Donald E. Flickinger "Sons of Satan" Investigation (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)
| Tracking # |
2024-00300 |
| Multi Request | Donald E. Flickinger "Sons of Satan" Investigation |
| Submitted | Nov. 18, 2023 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Nathan Isaac
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
All records mentioning or pertaining to the investigation conducted by Donald E. Flickinger, special agent for the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, during the period of 1975 through 1985. Special Agent Flickinger was tasked with investigating the claims of a convict name A. Kenneth Bankston who was serving time in Leavenworth Prison in Kansas for bank robbery. Bankston specifically claimed that a group named the "Sons of Satan" was perpetrating the cattle mutilations occurring in the Midwest during that period. Bankston originally contacted Ross Doyen, a Kansas state senator, with these claims. Additionally, a man named Jerome Clark began corresponding with Senator Doyen and Bankston about the claims that such a group existed. Bankston subsequently claimed that this group was also associated with individuals involved in the bombing of the "Sterling Hall" Army mathematics lab at the University of Wisconsin in 1970; the theft of plutonium related to the "Karen Silkwood" case in 1974; and that the group maintained a list of US politicians that they planned to assassinate. Federal and state law enforcement took Bankston's claims serious enough that Special Agent Flickinger corresponded with the United States District Attorney's Office in Minneapolis, Federal Judge Myles Lord, and the Warden at the Marion Penitentiary in 1975 to transfer Bankston to a minimal security facility. Special Agent Flickinger subsequently spent the next few months in 1975 officially investigating Bankston's claims. We request copies of all files and correspondence related to Donald E. Flickinger's investigation into the claims of A. Kenneth Bankston, and/or the "Sons of Satan" (or any other groups associated with Flickinger's investigation into Bankston's claims). We additionally request copies of all correspondence between Special Agent Flickinger, J. Allen Hynek and Jerome Clark.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Nathan Isaac
From: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
November 27, 2023 REFER TO: 2024-00300Nathan IsaacMuckRock News, DEPT MR154674Boston, Massachusetts 02115Dear Mr. Isaac:This is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated November 21, 2023, and received by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on the same date, in which you requested records concerning Donald E. Flickinger's investigation into the claims of A. Kenneth Bankston, and/or the "Sons of Satan" (or any other groups associated with Flickinger's investigation into Bankston's claims), including all correspondence between Special Agent Flickinger, J. Allen Hynek, and Jerome Clark. The records you seek require a search in at least one other office within ATF. Accordingly, your request presents “unusual circumstances” under the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(iii)(I). Because of these unusual circumstances, we are extending the time limit to respond to your request by ten additional days, as permitted by the statute. We have not completed a search to determine whether there are records within the scope of your request. The time needed to process your request will depend on the complexity of our records search and on the volume and complexity of any records located. For your information, this office assigns incoming requests to one of three tracks: simple, complex, or expedited. Each request is then handled on a first-in, first-out basis in relation to other requests in the same track. Simple requests usually receive a response in approximately one month, whereas complex requests necessarily take longer. Your request was assigned to the Complex track. It was placed in chronological order based on the date of receipt and will be handled as quickly as possible when it is assigned for processing. Your request was assigned ATF tracking number 2024-00300. Please refer to this number in any future communications regarding this request.Because this Office is not assessing any fees in connection with the processing of FOIA requests at this time, there is no need for us to determine whether your request qualifies for a waiver of fees.If you have any questions regarding the status of your request, you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at 202-648-7390. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. Sincerely,Ginae E. BarnettActing ChiefInformation & Privacy Governance Division
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 21, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2024-00300.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
02/26/2024 REFER TO: 2024-00300
Nathan Isaac
MuckRock News, DEPT MR154674
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Dear Mr. Isaac:
This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 11/21/2023, and received by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on 11/21/2023, in which you requested records concerning Donald E. Flickinger's investigation into the claims of A. Kenneth Bankston, and/or the "Sons of Satan" (or any other groups associated with Flickinger's investigation into Bankston's claims), including all correspondence between Special Agent Flickinger, J. Allen Hynek, and Jerome Clark. Your request was assigned ATF tracking number 2024-00300. Please refer to this number in any future correspondence.
Records that might have been responsive to your request were destroyed pursuant to ATF’s record retention and disposition schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. Consequently, we were not able to locate any responsive records subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist.
You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison Lynette Carter, 202-648-7390, for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIA STAR portal by creating an account following the instructions on OIP’s website: https://doj-foia.entellitrak.com/etk-doj-foia-prod/login.request.do. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."
Ginae E. Barnett
Acting Chief
Information Privacy and Governance Division
Files
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