by Lee Williams

The first time ATF Firearm Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Bodell ever testified in a courtroom was October 20, 2022, during the criminal trial of Patrick “Tate” Adamiak.

At that time, Bodell had very little experience and had worked for the ATF for only two years.

“I attended Pennsylvania Gunsmith School where I, upon graduation I worked for a small gunsmithing shop for good, a year and a half, conducting general gunsmithing,” Bodell testified during the trial. “After that I worked for a semi-custom production bolt-action rifle company making rifles for a year and a half. And then after that I had my own gunsmithing business based out of my house.”

His lack of experience didn’t stop Bodell from making false claims about toys, air rifles and firearm parts ATF agents found during a search of Adamiak’s home, especially a toy Denix British STEN MK II non-firing replica machinegun.

“I examined the large black item in the photograph there. It’s marketed as a replica submachine gun, specifically a Sten Mk II, which was a World War II British submachine gun. My examination of that, I found it to be both a firearm under the Gun Control Act and a machine gun,” Bodell told the jury.

His statement, which was false, forced Adamiak’s attorney to quickly object, since the STEN and other items Bodell testified about were not included in the evidence that was admitted to the trial.

The prosecutor quickly told the judge that Bodell was a firearm “expert” and that he had the “background and expertise to talk about it.”

The judge allowed Bodell’s testimony to continue about the STEN and other items, which were not part of the case.

“It’s not a real Sten Mk II submachine gun. But I was able to fire a live cartridge out of it in approximately 15 minutes utilizing a machine gun barrel and a machine gun bolt, and because of that, it’s readily converted to be able to expel a projectile by action of an explosive and therefore it is a firearm.” Bodell said while under oath.

He also testified that an air rifle was also a machinegun, as were four MAC-type pistols, which only fired semi-automatically from an open bolt.

“They did not shoot automatically, and they weren’t converted to shoot automatically, but they are machine guns because they’re designed to shoot automatically,” Bodell told the jury.

Bodell’s testimony about the toys and legal weapons—though completely wrong—helped prosecutors secure their conviction, which led to a 20-year federal prison sentence. Adamiak is starting his fourth year behind bars.

Cekada

On Thursday, I asked ATF Director Robert Cekada a simple question: Is a Denix British STEN MK II non-firing replica a toy or a machinegun?

“It wasn’t charged as a machinegun, and I’m not looking at it as a machinegun, for sure,” Cekada said. “I know it wasn’t indicted as a machinegun. It wasn’t one of the indicted items.”

I reminded Director Cekada that one of his ATF experts told the jury while under oath that it was a machinegun, as he did other items that were never charged and were never part of the government’s evidence.

“I think there’s a lot to be discussed on that,” he replied. “The U.S. Attorney’s office didn’t proceed with that charge.”

Cekada mentioned the other evidence collected during the search warrant of Adamiak’s home: RPGs, machinegun parts and M79 and M203 grenade launchers, which he said were not demilled.

“The RPGs—there was a veiled attempt to demil those. You could argue that either way,” he said. “The M79 and M203 carry the most sentencing enhancements and put him in jeopardy.”

Cekada said Adamiak was massively over-sentenced.

“On the facts of this case, the sentence Mr. Adamiak received is excessive. Mr. Adamiak had no prior criminal history. He dealt with these weapons as curios. We have no evidence that he intended to use the weapons unlawfully or that he was part of a criminal organization. The extremely high sentencing guidelines likely reflect the paradigmatic cases of individuals possessing destructive devices, such as grenade launchers, and normally involve terrorism or organized criminal activity. No such conduct was present here. For me, unlawful possession of National Firearms Act items sentences approximately in the three-to-five-year range are common,” he said.

Takeaways

This is not the first time Cekada has commented about his agents or their ability to follow the law.

“There is ambiguity in the law, and I think it’s important for people to be able to follow the law, to understand to law, and when federal agents don’t understand the law themselves, that leaves all of us at risk, and there shouldn’t be any room there,” Cekada told Congressman Eli Crane during a recent hearing.

Adamiak said during an interview last month that he strongly agreed with Cekada’s comments, which was no surprise.

Most people do.

For this story, Adamiak was unavailable for comment.

He is being moved by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in preparation for a court hearing.

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by Lee Williams

Editor’s note: As someone who has lived and worked in the United States Virgin Islands, I am never surprised by the way the V.I. government violates the civil rights of its 150,000 residents, who are all American citizens.

Once again, the V.I. government has very clearly violated the Constitution, by making it even more difficult for American citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Bad guys there are not so encumbered. The U.S. Virgin Islands are in the middle of a major international narcotics trafficking zone, so every type of weapon is available on the black market for those who don’t care about the law. Uzis, STENs, full-auto AK-47s and belt-fed machineguns of all types are arming the criminals, while the V.I. government won’t allow law-abiding citizens to own a handgun to protect their loved ones. Virgin Islands police are no help. Most are corrupt. They have little choice. All major crime is run by the “Commission,” hardcore but well-organized gangsters who are headquartered on St. Croix, the largest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands.

Enter Kosei Ohno, founder of the Virgin Islands Safe Gun Owners, or VISGO. He is trying to make real, substantive changes, but he needs our help.

Here’s his latest editorial.

Veto This Bill: The Public Deserves to Know What Was Passed

by Kosei Ohno

The most disturbing part of the Legislature’s half-day firearm session is not only that Amendment 36-364 was rushed through without meaningful public review. It is that, even after the vote, many Virgin Islanders still do not know exactly what the Senate passed.

That is not transparency. That is not democracy. That is government by ambush.

A sweeping rewrite of the Territory’s firearm laws and criminal code should never be handled this way. Residents, citizens, and stakeholders were asked to testify on a bill they were not allowed to see. The public had no fair opportunity to study the text, understand the consequences, or compare it to constitutional alternatives. Yet the Police Department and government lawyers had access. The people being regulated were kept in the dark, while the agencies being sued helped shape the rules. That is like letting an agency accused of violating civil rights grade its own homework, rewrite the test, and hide the answer key from the public.

What was the rush? There was no public emergency requiring Chapter 5 to be overhauled overnight. If the bill is constitutional, fair, and necessary, why hide it? If VIPD’s licensing system is lawful and timely, it should not fear discovery in court.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has its own history, culture, and local self-government. But Virgin Islanders are not second-class citizens when it comes to the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, commands: “...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” That applies here. So does due process.

Due process requires fair, clear procedures before government can deprive people of liberty or property. A firearm license tied to a constitutional right is not a government favor. Vague sensitive-place traps, broad discretion, and forcing citizens to hire lawyers simply to make VIPD act raise due-process concerns as well.

This approach does not solve violent crime. Criminals do not register firearms, provide fingerprints, buy safes, pay fees, take classes, and wait months or years for VIPD approval. It burdens law-abiding citizens: fathers, single mothers, waitresses, small-business owners, homeowners, veterans, retirees, and licensed citizens trying to follow the law.

Worse, it creates traps. Expanding “sensitive places” without real security protocols does not make people safer. Declaring more places off limits without controlled entrances, metal detectors, security, or funding is not public safety. Words on paper and signs do not stop criminals; they disarm the person willing to obey.

Almost every concern Senators raised had already been addressed in VISGO Amendment A35, available to lawmakers and the public on VISGO340.org for months.

Senator Carla Joseph asked what happens if VIPD fails to issue a permit on time. The government’s practical answer was go pay for a lawyer and file a lawsuit. A35 provides a real answer: a hard deadline, and if VIPD does not act, the application is deemed approved. Rights should not depend on whether a citizen can afford to sue the government.

Senator Blyden raised another important concern: residents should not fear that voluntarily seeking mental-health care, family counseling, marriage counseling, or other mental-health support could be used to deny or revoke a firearm license. A35 addresses that concern too. We should encourage responsible people to seek help, not punish them for it.

Senator Heyliger asked how citizens are supposed to protect their hearing if suppressors are banned outright. A35 allows federally lawful NFA items through an enhanced background-check process.

Senator James noted that even a $400 firearm may be difficult for a working Virgin Islander to afford. Yet this bill preserves excessive costs: license fees, registration fees, safes or lock boxes, and recurring training. A35 reduces the burden to $25 for a five-year license and removes unnecessary recurring recertification. We do not charge citizens $150 every time they exercise their right to speak. The Second Amendment deserves the same respect as the First.

The Attorney General previously assured the public that Bill 36-0144 was constitutional. That assurance was wrong then. Repeating it now, while admitting the government had not prepared the historical analysis required to defend new firearm restrictions under the Supreme Court’s standard, is not enough. Passing first and researching later is not responsible governing.

This is especially dangerous because the Territory depends on roughly $20 billion-plus in federal recovery and reconstruction support, while the federal government is already challenging VIPD’s firearm practices. The Virgin Islands should not invite deeper conflict with the same United States government helping fund our recovery, schools, hospitals, roads, and infrastructure.

At a time when residents struggle with basic public services, including keeping the lights on, government should not waste money defending avoidable constitutional mistakes.

Governor Bryan should veto this bill. Before any firearm overhaul becomes law, the final text should be published, the public should review it, and witnesses should testify on what is actually being voted on. The Legislature should start over with Amendment A35 or a similar constitutionally drafted bill.

Public safety and constitutional rights can coexist. But secret bills, rushed votes, and unconstitutional shortcuts serve neither.

Kosei Ohno is founder/lead of Virgin Islands Safe Gun Owners (VISGO) and President and owner of Crown Bay Marina in St. Thomas, which has been engaged in the Virgin Islands community since 1998. He also leads Project Bleachers, a community initiative to restore public recreational facilities and create safe, supervised spaces for youth, families, mentorship, recreation, and positive alternatives to violence. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and previously worked as a real-estate investment banker with Salomon Brothers Inc and Lehman Brothers advising clients across the country.

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by Lee Williams

Brian J. Samuels served as the criminal chief of the U.S. Justice Department’s Eastern Virginia office for nearly two decades, until he was demoted just a few months ago.

The main reason for Samuels’ demotion was never made entirely clear, but it may have involved a decision to not file charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, each of whom tried to prosecute President Donald J. Trump.

Once responsible for management and major cases within the office, Samuels is now just an assistant U.S. attorney—the same title given to anyone who graduates law school and joins the Justice Department.

Samuels was recently put in charge of the Justice Department’s case against Patrick “Tate” Adamiak.

He released a document last week titled “Position of the United States with Respect to Sentencing Factors.”

Samuels did not respond to calls or emails requesting an interview about his document.

Quite frankly, Samuels’ assertions are farcical, but no different than anything else we’ve seen throughout this case.

