loud unmistakable KNOCK! on the door and standing outside were two Secret Service Agents in suits with their badges prominently displayed for my inspection. They politely explained that they had received an anonymous "tip" (they wouldn't tell me who the source , or what the nature of the tip was)... and that they wanted to ask me a few questions about my feelings about George W Bush, the war, protests etc. We stood there inside my apartment for three hours, standing up, and I answered questions about whether I had guns, did I know how to get them, build bombs, what did I know about explosives, how did I feel about Bush "personally". Afterwards they asked permission to take my photo and I said yes. This was before DNA so they didn't ask for that. They didn't take fingerprints. They gave me a business card and said they'd be in touch. Two weeks later I got a phone call and they said there was nothing to be concerned about, they found no evidence of any threat to Bush in their investigation and that all's good. That was the last I ever heard from them. It was at least ten years LATER that I learned that it is a federal crime (felony) to LIE to a federal law enforcement officer, including the Secret Service. It was fortunate for me, and probably out shear luck that in the three hour interview I never once lied about anything. It's so easy to lie; we almost accept it as the cost for living. But had I lied to them about even the slightest little thing, I probably would have been listening to the fog horn from the Bay weaving it's sound over the walls of San Quentin! The point is, for whatever reason, I was centered and present to authenticity and had no need to try to be somebody else, to wear a mask, to hide who I was. This has been a good learning experience for me all my life.
What an experience you had! At least mine weren’t secret service. Good for you that you were 100% honest. Thanks so much for sharing this with me and with my readers.
I was living in San Francisco in 2004 and George W Bush was President. The Iraq War was happening and hundreds of thousands of people in the Bay Area protested every week, me included. One late morning there was a loud unmistakable KNOCK! on the door and standing outside were two Secret Service Agents in suits with their badges prominently displayed for my inspection. They politely explained that they had received an anonymous "tip" (they wouldn't tell me who the source , or what the nature of the tip was)... and that they wanted to ask me a few questions about my feelings about George W Bush, the war, protests etc. We stood there inside my apartment for three hours, standing up, and I answered questions about whether I had guns, did I know how to get them, build bombs, what did I know about explosives, how did I feel about Bush "personally". Afterwards they asked permission to take my photo and I said yes. This was before DNA so they didn't ask for that. They didn't take fingerprints. They gave me a business card and said they'd be in touch. Two weeks later I got a phone call and they said there was nothing to be concerned about, they found no evidence of any threat to Bush in their investigation and that all's good. That was the last I ever heard from them. It was at least ten years LATER that I learned that it is a federal crime (felony) to LIE to a federal law enforcement officer, including the Secret Service. It was fortunate for me, and probably out shear luck that in the three hour interview I never once lied about anything. It's so easy to lie; we almost accept it as the cost for living. But had I lied to them about even the slightest little thing, I probably would have been listening to the fog horn from the Bay weaving it's sound over the walls of San Quentin! The point is, for whatever reason, I was centered and present to authenticity and had no need to try to be somebody else, to wear a mask, to hide who I was. This has been a good learning experience for me all my life.
What an experience you had! At least mine weren’t secret service. Good for you that you were 100% honest. Thanks so much for sharing this with me and with my readers.