“The Secretary Said You’re Not Welcome Here”: Five Years of Abandonment, Then Assault
Introduction
On November 11, 2025, U.S. Army Sergeant Kelvin Blas approached the U.S. Embassy in LomĂ©, Togo, seeking help. He was hungry—he hadn’t eaten in three days. He was desperate—his passport had been confiscated by local authorities more than five years earlier, and he’d been stranded ever since. And he was hopeful—surely, on his 15th attempt to seek assistance from his own government, someone would finally help him.
Instead, embassy security guard Abdulai Majeed physically shoved him off embassy property with both hands to his chest, after receiving authorization from the Ambassador’s Secretary with a simple message: “Kelvin is not welcome here.”
A civilian visitor named Susan Williams witnessed the assault and told the guard: “Stop handling him like that.” Three other visitors watched the confrontation unfold. Inside the embassy building, a Togolese staff member named Mr. Agawu Raymond observed the entire incident through a window.
Six witnesses. Physical force against a U.S. citizen. Leadership-level authorization. And apparently, no incident reports filed.
Two days later, embassy staff would threaten that if Sgt. Blas returns without physically holding his passport in his hands, he will be “arrested or sack.”
This is not a story about one bad day at an embassy. This is a story about five years of systematic abandonment, culminating in violence. This is a story about how the U.S. government treats a military veteran with 13 years of honorable service when he becomes inconvenient. And this is a story about what happens when the systems designed to provide oversight—FOIA, Inspector General complaints, Diplomatic Security—are themselves corrupted or blocked.
True Signal Media has filed comprehensive Freedom of Information Act requests, formal complaints with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Government Accountability Office, and the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. We have documented six witnesses to the November 11 assault, including embassy staff who later confirmed the incident. And we have discovered that the State Department’s Office of Inspector General has blocked our nonprofit organization from filing complaints about this case.
This investigation reveals not just the abandonment of one veteran, but the systematic failure of government accountability mechanisms designed to prevent exactly this kind of misconduct.
What Happened on November 11, 2025
At approximately 3:18 PM on November 11, 2025, Sgt. Kelvin Blas arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Lomé. He had made this journey 14 times before over the past five years. Each time, he had been turned away without assistance.
This time would be different—but not in the way he hoped.
The Timeline
3:18 PM: Sgt. Blas approaches the embassy entrance and speaks with security guard Abdulai Majeed. He identifies himself as an American citizen and states that he needs to speak with the Ambassador.
The guard asks if he has an appointment.
Sgt. Blas explains that he is an American citizen seeking help. He has been stranded in Togo for more than five years. His passport was confiscated by Togolese authorities and has never been returned. He desperately needs consular assistance.
The guard tells him to wait.
3:20 PM – 3:40 PM: Guard Majeed goes inside the embassy to consult with staff. According to Sgt. Blas’s account, this consultation lasts approximately 20 minutes.
During this time, Sgt. Blas waits outside the embassy gate. He is not violent. He is not threatening. He is not attempting to force his way into the building. He is simply waiting for an answer from his own government about whether they will help him.
Inside the embassy, guard Majeed is consulting with someone about what to do with Kelvin Blas. According to what the guard later tells Sgt. Blas, he speaks with the Ambassador’s Secretary.
3:40 PM: Guard Majeed returns to Sgt. Blas with a message.
“The secretary said you’re not welcome here and should leave.”
This is not a statement from a confused security guard. This is not a miscommunication. This is an explicit message, delivered by a senior member of embassy leadership: Kelvin Blas is not welcome at his own embassy.
3:40 PM – 4:20 PM: Sgt. Blas does not immediately leave.
He tries to explain his situation. He hasn’t eaten in three days. He has been stranded for more than five years. His passport was taken by local authorities. He is a U.S. Army veteran with 13 years of honorable service. He has verified U.S. citizenship documented with his birth certificate, Social Security card, and military service records.
He needs help. That’s what embassies are for—to help U.S. citizens abroad when they’re in distress.
But guard Majeed has received his orders from the Ambassador’s Secretary: Kelvin is not welcome.
Approximately 4:20 PM: Guard Majeed physically pushes Sgt. Blas with both hands to his chest to force him to leave embassy property.
This is not a gentle guiding touch. This is not verbal persuasion. This is physical force applied by a security guard against a non-violent U.S. citizen who came seeking help from his own government.
A civilian visitor—a woman named Susan Williams—witnesses this physical contact and speaks up.
“Stop handling him like that,” she tells the guard.
Three other civilian visitors also witness the confrontation.
Inside the embassy, Togolese staff member Mr. Agawu Raymond watches the entire incident unfold through a window. He does not intervene. He does not make eye contact with Sgt. Blas. He simply observes as an American veteran is physically forced off American embassy grounds.
After 4:20 PM: Before Sgt. Blas departs, guard Majeed delivers one final message—this time apparently without consulting anyone inside:
“Next time you won’t even have the chance to come to the premises of the embassy.”
This is a threat. Kelvin Blas is being told that if he returns—if he makes a 16th attempt to seek help from his own government—he will not be allowed on embassy grounds at all.
Sgt. Blas leaves. He has been at the embassy for more than one hour. He came seeking food, assistance, and help getting home after five years of abandonment.
He leaves with nothing except a chest still sore from being shoved, the knowledge that his own embassy has declared him unwelcome, and a threat that he will be barred entirely if he tries again.