by Martin Willis
At the last minute, I decided to make another trek to Washington, DC, for my second historic UAP Congressional Hearing. I flew up from Savannah, met with Randall Nickerson, and stayed with a nice friend of Chris Lehto’s, just a few miles from the Capitol. Staying there allowed me to do my regular Tuesday night show, though sleep was elusive on a sofa. I told Randall to call me if the crowd started gathering early—and sure enough, at 2:45 AM, I was up and took an Uber to the Rayburn Building, arriving to find 16 people already in line ahead of me. The frigid 38-degree wind tunnel sidewalk was brutal, and I regretted not bringing warmer clothes, as others huddled in blankets and down jackets.
As the crowd grew, it was uplifting to see familiar faces from last year, and I struck up conversations with new friends, like Sydney from Yale, who’d founded a UFO society and shared an amazing encounter story. Talking with fellow enthusiasts made the long, cold wait bearable. A fan of my show, a physician and his wife, stood nearby, chatting all morning, and another gentleman named Jason saved my stream by lending me the right charger during the hearing!
By 7:00 AM, we were finally let inside. After navigating the labyrinth of the Rayburn building, we grouped up to avoid people cutting in line—a repeat of last year’s chaos. I made a point of keeping the order fair, though a couple of people pushed back; they later apologized, which I appreciated. It was good to see familiar names like Robert Salas, Steven Bassett, and Darcy Weir, and I even ran into Representative Tim Burchett, who remembered being on my show. Later, Lue Elizondo stopped by to greet us, as did James Fox, Danny Sheehan, and Ryan Graves, who will join my show in January.
Once we were finally seated, the energy in the room was electric. My early morning paid off as I was just three rows back, dead center. I live-streamed the government’s feed, commenting along the way. Though many viewers hoped for groundbreaking revelations, most agreed that the focus is now on pushing for transparency and raising public awareness.
Overall, it was an incredible experience, both for the hearing itself and the connections I made. Talking to fellow enthusiasts in line and meeting dozens of fans was truly the highlight of the year, another memorable chapter in this mysterious UFO journey.
My next show, Tuesday, November 19 will be with Cinematographer Charlie Parish, who was also attending in the front row.
Here is a briefing below that I had generated.
Sources:
- Hearing Wrap Up: Transparency and Accountability Needed to Provide Accurate Information on UAPs to the American People – United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- UFOs and UAPs should be studied by the U.S., experts tell congressional hearing : NPR
Summary:
A joint hearing was held by the House Oversight Committee subcommittees on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation and National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs on November 13, 2024, focusing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). The hearing featured testimonies from four experts: Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, Author and Former DoD Official Luis Elizondo, Former NASA Associate Administrator Michael Gold, and Journalist Michael Shellenberger. Read more
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BIO: Daniel Alan Jones is an investigative reporter for The Vortex, a show that explores the mysteries of the world and beyond. He has been researching unexplained phenomena for over a decade and has visited strange sites, conducted numerous interviews, and provided media coverage for several events. Daniel manages online groups including the Texas UFO Network and the Texas Cryptozoology Network. He is a native Texan and professional drummer as well as a private music instructor in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Daniel focuses primarily on the fields of ufology and cryptozoology as an ethnographic study in cultural anthropology. He was part of the 2021 Trinity Giant Salamander Expedition, led by world-renowned cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard, in search of an elusive cryptid purported to exist in the Pacific Northwest while also exploring the Patterson-Gimlin film site in Bluff Creek, California. Daniel’s work has appeared on a variety of media platforms including Spectrum News, the Star-Telegram, Bigfoot Times, Fox News, the Roswell Daily Record, and he has been involved with many events including the Texas Bigfoot Conference, Alien Con, the Edinburg UFO Conference, Bigfoot Roadshow, the MUFON Symposium, Texas UFOcon, the Oklahoma Bigfoot Symposium, the Roswell UFO Festival, and others. His current research project “Aurora” chronicles over a century of history about the facts, fiction, and folklore from a Texas legend from 1897!
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