Bizarre! Watch what happens to this television news reporter and his cameraman when they are caught filming a closed prison that has been rumored to be a FEMA camp in waiting . Scroll down for the video and more detailed reporting.
“Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility was a medium security prison for male inmates in the Town of Moreau, Saratoga County, New York, United States. It was served by the Wilton, New York post office and included 100 structures on over 1,000 acres.” Wikipedia
On July 23, 2014, Mulholland and the WNYT news team went to Grant’s Cottage because it was the 129th anniversary of Grant’s death. A day later, on July 24, the team was sent back “to get additional [camera] shots.”
Mulholland was standing beneath the empty Mt. McGregor prison when a car sped toward him.
A uniformed man got out of the car, identified himself as a “corrections lieutenant,” and told Mulholland, “No filming.”
When Mulholland explained that they were doing a story on Grant’s Cottage, the officer said, “Doesn’t matter. You’re on state property right now. Can’t film here. You’ve got to get permission through Albany to film.”
So Mulholland conceded and said, “OK, we can go shoot from Grant’s Cottage.” The lieutenant said, “No. You’re not up here for that. You’re up here for a different purpose.”
When Mulholland repeats that they’ll go back to the cottage to shoot there, the officer says, “No. You’re leaving now.”
Mulholland: “You’re telling us we can’t visit a historic site?”
“No. You’ll run it through Albany.”
Mulholland then asks for the officer’s name.
“Lt. Dorn.”
“What’s your first name?”
“Lt. Dorn.”
Mulholland and crew then got into the car to drive back to Grant’s Cottage, only to have the way blocked by another corrections officer’s car.
Minutes later, the second car let some tourists through but continued to harass Mulholland by inching along in front of the news team’s car.
The news team then passed several men making a movie on the prison’s grounds.
On the way down from the mountain, Mulholland was detained by a NY state police officer who demanded their video, insisting that WNYT cannot leave with any film of the prison and that photos and video of the cottage with the prison in the background would be confiscated.
Lt. Dorn even threatened to arrest Mulholland.
After an hour of phonecalls between the TV station and Albany, the WNYT news team was finally allowed to leave without surrendering their video.
Rick Carlin of the Times Union has a follow-up on the bizarre incident:
The confrontation prompted The Associated Press to send a letter of protest. “We believe that the Channel 13 crew is owed an apology,” read part of a letter from Ken Tingley of the Glens Falls Post Star, the current president of the New York State Associated Press Association. WNYT News Director Eric Hoppel said Mulholland was reporting that the Grant Cottage site is scheduled to stay open after the prison closes. Another crew from a production company was on the prison grounds that day, shooting exterior scenes for a drama. State officials wouldn’t divulge details about the production.
ForbiddenKnowledge rightly asks “Why the secrecy” about a prison that’s empty. Is “Lt. Dorn” a private prison contractor? And is Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility being transformed into a FEMA camp?
So is this a case of power-mad prison officials, or is something more sinister going on in the supposedly empty prison?
You decide!
To thank Mark Mulholland for his courageous reporting, send him an email!
mmulholland@wnyt.com
