A Florida-based Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Industry Operations inspector (IOI) seized a federal firearms licensee’s (FFL) completed ATF Form 4473s and bound book to take off-site to make copies violating federal law. The IOI would return the documents a week later.
Last week, Kiloton Tactical joined a coalition of FFLs led by Eric Blandford of the Iraqveteran8888 YouTube channel and vowed to sue the ATF over the Biden Administration's zero-tolerance policy for FFLs. The lawsuit has now been filed with the illegal actions of the IOI front and center in the complaint.
The statute reads: "The inspections and examinations provided by this section do not authorize an ATF officer to seize any records or documents other than those records or documents constituting material evidence of a violation of law. If an ATF officer seizes such records or documents, copies shall be provided to the licensee within a reasonable time." At the time of the seizure, no wrongdoing was suspected.
The ATF's IOI handbook doubles down on forbidding an IOI from removing records from a business.
The ATF has been slow to release the IOI handbook to the public, and when they finally did, the document was heavily redacted.
AmmoLand News acquired an unredacted copy of the guide from our sources inside the ATF. Every IOI is responsible for knowing the policies laid out in the handbook, but the ATF employee ignored page 10 of the handbook, which expressly prohibits IOIs from making any seizures.
The IOI in question violated the ATF's own policies and violated federal law.
"The ATF is out of control, and both Congress and the Courts have an obligation to rein them in! GOA fully supports the FFL Coalition's efforts to halt the weaponization of the ATF, and thus protect honest gun dealers around the country," Pratt told AmmoLand News.
https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/atf-inspector-seizes-gun-store-customer-records-without-warrant
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