He never once mentioned Joe Biden or how he was responsible for the out-of-control ATF and their massive stint of illegality that occurred during his presidency. In fact, Biden is mentioned only once in the entire document, by Adamiak’s father.

Samuels never once pointed out how stories written about the Justice Department’s bedevilment of the Second Amendment are protected by the First Amendment.

He ridicules everyone who has ever written a story about the Adamiak case, while ignoring how the U.S. Department of Justice lied in their own reporting of the case facts—reporting that was paid for by taxpayer dollars.

For example, the U.S. Department of Justice was less than truthful in all three of their press releases about the case:

“According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between approximately October 2021 and April 2022, Patrick Tate Adamiak, 28, was obtaining illegal machine guns that were not registered and he was selling these machine guns online. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) purchased eight machine guns from him through a confidential source. They then executed a search warrant at Adamiak’s residence and recovered 25 additional unregistered firearms. A search warrant at his residence found that Adamiak was in possession of two grenade launchers and two antitank missile launchers. Adamiak is a Master at Arms in the U.S. Navy,” states a press release issued on June 14, 2023.

Adamiak never owned a single machinegun—not one. Instead, Biden’s out-for-blood ATF alleged his legal gun parts were “machineguns,” as were legal semi-auto pistols and even an actual toy gun. The “antitank missile launchers” were DEWAT RPGs that Adamiak purchased in California.

Media accusations

Samuels’ opinion is visible throughout his 21-page document, especially when he addresses media stories about the case, which he calls “allegations in the public sphere.”

“The defendant was also entitled to advocate for his sentencing and present mitigation; he did so. He was entitled to appeal his convictions and sentence; he did and prevailed on his Double Jeopardy claim. But beyond making his case in the appropriate legal forum and through appropriate legal means, the defendant (and others on his behalf) have continued to make allegations in the public sphere in an effort to cast doubt on the fair treatment he has received,” Samuels wrote.

He cites several of the 50 stories we have written about Adamiak’s case in his court document.

“I never sold a single item that qualifies as a firearm or requires an FFL I only sold non-regulated gun parts,” Adamiak said this week. “It’s my opinion and my family’s that the ATF realized they messed up after they didn’t come up with a single illegal weapon, so they completely reinterpreted the statutes and implemented new rules to spin the jury and get a conviction. They manufactured crimes [to] convict me.”

The link Samuels supplied does not work. Here is the actual link: How Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak received a 20-year prison sentence.

Samuels even quotes Adamiak’s father.

“I am livid! This should have been fixed. Now my son has to drive around for months in a fu—ing van. They’re playing dirty pool. That’s how they roll. It’s not about what’s true. It’s so freaking horrible. I learned about it just an hour ago. For the first time ever, I couldn’t even talk to Tate. I was so boiling! His legal team has been looking at his case for three years now. There are a dozen ways he could get out. It’s horrible! We even laid off the pressure a bit. How many people have to call out how stupid their decisions are? All they have to do is drop Tate’s case! They don’t even want to help. It’s amazing they could bull—it us for so long. It’s horrible to have an innocent person in prison for four years and everybody knows the truth. They could put a hold on him. That would show some good faith, at least. Nothing’s materialized. On TV they’re saying they’re going to fix all of these Biden problems. Tate ranks right up there with Malinowski. The only difference is they didn’t kill Tate. He would not be where he is without these damn blue-state judges with too much power. Damn blue state judges. They disregard the First and Second Amendments. How is this America? What happened to this country? We need to get him out by whatever means we can. They need to admit they screwed up. They need to go after [ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer Jeffrey R.] Bodell. He’s the problem here. He made up all of this. Tate does not need to be on anyone’s back burner. This is horrible. He’s on notice and they’re not doing jack,” Dave Adamiak said.

Here’s a link to David Admaiak’s comments.

Samuels took issue with a letter Adamiak wrote to the new ATF director, Robert Cekada.

“On May 8, 2026, the defendant authored a letter to the new ATF Director where, among other things, he claimed. No American should have to guess where legality ends and a felony begins;” and leveled complaints against the ATF and the integrity of the investigation and also claimed he possessed non-functional, incomplete or legally exempt items.”

Here’s a link to the story about Adamiak’s letter to ATF Director Rob Cekada.

Samuels had a problem with Adamiak granting an interview with “Mr. Gunsngear,” who operates a YouTube channel.

“It is clear that this is still a source of advocacy for the defendant,” prosecutors wrote. “Documents related to the defendant’s appeal have been published and the September date of the appeal was discussed in an article that described rallies in support of the defendant.”

Samuels was most angered by Adamiak maintaining his innocence. He also took exception to Adamiak’s belief that the ATF investigators should be investigated for perjury and fired, and that the charges against him were politically motivated by the Biden Administration.

“This messaging extends beyond the defendant’s individual statements in articles and has encouraged supporters to argue and protest against what they claim is an unjust conviction,” the prosecutor alleged.

Samuels’ goal was clear.

“For the foregoing reasons and others to be provided during the resentencing hearing, the United States respectfully requests the Court impose a sentence of 240 months of incarceration,” he wrote.

Takeaways

Personally, I am thrilled that one of the Justice Department’s oldest and newest assistant U.S. attorneys is reading my work. Let me ask him this: If you truly believe Adamiak illegally possessed machineguns, prove it.

Let’s see any of Adamiak’s “machineguns” actually fire on their own. Let’s see either of his DEWAT RPGs lob a rocket downrange. Neither can happen. They’d have to be rebuilt, especially the RPGs, but a real round would kill whoever is unlucky enough to be chosen as the demonstrator. There are holes drilled into the pipe where the shooter’s head goes. A real rocket would likely remove the shooter’s head. Besides, none of the gun parts he’s accused of illegally possessing can ever fire a round—not one.

Patrick “Tate” Adamiak is serving 20 years in prison for legal gun parts. He was falsely arrested, charged and convicted by Joe Biden’s ATF and the U.S. Department of Justice.

It’s time to admit that mistakes were made, free Adamiak and make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.

That would be real justice, which this case has lacked from the beginning.

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by Lee Williams

Given how he has restored the Second Amendment closer to the Founders’ original intent, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s short time in office has been simply incredible. In fact, he has become a one-man Second Amendment restorer for what used to be called the “Gunshine State.”

You need to understand how things used to work before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, his former chief of staff and general counsel, as Attorney General in 2025.

Pro-gun groups had to thoroughly plan, raise funds and then lobby individual politicians in order to make pro-gun changes, which took forever and was never guaranteed, even in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature. The pro-gun team had to play nice and sometimes almost beg lawmakers to restore Floridians’ Second Amendment rights. A large group of RINOs in the Miami area always made any real changes extremely difficult, as did certain legislative leaders—anti-gun Muppets who decided on their own that the time was not “right” to restore their constituents’ Second Amendment rights.

Uthmeier changed all of this without involving a single lawmaker.

In September of last year, Uthmeier ended a Florida state law that criminalized open carry.

He restored the rights of millions of Floridians with a single post on X.

Once a Florida Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s open-carry ban was unconstitutional, Uthmeier posted an important announcement.

“I’m issuing guidance to Florida’s prosecutors and law enforcement in light of the 1st DCA’s decision in McDaniels v. State,” Uthmeier posted on X. “Because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Florida’s open carry ban since the SCOTUS decision in Bruen, the 1st DCA’s decision is binding on all Florida’s trial courts. Meaning that as of last week, open carry is the law of the state.”

Everytown did some pretty interesting reporting of Uthmeier’s decision, which simply blew their minds.

“Attorney General Uthmeier is refusing to defend a critical law, going against the advice of state law enforcement and ultimately, putting our lives at risk,” Jennifer Massey, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in an Everytown story. “This is a complete dereliction of duty and at the end of the day, our kids, communities and law enforcement will pay the price while we strip a decades-old law from the books meant to help keep us all safe.”

When Demanding Moms accuse you of “dereliction of duty” you must be doing something right, right?

Last week Uthmeier, who is only 38, did it again. He ended Florida’s three-day waiting period for firearm purchases made by those without a Florida concealed-carry license, and once again he announced the change on X.

“Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That’s why we’re settling a landmark federal case that declares Florida’s 3-day firearm purchase waiting period unconstitutional under the Second Amendment,” he posted on X.

Simply put, Uthmeier gave all Floridians equal rights regardless of whether they purchased any state-issued paperwork.

Gun rights for every adult

When Uthmeier defended the gun rights of 18, 19 and 20-year-old Floridians, anti-gun politicians, the legacy media and a Parkland parent went absolutely bonkers.

Uthmeier intervened in a teen’s criminal case by asking a state appeals court to uphold the defendant’s right to carry—a move that even the anti-gun media was forced to admit constituted a victory for Floridians’ gun rights.

At issue was a 1987 state law, which barred 18, 19 and 20-year-olds from carrying concealed firearms.

Uthmeier actually opposed state prosecutors, which mystified Florida’s anti-gun community, especially Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, who asked Uthmeier for permission to get involved in the case. Pryor, who was elected in 2020, frequently mentioned “gun violence” whenever he spoke publicly.

Uthmeier refused Pryor’s request, which further blew the anti-gunners’ minds. They, of course, quickly turned to the media to strike back.

Several media stories were soon published, which included interviews with Pryor, who attacked Uthmeier’s decision for a host of frivolous reasons, none of which made any legal sense.

One Democratic state representative even asked Governor DeSantis to intervene, but DeSantis gave no sign he disagreed or opposed his AG’s decision.

Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg—an anti-gun advocate and frequent Second Amendment critic—accused Uthmeier of “undermining public safety efforts.”

Nondangerous Felons

Christopher Morgan was convicted in Pennsylvania in 2007 after he was caught carrying a firearm without a state license. Fifteen years later, he was stopped by a Florida officer, whom he told of a pistol in the center console of his car. Morgan was charged in Florida with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He had no other criminal history.

Before his trial in Florida, Morgan’s defense team made a motion that the state firearm law is “unconstitutional both facially and as applied to him.” However, the trial court denied his motion. Morgan then pleaded no contest to the felon in possession Florida charges but appealed his conviction. He was sentenced to two days in jail and court costs.

Uthmeier issued a response to Morgan’s appeal, which said that his conviction for possessing a firearm by a felon violated the Second Amendment.

In fact, he actually agreed with Morgan’s legal team.

“On studied reflection, the Attorney General has concluded that the conviction does indeed infringe Morgan’s right, as a nondangerous felon, to keep and bear arms,” Uthmeier wrote. “The state must therefore confess error and urge this Court to reverse.”

