What would you do if you got a phone call that the FBI was looking for you? Well, this reporter can tell you exactly what I did.
On Thursday morning I received a call from a friend of mine with what I thought was a really bad joke.
"Clay, have you done anything really bad lately?"
At first this did not sound like a bad question. I have been known to do some really stupid things in my day.
"No, why do you ask?"
"Because the FBI just left my dad's office, and they were looking for you."
I went on to call him a liar and said that that was a good joke, but a little far fetched -- even for him. But after a few guarantees from him, I began to believe him and at the same time I started to become a little anxious as one would when he receives that kind of news.
"They said that they have been trying to find you and were using your car tags to track you down. But, hey, don't worry, it's probably nothing."
Well, that did not help me at all. Who wouldn't worry? When an FBI agent working for the Joint Terrorism Task Force is trying to find you, it is pretty hard to keep a level head. As I was waiting at my apartment for the door to be busted down and a swarm of heavily armed men to come and "take me out," my phone rang once again. It was my friend Ryan again with the agent's phone number.
"I think that you should just call him and find out what they want."
So with a great deal of anxiety, I dialed the number that he gave me, knowing that by the end of the day I was going to be on the next military transport to Guantanamo Bay.
"Jim Raddatz, FBI."
"Uh... this is Clay Thompson. I hear you are looking for me."
Raddatz went on to ask me a few questions, but nothing that linked me to any terrorist activity. He asked if we could meet. Who in their right mind would say no? We agreed on a "neutral" meeting place, which made me feel better than going into the FBI building, as someone who may or may not be involved in terrorist activity.
So I sat and waited, bouncing my leg and tapping my fingers, while a bit of sweat began to accumulate on my brow. Everything that I ever did was racing through my head from that time I tried pot in high school to the Mardi Gras trip a few years back. I started to call my friend who is a lawyer, just to be prepared, when my phone rang again.
"Mr. Thompson, we are here. Just look for the black Tahoe with the tinted windows," said Raddatz.I got in the elevator and headed downstairs with panic written all over me. When I got outside, two men with badges and guns approached me.
"I take it you are the gentlemen with the FBI," I said.
After they showed me their IDs, they asked me what I was doing on March 8 of this year. I politely explained that I did not know and that I could hardly tell them what I was doing last week -- short-term memory and all. A few questions later, it all started to become clearer as to my alleged terrorist activity.
"Sir, your car was spotted under the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, and you were seen taking pictures. Would you care to tell us why you were doing that?"
At this time a huge sigh of relief came out of me, and I knew then that I would not be spending any time in a cell in Cuba.
"That's all?" I said. "I am down there all the time taking pictures. You see, sir, I am a photographer, and I take a lot of photos of the downtown area and the bridges. I sell them at one of the galleries on Main Street."
He went on to ask if I could prove it, and, of course, I had plenty of photographs to show him and his partner. They took some more information from me and explained that they could see that I was not a terrorist, but they had to follow every lead.
Before they left, the agent gave me his card and told me to call him if I ever was approached again while shooting, but not if I got a speeding ticket. I thanked both of them kindly, and we parted ways with no shots fired and no hands cuffed.
Afterwards, while I indulged in a much needed alcoholic beverage, I realized that the FBI has a file on me and that it will, most likely, be there for the rest of my life. Now I am not exactly sure what the protocol is for people who may or may not be terrorists, but I am pretty sure that I will remain flagged. So, I wondered, if I were to check out "Mein Kampf" at the library for a paper, would the FBI know, and possibly wonder what that liberal bridge photographer is up to now?
So you see, I am torn about my feelings on this. I am happy that the FBI is doing its job and keeping us all safe, but at the same time, what is to become of the other innocent people like me, who got the phone call from one of their friends asking,
"Have you done anything bad lately?
