"SEEMS"  There is no "seems" about it.  They 1000% created a situation where he was going to end up dead.  They fucking murdered this dude.  It wasnt failed policies, ignorance, or incompetency.  They made calculated decisions and murdered the guy.

And it is more in his possession in the middle of the night while he's dead than it was while he's at work?

We disagree on much, but the answer to that is most definitely no.

A visit to the office doesn't generate the same media oomph that they need come budget time, though.

They could just print out some cardboard sheets that say "Illegal gun" and take pictures of them arranged on the floor. This was good enough for the FBI proving that Trump had top secret documents by taking pictures of their own cover sheets brought to maralago and spread on the floor. The stalwart defenders of democracy have assured everyone that  this is a minor and obscure process violation, if even that. So yeah, no need for his presence

The ATF needs to be disbanded.

Or better yet, give them new uniforms and police the real criminals illegally crossing the southern boarder.

Yeah, just finished reading through it.

Grabbing "him" wasn't permitted though.  They didn't request an arrest warrant.  From what they had, it seems they shouldn't have had any issue getting one though.
They had a tracking device in his car.  Why they didn't get an arrest warrant then pick him on the side of the road makes zero sense.  They used the absolute highest risk method to obtain evidence it doesn't seem they even needed.

They could have gotten his phone when they arrested him, then swept the house for anything else they needed.  
Instead they barged in at or before dawn in a way he could be expected to think he was being robbed.  

I can't recall seeing anything that looked like they trying to talk to him officially, only though the undercover agent.  The info about his driving does suggests he knew he was being followed though.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/01/the_epa_arms_up_to_protect_our_democracy.html

“The very same EPA that proposed slapping red tape on nearly every farmer’s ditch in Iowa now appears to be armed to the teeth,” Grassley told The Washington Free Beacon. “The Biden EPA already has a reputation for overstepping its bounds, and that makes the agency’s militarization all the more frightening. We need to know what exactly EPA is doing with this equipment, and whether it serves the interests of the American people.”

Since 2006, the EPA has spent roughly $10 million on advanced weaponry, including “unmanned aircraft, night vision, and radar equipment,” according to The Washington Free Beacon.
--------------------------------------
As stated later in the article, epa has no authority outside the US. Why do the have such military weaponry?

I'm not up to speed on federal prosecution, but once arrested it can start the speedy trial clock. I think it would be wrong to arrest before they have their investigation complete.

That being said, get a second search warrant for his office. Problem solved.

Yeah, but damn.  They had more than enough already to get a conviction, or at least coerce a guilty plea.  This wasn't the ambiguous case it looked like from the Capitol Hill hearing.  It was a solid case that they managed to bungle by being too eager to kick down a door.

This is the feds we're talking about. They investigate for fucking years lol.

If they’re not funded we will be over run in anarchy!

Remember the time FATF shot a religious leader for answering the door while brandishing an assault infant?
But due to typical FATF weapons skills they killed the baby instead?
Pepperidge Farms remembers.

The ATF had a search warrant.  They did not have an arrest warrant.  Question.  If you only had a search warrant, and you had assembled the raid team in a Walmart parking lot on March 12, why didn’t you execute the search warrant then?  Why wait a week?  Answer, because we discovered the subject for which we had no warrant was not home, but we wanted a confrontation with him.

The search warrant was not a no-knock warrant.  The warrant was knock and announce.  The purpose of a knock and announce warrant is to notify the subjects in the house that actual police are requesting entry.  Question.  If you had to knock and announce warrant, then why did you shut off power to the home, tape-over the doorbell camera, and kick the door in within seconds of knocking?  Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of identifying to the homeowner those knocking as police?  Answer, if the subject saw we were police, he might have just opened the door.  We wanted a confrontation.

The ATF had a warrant that authorized execution of the warrant “in the daytime 6:00 am to 10:00 pm”.  It was not authorized “at any time in the day or night because good cause has been established”.  Question.  Why didn’t you ask for a warrant “in the day or night”?  Why did you execute the warrant at 6:00 am?  Answer, we could not establish “good cause” for a night raid, so we executed the raid at 6:00 am which was the same as night.  We knew how to fraud the court and we wanted a confrontation.

