TallGuyJohninBKK

Rising political threats take U.S. into uncharted territory as 2024 election looms Threats against public officials have been steadily climbing in recent years, creating new challenges for law enforcement, civil rights and the health of American democracy. ... "Even after a [prior] visit from FBI agents, the affidavit said, Robertson continued posting violent words and imagery online, including quipping that if the FBI was still monitoring his posts he would “be sure to have a loaded gun in case you drop by again.” He also posted about killing Biden, who was due to visit the state Thursday." https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/12/political-threats-2024-elections-00110966

What is the FBI’s policy on the use of deadly force by its special agents? "FBI special agents may use deadly force only when necessary—when the agent has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the agent or another person. If feasible, a verbal warning to submit to the authority of the special agent is given prior to the use of deadly force." https://www.fbi.gov/about/faqs/what-is-the-fbis-policy-on-the-use-of-deadly-force-by-its-special-agents

Life lesson - don't point a weapon at law enforcement when they arrive to arrest you for publicly threatening to assassinate the president, vice president, and various others.

He was shot and killed while FBI agents were trying to serve legal search and arrest warrants on him for threatening to assassinate the president, vice president and others. There's zero evidence to suggest he was "murdered," and you have no credible source to show he was -- murder being an unlawful and premeditated killing. Rather, he's a guy who previously posted regarding the FBI after their prior visit to his home: "In a Facebook post days later cited in the affidavit, he said, “To my friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots: I know you’re reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to ‘violent eradication.’” https://apnews.com/article/utah-biden-fbi-assassination-threat-ba3cc1d3b2f6cca8bd429febdcf04219

The FBI agents had legal search and arrest warrants for this guy, because he had publicly threatened to assassinate the president, vice president and other government officials.

Another Republican non-believer from your camp: Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated support for executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019 before running for Congress (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene’s Facebook page shows. ... In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the “deep state” working against Trump." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-democrats-violence/index.html

Touché! ????

It's perhaps easy to dismiss this guy as a lone, aberrant nutjob... And the same with the Jan. 6 rioters/insurrectionists... But let's remember who actually has lit the anti-government, grievance-filled fire under all these types and has mobilized them into action -- Donald Trump: "Robertson referred to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, and also posted threats against top law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump." https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/utah-man-threatens-biden-fbi-killed-00110554 "“If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” Trump wrote in all caps Friday afternoon on Truth Social, which is run by a media company he co-owns." https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/04/feds-alert-judge-to-trumps-if-you-go-after-me-im-coming-after-you-post-00109944

The news reports indicate the FBI were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on this guy for exactly that. "The FBI in Salt Lake City said the shooting occurred around 6:15 am. local time while special agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence in Provo." "Robertson was facing three counts, according to the complaint -- interstate threats, threats against the president, and influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat." https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/man-killed-fbi-raid-connection-threats-biden-officials/story?id=102138966 Public threats to assassinate the president of the U.S., vice president and various law enforcement/prosecutors are not legally protected free speech, and never have been.

And lead-up background from the AP: "Clark said Robertson had a collection of perhaps 20 guns, though he noted that that wasn’t unusual for the area." ... "According to court documents, two FBI agents came to Robertson’s house after the initial warning about him from Truth Social in March. ... "In a Facebook post days later cited in the affidavit, he said, “To my friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots: I know you’re reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to ‘violent eradication.’” https://apnews.com/article/utah-biden-fbi-assassination-threat-ba3cc1d3b2f6cca8bd429febdcf04219

The report below by Politico indicates this nutjob was armed at the time of the shooting. And the following as well: "Robertson referred to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, and also posted threats against top law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump." ... Robertson’s posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit,” investigators said in court records. ... “The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings." https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/utah-man-threatens-biden-fbi-killed-00110554

The Jan 6 crowd must have missed that memo. Along with a goodly portion of the gun-toting, Confed flag waving MAGA crowd.

Watch out for falling concrete above!!! Shades of the Lat Krabang overpass....

Another unparalleled success ( ???? ) for the Thai criminal justice system here, as per the following report on this case from the TH Daily News newspaper: Per Google Translate: "In addition, it was found that Mr. Jack had 4 arrest warrants in the case of "indecent acts against children under fifteen years of age". whether the child consents or not" according to various areas. And found a history of indecent acts of the same nature 7 more times in the areas of Samran Rat Police Station, Bang Rak Police Station, Nang Loeng Police Station and Pathum Wan Police Station." https://www.msn.com/th-th/news/national/ผมเห็นชุดแล้วกระหาย-แจ๊คหื่น-ยอมรับหื่นจริง-ตระเวนล้วงจับอวัยวะเพศนร-หญิง/ar-AA1eYZv8

The online 90-day reporting submission system is a centralized portal... But, AFAIK, the actual approvals are done at the various individual geographic Immigration office levels. Which means that some places may be faster and others slower, and those things may change from time to time.

