The Riot fAct

#fakeNews…?

Maybe that’s when it started to bleed into the mainstream?

Before the internet, there were, of course, conspiracy theorists and folks on the fringe who created entire fictional worlds for themselves. These folks peopled their worlds with all manner of weird characters and creatures. It was just harder for the like-minded to find each other before smartphones and Facebook.

Part I

Let me tell you the story of Phil Schneider.

The U.S. was engaged in heated national conversations about the reach and power of government in the lives of private citizens. The vast expanses of rugged, isolated land in places like Idaho, Utah, and Washington State enticed those looking for seclusion and distance from the federal government. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the American Militia Movement of today began with Ruby Ridge in 1992.^[1]

It’s hard to say how Schneider got booked as a speaker for the Preparedness Expo. But, it is likely attributable to his friend, Al Bielek. By the time Schneider met Bielek, Bielek was already a darling on the UFO lecture circuit touring multiple states and giving presentations about his experiences with ANOTHER secret government program, the Philadelphia Experiment. More on Al later, for sure.

As these Militia Movement organizations grew, they increasingly organized rallies, conventions, and other social events meant to increase membership and spread their gospel message.

After all, isolation only gets you far, right </snark>?

It’s hard to say how Schneider got booked as a speaker for the Preparedness Expo. But, it is likely attributable to his friend, Al Bielek. By the time Schneider met Bielek, Bielek was already a darling on the UFO lecture circuit touring multiple states and giving presentations about his experiences with ANOTHER secret government program, the Philadelphia Experiment. More on Al later, for sure.

The what? Yes, the UFO lecture circuit.

Look, we only have so much time so we’ll get into UFOlogy later. But, here’s a gloss so you have some context. In the 1980s, UFOlogy was building in popularity. Beginning with The Roswell Incident in 1947, the government could never wash off the stink of aliens. By the 1950s, people weren’t just seeing UFOs, they were being abducted. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steady turn toward more conspiratorial thinking. Until, finally, mainstream UFOlogy just adopted the axiom that the government was in on it. Some even took it a step further saying the government WERE it. Understood through this lens, it isn’t so strange that UFOlogy and the Militia Movement would end up comfy bedfellows.

They basically spoke the same language.

One source maintains that Phil Schneider’s lecturing career is the result of a fated meeting with the venerable,  Al Bielek.^[2]  According to the story, Schneider attended one of Al Bielek’s lectures in Seattle in the early 1990s. After the talk, Schneider introduced himself to Bielek and they hit it off. Schneider spun a few yarns for Bielek and Bielek immediately encouraged Schneider to hit the UFO lecture circuit – going so far as to put Schneider in touch with Dean Stonier. Stonier was the creator of Global Sciences, an organization founded in 1983 to:

promote the understanding and integration of body, mind and spirit as well as the mysteries which surround us in daily life such as UFO’s, crop circles, spiritual growth and ascension, alternative healing modalities, suppressed technologies, mind control, shadow government/one-world conspiracies.^[3]

This is as reasonable an origin story as we’re likely to get to explain “Phil Schneider, Lecturer.”

Of note, there’s a hint of corroboration of their relationship around seven minutes into a video presentation of one of Schneider’s lectures. He says, “My colleague, Al Biekek, has actually been on the highspeed railways…” From this admission, at least we know the two knew each other. It’s not too far a bridge that Bielek would have given Schneider access to his network and brought Schneider in on the action.

UPDATE!

The Salt Lake Tribune in May 1993 reported:

Al Bielek, who has a doctorate in physics from Harvard University [Bielek, in fact, did NOT attend Harvard], will discuss his participation in the military’s Philadelphia Experiment, including his bouts with invisibility, time travel and brain-washing.

Newspapers.com, The Park Record, October 27, 1994, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-park-record/145064677/

We have so much to thank Al Bielek for.

There’s a lot more to this story.

Stay tuned for Part II!

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^[1] https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/militia-movement

^[2] https://www.academia.edu/113602862/The_Phil_Schneider_Mystery

^[3] https://wiki.naturalphilosophy.org/index.php?title=Dean_E_Stonier