Fear And Loathing On The UAP Trail: Whistleblowers Harassed For Speaking Out
I was in DC last Tuesday (9 September 2025). Our nation’s capital. It was looking pretty good. A lot better than I had expected it to look, to be honest. I was there on business. Professional journalism. Covering the congressional hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAPs). Held on 9 September 2025, the hearing was titled "Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection.”
The goal of the hearing was to confront concerns over the government's lack of transparency regarding UAPs and address how Congress can better protect whistleblowers who come clean with information. It was a timely subject to be sure. Whistleblower David Grusch had previously made claims that someone had waved a gun at him. Without naming names, he claimed this was “brutal” retaliation for his statements asserting the US government was in secret possession of non-human technology.
Back at a congressional hearing in 2023, Grusch claimed that he was aware of "multiple colleagues" who were physically harmed for spilling the beans on UAP secrets and that Grusch himself “feared for his life.” These claims of harassment were corroborated by journalist Ross Coulthart who was privy to some of these threats. The danger is real, and anyone who has covered the subject for any significant length is aware of the High Strangeness and threatening aura which pervades the phenomenon.
An impressive line of UAP witnesses were slated for the current hearing. These were U.S. Air Force veteran Jeffrey Nuccetelli, UAP witness U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins, UAP Journalist George Knapp, UAP witness U.S. Air Force veteran Dylan Borland and Senior Policy Counsel at the Project On Government Oversight Joe Spielberger.
I arrived at the Capitol building at what I thought was a reasonable time, 9:00 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. hearing. There was a long line in front of the hearing chambers. Turns out the chamber was already filled, the line had started forming at 5:00 a.m. These poor bastards were just waiting for someone to to exit said premises. When or if someone left, their seat could be given to someone on line. It was worse than trying to get into Le Jardin on a Friday night.
This was a futile exercise and mercifully, an attendant came out offering an overflow room where visitors could view the hearing. It was in another part of the building and the viewing would be on closed circuit, but at least we could see the damn thing. So I joined a handful of others to be escorted to the overflow room.
It was a long and winding journey through the very bowels of the Capitol building but we finally made it to our destination, a room with many spare seats and two TV sets hanging from the walls.
Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) delivered the opening remarks:
"For too long, the issue of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – commonly known as UAPs – has been shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal."
Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation.
This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth."
There were a lot of impressive testimonies given by the witnesses. One that jumped out at me was given by Dylan Borland. Borland is a former “1N1” geospatial intelligence specialist for the U.S. Air Force, active from 2010 to 2013. He was stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia from 2011 to 2013. Borland stated:
“During the summer of 2012, my team was on standby for weather and I returned to my barracks on base. At approximately 0130 I saw an approximately 100- foot-long equilateral triangle fly from near the NASA hangar on base and come within one hundred feet of where I was standing. This craft interfered with my telephone, did not have any sound, and the material it was made of appeared fluid or dynamic. I was under this triangular craft for a few minutes, and then it rapidly ascended to commercial jet level in seconds. It displayed zero kinetic disturbance, sound, or wind displacement.”
Borland claims, under oath, that due to his direct knowledge of certain UAP crash retrieval programs, his professional career was obstructed and he had to suffer sustained reprisals from government agencies for more than a decade. These took the form of medical malpractice by Veterans Affairs staff, forged and manipulated employment documents, workplace harassment, colleagues told not to speak to him, and manipulation of security clearance.
As we speak, some new information on the subject has emerged. In the latest episode of the WEAPONIZED PODCAST, which dropped today (16 September 2025), Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp spoke with whistleblower Matt Brown, author of the Immaculate Constellation document, which was shared with Congress during its previous UAP hearing. Turns out, Brown is a close associate of Dylan Borland. Brown was on call to testify at the September 9 hearing but ultimately, was not. Nonetheless, he has some truth bombs to drop, and did so on the podcast.
Corbell asked Brown about his experiences with harassment during his whistleblowing process. Brown spoke of the technique of gaslighting being used on witnesses. One of his worst experiences was having his home broken into while he and his wife were asleep with their animals. Brown was shocked to find, when he woke up, that people had been in his home during the night. Personal documents and I.D. were laid out as if they were photographed. Personal remains of his grandfather were removed and then left next to the garbage. He filed an official police report of the incident.
It was obvious that this was not a robbery but rather, a direct threatening message sent to him. Nonetheless, Brown said on the podcast that the reaction from the committee and from the public has been great and supportive, encouraging him to move forward. As well, Brown feels that we have taken a step forward, a culmination of decades of work from predecessors towards truth and "restoring our constitution."
Andrew K. Arnett is a writer/researcher and author of the book The Crowley Conspiracy available on Amazon.