By: Friedrich Seiltgen

Copyright © 2025

Marvin Richardson, the number two official at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE), was forced to retire after being given the option to leave or be fired. Richardson has been the ATF deputy director since 2019 and was the acting director from June 2021 through April 2022. Richardson was a 35-year veteran of the agency.

The firing comes on the heels of Kash Patel being removed as acting BATFE director and being replaced by U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who will fill both positions for now. Trump administration officials stated that the removal of Patel, who is pulling double duty as the FBI director, was not performance-related.

There has been some house cleaning at the BATFE. In February 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Chief Counsel Pamela Hicks who was targeting gun owners with a fervor for years.

Richardson has been with BATFE since 1990 and was involved with the Waco massacre, where then-Attorney General Janet Reno turned the arrest of David Koresh into a fiery end with the violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, dropping incendiary devices into an occupied wooden structure and killing 76 men, women, and children. Richardson was awarded the Treasury Department’s Hostile Action Medal for his work. As deputy director, Richardson began the framework to ban braces while working under the Trump administration. When President Biden took office, Richardson teamed up with Hicks to enforce a ban on pistol stabilizing braces which were declared NFA items, despite BATFE guidelines that said they weren’t, and creating a whole new class of felons. Richardson was also instrumental in developing the term “Ghost Gun” and demonizing homemade firearms.

One of Richardson’s most significant moments was the increase in license revocation of Federal Firearms License holders through the use of its new Zero Tolerance policy. Inspectors would examine dealer records and revoke their FFL license for minor paperwork errors. This Biden administration policy was responsible for a 500% increase in license revocations. This policy, along with the definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a dealer in firearms, which was confusing as it contradicted itself, was devastating to the firearms industry and the Second Amendment. The Trump administration recently removed both of these policies.

While the firing of Richardson is good news for gun owners, it’s not good news for justice. Richardson joins a group of federal officials who targeted groups of people, denied them their constitutional rights, and were able to retire with fat pensions instead of being held accountable for their actions.

That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”

Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, www.floridajolt.com, The Counterterrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Soldier of Fortune, Homeland Security Today, Off Grid, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.

Contact him at [email protected].