Meet The Arlington Institute

The military think tank flanking the COVID-19 counter-narrative

“It’s my opinion that this whole COVID thing is really the key opportunity that is presented to us all as individuals to make decisions one way or another on this issue. And in so doing, kind of identify those who are going to see the world differently and see themselves differently, and those who are going to go along with the conventional perspective.”

These are the words of John L. Petersen, founder of a little-known West Virginia think tank called The Arlington Institute.¹ He was speaking with filmmaker James Patrick, whose film Planet Lockdown would premiere one month later at the Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, in November 2021. There would be wine, cheese, and much discussion to be had between Patrick, the stars of the film, and “other like-minded folks who are really quite interested in this big issue.”

Among those interviewed for Planet Lockdown were Catherine Austin Fitts, founder of The Solari Report;² Reiner Fuellmich, a German lawyer leading the Corona Investigative Committee (CIC);³ Wolfgang Wodarg, former member of German parliament and CIC co-host;⁴ Michael Yeadon, a former Pfizer executive;⁵ and David E. Martin, a patent specialist.⁶ Each of these individuals, and many of the others who appeared in the interview series, played a significant role in shaping aspects of the “counter-narrative” around COVID-19.⁷

While one might assume that the Arlington Institute chose to host the premiere of this decisively dissident film because it is itself a dissident organization, the reality is far more complicated. Unlike groups such as Children’s Health Defense, the Brownstone Institute, or the Informed Consent Action Network (for example), the Arlington Institute doesn’t engage in advocacy or legal efforts around bodily autonomy, self-determination, or informed consent. Rather than opposing COVID-19-era policies as intense government overreach, Petersen described “this whole COVID thing” as “the key opportunity”—language much more in line with opportunists like Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum than someone trying to fend off disaster.

The public face of the Arlington Institute is suggestive of a place where open minds can gather. For decades, the Arlington Institute has held space for the “wackiest” ideas to thrive and be exchanged. UFOs, remote viewing, psychedelics, alternative medicine, reincarnation, telepathy, forbidden history, and all manner of spiritualism—month after month, these are the topics of discussion at the Arlington Institute’s Transition Talks, of which Planet Lockdown was one. In a given month, members of the institute are treated to a presentation on future warfare from top military brass; the following month, a masterclass on alternative medicine and regenerative agriculture.

Image source: The Arlington Institute

A review of TAI’s list of past speakers reveals an odd mixture of people with long and respected backgrounds in alternative health and spirituality communities, as well as a number who come from the more esoteric corners of the military and intelligence world. 

Examples from the first group include author Charles Eisenstein, campaign advisor for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Sally Fallon Morell, founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a major advocate for clean food, regenerative agriculture and the healing arts. 

From the second group, examples include Dennis Bushnell, long-time chief scientist and “future warfare” specialist at NASA Langley Research Center;⁸ Robert David Steele, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who “reportedly died” of COVID-19 in August 2021;⁹ and Joseph McMoneagle, Paul H. Smith and Harold Puthoff, leading participants in MKUltra-adjacent¹⁰ remote viewing experiments through the Stargate Project.¹¹

Per its website, TAI offers several membership tiers, each with escalating perks.¹² For $25/month, members gain access to “premium content” in the form of pre-recorded round table discussions, monthly Q&As with founder John Petersen, and opportunities to join the studio audience during taped recordings. The $250/year premium tier offers all of the above, plus discounts on live events such as the Planet Lockdown premiere.

Image source: The Arlington Institute

But the real perk is the larger community one can join. According to TAI Research Fellow Joel Snell,¹³ the institute’s membership over the years has included David Gergen, counselor to President Bill Clinton; Arkady Shevchenko, Soviet defector and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations;¹⁴ Elmo Zumwalt, former Chief of Naval Operations;¹⁵ and even former CIA Director William Colby.

Some may glance over this and applaud TAI’s diversity of community, fostering a space where no idea is too “out there.” TAI seems to have served as a melting pot of ideas, bringing together thinkers and doers from across the spectrum (every spectrum). But a critical review of its history, leadership, and trajectory suggests there may be more going on than meets the eye.