I was at an reception/lecture last night where Jan Shipps talked. Mingling afterwards, she and I had a chance to talk, and got on the topic of Joseph and Nauvoo polygamy. Jan says her closest Mormon friend was Valeen Avery, co-author of the Emma Smith biography 'Mormon Enigma.' Jan described how Val was so upset by the chapters about Joseph and Nauvoo polygamy that she could only write a short bit. ... Continue reading »

This is my mother's written description of events in this extraordinary and extralegal set of events. I've made minor edits for privacy: _____________________ After 2:00 PM on Wednesday, April 21, I returned to my home in Provo driving a red Toyota truck belonging to my oldest son, D----------. As I turned onto I noticed at least three armed men wearing vests going through the neighbors yards proceeding in the direction ... Continue reading »

Since I talked to the FBI, I've now had a chance to talk to both my mother and brother (the eyewitnesses to what transpired). If you're coming in late, my brother, Richard Chiu, submitted a sarcastic letter to the FBI via their website. Subsequently a group of flak-jacketed law enforcement personnel with rifles showed up at my brother's home, were allowed into the home by my mother where they tasered ... Continue reading »

Just got off the phone with John Wright, who is the supervisor in the Provo FBI office. According to him, the FBI's involvement was merely to forward the letter they got to the local authorities. All the law enforcement, then, was performed by the Provo PD with one Joint Terrorism Task Force person (a sheriff's deputy whose been deputized for the JTTF). This JTTF person was either at the scene or ... Continue reading »

HUMINT is intelligence from human sources, as opposed to intelligence derived from signals (SIGINT), for example. I'm aware of a few times when the FBI has relied on HUMINT. The first instance involved a friend who found himself living next to a GRU agent, back during the Cold War. Said friend volunteered to act as a counter-espionage agent. Eventually enough data was accumulated to declare the GRU agent persona non grata and ... Continue reading »