The ATF had a warrant to search an automobile.  It could execute the search anywhere.  Question.  If you could execute the search of the automobile, and legally detain the driver to do so, why didn’t you execute the search of the automobile in a safe, predictable place?  Since you knew the subject, and had tracking devices on his automobile, you knew that he parked his car in the Airport Director’s place every workday, wouldn’t that be a logical place to safely detain the subject and execute the auto search?  Answer.  Yes, it would have been safer, but we wanted a confrontation.

The ATF had a warrant to search both an automobile and a house.  Question.  If you executed the search warrant on the automobile at a predictable time and place, and detained the driver who owned the house, wouldn’t it be safer to execute the warrant on the house with the owner safely detained away from the home?  Answer.  Yes, it would be safer at both locations, but we wanted a confrontation.

The ATF had a knock and announce warrant.  If the ATF was worried that the subject would destroy evidence, or pose a physical threat, they could have applied for a no-knock warrant.  But they didn’t.  They knew guns and ammo could not be flushed down a toilet.  They knew the subject was a well-known, white-collar executive with no criminal past.  Question.  Why didn’t you just wait until the homeowner opened the front door?  Answer, we wanted a confrontation.

The ATF asked for support from local law enforcement.  Even if the ATF has no policy mandate to wear body cams, they can wear them, but didn’t.  Local law enforcement personnel have a mandate to wear them.  Question.  Did you ask local LEOs to turn their cams off during the planning and execution of the raid?  Answer.  We knew what we were planning was unsafe at best, and probably criminal.  We did not want body-camera footage since we knew we were getting the confrontation we were seeking and did not want a record of it.

This is the government our Founding Fathers warned us about.

GD’s memory is short.

This dude bought and sold AT LEAST 150 ar pistols that the gov knew about in a period of a couple of years. He was buying those and a ton of g19’s on a Friday, then taking them to gun shows in different states on the weekend.

Now, I don’t have a problem with being able to sell your own property whether it’s a gun or not. But this dude was clearly dealing without a license and sold to a bunch of gang bangers. Where do you think all these arp Americans are getting their arp’s they pull out of their paints that you see all over TikTok and Facebook and YouTube “bad neighborhood” vids?

Where did you get this information?

It’s in the affidavit but

Here

It's hyperbolic, but the guy was indeed guilty as sin.  That doesn't change that the search was executed in a way that pretty much guaranteed the outcome, and it didn't need to be.

The warrant mentioned roughly 150 purchases (of any firearm) over a period of just a few years.  Some were in his possession for less than a week before being resold.  He sold to an undercover, and at one point stated he also sold at a show in TN.  He'd also offered to get specific stuff for people to buy, which is how the straw purchaser allegations got added.

Think about that...how many man hours spent on this guy...collecting and tracking all his data...just to get all hyped up put on the BDUs ...kick his door in and assassinate him.

Who are these grown men that get off on this sickness?
You can't just sign off on this stuff and keep showing up for work without it impacting your soul.

ATF is gay.

Good info, that sounds like it should get attention.   However,  I'm still disapproving of the method.  There's a very good chance he had no idea who was storming his door, so having a gun and defending are expected.  This should have been conducted like a normal search warrant. Jamming cell phones, cutting power and a no knock are unacceptable

It’s pretty cut and dry. He was selling three day old brand new glocks for $700 and up that he paid $450ish for. Over and over and over. Some of which ended up recovered from crimes like drug dealing from convicted armed robbers. GD want to paint this guy like some kind of martyr.

At this point if you don't have a deep seated distrust and hatred of law enforcement, you are beyond repair

They are the enemy of citizens, they prove it on nearly a daily basis

He is a martyr. The 2nd amendment makes it very clear that his conduct was not illegal. Furthermore, even if you’re going to point to “omg muh evil straw purchases” like some kind of liberal, I wasn’t aware that straw purchases warranted summary execution.

