Veteran and VA Whistleblower Harassed by FBI Agents, Sent to Psych Ward, and Stripped of 2A Rights Over Posting Memes

An incredibly shocking story has surfaced about a Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) whistleblower who was forcefully committed to a psych ward after allegedly being harassed by FBI agents over posting memes about her experiences.

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According to the Daily Caller, a social worker at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, Jamie Fox, is a Navy veteran who received benefits from the very VA center she works at. The problem started when she noticed her own personal information was easily accessible and unguarded:

Fox said her problems began again when she noticed her C-File — a folder created by VA that contains all relevant information on a veteran — could be accessed without authorization. In Fox’s case, it included her psychologist’s notes and other sensitive, personal information.

As Fox kept digging, she learned something even more frightening. “In learning how my former coworkers and managers have continued access to my private and protect information, I learned that the VA computer system called [the Veterans Benefit Management System] VBMS is not secure,” she said.

“The VA cannot keep certain people out of certain people’s files,” Fox said in a statement. “My former managers and co-workers can pull up all of my records from military, work, medical, etcetera from a laptop in their home and show anyone they want my information. None of my conversations with my doctors are private, including my therapy records.”

An April 2016 VA Office of Inspector General report supported Fox’s claims, and Fox has been trying to find out who accessed her file ever since but has not had any luck getting to the bottom of it thanks to red-tape laden bureaucracy. Fox claims that she’s tried going to every office under the sun for answers, but still hasn’t gotten anywhere.

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The Daily Caller reported that Fox began making memes inspired by the Matrix and based on her experiences with trying to find answers, which she planned on turning into a comic book later on. She would then post these memes to Twitter.

That’s when things took a dark turn for Fox according to the Daily Caller. FBI agents showed up to her work and began harassing her, denying her rights and pressuring her to take the memes down. She relented, only to have police show up at her door and force her into being taken to a psych ward:

In the afternoon of Oct. 24, 2018, Fox said she was visited by three men — two of whom claimed to be with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while the third — who gave her his card — was Lucas Coulter, a VA Criminal Investigator.

The three, Fox said, insisted she remove the memes from Twitter.

Fox remembers them saying, “You have no First Amendment right.”

An argument ensued and Fox, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, suffered a panic attack and went into the bedroom to regain her composure. The interaction ended with Fox agreeing to remove the memes.

Coulter did not respond to an email for comment. A separate email to Samantha Shero, a spokeswoman with the FBI, was also left unreturned.

Approximately an hour and a half later, an office with the Windsor (California) Police Department showed up at Fox’s home; by this point, she’d gone to work, and her husband answered.

She rushed back home and was told she must accompany the police officer who was executing a 5150 hold — a portion of the California code that allows the state or other designated enforcement officers to involuntarily commit someone for up to 72 hours.

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She soon learned that the FBI phoned in the call to the police asking for help and claiming that Fox’s panic attack from her PTSD forced them to draw their firearms.

Fox was taken by ambulance on a gurney to David Grant Medical Center on the Travis Air Force Base, where she spent the day locked up there. According to Fox, the FBI agents never drew their weapons during their encounter with her.

Before being allowed to leave, Fox was forced to sing a document waving her 2nd Amendment rights.

Now, Fox received a letter telling her that she has been placed on involuntary leave according to the Daily Caller:

Effective Monday, December 3, 2018, you will be placed on Administrative Leave pending an investigation. Until further notice, you are also prohibited from entering any SF VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS) grounds or buildings, including the Santa Rosa Clinic and any other CBOCs.  If your medical care is provided by the SFVAHCS, you must check in with SFVAHCS Police Service before going to your medical appointments.

The Daily Caller reported that it has reached out to all parties concerned, but no one responded.

 

 

 

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