A Houston, Texas-based lawyer specializing in Second Amendment law said the story of an Oklahoma man who had 50 guns confiscated is indicative of the new “zero tolerance” policy of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“They want to make the right to keep and bear arms as difficult as possible,” Richard D. Hayes II told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Hayes is an attorney with the firm of Walker and Taylor in Houston. He is also co-host of the Armed Attorneys YouTube channel.
The ATF is offering Russell Fincher less than 2 percent of the estimated value of the guns (according to Epoch Times research) they took during a June 16, 2023, raid on his Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, home.
“This is not the America we signed up for,” Mr. Fincher told The Epoch Times.
The ATF did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Fincher, seven carloads of armed ATF agents raided his property on June 16. They handcuffed him and questioned him and his 13-year-old son before taking 50 firearms. His son was not handcuffed during the operation.
“[The ATF] said they haven’t decided whether to charge me yet,” he said.
Mr. Hayes said it is almost certain that the ATF has some criminal charge in mind. Stressing that he had not seen the search warrant, he said he could only answer general questions. But he also pointed out that as a practicing attorney he is familiar with how the ATF operates.
According to Mr. Hayes, search warrants must specify what agents are searching for. To get a warrant, the agents would have had to specify a possible crime they were investigating and how the property was related to that alleged crime. Recently, that standard has loosened somewhat, he said.
Paying For Evidence?
“We have had some creep in warrants,” he said. “I imagine a court authorized the seizure of all those firearms.”
The ATF sent Mr. Fincher a list of the 50 confiscated firearms. The agency offered to pay $10 for each gun he voluntarily forfeits. He expressed some confusion over the offer.
“When did the police start paying people for evidence?” he asked.
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