In the court document, Uthmeier spelled out that he is Florida’s “Chief Legal Officer,” and that he swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

“It is thus the Attorney General’s duty to admit when he believes the State has obtained a conviction in violation of the Constitution,” he wrote.

Takeaways

So far, Uthmeier has restored the gun rights of nondangerous felons, 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, anyone who opts to carry a firearm either openly or concealed, and anyone who does not want to wait three days before buying a gun.

The Second Amendment has been a constitutional right since 1791. If any state officials now try and prevent someone from exercising their constitutional rights, they may soon find themselves in court, explaining why they decided it was okay to illegally violate someone’s constitutional rights.

Floridians have one man to thank for this—Attorney General James Uthmeier.

Let’s hope his conduct serves as an example for attorneys general in other states.

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by Lee Williams

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans along with Congressmen Eli Crane, Eric Burlison, Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S., Rob Bresnahan, Jr., and Daniel Webster recently sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Justice Department Pardon Attorney Edward J. Martin Jr., asking that Patrick “Tate” Adamiak be freed from his 20-year prison sentence.

ATF Director Robert Cekada was also copied with the correspondence.

The letter was the idea of Rep. Eli Crane, who recently questioned Cekada during a live congressional hearing about Adamiak’s incarceration.

The six U.S. Representatives were very clear as to their intent:

“We, the undersigned Members of Congress, respectfully request that you work with President Donald Trump to give fair consideration to a commutation request for Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak. We believe that certain inconsistencies in the regulatory framework applied in his case as well as the broader enforcement environment at the time warrant careful review and consideration for executive clemency,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Representatives were extremely clear about Adamiak’s innocence, stating he had “maintained a well‑documented interest in military history and the lawful collection of historic artifacts, replicas, and training devices.”

“The items of concern in his case were inert collector pieces, nonfunctional replicas, and training aids that were incapable of firing,” the letter states.

The lawmakers pointed out that none of these items meet the “standard of a firearm,” and that ATF never alleged any violence or “the criminal misuse of any weapon.”

The six authors know who is to blame for Adamiak’s 20-year prison sentence.

“His prosecution occurred under the Biden Administration, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) implemented a series of expanded and draconian regulatory approaches to firearm regulation. These shifts occurred at a time when legislative changes could not be secured through Congress, resulting in an administrative posture that was both unusually aggressive and rapidly changing. Under President Trump’s leadership, several of these policies have since been reconsidered, modified, or withdrawn. This evolution raises reasonable questions about whether Mr. Adamiak’s case may have been influenced by an enforcement environment that no longer reflects current federal policy or Priorities,” the letter states.

Crane, a U.S. Navy SEAL and combat veteran, pointed out that the Navy also had doubts about Adamiak’s guilt and allowed him to receive an honorable discharge while he was behind bars—an extremely unusual practice.

“This determination speaks highly of his character, service record, and standing within the military community,” the letter states.

Adamiak was extremely grateful for the letter and what it meant. He wrote the following response:

“I am deeply grateful and humbled by the support of Representatives Eli Crane, Paul Gosar, Eric Burlison, Daniel Webster, Jen Kiggans, and Rob Bresnahan for taking the time to review my case and lend their voices to this effort.

I also want to thank the countless supporters, veterans, Second Amendment advocates, journalists, and ordinary Americans who refused to let my case be forgotten. The fact that so many people took the time to speak up, write letters, share my story, and demand a closer look means more to me and my family than I can adequately express.

For someone sitting in a prison cell, it is easy to feel forgotten. This letter reminds me that there are still people willing to stand up when they believe something deserves a second look. I am truly humbled by that support.

My hope has always been simple: that the facts are examined fairly and objectively. I remain grateful to everyone who has helped bring attention to my case, and I thank these six Members of Congress for their leadership, their courage, and their willingness to stand behind a Navy veteran they believe deserves that review,” Adamiak wrote.

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by Lee Williams

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the last newspaper where I worked, regularly provided outstanding journalism until Gannett bought it in 2019.

Before the purchase, we had scores of reporters and dozens of editors. Our print edition could reach nearly 200,000 people on a Sunday.

My editors were smart and community focused. After all, they let me start a blog about guns and gun rights.

When Gannett bought us, everything changed. Massive layoffs and firings became the norm. They also deleted my entire gun blog.

Today, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has a grand total of one editor and three reporters—one even lives in another state. Nearly all they write are press releases. Their print circulation is kept secret, but it’s probably less than 5,000.

That, friends, is my history with Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the country and publisher of USA TODAY. I believe it’s important for you to know my experiences when you read this story.

On Monday morning, USA TODAY columnist Joel Burgess published this: “I like shooting guns, but I can never keep one in my home | Opinion.”

The entirely nonsensical headline was followed by this drivel: “My grandfather’s gun made nobody safer. My family’s experience with his suicide shows the potential dangers of a firearm in the home, particularly one that is unlocked and loaded.”

Before we look at his work, here’s a little about the columnist. According to his LinkedIn page, Burgess has been a USA TODAY columnist for less than two years.

Before becoming a columnist, he was a reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times, which today has two editors and six reporters. Before that, he sold cycling parts for a North Carolina firm.

It shows.

He doesn’t hate guns, he claimed. “And I’ve fired some big ones, like a .357 magnum and an AR-15, starting when I was in Boy Scouts. But I still see firearms in a different way.”

I will leave his “big ones” comment alone. There are more important issues to address.

He mentions the “premier medical journal JAMA,” which posted a story claiming 7 million American kids live in a home with at least “one unlocked and loaded firearm.”

“Part of me says these are 7 million future catastrophes that can’t be avoided because we live in a country with an unrelenting firearms fetish,” Burgess actually wrote.

I should point out that a “fetish” is defined as “a sexual fixation on an object, body part, or situation that is not typically considered erotic. It also broadly refers to any object, idea, or behavior that is the focus of an irrational, obsessive, or unquestioning devotion.”

Perhaps he should have used another word.

As to his data, his JAMA’s numbers are not accurate. A story by NPR that Burgess even linked to admits it was the authors’ estimate.

Besides, many of us grew up in homes with loaded firearms. I have loaded firearms in my home right now. It’s totally safe. It’s not a “future catastrophe.” All it requires is some education and parental involvement. That’s it.

But Burgess is far from done. His anti-gun balderdash gets even deeper.

“A long-running cultural narrative says we should rely almost entirely on ourselves for safety. That would seem to mean having a gun in your house is necessary to stop bad guys from hurting you and your family, a message reinforced by the gun lobby and our entertainment industry,” he wrote.

Note: he hyperlinked “entertainment industry” to the 2013 film, “The Purge.” I cannot reckon why.

As to his comment, I do not know what crime is like in Asheville. Perhaps there aren’t any home invasions, burglaries or murders. Perhaps the criminals are a decent sort, who leave when so ordered and apologize, bow and lock your front door as they back out quietly.

Even if that’s the case in Asheville, I can guarantee that for the rest of our country, having access to a firearm is the ONLY sure way to stop a committed bad guy from hurting you and your family—the only way.

I’m not sure if “The Purge” movie reinforced this, but I know the “gun lobby” sure does, for one reason. It’s 100% true.

Guns save lives.

Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot, a liar or both.

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by Lee Williams

Not too long ago, investigative reporters had to find their own information when they took on a story. Getting data was difficult but crucial. The other side—the subject of the investigation—fought throughout the entire process, since it usually proved they had screwed up, and loss of employment and/or prison were a consideration.

Nowadays, so-called investigative reporters have it a lot easier. There are organizations that will provide nearly everything they need for a story, including data, photos and quotes. The problem is that these groups are all politically connected. They all have a hefty axe to grind.

Very few groups are better at selling themselves to today’s media than the Trace, Michael Bloomberg’s fake reporters and fake newsroom. The Trace is paid to produce anti-gun propaganda. They’re propagandists not journalists, and they’ve certainly never had a real newsroom.

For an investigative reporter, using anything from the Trace comes with huge risks.

John Feinblatt is president of both the Trace and the largest anti-gun organization in the country, Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety.

To say that’s a conflict of interest is obvious. After all, you’ve got the Trace, which claims to be “the only newsroom dedicated to reporting on gun violence” overseen and paid for by “the largest gun violence prevention organization in America.”

Feinblatt even admitted he came up with the idea of the Trace after Everytown had problems obtaining access to government data. After discussing his idea with Bloomberg, the Trace was launched in 2015, and Everytown was its largest donor.

Today, I don’t think there’s too much difference between the two groups, other than what’s written on a staffer’s paycheck. They’re both seeking the same goal, total civilian disarmament, and they both take orders directly from Bloomberg.

For an investigative reporter to use such an obviously skewed source could be disastrous, at least it should be.

Enter ProPublica.

I remember when the journalism nonprofit first started in 2008. It hit hard, like a bullet. Over the years, I’ve known several of their reporters. One still works there. Today, they have more than 150 investigative reporters and database analysts whose work is mostly funded by donations.

I’m betting ProPublica’s funding process may have created a serious if not fatal problem, since Bloomberg has never been shy about donating cash.

His gifts always come with a steep price, for example writing a story about a former ATF official who now works for Bloomberg.

“Dettelbach’s puppet”

Marianna Mitchem spent 20 years at ATF, rising to Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations).

Mitchem began her 20-year ATF career in 2005 as an IOI, an Industry Operations Investigator, who inspect gun shops to make sure their records and inventory are documented correctly. She worked unarmed and was never an ATF Special Agent, who are armed and charged with enforcing federal law.

She was promoted to field supervisor in 2011, and by 2014, was put in charge of Industry Operations for ATF’s Phoenix Field Division.

She moved to Washington D.C. in 2017, when she became ATF’s deputy chief of Field Management Staff. One year later, she was promoted to Chief.

In 2019, Mitchem became ATF’s deputy chief of staff, and reported to ATF’s director. Just one year later, she became the chief of the Firearms and Explosives Industry Division.

Mitchem held her final position as Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations), from March 2024 until she left in May 2025.

A former ATF senior official who worked with Mitchem said she was smart, a good communicator but always extremely anti-gun.

When former President Joe Biden appointed Steve Dettelbach to run ATF, Mitchem was given more duties and responsibilities.

The former official described her as “Dettelbach’s puppet.” She was his “superstar,” and was responsible for ATF’s frame or receiver ruling and for going after “ghost guns.”

ProPublica’s story

On Monday, ProPublica published: “No One Is Watching”: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking.

Mitchem is named in the lead of the story, is quoted throughout the piece and is definitely the star.