This is the most recent COVID vaccination info I can find from the BMA in Bangkok dated August 3. Note that they're offering bivalent versions of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at various district public health centers around Bangkok: [translation via Google Translate] "Open for walk in and registration through the QueQ app. Every Wednesday except public holidays, accept walk in Time 09.00-15.00 Every Friday, except public holidays, receive walk-ins and register through the QueQ app. Time 09.00-15.00 For more information, call 0 2203 2883 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM." https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/posts/pfbid02WTgWsemdGVHrAv3U9pANDSShARx6rgV4twUBfKub99MqApEyheaEiPLfgoQ1AmEBl The instructions in the graphic below say foreigners residing long-term in Thailand should bring either their passport or TH pink ID card as a form of identification. (Typically these kinds of free government-offered COVID vaccinations have not been available for free to tourists).

That's a LONGGGG wait! Never heard of an online submission taking that long at BKK CW... Wonder if something is awry there at present. I submitted mine online the other day at the very beginning of my 15 days ahead of deadline eligibility period.... Got the acceptance (not approval) notification by email the next day. Will report back here when / if my approval notification arrives. Last time in March, my online submission took 3 business days from submission to approval.

AFAIK, in recent years, they've become much more strict and restrictive about allowing third parties into the secured areas of the Embassy/ACS service areas. Part of their whole heightened security measures because of terrorism threats, etc.

The bivalent COVID vaccines, both Pfizer and Moderna flavors, have been available and used in Thailand for many months now. I don't know about what MoPH has been using for the Thai general population out in the hinterlands lately... But at least here in BKK and specifically for the farang oriented vaccination centers, they all have been offering the bivalent vaccines (already long in use in the West) for some time now... largely supplies I believe that were donated to Thailand by various foreign governments like France and South Korea. What's less clear/unknown, is just what the Thai MoPH is or isn't going to do for the NEXT cycle of COVID vaccinations beyond the current bivalent ones that are already available here. But, to be fair, the MoPH lately has done a pretty poor job of publicizing just where and when the COVID vaccines will actually be available, especially in terms of any communications aimed at the non-Thai reading population. The little communicating they have been doing has mostly been in TH language.

Surprised they'd let you in for the wife's interview, Lopburi (albeit at the request of the Embassy officer doing the interview)... How long ago was that encounter?

The current vaccines that have been in use for some time now are the bivalent version, aimed at both the original version of the virus and a later Omicron variant. The original version of the virus is pretty much no longer circulating, and everything these days is pretty much some version of the Omicron variant... Thus the change for the upcoming vaccines to a monovalent version specifically targeting XBB.1.5. The original version of the virus is no longer relevant/pertinent. The current versions of the bivalent vaccines were aimed at now mostly declined prior Omicron variants (BA versions) that preceded the more recent XBB.1.5. version. "The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines have two mRNA components: one of which corresponds to the original strain of the virus that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and the other corresponds to the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant." https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-bivalent-vaccines The COVID virus has continued mutating/changing since its arrival, just like the flu virus changes somewhat every year, as do the annual flu vaccines. Thus, the COVID vaccine makers and the various public health authorities are periodically updating the versions of the vaccine provided to the public to provide the best possible protections against the currently circulating variants.

When my Thai wife got her US tourist visa several years back, the Embassy staff who interviewed her were little interested in her various personal financial details (even though we provided them all), and were MOST interested in my history of residence in Thailand, specifically, my long series of annual retirement extensions here. In fact, they wanted her to present my U.S. passport so they could see all the various extension stamps, as an indicator of my/our ongoing Thailand residence. Also helpful was a letter of invitation written by my parents in the U.S. at the time inviting my Thai wife to come to visit and stay with them -- a letter that was submitted as part of her application package, and a copy she carried with her to her Embassy interview.

When it comes to Thais applying for U.S. tourist visas, I think the best any paid agent can do is make sure the applicants have filled out all the info correctly and followed all the required steps. AFAIK, other than that, agents have no role in improving one's chances of success with the U.S. Embassy. They can't even go inside when the Thai citizen goes in for their Embassy interview, nor can the American spouse. It's not like Thai Immigration, where agents have the ability to smooth over certain things.

Best you hope you don't' end up on the losing end of Thai "street justice" somewhere down the line..... Doesn't take much... Wrong place, wrong time... and you might well find yourself in their shoes.

Hope the video gets spread far and wide in British and other international media.... So prospective tourists can see what lurks behind the "smiles."