WBAI 9/11 AUDIO

September 19, 2026

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing on behalf of an inmate, Irvin Dana Beal inmate number 164571, currently located at MVTC Unit 1, P.O. Box 8509, Boise, ID 83707. 

Mr. Beal is incarcerated in your facility for alleged possession of marijuana (cannabis). As an advocate in New York City, where marijuana is legal in certain quantities for certain purposes, I wish to show you that Mr. Beal is a good man who should be released from jail. He has played a positive and progressive role in American society for decades.

Specifically, he was on the radio with me on September 11, 2001. I was the host of the morning show that day, which was broadcast from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. Mr. Beal was with me in the studio with several other guests when it came to my attention that a plane had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The location of our studios, from which we were broadcasting live, was 120 Wall Street—approximately six blocks from Ground Zero.

Mr. Beal played a positive and helpful role in communicating news of the disaster to the citizens of New York. WBAI 99.5 FM was one of only two radio stations (the other being WCBS) that did not have antennas on the World Trade Center. Because WBAI’s antenna was on the Empire State Building several miles to the north, our program continued on the air after every other New York radio and television broadcasting station, except for CBS radio, had been knocked off the air.

Mr. Beal was the first one to make the connection between Afghanistan, the Taliban, and the attack on the World Trade Center. At the time, it was a mysterious event; there was no information as to where this attack originated, who was behind it, or who actually carried it out. However, Mr. Beal foresaw that this had a direct connection with the assassination of Mr. Massoud of the Northern Alliance, an ally of the United States, several days before. He stated this live on the air, demonstrating an ability to foresee how these complex events would play out in the near future, including the United States’ subsequent entry into Afghanistan.

Mr. Beal is a good man. He is neither a criminal, a drug addict, nor an advocate of drug abuse. In fact, Mr. Beal is an advocate for ending the use of opioids and other dangerous, deadly drugs such as heroin, morphine, and fentanyl. He is a strong proponent of Ibogaine, an experimental substance used to treat individuals suffering from severe substance abuse problems. Furthermore, Mr. Beal accurately predicted that cannabis would eventually be legalized. Today, it is legal to some degree in more than two-thirds of the United States, and fully legal for recreational use in others, including his home state of New York.

Please consider the positive role Mr. Beal has played in fighting the horrors of dangerous drug abuse. His work highlights an understanding that certain substances, whether Ibogaine or cannabis, hold extensive positive value and legitimately treat millions of people today. I ask that you take his lifelong dedication and positive societal contributions into account and grant an early release or parole for Mr. Beal.

Sincerely,

Paul DeRienzo