Liberia: Global Ekklesia Editor: “I was physically assaulted by armed US Embassy police guard”

I am a native of Liberia and a naturalized United States Citizen. While visiting the US Embassy Thursday, a local police guard on duty assaulted me: not only that, but he also briefly denied me freedom of movement by standing right in my face and blocking me from taking a step. It all started when he attempted to seize my cell phone over claims that he had spotted me taking a photograph of the embassy which wasn’t true. US Embassy authorities held me for more than two hours under interrogation, releasing me later without giving me copies of written statements from me. Here’s the full account of what happened Thursday.

First stop at USIS Library

On Thursday, September 12, 2024, I arrived on motorbike to check out the United States Information Service (USIS) library, in Mamba Point, Monrovia located across the street from the old U.S. embassy but was informed by a gatekeeper that the library has been moved into the new embassy facilities on Benson Street.

Without delay I headed back to the new embassy and a gatekeeper told me it was already parked and couldn’t let additional visitors in. Secondly, he explained, the embassy now had a mandate in place not to allow U.S. Citizens to use the library primarily due to “behavioral issues.” Some Liberia-born US citizens, he said, had caused noises or some type of disturbances in the library in the past.

When I informed the guard-a smart and respectful fellow-that I wasn’t interested in using the library but wanted to meet the library’s director he told me to wait so he could find a way to let me in later. I thanked him and said I was walking across the street to wait for a signal to go in when he’s ready rather than stand at the gate and he agreed.

Confrontation by police

While I stood along the sidewalk on Benson Street, close to a booth-far away from the embassy main entrance-the embassy’s police guard who stood up the hill and monitored a group of visa applicants suddenly raced towards me and began screaming, “Stop taking picture…don’t take picture here!” 

Without much inquiry the police guard demanded my cell phone, saying I should “delete” whatever picture that might be “in the phone” on the embassy” otherwise he would “deal” with me.

He stood very close to my face-bootcamp style, with his nose almost poking into mine, and shouted at me multiple times demanding that I surrender my phone. Even after I told him I hadn’t taken any photo and stepped backward, pointing finger at him to stop-he again stepped forwards, pushed my hand aside and poked his radio antenna to my nose. 

As the argument intensified, I tried to slowly walk away from him so as to avoid any further confrontation and that’s when he forcibly grabbed my left hand, held it tight and tried to swing it in an attempted to confiscate my phone. By this time, he had already called in for a backup and a couple of his men plus a guard woman descended upon me quickly as if ready to smack me except one man who identified as “Varney.”

Varney de-escalates situation 

A slim-looking embassy police guard stationed at the old embassy site who had raced on motorbike to get to the scene after the “back-up call” could hardly stand still and asked “Why are we wasting our time with him? Let’s just get him and take him to headquarter.” All the while, it was only Mr. Varney, their regional supervisor, or the embassy’s head security, who remained calm and asked for my name and identification which I provided.

Mr. Varney did everything possible to de-escalate the situation unlike the rest of the crew that had appeared at the scene. When he asked if I did video recording of the confrontation and why? I confirmed doing so, and for evidential purposes. For instance, the assaulting officer who initially denied grabbing my hand can be heard in my brief Facebook live video saying, I (Fasuekoi) “resisted” “order,” thus, apparently giving him cause to attack me. 

I had only turned on my phone video the moment he started attacking me both verbally and physically-that’s after I managed to briefly free myself from his hands as I struggled to protect my phone and laptop he tried to confiscate.

Altogether, my phone had two separate videos-one live and the other, a footage, but none contained a key imagery of our embassy: only my facial view, that of the aggressor(s), plus the stairs and sidewalk; nothing to jeopardize America’s security interest for I personally too have contributed to protecting US’s national security interests in my capacity as a former war correspondent who was once stationed overseas. 

Gluing interrogation 

With my cooperation, Mr. Varney collected my phone and ran over the video footage with his team of police and security guards before he turned me over to a security guard who took me to the old U.S. embassy in Mamba Point, Monrovia. There, they requested me to fill up pages of questionnaires-from date and place of birth, to past and current home addresses.  

My escort and I had to walk to get there. Moments before I entered the gate, I asked the guard to let me place a call to my wife, Mrs. Martha Fasuekoi of Minneapolis, Minnesota in order to brief her concerning my whereabouts plus ongoing development. Martha didn’t answer but another key U.S. contact of mine, answered and I gave him a quick briefing. 

I also called a cousin in Monrovia as I walked into the embassy’s gates, and he appeared almost at once to the gate and was let in by the local guards. I felt a little relieved and because of the confusion, forgot to call our son who’s in the U.S. Army. Martha later called him, and others and briefed them about the incident.

Soon, calls started to stream in as I went through lengthy interrogation concerning the purpose for my visit to our embassy and the reason for which I took the video footage.

Of about nearly 8-9 guards from the LNP it was one, an elderly person who quizzed me, at times letting me write out certain information. He requested Martha’s phone numbers and address and those of my deceased parents, not leaving out my cousin’s who had come to check on me. 

Deleting the video

Near the end of their investigation a police guard gave me my phone and asked that I locate the referenced video and when I found it, they deleted the footage. A second officer, not pleased, went for it, reached the trash bin, and permanently deleted it before returning my phone.   

By the time they told me I was free to go, it was already past 4:00 PM local time. Altogether, they had detained me for over two hours without a reasonable cause.

Since the incident, calls have been pouring in from friends and relatives who were also concerned about my safety own after they watched the live social media video. They all seemed alarmed by what they saw and heard, with one even asking me to “let it go,” knowing that I could write about the incident being a publisher and editor. 

But my question is, how can I stay quiet over such humiliation that took place on a US soil, the embassy? Besides, how can I remain mute when our own US government uses my tax money plus those of my family residing in America to help train and arm personnels of the Liberia National Police Force who would falsely accuse a US citizen and attack him as was in my case?  

Truth be told, I was wrongfully violated as a U.S. citizen and I’m therefore seeking an urgent redress in this matter the fact that the US, unlike many nations on earth, respect human rights and bears sole responsibility of respecting and protecting its own citizens worldwide even under difficult circumstances.    

Protesting the incident

Hence, I strongly protest such humiliation against me by a brutal embassy police guard who carried out such wicked acts on US soil, using the “power” given him by both LNP and our embassy authorities. Needless I say I demand an apology from the embassy’s authorities over this ugly incident and stress they have put us through.

Finally, I respectfully request the embassy to release video footages from their own street cameras to be reviewed by any independent commission so as to clearly determine who exactly went wrong! Their response thus, may help me determine whether or not I can contact my lawyer and other US-based Congressional Men and Women of my home state for a redress into this matter for after all, the US is a nation of Law and order.

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING SOON! ARE YOU READY?