police chief update

On the evening of October 21, 2016, I conducted a phone interview with ex Police Chief of Gilberton, Mark Kessler.  The last time I saw or spoke to him was in 2013 when he taught me how to shoot a firearm.  On a strip mine outside Frackville, PA, I shot every gun he owned, including a fully-automatic assault rifle, his AK-47. 

Days after our meeting he posted a series of violent videos on YouTube, cursing at the camera in an angry tirade while firing his machine gun:

He was suspended from his job "for a non existing borough policy" (illegaly, he told me.)  He said he then sued Gilberton Borough and won, and that he retired with no infractions on his career record.  During his suspension a group called the C.S.F. or Constitutional Security Force gathered in protest outside Gilberton Borough Hall. 

Kessler disappeared for a while then resurfaced in 2014 with a new narrative: the videos were decoys meant to target and weed out domestic terrorists who planned to harm the government.  In an interview with Alan Colmes on Fox News he explained he was an undercover FBI agent during the course of the video phenomenon and that he did it for the sake of his country:

 
Prior to our interview I received messages from Chief Kessler via Facebook, outlining the details of our arrangements.  Later I received emails saying all Facebook accounts linked to his name were fake and that I should ignore them.  After several failed attempts, including one to meet in person when Kessler cancelled last minute, we finally we made a plan to talk on the phone.  He described insurrectionist communities he raided in Maryland, calling them self-sustaining subcultures with their own militia-type hierarchies.  The compounds looked like the wild west, and their residents were heavily trained.  He also described sinister characters he met on his way back from Mexico:

After his mission with the feds ended, Chief Kessler said he got an offer for a reality TV show.  He described sitting in the back of a Dodge Charger "all blacked out" where an undercover federal agent begged him not to do it. 

Below is the full transcription of the interview.  Chief Kessler asked if I would ever be interested in writing a book with him.