Name Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi | ||
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Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi is a public protester who has become known in Chicago as "the FBI sign guy," and sometimes as simply "The Sign Guy". He has also gone on hunger strikes.
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Background
In 2006, Khoiee-Abbasi began standing near the northwest corner of Daley Plaza outside of Chicago City Hall, holding a sign that read "FBI Agent Chris Saviano, stop raping my wife!" Soon, he added other signs to his board, most of which denounce former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and George W. Bush, and make a number of odd statements in broken English. He stands outside of city hall every weekday, from about 6:00am until about 3:00pm. He has also been photographed holding his signs on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., and in New York's Times Square.
In 2011 he started loudly blowing a plastic whistle at regular intervals.
Coverage
Little is known about Khoiee-Abbasi beyond his physical appearance (originally a groomed, well-dressed man who always wore expensive suits and ties), the information on his signs, from flyers he passes out from time to time, and what court documents say about him. It is known that he was involved in extended and contentious divorce proceedings. He generally remains silent when questioned by anyone. He has also used signs asking Barack Obama to spare his only child. The text of flyers he has handed out indicates he is an engineer by trade and that the "FBI Agent" Chris Saviano he accuses of raping his wife and running a prostitution ring also happens to be the son of a vice president of his former employer.
Khoiee-Abbasi has become a popular fixture among photographers on flickr, and in blogs.
By October, 2011, Khoiee-Abbasi had stopped wearing his suits and ties and started wearing several layers of hoodies, with an outer shirt containing yet another anti-FBI protest message.