Guided by Mitchem, the story’s two authors examine a bit of ATF history, although it’s completely one-sided, flawed and terribly written.

“After 2021, the homicide rate started falling, which criminologists attributed to several factors, including repair of the social fabric since the coronavirus pandemic and a closing of the breach in police-community relations that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd. One other factor got less attention: the clampdown on the illegal flow of firearms,” the authors actually wrote.

In addition to Mitchem’s self-serving quotes, the authors used data—a lot of data—and the data sources raise even more concerns.

The Trace. Everytown for Gun Safety and Everytown Research are cited frequently as the main data sources, as if they’re capable of actually producing believable data.

CNN and USA TODAY are the two largest news organizations quoted by the authors, and nowadays they’re about as bad as the Trace or Everytown.

The three main points of the story are actually pretty good, great in fact, but they were definitely not written that way.

The authors concluded that under President Donald J. Trump the ATF now refers 30% fewer gun-trafficking cases, sends ATF agents to help ICE make arrests at protests, and has reduced the number of gun dealers losing their licenses by 69%.

As to the rest, there’s not much that’s really new in the piece, other than the quotes from Mitchem.

It’s definitely anti-gun, which raises additional questions.

Takeaways

The authors’ story violates the top three rules of ProPublica’s own code of ethics, which states:

• Our facts are accurate and fairly presented.

• Our analyses represent our best independent judgments rather than our preferences or those of our sources.

• There are no hidden agendas in any of our journalistic undertakings.

The facts in the story were definitely unfair and unclear; both the analysis and judgement were anti-gun instead of independent, and the authors had a massive anti-gun agenda, which they were almost incapable of hiding.

Quite frankly, I expected more a lot more.

I’m accustomed to seeing local TV stations and newspapers duped by the Trace’s lies and manipulations, not ProPublica—one of the few investigative powerhouses still in operation.

Guns have always been the only issue where traditional journalism rules do not apply. Journalists can publish whatever they want about guns or gun owners, violating every ethical code and nothing will ever happen.

Why?

Well, the reason is very simple: Journalists don’t like guns. They don’t understand them. They think they’re evil, as is anyone who owns one. Anyone who advocates for guns or gun rights they believe is a “gun nut,” so their opinions are immediately discounted.

It’s sad but true.

Given the dire financial straits facing most of the traditional media, nonprofits like ProPublica have become even more important. So, it’s sad to see both the Trace and Everytown take control.

It proves the worth of an anonymous quote about how wealth or the desire to become wealthy can overshadow all else: “When money talks, nobody checks the grammar.”

As I said, it’s sad but true.

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by Lee Williams

I haven’t been to a Publix grocery store since I learned that the massive southeastern grocery store chain doesn’t want its customers to carry firearms openly on its property or in its stores.

It doesn’t matter that I never carry openly. We have that specific right in Florida. If a store doesn’t want customers to exercise this right, we will shop elsewhere. It wasn’t a difficult decision, even though there are two Publix grocery stores within walking distance from my Sarasota home.

This policy is posted in a window and became well known: “Publix kindly asks that only law enforcement openly carry firearms in our stores.”

An X follower pointed out that Publix in Tennessee also banned open carry:

However, longtime friend, Richard Nascak, cofounder and executive director of Florida Carry, Inc., shared a post over the weekend showing how Publix’s decision to ban open carry appears to be geographically based.

A Publix store in Georgia does not ban open carry:

This is certainly strange. Publix may be enforcing an open-carry ban in just some of the eight states where it operates.

I definitely needed to know more, so I reached out the Lindsey Willis, Publix’s media relations manager for central and south Florida.

Ms. Willis did not respond to calls or emails seeking comments.

I then reached out to Hannah Herring, Publix’s media director for north and central Florida, southern Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

Ms. Herring did not respond to calls or emails seeking comments.

Finally, I reached out to Maria Brous, the chain’s Director of Communications, who has worked for Publix for more than 35 years.

Like her two subordinates, Ms. Brous did not return calls or emails seeking comment.

Takeaways

Publix operates nearly 1,500 grocery stores in eight southeastern states. Florida, the chain’s home, has the most stores, more than 900.

Publix is one of the 10 largest grocery store chains in the country and employs more than a quarter-million people. Last year, its sales reached $62 billion.

Publix operates in states that strongly support their residents’ Second Amendment rights—absent the 24 properties in Virginia, at least for now.

So, why take away the right to openly carry firearms?

That remains a secret known only to a few upper-level staffers at the Publix headquarters in Lakeland, Florida.

Their response to the coverage of this massively important civil rights issue has been abysmal, but about what I expected.

To be clear, as store owners, they certainly have the right to ban the open carry of firearms at some of their properties, as well as the right to keep their reasons for the bans secret.

However, as customers, we certainly have the right to shop somewhere else, where the staff isn’t so afraid of a holstered firearm.

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by Lee Williams

Patrick Tate Adamiak is starting his fourth year of a 20-year federal prison sentence even though he broke no law and committed no crime.

That sad fact leads almost every discussion about the 31-year-old who had no prior criminal history. The public’s attention has been rightfully focused on freeing him from his undeserved incarceration, not on the ATF agents who wrongfully put him in a prison cell for two decades.

As most of you know, Joe Biden’s ATF lied about what their confidential informant had purchased from Adamiak. They lied again to obtain a search warrant of Adamiak’s property. They found nothing illegal while executing their search warrant, so they lied yet again about the legal items they found in order to obtain a conviction.

These untruths, in my humble opinion, were made for three reasons: in order to stave off any claim that Adamiak’s civil rights were violated, to shield the ATF agents from how poorly they conducted the investigation, and to keep secret that fact that they simply can’t work a confidential informant.

The ATF’s lies were so profound they actually turned gun parts into machineguns. Their firearms “experts” even classified a toy as a machinegun—a toy! They misclassified two DEWAT RPGs as actual grenade launchers, which added 15 years to Adamiak’s sentence. An ATF expert even classified seven legal semi-auto handguns, which fire from an open bolt, as machineguns.

To be clear, this was a massively flawed investigation. It was fraudulent in more than a hundred different ways. And it was fraudulent from the very beginning.

This entire monstrosity started when the ATF sent a confidential informant to buy machineguns from Adamiak, who never sold any machineguns, of course. Adamiak never had any machineguns.

Instead, Adamiak sold the informant barrel shrouds, which were even cut up into pieces.

Barrel shrouds surround a machinegun barrel. They’re meant to keep a young soldier from burning their hands on a hot machinegun barrel. The weapon can fire full-auto with or without a shroud. They certainly aren’t vital parts. They definitely are not a “machinegun.”

Anyone who misclassifies cut up barrel shrouds as machineguns shouldn’t be working for the ATF, but that’s exactly what ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer Ronald K. Davis did. He put this deception into a report, which ATF Agent William S. Harston, Jr., quickly used as evidence to obtain a search warrant of Adamiak’s home. Hairston, the ATF’s lead case agent, even held up a toy during Adamiak’s trial, which of course was also classified as a machinegun.

“If they never lied about those shrouds, they never would have gotten a search warrant,” Adamiak said Wednesday.

During his trial, Adamiak’s defense team tried to argue that the barrel shrouds weren’t machineguns, so the search warrant was flawed, and the ATF’s entire “investigation” was based on lies, but the judge cut them right off.

Adamiak was calm when I asked about his years of mistreatment by the ATF. He pointed to what the new ATF director, Rob Cekada, recently said during a congressional hearing. He agrees with Cekada’s comments.

I asked Adamiak what he thinks should happen to the ATF staffers whose misdeeds got him arrested, which led to his 20-year sentence.

“That’s a good question,” he said. “They should be immediately fired, and I think they should be investigated for perjury.”

If the ATF kicked down my door for no reason, seized all my guns for no reason, lied under oath and sent me to prison for two decades, I would want more—much more—than perjury charges.

I truly believe Adamiak will be released, hopefully soon. He has a hearing next month and his new legal team is incredible. The public has mailed hundreds of “Free Tate” letters to the White House and other recipients. There are also other machinations occurring almost daily that could also lead to his release. Unfortunately, nothing happening now will hold anyone accountable for the more than 1,500 days Adamiak has spent behind bars or the 5,840 days he has left to serve.

As a result, the ATF agents who were involved with the Adamiak investigation believe they got away with it. They committed a massive civil rights violation solely to ingratiate themselves with the Biden administration, and are all still gainfully employed. These agents go to work every day as if they did nothing wrong.

In a perfect world, once Adamiak is freed, these agents will be held accountable. The current ATF leadership doesn’t get to simply ignore this group of miscreants. They need to be made an example of, so that their extreme misconduct never happens again. Trust me, unless these ATF staffers are held accountable for their misdeeds it all will happen again, especially when there’s another Democrat at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

What these agents did needs to be dissected. Those responsible need to be severely disciplined. It must not be overlooked by the current ATF leadership. The entire organization needs to look at this incident as it really is—a massive civil rights violation that merits penalties. No one who made a single decision about the case should ever receive another taxpayer dollar.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the ATF itself need to take a close, serious look at what they did to Patrick Tate Adamiak or it will happen again, especially when there’s another Dem calling the shots at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Once was enough.

Bottom line: If the ATF doesn’t hold itself fully accountable, we need to ask whether we even need the ATF.

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by Lee Williams

ATF Director Rob Cekada recently acknowledged that the 20-year prison sentence brought by charges his agency presented to the U.S. Department of Justice against Patrick Tate Adamiak was far longer than anything he had ever seen.

“I think that the biggest challenge is the sentence Tate received. It’s a sentence I’ve not seen for a case like that. I’ve seen cases where folks with no criminal history are involved—and I’m not saying Tate… I’m not using any of my statements toward Tate negatively, for example—I’ve personally charged people for trafficking or dealing in firearms without a license. They were dealing firearms to gang members. They had no criminal history. We charged them. They went to trial. They got three years in jail,” Cekada said during a recent interview with Cam Edwards on Bearing Arms “Cam & Co.”

Cekada did take issue with some of the technical aspects of the gun parts ATF agents recovered during a search warrant of Adamiak’s home.

“ATF folks have told me they were not properly demilled and ultimately very easily were assembled to fall into what the law would call a machinegun” Cekada said.

He understands there’s a difference of opinion between “Tate’s perspective” and the that of the ATF. Cekada promised neither he nor the ATF will be “offended by the outcome of the courts,” because he wants to make sure that Adamiak was “appropriately sentenced.” The ATF director blamed the sentencing guidelines for Adamiak’s 20-year prison sentence, “not the actual firearms.”

However, he pointed out one of the biggest issues in the case.