The ATF had every opportunity to prevent this from escalating. They had multiple opportunities to search the house when he wasn’t home. He was not a danger to the ATF or any other law enforcement.

The ATF engineered this situation so there would be a violent confrontation. Just like Waco, just like Ruby Ridge, just like every other dogshit operation they put together to try and justify their existence.

They picked an unsympathetic target precisely because they are hoping people will dismiss their actions, which are unconstitutional and evil, because the victim was less than perfect.

Be better, don’t carry their water for them.

Considering he was the director of the LR airport, whatever gun sales (less than a dozen) could not have been more than a small blip financially compared to his salary. So it would hard to argue he was "in the business."
Not that it matters to the kings men.
It's also why I have never and will never sold a firearm.

He was selling guns to drug dealers and convicted armed robbers. And that’s just the guns that have been recovered. I’m glad they shot him.

So that justifies killing him?

The fact is that the ATF chose to execute this warrant in a manner that was not only likely to elicit a confrontation, but also was in violation of good standards and practices (and against the spirit of the warrant that was signed).

ATF was looking to send a message with this raid

Did he know they were prohibited persons? If he didn’t know, no harm done.

Being glad that someone was killed in their home, by federal agents, over at best a licensing issue, in front of their wife and children, is truly disgusting. I’d tell you what I really think about you, but I’m sure you’d cry to the mods and I’d catch an account ban.

Why on American soil are we tolerating this? Our Govt is tyrannical. Period. They overstep at pretty much every turn.
When will a real leader step up and end this insanity?

There are large swaths of America who not only tolerate this, but enjoy it. They currently control Congress, the presidency, and large sections of our judicial system.

You’ve got people on this website, in this thread, saying they’re glad this person died.

Understand that huge portions of your fellow “Americans” would be happy to see you dead because you choose to enjoy your 2A rights.

GD will bend over backwards to apologize for a guy literally selling guns to gang bangers just so they can say fuck the atf. He knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t buying four g17’s and four arp’s on a Friday and deciding he didn’t like them on Saturday. Every fucking weekend. You realize he sold outside of gun shows too right? Like trunk full of guns in the hood type stuff right?

They surveilled him for a while- they knew exactly where his cameras were and how many. Atf was also advised of using rf jammer tech at the hearing, to which he would not comment. So if you are running wireless cameras, know that this is easily overcome by anyone wanting to do so.

This is what I'm saying too. The rule is days old and they are enforcing it retroactively. They want fear to deter anyone thinking of trading or selling a firearm. They are playing on human nature. Effectively I might add.

Be nice if they feared for thier own lives for a change....

Why do you hate freedom?

Again, it's hyperbole and you're probably just best to ignore his outlandish statements.  

The warrant did not claim he sold to people he knew to be prohibited persons.  He explicitly stated in one interaction with the undercover agent that they had to be over 21, so it can be reasoned he also did not intentionally sell to a minor.  At no point did ATF overtly confront or speak to him about any of this.

Several firearms were traced from Canada in one case.  ATF did not have physical possession but had photos of the serials.
A couple were picked up at traffic stops that resulted in arrests for marijuana possession.
One of those cases, the suspect had also been previously convicted of robbery prior to the firearm's purchase by the deceased.
One was found in the possession of a 15 year old known gang member who was picked up near where a violent crime had occurred the day prior.
And one was found amongst a drug bust in California where around a kilo of marijuana intended for distribution was found.

Its a shame that they killed a US Citizen to help improve their budget.
Bigger shame is that it will probably work.

Uh, yeah. Fuck the ATF, with a capital F, and fuck anyone who defends them too. They get absolutely zero benefit of the doubt from me given their past actions and current efforts.

Funny how obsessed you are with “muh gangbangers”, how many ATF raids with truck convoys 10 deep, no knock raids, and summary executions are they doing in the ‘hood, again? Oh, that’s right, zero, because they don’t give a fuck about illegal machine guns, they want to crush the law abiding gun owner.

