By: Anthony Morelli
The ATF is in trouble yet again for their tactics.
They simply cannot avoid controversy.
One man was put in prison as a result of tactics that the ATF engaged in.
Beyond just their mission, which is already controversial as it threatens a core constitutional freedom, the ATF has been heavily criticized for the type of tactics they’ve engaged in for years.
Not only are they an arm of the federal government that is explicitly used to enforce gun control, but they routinely engage in hyper-aggressive tactics that land them in hot water.
From the infamous Waco event to the shooting of Arkansas airport executive Bryan Malinowski, there are numerous controversies over the years surrounding the ATF.
Apparently there is a new one that could be added to the list, as they managed to get a man imprisoned for a very long time by allegedly manipulating the evidence.
Now there is a public outcry building, even though this happened a few years ago, and the ATF may have to answer for it.
It’s yet another example of why the ATF has been perhaps the most controversial agency of the federal government.
According to The Truth About Guns, “For those seeking to add some flair to their man cave, inert or nonfiring Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers may satisfy your needs.”
“None of these inert rocket launchers require a Federal Firearm License for the purchase because they’re not firearms. They are not real. Many have had their internal parts stripped. To be clear, these are non-firearms, which are perfectly legal for anyone to buy or own … unless you’re Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak.
“Adamiak is about to start the third year of his 20-year federal prison sentence because the ATF reworked his legal inert RPGs until they were capable of firing a single 7.62x39mm round.”
In other words, the “firearms” that Adamiak owned were not real, and were not capable of harming anybody, as they weren’t functional.
The ATF had to manipulate them to make them functional before holding it against him in a court of law.
The article continues, “In other words, the ATF turned his inert RPGs into live illegal weapons, which they called ‘destructive devices.’ It shouldn’t come as any surprise. The same ATF technician who reworked the RPGs doctored Adamiak’s toy STEN submachinegun – legally a toy and still available for sale online – until it could fire a single round. Officially, he even labeled it a machinegun.
“If it wasn’t for the federal RPG charges, Adamiak would have already finished his prison sentence. As to the fact that the ATF illegally turned his inert RPGs into live destructive devices, no government official seems to care.”
The fact that the ATF is able to do this in a court of law, and it actually succeeds, is something that should be concerning to people who care about due process and fair trials.
Everyone deserves that due process, and the ATF has no business manipulating evidence in order to secure a conviction that they’re looking for.