The ATF shouldn’t have to look too hard to substantiate Cekada’s concerns.

Here’s a list of cases released Friday that prove exactly what the ATF director has observed.

Oscar Solano-Salinas, 44 years old, a citizen of Mexico, with two convictions for sexual battery was sentenced to 41 months in prison for possessing a rifle and ammunition and reentering the country for a third time after having been removed on two separate occasions.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Donovan James Cartwright-Nye, 25, was sentenced on May 20, 2026, to 96 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a felon. Cartwright-Nye traded drugs for a firearm with an obliterated serial number and the following day fired several shots at another person in Rock Island, Illinois. Cartwright-Nye then fled the scene in his vehicle that he proceeded to crash several blocks away. He was apprehended on foot a short time later.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Chanse Treyvon Burge, 32, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 137 months in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. According to public records, on March 18, 2025, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a metro apartment. The victim reported that after a knock at the door, three individuals forced their way into the apartment. Burge held a firearm to the victim’s head while the other two searched the apartment. Burge also threatened to shoot the victim and struck her in the head multiple times with the firearm before the intruders fled. He was later arrested in a vehicle at a nearby hotel, where officers recovered a firearm.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Gabriel Lebron Mejia, 27, of Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possessing 100 grams or more of heroin intended for distribution and maintaining a drug trafficking premises. Lebron Mejia pleaded guilty to these charges on March 13, 2026. Between January and August 2025, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from Lebron Mejia. During his subsequent arrest on August 28, 2025, officers searched Lebron Mejia’s vehicle and found a hidden compartment behind the vehicle’s glove box. Inside, officers recovered 115 grams of a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl and 60 grams of cocaine. Officers also searched Lebron Mejia’s apartment and recovered 100 grams of fentanyl pills, a hydraulic pill press, a gas mask, cutting agents, and other tools and drug packaging material. Police also found a 9mm handgun, ammunition, and over $21,000 in cash.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Binnie Y. Bryant Jr., 36, of Evansville, has been sentenced to 240 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On January 23, 2024, uniformed detectives approached Bryant as he walked near an intersection and attempted to stop him. Bryant immediately fled on foot and violently resisted arrest once apprehended. During the struggle, Bryant reached toward his waistband, grabbed the handle of a Glock pistol, and attempted to draw it. Detectives were able to disarm him and take him into custody without further incident. A search of Bryant’s pockets revealed 20.8 grams of heroin, 96.5 grams of THC, and two digital scales.

Adamiak was also sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Douglas Scott Reeves, who has a lengthy criminal history, including a previous federal drug conviction, will spend the next 120 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Between 2021 and 2023, law enforcement officers received information that Reeves was obtaining fentanyl tablets and fentanyl powder, which he used to manufacture his own fentanyl tablets, for distribution. Officers conducted multiple controlled buys of fentanyl from Reeves at his residence in Russellville, which were recorded. On September 27, 2023, Reeves fled when officers executed a search warrant at his residence. During a search of Reeves’ residence, officers located fentanyl, psilocybin mushrooms, and drug distribution paraphernalia. Reeves admitted he distributed at least 280 grams of fentanyl and that he had used Narcan on at least 18 people while they were overdosing.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Jafere Deshon Elliott, 23, and Korbynn Jevon Jackson, 23, both of Augusta, each pled guilty to Illegal Importation of Firearms or Ammunition and Illegal Possession of a Machinegun. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen sentenced both defendants to 48 months in prison, and each man also must pay a fine of $2,000 and serve three years of supervised release upon completion of their prison terms.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Orville Andrew Pernell, an illegal alien from Jamaica charged with murder in Saint Lucia, has been sentenced to federal prison for possession of a firearm by an alien illegally or unlawfully present in the United States. Orville Andrew Pernell, a/k/a Oneil Christopher Reid, 33, of Saint Mary, Jamaica, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson to 33 months of imprisonment. After he serves his sentence in the United States, he will be subject to removal and extradition proceedings.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

James Cargill, 45, of Vacaville, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to 180 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. According to court documents, on Jan. 21, 2025, police officers found Cargill to be in possession of more than a pound of methamphetamine. Cargill was arrested and released on parole. He was arrested again on May 9, 2025, after police officers found him in possession of just under a half a pound of methamphetamine and a loaded Glock 20 semi-automatic pistol.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Otha Gatlin, 48, was sentenced to over 180 months in federal prison for Selling Crack Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Sell a Quantity of Cocaine Base (Crack) and a Quantity of Cocaine, and Possession of Ammunition by a Felon. On February 9, 2026, Gatlin pleaded guilty to the charges without a plea agreement.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Muhammad Ali Hasan, 52, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 7, 2026, in federal court in Omaha for distribution of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a felon, and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Hasan to 78 months’ imprisonment on the drug conviction and for possession of a firearm as a felon, each to run concurrently, and a consecutive 60 months’ imprisonment for the possession of a firearm during drug trafficking charge, for a total sentence of 138 months imprisonment.

Adamiak was sentenced to 240 months behind bars.

Takeaways

Everyone who has studied this case clearly understands that a single minute behind bars would have been far too excessive, because nothing Adamiak owned was illegal. His 20-year sentence is an abomination.

Adamiak was arrested, charged and convicted because Joe Biden’s ATF simply did not care about anyone’s guilt or innocence. Any mistake the agents made was simply overlooked, because the ATF was neck-deep in a national political fight against guns and gun owners.

Clearly, Cekada was correct about the sentences he has seen—is seeing—as a result of ATF investigations. Those who are illegally armed or who have been convicted of felony drug offenses, or resist arrest, or have long criminal records in addition to their most recent crimes, receive far less time behind bars than Adamiak received.

The data that was used for this story is released by the ATF every single week, and it clearly shows that no one with a spotless record like Adamiak’s receives a 20-year prison sentence.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the ATF itself need to take a close, serious look at exactly what happened to Patrick Tate Adamiak. Problems with the case began with a confidential informant who was facing charges himself, and were compounded by ATF’s “expert” witness who turned a toy into a machinegun, and who may have made false statements under oath about 100% legal gun parts.

It’s hard to believe that anything similar could occur under ATF’s current leadership, but Adamiak was imprisoned by the ATF, and the agency doesn’t get a do-over just because the current leadership now says they respect the Second Amendment. If they really do, Tate should be freed.

Cekada said “the biggest challenge is the sentence Tate received.”

Everyone who venerates the Second Amendment agrees, but we also believe it’s time to do something about this legal horror, because what happened to Patrick Tate Adamiak could happen to any legal gun owner.

The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.

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by Lee Williams

Patrick “Tate” Adamiak was arrested more than four years ago even though he never committed any crime. More than 40 officers led by ATF Agents kicked down his doors and ripped apart his home.

They found nothing illegal—not a thing—yet he’s starting the fourth year of his 20-year federal prison sentence.

Bottom line: He is completely innocent.

For those of you who have asked, here’s Tate’s address:

Patrick Tate Adamiak

#95252-509

Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix

PO Box 2000

Joint Base MDL NJ, 08640

So far, we’ve written 44 stories about Tate, his family and what they are facing.

Here they are:

What Pennsylvania lawmakers are not doing for Patrick Tate Adamiak, May 19, 2026

Tate Adamiak’s letter to the new ATF director, May 13, 2026

Tate Adamiak’s upcoming ‘Diesel Therapy’ cancelled—he won, May 10, 2026

UPDATED: Tate Adamiak to receive 50 days of ‘Diesel Therapy’ punishment, May 06, 2026

SAF files amicus brief urging Supreme Court to review Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s case, May 04, 2026

How you can help free Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak, April 20, 2026

How Tate Adamiak’s 20-year sentence compares to 10 other ATF cases, Apr 14, 2026

It’s been four long years since ATF arrested Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak, Apr 08, 2026

An interview with The AK Guy, GOP candidate for U.S. House, Brandon Herrera, Apr 01, 2026

How President Trump’s ATF can help Tate Adamiak, Mar 12, 2026

Adamiak remains behind bars, guiltless but ignored by the Trump Administration, Feb 17, 2026

Behind bars: A day in the life of Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak, Dec 11, 2025

Expert firearm witness criticizes ATF’s treatment of Patrick “Tate” Adamiak, Nov 18, 2025

Even the ATF now admits inert RPGs—including Adamiak’s—are not firearms, Nov 11, 2025

How Adamiak received 20 years in prison for semi-auto Uzis and other legal guns, gun parts, Nov 04, 2025

Adamiak’s attorney strikes back at his criminal charges, Nov 01, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s criminal case now depends on his appellate attorney, Oct 21, 2025

BREAKING: Appellate Court finds one of Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s convictions violated Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, Oct 14, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s appeal was quick, inconclusive, Sep 12, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s appeal relies solely on the truth, Sep 09, 2025

While gun owners strongly support Adamiak, politicians don’t, Sep 04, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s appeal will be heard in 10 days, Sep 02, 2025

Hey, ATF! Nothing you found in Tate Adamiak’s home is illegal, Aug 19, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s asks President Trump for a pardon, July 30, 2025

Adamiak: ATF’s machinegun charges are complete fiction, July 8, 2025

Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak: ‘Thanks for the help, New Jersey!’ July 1, 2025

Former ATF official: ‘Adamiak should not be in prison’ Jun 26, 2025

ATF prepping the same untruths, toy guns for Adamiak’s appeal, Jun 24, 2025

Judge unknowingly admits Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak’s inert RPGs were legal Jun 10, 2025

How Patrick ‘Tate’ Adamiak received a 20-year prison sentence May 20, 2025

How ATF falsely charged former sailor with possessing destructive devices May 13, 2025

Former sailor should be pardoned, ATF agents should be charged Apr 29, 2025

Meet the man whose lies put an innocent sailor in prison for 20 years Apr 25, 2025

How ATF used inert RPGs to imprison American sailor for two decades Apr 22, 2025

ATF wanted former sailor to serve an additional 10 years in prison for 100% legal MAC flats Apr 15, 2025

Q&A: Former sailor discusses his 20-year prison sentence, the ATF and his hope for the future Apr 08, 2025

Federal prosecutors now using ATF’s lies and fake evidence to harm former sailor’s legal appeal Apr 01, 2025

Trump should pardon innocent sailor jailed by Biden administration for 20 years Mar 18, 2025

One of the worst things ATF has ever done Feb 24, 2025

Sailor serving 20-years in prison for legal semi-auto collectibles Feb 18, 2025

How a replica STEN gun led to a sailor’s 20-year prison sentence Feb 14, 2025

Free Patrick Tate Adamiak Jan 31, 2025

ATF lied to convict sailor now serving 20 years in prison for selling legal gun parts — A SPECIAL REPORT Jan 29, 2025

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by Lee Williams

United States Congressman Rob Bresnahan is a young newly elected Republican serving Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, which is located in the northeast portion of the state and includes Patrick Tate Adamiak’s home where his father lives.