Pay attention dude. How long until they raid your house because you’re a “dangerous insurrectionist” posting on “known white supremacist website AR15.com”? You want some moron defending your execution based on that?

If you insist on pearl-clutching about his habit of reselling guns, explain this: since the search warrant was for his house, and not for him personally (because then it would be an arrest warrant), why did they scuttle the raid a week earlier when he wasn’t home?

Can you at least admit that? That this wasn’t just about his alleged illegal sales, it was about forcing a violent confrontation?

That’s why I’m fully on the side of “Fuck the ATF”.

Don't care.

Bro, you’re ignoring some of the facts. Let’s forget that guns he sold were recovered from drug dealers, gang bangers, and armed robbers. Use your logic. Who is paying 750 for 450 guns?  People who can’t buy them for retail, like prohibited persons. To say he didn’t know who was selling to is just mental gymnastics so you can say fiuck the atf.

Still don't care. If the people he's selling guns to are too dangerous to be on the streets then they shouldn't be on the streets.

Waco 2.0

Lmao so now you’re saying if I make money on a private sale, I deserve an ATF no-knock raid?

Is this your work address?

3600 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Charlotte, NC, 28273

What evidence is there that he was DIRECTLY selling guns to “gang bangers” and armed robbers? I haven’t read all the pages of discussion.

I don’t like the atf anymore than you. Believe that. But this guy they shot was not like you and me. He was a criminal. Not a criminal because he was a different political party. The raid was about him being an illegal arms dealer. Don’t really care what happened to him just like I don’t care what happens to cartel members or gang bangers.

Zero. It isn’t even in the search warrant. Some members just absolutely love justifying tyrannical violence though.

While you clearly don't agree, even criminal have civil rights.

I have repeatedly said he was guilty of the crime for which he was accused.  This would be true even before ATF decided to rewrite it.  But still, yes, Fuck the ATF.  This was white collar crime.  He wasn't a terrorist, had no history of violence, and obviously had a clean criminal record.  They had a myriad of opportunities to perform their search that didn't involve putting both their own agents and the suspect at heightened risk.

Their jackbooted thuggery earned one of them a bullet, as he was apparently able to hit one after they busted down the door, in the dark, and unannounced.  So, even if you don't give a shit about the deceased, their actions still put their own agents at an extreme and unnecessary risk.  They're fortunate he didn't take one or more of them with him.  By all accounts, he was unaware it was law enforcement who were breaking in.  We also have no footage of what went down inside because none of the local officers on scene wore the body cameras that their department mandated they wear.  ATF agents did not have any either, despite DOJ policy that they be used.

I certainly agree with that.

You absolutely like the ATF more than me, you’re defending them after all.

Their actions here have no defense unless you agree that the federal government has the authority to execute people over paperwork violations.

Don’t compare me to yourself either, I’d die before I said I was glad the ATF shot a man in his home in front of his wife and kids. If it were up to me every post you made on this website would have a link back to that post so everyone can know exactly what you are.

Lol. Yeah I’m an undercover fed. Because I don’t give a shit about an illegal arms dealer selling guns to prohibited persons. You deserve an atf raid if you’re taking a trunk full of g19’s to mlk Blvd to sell to gang bangers. Profit or not.

There is a clear difference in a private sale of a gun you no longer want whether you make a profit or not, and a guy buying hundreds of guns to resell. To pos drug dealers, gang bangers, and armed robbers. Stop trying to equate the two things. They are not the same. And even if this guy has a screen name, he is not the same as you and me. No matter how hard you want to make it like he is.

And for the record, I believe non violent felons should be able to have guns. I believe all the other gun laws are bs and infringements. You and I are more the same than we are different. You’re just carrying water for a pos because fuck the atf. Would you defend some Chicago bd who’s shot six people with his glock switch if the cops killed him? Well where do you think he got his gun? They’re not all stolen.

No longer considering presumption of innocence? Straight to firing squad without a trial? Never forget they burned over 70 Americans alive.