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Stephen Bassett (lobbyist)
Political activist and lobbyist (born 1946) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Stephen Bassett (born 1946) is an American political activist and lobbyist. As of 2021, he was the first and only person registered to lobby about UFOs in the United States.
In the 1990s, after working as a tennis pro and business consultant, Bassett became intrigued by ufology and devoted himself to lobbying the United States Congress about UFOs. Due to the skeptical reception he's received from elected officeholders, Bassett has focused on publicity tactics and other unconventional lobbying activities. Since at least 2003, he has periodically claimed the United States Government is close to disclosing purported secrets of UFOs.
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Early life and education
Stephen Bassett was born into an itinerant military family.[1] As a child, he was interested in science fiction.[1] He studied at Georgia Tech and ultimately graduated from Eckerd College.[1][2]
Career
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Following university, Bassett worked as a tennis pro and freelance business consultant.[1]
UFO activism
In 1995, after reading John E. Mack's Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens, Bassett became interested in ufology.[3][1] After volunteering with Mack for a few months, he established the pro-disclosure organization Paradigm Research Group, initially based in the attic of his aunt's house.[2]
In 1996, Bassett registered as the United States' first and only UFO lobbyist, a status he continues to hold as of 2021.[3][4] In 1998 he was the campaign manager for Frances Emma Barwood, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Arizona Secretary of State on a platform of UFO disclosure.[5][6] Four years later, in 2002, Bassett unsuccessfully ran for Congress as an independent in Maryland's 8th congressional district.[7]
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As a lobbyist, Bassett was not warmly received in Washington.[8] During his first three years of lobbying, Bassett said he was only able to meet with three members of Congress.[9] Due to early resistance he faced in his work, Bassett has primarily focused on public relations tactics, speaking to journalists about UFOs and organizing publicity stunts such as a 2011 We the People petition for UFO disclosure, and a mock 2013 congressional hearing.[2]
A regular speaker at UFO conferences,[10][11][12] Bassett also appears frequently on Coast to Coast AM[13] and has been quoted on the topic of UFOs by NBC News,[14] WABC-AM,[15] and other media outlets.[16]
Bassett has indicated his work as a UFO activist is not lucrative.[1][2]
Views and predictions
Bassett has predicted the U.S. Government is on the verge of disclosing the existence of purported secret information it has about UFOs.[2] In 2003, according to the Washington Post, Bassett said George W. Bush would likely announce that space aliens "are among us" in 2003 or 2005.[17] Two years later, in July 2007, Bassett said he believed disclosure of purported government UFO secrets would occur within one year.[18] In 2010, Bassett told the Times of Malta that "disclosure is right around the corner".[19] During the presidency of Barack Obama, in 2015, Bassett stated Obama would probably be "the disclosure president".[20] In July 2023, Bassett said that President of the United States Joe Biden would confirm the existence of extraterrestrials within "two weeks" of a congressional hearing related to the David Grusch UFO whistleblower claims.[21] In 2024, Bassett claimed the U.S. was "close to the finish line of disclosure".[22]
Film and television
In 2024, Bassett starred in a six-episode short series about UFOs on the UNIFYD TV streaming network, Paradigm Shift.[23]
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Personal life
Bassett is unmarried.[1][3] In 2017 he moved to London, though later returned to the United States.[2]
Electoral history
See also
References
Further reading
External links
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