Local law enforcement and the FBI are using a new tactic: the âknock and talk.â Pairs of agents are appearing on Americansâ doorsteps unannounced, uninvited, and invariably without a warrant, with the aim of gaining access. For what exactly? Information. Visual surveillance. Property searches. And the Fourth Amendmentâs protections against warrantless searches? Authorities donât seem terribly concerned.
According to the Rutherford Institute, âknock and talkâ actions are initiated at private citizensâ homes without warning, often in the early morning or late evening. âA âknock and talkâ most often arises from anonymous, unsubstantiated, or hearsay information police possess that alleges illegal activity may be occurring at a particular home.â
These surprise visits are now frequently being executed based upon nothing more than anonymous âtipsâ received by the FBI and other agencies, often because of social media posts.
Zack Bonfilio of San Antonio, Texas, was on the receiving end of such a visit around 10:30 on the morning of February 29. Two FBI agents wanted to ask him questions about his social media activity.
Bonfilio, known online as âThe Misfit Patriot,â wasnât home when the special agents rang his doorbell, but he was able to respond to them remotely from his workplace. Once the agents identified themselves and showed their badges, Bonfilio gave Special Agent Tristan Hyland his phone number.
Immediately after taking Agent Hylandâs call, Bonfilio was told by the FBI agent that the visit concerned his social media activity. Bonfilio asked if this was about any specific social media post. âNo,â Hyland replied. âWe looked at your social media and found nothing illegal. We are just here to just check off a box. Itâs procedure.â
Bonfilio instructed the agents to speak with his attorney. He then explained that his attorney contacted the FBI âfive seconds after I got off the phone with them.â Bonfilio told Blaze Media his attorney has attempted to reach Hyland for six weeks, without success.
Yet on April 2 at 11:45 a.m., Hyland left a voice message on Bonfilioâs phone, which he provided to Blaze Media. âI was calling just to follow up on our conversation we had a few weeks ago,â the agent said. âJust wondering if you were able to reach out to your attorney yet? I havenât heard anything from you or them, so I would like to get something on the books.â
Bonfilio confirmed that his attorney has made additional attempts to reach Hyland but that she had yet to hear back from Hyland as of publication.
Bonfilio says he doesnât know what the FBI wants with him. He denies ever posting any threatening or inflammatory language. He conjectures the only post that might have elicited a âtipâ to the FBI was a series of comments on X (formerly Twitter) he made in response to the self-immolation of pro-Palestinian protester Aaron Bushnell.
Bushnell, who on February 25 set himself on fire outside the gate of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., set off a viral online reaction. Bonfilio shared screenshots of a few of his responses, which have since been removed. Those include statements and replies made by Bonfilio, including:
This man is a murderer. He didnât âgiveâ his life for anything. He took his own life, he killed himself. He murdered the man he was to push a political agenda in support of people who chant âdeath to America.â He was quite literally a domestic terrorist.
Do not even think of feeling bad for him. He got what he wanted, heâs a martyr for a mob of terrorist sympathizers and a hero to Hamas. Heâs no different than a suicide bomber.
I stand by what I said earlier and have no more sympathy or excuses for crazy when it comes to supporting terrorism. If youâve had 100 concussions and start chanting from the river to the sea, you can set yourself on fire too for all I care.
In reply to another X user whoâd characterized Bushnell as a âheroâ to the Palestinian cause, Bonfilio wrote: âI nominate you to light yourself on fire to show you are as brave as Aaron, since you think he’s such a hero. You people are f***in retarded.â
Bonfilio said that while those statements contained no threats of violence, they were as âaggressiveâ as anything heâs ever posted on social media. He noted that the FBIâs visit came only a couple of days after he posted his comments about Bushnell.
Humorously, while awaiting a response to the doorbell ring, the two FBI agents can be seen looking down at Bonfilioâs doormat, which reads, âCOME BACK WITH A WARRANT.â One of the agents remarked, âThatâs pretty funny.â
Former FBI special agent turned whistleblower Kyle Seraphin said âknock and talkâ visits are typically generated from tips received through the agencyâs âe-Guardian system,â and the visits are usually performed by low-level, young, or more inexperienced agents.
âUnfortunately, FBI agents are not allowed to engage in critical thinking and determine, based on the nature of the threat, whether or not itâs a First Amendment-protected activity or whether that person needs to be interviewed,â Seraphin said.
The trouble with âbox-checkingâ visits, Seraphin explained, is that the agents are ânot empowered to … close the lead out.â There are no logical investigative steps for agents to follow because theyâre investigating constitutionally protected activity.
âAnd thatâs the real problem with having a non-thinking FBI,â he said.
Seraphin said Bonfilio responded to the FBIâs queries properly. âThe right answer is always to not answer any questionsâ he said. The only prudent response of any private citizen to an attempted âknock and talkâ visit should be to direct the questions to an attorney.
Blaze Media contacted FBI Special Agent Hyland directly for a comment. A spokesman for the FBIâs San Antonio field office declined to comment on Bonfilioâs case.
Also Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celebrity News