British writer/activist Jack Buckby can’t get a visa to visit Hudson Valley girlfriend

Jack Buckby, a British resident who says he just wants to see his girlfriend in Dutchess County, wants to know why he can”™t get a visa to enter the United States.

Buckby and his girlfriend, Martina Markota, sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, State Department and Department of Justice on Nov. 28. They are asking federal court in White Plains to compel the government to process his visa application.

To get an inkling of what is going on, one must consider the dynamics of extreme politics.

Buckby, according to his profile on the Rebel media website, to which he contributes comments, is a political activist and writer who spotlights Islamic extremism and mass immigration.

Critics characterize him as an Islamophobe, conspiracy theorist and white nationalist. He has advocated, for instance, closing all mosques in the United Kingdom.

Markota, aka “Lady Alchemy,” is a “performance artist, conservative commentator, meme addict and founder of #GothRight,” according to her Rebel media profile. She claims that far-left artists hounded her out of her work as a burlesque dancer because she supported President Donald Trump.

One of her recent Rebel postings was titled, “Debunking liberal Thanksgiving lies.”

An Everpedia profile of Markota reveals a possible clue as to what Buckby and Markota think is holding up the visa. Buckby claimed in a March 2017 article he wrote that he and Markota had received a call from the FBI about a tip that he was planning terrorist activity in the United States and that “our relationship was a sham to obtain a green card.”

The dispute dates back to March 2017, when Buckby, according to the complaint, applied for a visitor”™s visa to visit Markota and her family. He said he was told that processing normally takes fewer than 60 days.

Less than a week later, “without success,” he asked Texas U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, to intervene.

Nine months after applying for the visa, the office of Iowa U.S. Rep. Steve King, vice-chair of the subcommittee on immigration, asked the U.S. embassy in London for details.

“Mr. Buckby”™s application is subjected to additional, mandatory administrative processing,” King”™s staff was told, according to the complaint. “While administrative processing usually lasts up to 60 days, in some instances it can take significantly longer.”

This past May, Buckby said, he asked British police if they were aware of any complaints against him.

“British police responded that plaintiff has no criminal record,” the complaint states, “and there have been no claims made against him.”

On Nov. 7, he applied for a visa as a foreign media representative, at the U.S. embassy in London, he said, and was told that his new application would be placed in processing.

He claims he has exhausted every available remedy and waited more than 20 months for a decision. Now he wants the court to compel the government to act.

Dawn Dearden, a Department of Justice spokeswoman, said the agency declines to comment on the lawsuit. Homeland Security and Department of State did not immediately respond to email messages requesting comment.

Buckby and Markota are represented by Manhattan attorney Nicklaus Misiti.