Washington DC: Mellon Delivers Declassified UAP Videos to Journalist
In October 2017, Chris Mellon met a journalist in a parking lot inside the Beltway and handed over CDs containing the three declassified UAP videos.
Background
Shortly after Elizondo's resignation in October 2017, Chris Mellon met a journalist in a parking lot inside the Beltway and handed over a padded envelope filled with CDs containing copies of the three declassified UAP videos — FLIR/Tic Tac, GoFast, and GIMBAL.
Using his intelligence community contacts, Mellon had extracted the officially released videos from Pentagon sources. This handoff was a key step in the disclosure chain that would lead to the landmark New York Times article on December 16, 2017.
Elizondo's Account
In Imminent, Elizondo reveals that Chris Mellon's delivery of the declassified UAP videos to journalist Leslie Kean took place in a parking lot meeting in October 2017, shortly after Elizondo's resignation. Mellon had independently obtained the videos through his contacts and decided to provide them directly to the press to ensure public disclosure. This delivery was separate from, but coordinated with, Elizondo's own media engagement efforts.
Significance
The physical handoff of declassified UAP videos was the critical link between Pentagon disclosure and public awareness.