Bresnahan is the CEO of a construction company with 150 employees. According to his bio, the Congressman lives with his wife Chelsea and a cat named Blue.

Last week, Congressman Bresnahan’s staffers refused to allow him to be interviewed about Patrick Tate Adamiak, the weeks of “Diesel Therapy” he was recently saved from, or the 50-plus stories we’ve written about his wrongful prosecution, conviction and imprisonment.

Just minutes after killing the interview, Bresnahan’s staffers immediately called Adamiak’s father and questioned him once again about his son’s plight. The Congressman’s staffers have been talking to him for months but have done nothing substantive.

“We have been trying to get them on board for a long time. I first spoke to one staffer who blew me off. Basically, they said they don’t want to get involved with legal cases,” Dave Adamiak said Monday. “I was shocked and a little aggravated being a constituent that they can’t help in any way. A few weeks later, I was in touch with a different staffer. He was a little more responsive and said he’d get back to us. He never did. When you posted the tweet that’s when I got another call. He claimed it had nothing to do with the tweet.”

Late Monday afternoon, Congressman Bresnahan’s communications director, Hannah Pope, called and said, “We are looking into this issue.”

She still would not allow her boss to be interviewed, saying “We’re still looking into this. Try checking back in a few weeks.”

Congressman Bresnahan did not respond to interview requests.

Here’s the tweet Dave Adamiak referred to:

As of Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Adamiak’s case, the role any federal or state lawmaker can take to help the 38-year-old former active-duty sailor became even more important.

Pennsylvania State Senator Lisa Baker is running for re-election to represent District 20. Another Republican, her current term ends in November.

Baker, who served as deputy chief of staff for two former Republican governors, did not respond to calls or emails seeking her comments about Adamiak’s plight, but her opponent did.

Tyler Meyers describes himself as Christian, a conservative Republican and a U.S. Army veteran, who was born and raised in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Both he and his daughter appreciate guns and are strongly opposed to what happened to Adamiak.

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Lee’s note: Tate Adamiak recently wrote a letter to ATF’s new Director, Rob Cekada. Here it is, completely unedited. Tate makes some great points.

May 8, 2026

If I could speak directly to ATF Director Robert Cekada, I would begin by acknowledging that what happened in my case occurred prior to his leadership at the ATF, under then-Director Steven Dettelbach. I recognize that distinction. I also recognize the tone he and Attorney General Todd Blanche have recently set, and it is one that gives me reason to write this.

If I could ask for one thing, it would be this: clear lines, consistently enforced. No American should have to guess where legality ends and a felony begins, especially when the consequence can mean decades of imprisonment and the permanent loss of constitutional rights.

The ATF holds extraordinary authority over how complex, technical firearms laws are interpreted. That authority demands not only expertise, but restraint and consistency. What I experienced reflected neither.

On April 11, 2022, four days after my arrest, President Joe Biden stood beside Director Dettelbach and acknowledged pushing for new rules because legislation could not be passed through Congress. Weeks earlier, the Department of Justice had already initiated an enforcement surge targeting privately made firearms, allocating additional prosecutorial resources and intensifying focus.

That context matters because my case aligned with that moment.

I was charged based on items the ATF classified as “firearm receivers,” items that had freely circulated in open commerce for decades. I was arrested before the rule redefining those items was publicly announced. That is not clarity. It is enforcement applied ahead of definition.

So, I continue to ask: how does something that did not meet the legal definition of a receiver at the time become the foundation for a federal prosecution? How does a collection of parts become a narrative carrying decades of exposure?

I have spent years asking those questions from a cell.

When I listened to Director Cekada and Attorney General Blanche speak about restoring clarity, aligning regulations with statutory authority, and eliminating ambiguity that leads to inconsistent enforcement, I heard something I had not heard in a long time: recognition that these problems exist. If those principles are to mean anything, then cases like mine should be examined carefully.

Because what occurred here was not simply strict enforcement. It was enforcement operating without a stable, publicly understood boundary. When legality depends on reconstruction, reinterpretation, or evolving internal standards, the law ceases to function as a guide and begins to function as a trap.

I hope that, from one gun enthusiast to another, that distinction is clear. I hope my case is recognized as an example of regulatory creep driven by vague, shifting, and subjective interpretations.

That reality does not affect only me. It extends to every collector, hobbyist, and citizen attempting to navigate the law in good faith.

I would respectfully ask Director Cekada to examine how technical determinations are made and presented. If an item is only deemed unlawful after modification, assembly, or theories of constructive possession and “readily convertible” status advanced by the government, then the issue is not solely the item. It is the standard being applied. And a standard that shifts from case to case is indistinguishable from no standard at all.

I would also ask that my prosecution be reviewed as a case study.

The investigative approach, as I experienced it, began with efforts by a paid criminal informant with pending charges to induce the creation of an illegal item that did not exist. When that effort failed, the focus shifted to an alternative theory aligned with a broader enforcement initiative. An object that did not meet the ATF’s own regulatory definition at the time was ultimately classified as a machine gun to support a warrant.

The testimony used to support that outcome is where the record becomes especially difficult to reconcile with ordinary expectations of law enforcement clarity.

The lead case agent testified that everything I possessed constituted illegal firearms. Yet he also admitted he had “only ever seen many of these items in video games,” and that he could not distinguish between a real firearm and a replica by sight alone. That raises a fundamental question: if the enforcing agent cannot make that distinction, how is an ordinary citizen expected to know where the line is?

He also testified that altering evidence is against agency policy while acknowledging that government experts nevertheless modified multiple items during examination.

On required filings, he suggested I should have completed a Form 1 application before acquiring certain components, while overlooking that such forms require serial numbers from those very components and are not applicable in the way he described. He further implied that approval would allow one to then assemble the item, despite the fact that I never assembled anything into a functional configuration.

The Firearm Enforcement Officer’s testimony added another layer of concern. He stated, “My understanding is the original definition of a firearm receiver did not fit 90-some percent of frames or receivers the way it was written.” In other words, he acknowledged that the regulatory definition in 27 C.F.R. § 478.11 did not align with how certain components were being treated, an issue later addressed through updated rulemaking. Yet in my case, conclusions still relied on interpretations that predated or extended beyond that framework.

He also described sheet metal components, M240 80% side plates, as having “reached a stage of manufacturing in which they are clearly recognized as plates for a M240 machine gun, therefore are machine guns as defined,” relying on internal policy language that did not publicly exist at the time of seizure.

In another instance, inert RPG training aids were described in a manner that treated a single component as though it constituted a destructive device, despite the statute and case law requiring a combination of parts and functionality that did not exist in my possession (United States v. Blackburn).

And perhaps most strikingly, an ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer testified that “a Sharpie marker in the correct location for a sear pin hole would be enough to classify an element as a machine gun receiver.”

Under that theory, lawful possession of otherwise ordinary items, combined with something as simple as a marker, could be reframed as constructive possession of a machine gun.

These were the classifications and opinions presented by the individual responsible for evaluating nearly every item in the case.

These are not abstract disagreements over technical language. They are the difference between lawful possession and decades of imprisonment.

I raise these points carefully and with respect for the agency’s mission of combating violent crime. But they lead to a necessary question: is this type of application aligned with that mission? Is there a meaningful distinction being maintained between a collector attempting compliance and an individual engaged in criminal conduct that threatens public safety?

There should be.

What followed was not only a legal outcome, but a complete disruption of my life. My career ended, my property was seized, and my family was subjected to a traumatic experience based on interpretations of items that were not functional and could not operate as alleged.

I was ultimately portrayed as a weapons trafficker based on items that have existed in various forms for decades, all of which remain in circulation today.

At trial, the ATF spent four days arguing that MAC flats were illegal machine guns, a theory later proven false, though only after the verdicts had already been returned.

If I may ask for one thing beyond review, it is clarity, and specifically correction of what I believe remains an unresolved factual dispute between what was presented in court and what the government still maintains about these items. The goal should not simply be winning cases, but getting it right.

Despite the evidence and the actual physical condition of the items, the position advanced by the prosecution and reflected in the record continues to treat them as illegal machine guns, receivers, or destructive devices when they were not. In other words, I remain in a position where plainly non-functional, incomplete, or legally exempt items are still being characterized as contraband weapons.

That is not a technical disagreement. It is the foundation of the case that upended my life.

For clarity, I respectfully request that the following be reexamined, accurately characterized, and communicated to the U.S. Attorney’s Office so the record may be corrected:

• Semiautomatic Pistols Presented as Machine Guns
  Seven semiautomatic pistols were standard, lawful Title I firearms, not machine guns, and were purchased lawfully through ATF Form 4473 transactions. ATF Rulings 82-2 and 82-8 expressly exempt these firearms from NFA classification, yet the court continues penalizing me for them based on ATF FEO testimony.

• Toy STEN Submachinegun
  A Denix STEN was a non-firing replica. It lacked the capacity to function and was never designed to do so. It is nevertheless being counted against me.

• Alleged Machine Gun Receivers
  Twenty-five items described as machine gun receivers do not meet the regulatory definition under 27 C.F.R. § 478.11. They were incomplete or demilitarized components that did not house the required elements. Despite this, they continue to be treated in the record as regulated machine gun receivers.

• Multi-purpose Launcher Components
  These were receivers only—purchased lawfully through ATF Form 4473 transactions—with no barrels attached, no bore, and no destructive device. When configured, they used lawful 37mm flare barrels, which are expressly exempt under ATF Ruling 95-3. The government’s theory relies on combining separate, legal parts into a configuration that never existed.

• Inert RPG-7 Training Aid Dummy’s
  These were inert training devices, clearly marked and physically incapable of firing. Critical components were missing, and both were permanently damaged with drilled holes that make use impossible and unsafe. They are not weapons, not missile launchers, and cannot legally be classified as destructive devices. (United States v. Blackburn)

These distinctions are not technicalities. They are the difference between lawful possession and decades of federal exposure. When those lines are blurred, the consequences are not theoretical. They are permanent.

I offer this letter with respect for your position and the responsibility it carries. I also offer it with the hope that my experience serves a purpose beyond itself, reinforcing the necessity of clarity, consistency, and restraint in the exercise of such extraordinary authority.

Because when those elements are absent, the cost is not abstract.

I am living it.

