Frankhouser 1.21.22

To Whom It May Concern:

You are receiving this correspondence as a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552. I am requesting the following:

All records, documents, and communications relating to Royson Everett Frankhouser, Jr. aka Roy E. Frankhouser and Roy Frankhauser (November 4, 1939 – May 15, 2009). Mr. Frankhouser was a Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan and the east coast regional political coordinator for the Minutemen during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1975, Mr. Frankhouser testified in a United States District Court that he had worked as an informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (then managed under the Department of the Treasury). An ATF agent, Edward N. Salmon, also testified at that time that Mr. Frankhouser was employed by the ATF between at least September 1972 and the summer of 1973. I have attached an article published in The Morning Call on September 16, 1975, reprinted from The Washington Star, as verification.

This request is not time restricted, so please include all records responsive to Mr. Frankhouser over the course of his life and during his time as an informant. There is no expectation of a violation of Mr. Frankhouser's privacy as he passed away in 2009. I have attached an obituary from his hometown newspaper, The Reading Eagle, but for expediency's sake include here a link to another obituary on Legacy.com: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/readingeagle/name/roy-frankhouser-obituary?id=14894342

I am a member of the news media, and I am asking you waive any fees associated with this request. I have previously written for Philly Voice and Atlas Obscura. Please take note of the Office of Management and Budget guidelines published March 27, 1987 (52 FR 10012) that include electronic publications and other nontraditional publishers as representatives of the news media.

This request is not being made for commercial purposes. All documents will be provided to the general public without charge.

In the event that there are fees, I am willing to pay up to $100. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as the statute requires. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Sincerely,

Robert Skvarla, Jr.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, attached, and originally submitted on January 21, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am sending this correspondence in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request first sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on January 21, 2022 via a third-party service, Muckrock. As of May 2, 2022, the ATF has not acknowledged the request, nor has it assigned it a FOIA request number.

In my original request, attached, I asked for all documents responsive to Royson Everett Frankhouser, Jr. aka Roy E. Frankhouser and Roy Frankhauser (November 4, 1939 – May 15, 2009). Similar documents have already been released to the public by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

I have attempted to contact the ATF’s public information officer on a number of occasions, both via the ATF’s preferred email address (foiamail@atf.gov) and the officer’s direct contact number (202-648-7390). I sent emails on March 14, 2022, and April 14, 2022, and attempted phone contact on April 8, 2022, and April 29, 2022. I was able to speak with the officer on one of these occasions, April 8, 2022, and at that time she stated she did not have a record of the request but would have someone look into it and contact me. I have not received a follow-up response as of 5/2/2022.

I am reaching out for assistance in moving along my request for acknowledgement with the ATF. This request should encompass all documents responsive to Royson Everett Frankhouser, Jr. I have attached the original request and a copy of Mr. Frankhouser's obituary for clarification’s sake.

As in prior correspondence, I am renewing my request for a fee waiver. I am a member of the news media, with bylines including CovertAction Magazine, Philly Voice, and Atlas Obscura. Please take note of the Office of Management and Budget guidelines published March 27, 1987 (52 FR 10012) that include electronic publications and other nontraditional publishers as representatives of the news media. Additionally, information of this nature has already been released by other federal agencies.

Sincerely,

Robert Skvarla, Jr.