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To anyone reading this thread-if you want a quicker response to your
comments or questions, send them to me at:

Matthew Bumgardner
Santa Rosa County Jail
P.O. Box 7129
Milton, FL 32572

Right now it takes about 3 weeks for a post on this forum to get to me,
receive an answer, then have the answer sent back to my sister so she can
post it here.

This is Matthew Bumgardner, the one in jail. I have given this note to my
sister so that it can be posted. Obviously I have no access to email, so this
is the best I can do. Eventually I will get a copy of the posts in this thread
and I will respond when I can. My sister should have already posted the letter
I wrote. Every word is true. There are a few things I would like to add. First,
this jail could generate some serious money for a decent civil rights attorney.
They are already being sued for their mail policy. Inmates can only write on
postcards. They can only send letters to attorneys, members of the media and public
officials. If you were in here and wanted to write a family member, all you could
send was a post card.

The jail also denies access to legal materials. Their policy states that
"inmates will be afforded reasonable access to the courts. This is accomplished
by way of your attorney or public defender." This is a joke, since some inmates
wait 6 months or moe to see their public defender. The policy goes on to state
that pro se inmates must obtain a court order granting them pro se status in
order to get access to the Law Library.

I am a pro se inmate. I have obtained a Court Order granting me pro status.
I have provided that document to the jail staff, and I am still being denied access.
I have filed a new motion requesting an Order to allow me access to the Law Library
and I have also written the judge. I am waiting to see what happens there. I also
ahe a problem getting copies made. When I give my documents to the person making copies,
I inform them that I need them returned immediately. The past two times it has taken
several days fro the copies to be made. This is intentional. Since I am a Federal
inmate the Government pays the jail or me to be here. They make decent money off of
so, so there is no incentive for them to assist in my release.

Although it may seem unnecessary to complain about the jail, it is actually important.
The US attorney and judge that put me here knew exactly what they were doing. They
figured that the constraints imposed by the jail would allow them to maintain their
secrecy. They are wrong. It certainly slows things down, but I will not remain
silent about this.

This issue is more important that you might realize. Right now, this US
Attorney and US District Judge think that holding people in contempt is the way to
deal with encryption. If you read this and still do nothing, then you are telling
them that they are right. You are telling tem that the 5th Amendment is no longer
needed, and that they can issue supoenas that compel acts which are oppressive,
unreasonable and not possible.

I am not asking for my own personal army to help fight this. If you think that
you are my army, you misunderstand this situation. I am your army in this battle.
If you use encryption, or any password protected file, then this issue affects you.
You could be thrown in jail and denied civil rights at the whim of the government.
I am fighting this battle on my own, and I am willing to continue to do so. The
outcome is going to possibly affect many more people. To me, it seems like more
people should be getting involved.

At the very least write the attorney and judge and tell them that what they did
was wrong. Tell them that True Crypt can use more than just a password. Tell them
that a password can be 64 characters long. Tell them they have no right to hold
someone in contempt for failing to produce documents they have never seen. Tell
them that the precedent in US vs. Hubbell and In Boucher II proves that they
are wrong.

The addresses are:

David L. Goldberg
Assistant U.S. Attorney
21 E. Garden Street, Suite 400
Pensacola, FL 32502

Lacey A. Collier
Sr. U.S. District Judge
United States Courthouse
One NOrth Palafax Street
Pensacola, FL 32502

If you don't have time to write a letter, at the very least please forward this
to everyone you now. E-mail it to any media outlet you can think of. If enough
people e-mail tis, a major media outlet might pick up the story.

The Government can only do this in secrecy. If more people know about this it
never would have happened.

Thanks i advance for any assistance you can provide.