Tate Adamiak

Patrick Tate Adamiak #95252-509

Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix

PO Box 2000

Joint Base MDL, NJ

08640

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by Lee Williams

Sometime Monday morning, prison guards had planned to take inmate Tate Adamiak, stuff him in the back of a van and then drive him around the country for more than a month. It’s harassment the inmates and even the guards refer to as “Diesel Therapy.”

As of Sunday morning, those plans changed.

Now, Tate will stay in his prison, FCI Fort Dix, until his June 25^th court appearance.

How did this all happen? Well, it wasn’t easy. Let’s just say that it took nearly the entire weekend to get their Diesel Therapy plans stopped.

As you can imagine, Adamiak is extremely thankful that he can continue getting ready for his upcoming hearing.

These are important times for his case. Adamiak and his attorneys plan to evaluate what the probation officer comes up with, and what the prosecution offers. He expects to be smeared. He is making plans along with his attorneys to fight hard for his freedom.

His father, Dave Adamiak, was also thrilled when he learned that his son would not be spending the next 50 days in the back of a van.

“I am grateful that senior officials intervened and got it stopped. I’m definitely stoked too. It’s the best news we’ve heard in seven months. It shows good faith,” Dave Adamiak said.

Adamiak was sentenced to 20 years in prison even though he did nothing wrong.

He was serving as an E-6 in the U.S. Navy prior to his arrest. He enjoyed firearms and ran a private website that sold gun parts—not guns. He was always extremely careful about what he sold and never came close to breaking the law. Joe Biden’s ATF screwed up, kicked down Adamiak’s door but found nothing illegal during their search. As a result, they created a multitude of fake charges—including calling a plastic toy a machinegun.

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by Lee Williams

The United States Virgin Islands are beautiful, peaceful and serene as long as visitors don’t stray too far from the well-patrolled tourist areas. For Virgin Islands residents, as well as any visitors who may wander out of the safe zones, the USVI can be a death sentence.

The USVI has one of the highest crime rates in the world, per capita more than New York or even Washington D.C.

All major crime in the U.S. Territory is run by the “Commission,” hardcore but well-organized gangsters who are headquartered on St. Croix, the largest of the three islands.

The Commission is responsible for operating a massive international drug trade, which are delivered from across the Caribbean. It’s not unusual to hear planes landing at night without lights.

Virgin Islands criminals are smart, sophisticated and well-armed with handguns, shotguns and machineguns. For the most part, they only prey on other criminals, but this can change in an instant.

The Virgin Islands Police Department offers little resistance to the armed gangs who actually run the territory. The VIPD is severely undermanned, underpaid and undertrained. The department is horribly led.

Many VIPD officers are corrupt. If they’re told to stay away from an area because a shipment is inbound, they do what they’re told, or they can disappear without a trace.

Gun control in the USVI is the worst in the country, and as a result only the bad guys have guns. Civilians have no legal way to protect themselves, their family or their home.

In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the VI Government, the VI Police Department and the Police Commissioner, alleging that they “have continued to obstruct and systematically deny law-abiding American citizens this fundamental right by systematically delaying the processing of applications and imposing unconstitutional conditions on the exercise of this constitutional right.”

“The conduct by the USVI, the VIPD, and Defendant Brooks has rendered the constitutional right to keep and bear arms a virtual nullity within the United States Virgin Islands territory,” the lawsuit states.

While this may appear to be a good step forward, many VI residents see little likelihood that the lawsuit will be quick, and even less likelihood that it will force any significant change.

A unique idea

Kosei Ohno owns the Crown Bay Marina, which is located on St. Thomas. The marina has 100 slips, including many that can take mega-yachts of 200-feet or greater, and it’s only five minutes from the airport.

Ohno, who also spends time in Washington State, recently filed suit against the Virgin Islands Police Commissioner and the VI government after they denied his attempt to renew his firearm licenses, which he had for several years.

Legally owning firearms in the USVI is incredibly invasive and expensive. Gun owners must pay a tax of $150 per firearm every three years. If you legally own 10 guns, you’re going to pay $1,500 every three years. You must also allow a VI Police Officer access to your safe, and they photograph the contents. Getting the actual license can take 18 months or even longer.

“The officer comes into your home without a warrant, demands to see your safe, demands you open the safe and then takes pictures,” Ohno told me this week. “Some people have guns, jewelry and gold bars as well as cash, and you wonder how it gets stolen. The whole process creates a vulnerability and a list of people, many of whom have lost guns through burglaries and theft.”

Ohno soon learned he was not alone.

“I found out through a source of mine at the VIPD that they made it their new mission to deny everyone’s permits,” he said.

So far, Ohno said, he has spent more than $70,000 to get his permits back, so he decided to act. He created the Virgin Islands Safe Gun Owners, a private group of more than 250 residents who all believed it was time to get organized. Their mission is to “restore and promote Second Amendment Rights in the Territory while promoting safe gun ownership.”

“There was considerable abuse happening,” Ohno said. “Our members include many retired officer, feds, military and business owners. It’s a pretty diverse and expansive group. We were able to give the feds evidence, which allowed them to get involved in the Second Amendment litigation against the police department. I learned it’s not just me whose rights were violated.”

The group introduced legislation that they say will modernize firearms ownership throughout the territory.

Ohno said his lawsuit, which he filed in federal not territorial court, has “expansive potential.” But getting arrested for a firearm that’s not registered, he said, would be disastrous.

“According to Virgin Islands law, if you’re caught with an unregistered firearm, the mandatory sentence is 10 to life,” he said.

Ohno has just launched a GoFundMe page and is considering other legal options.

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by Lee Williams

UPDATE: As of around 10 a.m. EST Sunday, Tate’s move has been cancelled. We won. This took a tremendous amount of effort over the weekend. Senior ATF officials even helped stop the move. Bottom line: Tate will not have to worry about any “Diesel Therapy.”

____________________________________________________________________________

PREVIOUS STORY:

Federal inmate Patrick “Tate” Adamiak learned Wednesday that he is about to receive 50 days of “Diesel Therapy” prior to his June 25^th court hearing.

“I was told to pack up and that I was going to get moved,” he said Wednesday. “It’s Diesel Therapy. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has never treated inmates well. One of the methods they use to mistreat inmates is by driving them around in a prison van for weeks or even months on end, which the inmates and even the guards call “Diesel Therapy.”

It prevents the inmates from contacting their friends, family and the occasional reporter. Most worrisome, the inmates are kept completely out of touch with their defense attorneys. They also miss meals, showers, sleep and are unable to work on their criminal cases.

Adamiak, who is serving a 20-year sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey for crimes he never committed, must appear for a hearing next month in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia. It does not take 50 days to drive from his New Jersey prison to any courtroom in Virginia.

“I’ll be headed to Oklahoma or maybe even Georgia to get to Virginia,” Adamiak said.

His father, Dave Adamiak, is absolutely outraged.

“I am livid! This should have been fixed. Now my son has to drive around for months in a fu—ing van. They’re playing dirty pool. That’s how they roll. It’s not about what’s true. It’s so freaking horrible. I learned about it just an hour ago. For the first time ever, I couldn’t even talk to Tate. I was so boiling! His legal team has been looking at his case for three years now. There are a dozen ways he could get out. It’s horrible! We even laid off the pressure a bit. How many people have to call out how stupid their decisions are? All they have to do is drop Tate’s case! They don’t even want to help. It’s amazing they could bull—it us for so long. It’s horrible to have an innocent person in prison for four years and everybody knows the truth. They could put a hold on him. That would show some good faith, at least. Nothing’s materialized. On TV they’re saying they’re going to fix all of these Biden problems. Tate ranks right up there with Malinowski. The only difference is they didn’t kill Tate. He would not be where he is without these damn blue-state judges with too much power. Damn blue state judges. They disregard the First and Second Amendments. How is this America? What happened to this country? We need to get him out by whatever means we can. They need to admit they screwed up. They need to go after [ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer Jeffrey R.] Bodell. He’s the problem here. He made up all of this. Tate does not need to be on anyone’s back burner. This is horrible. He’s on notice and they’re not doing jack,” Dave Adamiak said.

Senior officials at both the Justice Department and the ATF did not return calls or texts seeking to know why Adamiak is going to be moved across the United States from prison to prison for the next 50 days.

These same officials could stop this from happening by placing a hold on Adamiak, which would keep him at the Fort Dix federal prison.

Adamiak, who is now 31, was just a 28-year-old E-6 in the U.S. Navy prior to his arrest. He enjoyed firearms and ran a private website that sold gun parts—not guns. He was always extremely careful about what he sold. After all, he had to protect his naval career, which was doing extremely well.

Because Joe Biden’s ATF screwed up, kicked down Adamiak’s door and then created a multitude of fake charges, it showed they would rather prosecute an innocent man and force him to serve two decades behind bars than admit the truth—that he violated no laws and did nothing wrong.

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by Lee Williams

Times are good and possibly getting even better for those who value guns, gun rights and the Second Amendment.

The changes brought by President Donald Trump are simply stunning. In just one year we went from an ATF that targeted individual gun owners for imaginary crimes to one that’s focused on arresting real bad guys with illegal guns.

Constitutional Carry, known by the other side as permitless carry, is growing. Today, 29 states allow law-abiding adults to carry firearms without a state permit, and the number is expected to grow.

So, it’s understandable that those who want to restrict and subvert the Second Amendment are getting desperate. In fact, they’re willing to try almost anything to restrict access to firearms while President Trump is in office. It’s as if they never even heard of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Enter the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

These egg-headed goons want to roll back the clock to the late 1980s. Their just-released “Public Carry Permitting: Model Policy Guide” is pretty much what some states offered decades ago. It’s laughable—a trip back in time. Nowadays, it’s likely too restrictive for even the bluest of blue states.

Of course, the Center begins their report with lies—absolute deception—about guns, gun owners and gun rights.

By citing previous data from their own inaccurate reporting, they specifically target Constitutional Carry. It’s a hard sell, obviously, but they need to make a case for returning to the decades-old permitting system. They even support “may issue” rather than “shall issue” laws, which Bruen effectively killed.

Their allegations against Constitutional Carry are incredibly skewed and are not based on data or any hard facts.

“There are several hypotheses for the increase in violence associated with deregulation of public carry. Some scholars have argued that deregulation leads to increased carrying of guns in public places, meaning that interpersonal conflicts may be more likely to turn violent. One 2025 paper sought to examine what factors could be driving increases in violent crime and found that states that deregulated public carry saw large increases in gun theft and decreases in the rate of law enforcement clearance of violent crime,” the report claims.

Any attempt to subvert the Second Amendment needs a lot more than “several hypotheses” and scholarly arguments.

The Policy

The model policy recommendations are laughable.

It advocates for state permits that are obtained through a rigorous application process, which includes in-person visits with law enforcement, fees, fingerprinting requirements, a background check and even more. There are requirements for a written test and a live-fire qualification. The Center states that scores under 80% should fail the written test and 70% or lower fail the live-fire qualification.

The background check requirements are lengthy: “Background checks during the public carry permit application process should be comprehensive, including at least NICS indices, NCIC, III, and any available state and local public safety databases that may contain information on disqualifying prohibitions,” the policy states.

The authors believe permits should be denied for even non-violent misdemeanors discovered during the background check, including a DUI within five years.

Reciprocity, the model states, should only be granted to other states that are “at least as rigorous” as this policy outlines. Visitors from states without a similar policy would not be allowed to carry.

Permit renewals are required every five years, but the permit holder must once again take and pass the written test and the qualification course.

Anyone caught carrying a firearm without a permit should be arrested, the Center claims: “There should be penalties for carrying a firearm in public without a valid public carry permit, and these penalties should escalate after the first offense.”

Data from throughout the permitting process should be given to a host of organizations, including anti-gun groups.

“Data like these are crucial for state lawmakers, law enforcement, and researchers. These data will help identify how state laws and practices are affecting violence and whether there are any concerns about implementation related to costs, equity, or administrative burdens,” the policy states.

Alexander McCourt, PhD, JD, MPH, is the main author of this policy. He is well known for his work against guns and gun rights.

“Dr. McCourt serves as Assistant Director of the Center for Law and the Public’s Health and Core Faculty in the Center for Gun Violence Solutions,” his overview states. “Much of his work has focused on areas of public health law, including firearm policy and violence, opioid policy, transportation policy, and emergency preparedness.”

Dr. McCourt has written numerous anti-gun reports, including The Association Between State Minimum Wage and Firearm Homicides, 2000-2020, Variations in State Laws on Mental Health-Related Firearm Prohibition, State Reporting Requirements for Involuntary Holds, Court-Ordered Guardianship, and the US National Firearm Background Check System, Doucette et al. Respond to “Concealed-Carry Firearm Policies, The association between permit-to-purchase laws and shootings by police, Effects of Comprehensive Background-Check Policies on Firearm Fatalities in 4 States, Impact of Changes to Concealed-Carry Weapons Laws on Fatal and Nonfatal Violent Crime, 1980-2019 and Officer-Involved Shootings and Concealed Carry Weapons Permitting Laws: Analysis of Gun Violence Archive Data, 2014-2020.

The last report involving Dr. McCourt’s analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive is curious. We have written dozens of stories that show how the GVA’s data is made up and extremely unreliable.

You have to wonder whether Dr. McCourt knew the data he was analyzing was faulty, or whether he even cared.

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BELLEVUE, Wash. — May 4, 2026 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging review in Patrick Tate Adamiak v. United States, a case involving a decorated Navy veteran sentenced to 20 years in prison for possessing cut-up gun parts and two inert RPG-7 training dummies.

Adamiak enlisted in the United States Navy at 17 years old, serving in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Panama Canal. At the time of his arrest, he had orders to report to BUD/S and had completed the first phase of training on his way to becoming a Navy SEAL. He was also a gun collector who sold legal gun parts until a paid ATF informant falsely reported that he had a Mk-19 grenade launcher. After a search of his home and subsequent trial, Adamiak was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

Editor of SAF’s Investigative Journalism Project, Lee Williams, has followed the case closely and has written more than 40 stories on Adamiak and his plight. The full list of stories can be found here.

SAF is joined in the amicus filing by the National Rifle Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

“Lower courts continue to distort Bruen by turning the ‘plain text’ step into a restrictive Goldilocks test that lets the government evade its historical burden entirely,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros. “If cut-up gun parts and inert training aids are being regulated as ‘firearms’ under the NFA, they are presumptively ‘arms’ under the Second Amendment and require historical analogues. Patrick Adamiak should not be spending decades in prison because, among other abuses, courts refuse to apply the Supreme Court’s precedents faithfully.”

SAF’s brief focuses on the Second Amendment aspects of the case, including what constitutes an “arm,” why the plain text of the Second Amendment is implicated, and why Bruen’s historical analysis may not be avoided.

“This case highlights the human cost of lower courts’ refusal to faithfully apply Bruen,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “A Navy veteran is behind bars over inert gun parts, yet his Second Amendment claim was never even heard on the merits. SAF and its partners are committed to defending the right to keep and bear arms against this kind of judicial abuse, and we believe the Supreme Court must intervene.”

For more information visit SAF.org.

The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.

By Lee Williams

Traditional journalism is pretty simple, really. If you’re writing about a complex issue, make sure to include all of the sides.

For example, most political stories usually involve two sides. A good reporter will include both sides in their fair and balanced story and then let the readers decide whom to believe. If the journalist only includes one side in their story, it becomes advocacy instead of journalism, which should be avoided.

No one should know this better than the Associated Press, which was founded in 1846—15 years before the start of the Civil War. During the AP’s vast 180-year history, they’ve had a bit of experience producing good journalism, at least until now it appears.

AP reporters Josh Funk and Claudia Lauer published a story Thursday titled: “Amtrak may make it easier to bring guns on its trains despite the alleged attempt on Trump’s life.”

Quite frankly, it needed a bit of work.

Their story only includes comments from one side, John Feinblatt, whom the reporters only identified as the “president of the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.”

The AP reporters never mentioned that Feinblatt is also president of the Trace, which is paid to produce anti-gun propaganda, or that both anti-gun groups are funded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Certainly, these omissions would have helped Funk’s and Lauer’s readers put Feinblatt’s comments into better context.

Feinblatt, of course, used the story to further erode our Second Amendment rights.

“Just days after a man took an Amtrak train to Washington with a shotgun and pistol and tried to assassinate the president and other federal officials, the Trump Administration is trying to open the floodgates for firearms on every Amtrak route, while also moving to hollow out the agency responsible for enforcing gun laws and preventing gun trafficking. This will only make Americans less safe and Congress must step in before the next tragedy,” the AP quoted him as saying.

A pro-gun voice could have pointed out Feinblatt’s dual anti-gun roles, or that millions of riders have safely carried firearms aboard Amtrak for years, or that Congress has far more important things to occupy its time than turning trains into yet another anti-gun zone.

Funk, who was evidently the lead reporter, did not return emails seeking to interview him about his story. Unfortunately, that was expected, since the AP is not nearly what it used to be.

Since the mid-19th century, the AP served a vital role for newspapers, but not anymore. Print readership has tanked. The two largest newspaper chains in the country, Gannett and McClatchy, both dropped AP in 2024. The third largest newspaper firm, Lee Enterprises, announced it will be dropping AP at the end of this year.

Just last month the AP announced it was offering buyouts to a large number of its U.S. staff. They did not publish the number of staffers who would be losing their jobs.

Takeaways

One thing is certain: There will always be a market for factual and accurate journalism, but by publishing only one side of an important issue with layoffs looming, the Associated Press may get what it certainly deserves.

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by Lee Williams

Last year, the parents of a 16-year-old boy alleged in a lawsuit that ChatGPT encouraged their son to kill himself.

In October 2004, a New York AI system falsely told business owners they could steal tips, fire anyone who complained about sexual harassment and serve food even after it was chewed by rats.

In August 2005, a 56-year-old man killed his 83-year-old mother in her home and then committed suicide. He believed his mother was a secret agent who was poisoning him with psychedelic drugs, and his chatbot agreed and supported his delusions.

In July 2005, an AI system told a user how to break into an attorney’s home and to bring “lock picks, gloves, a flashlight and lube.”

Now, Everytown for Gun Safety is using AI to help them further erode our Second Amendment rights.

What could possibly go wrong?

On Monday, Everytown announced they had created the Everytown Evidence Engine, or E³, an AI system they claimed would help them “harness AI policy to identify gun safety solutions.”

They made the move to AI because “efficient systems for analysis can lead to new questions and new answers in the field of gun violence prevention research.”

How reliable is Everytown’s new AI?

You can judge for yourself.

Claude

Everytown admitted its new E³ AI system was built using Claude, an AI system designed by the firm Anthropic. Both Claude and Anthropic have had significant problems.

Just four days ago, in a story titled “Anthropic Admitted Claude Code Broke. We Were Right,” a reporter at Medium announced he had found issues with the system.

The reporter’s hard work forced Anthropic to admit that Claude had major problems.

In a story titled “An update on recent Claude Code quality reports,” Anthropic claimed they had fixed everything.

“Over the past month, we’ve been looking into reports that Claude’s responses have worsened for some users. We’ve traced these reports to three separate changes that affected Claude Code, the Claude Agent SDK, and Claude Cowork. The API was not impacted,” Anthropic claimed.

The firm also promised they would “do things differently to avoid these issues,” and that more of their staff would use the public version of the software.

Sky News recently released a damning YouTube video about public interactions with Claude.

The British report discusses how the chatbot tells users what they want to hear.

“What happens when AI starts pulling people away from reality and even encourages them to act on distorted beliefs?” the reporter asked.

The video discusses a recent Canadian research paper that found one of every 1,000 conversations with Claude has the “potential for severe reality distortions.”

“We don’t know why Claude responds as it does consistently,” an expert said.

The researchers also discovered that the number of potentially harmful discussions with Claude was actually growing over time. An Anthropic spokesman admitted they knew that Claude had problems, but they didn’t know why.

“LIMITATIONS”

When Everytown addresses everything that its new E³ tool cannot do, you have to wonder why anyone would use it.

Even Everytown admits E^3’s limitations are simply breathtaking.

“For example, at this time, E³ does not currently weigh all of the factors that could be influencing gun violence such as gun ownership, employment and earnings, strength of policy implementation and enforcement, law-enforcement practices, and many other relevant and granular socioeconomic and demographic characteristics particularly at the county and/or neighborhood-levels,” Everytown wrote.

So, despite its long list of limitations, how does Everytown intend to use its new E³ tool?

They don’t really say.

“[T]his new tool can provide users with important directions regarding policy effectiveness that can be used for critical decision-making. And it is the hope that future iterations of the E³ will incorporate these kinds of variables and, ultimately, increase its ability to conduct additional types of analyses,” Everytown wrote.

Takeaways

So far, all of Everytown’s critical decision-making has involved how to strip guns from the hands of gun owners. They spend millions annually trying to create more local, state and federal anti-gun laws. Whether their new E³ system will help them remains to be seen.

Alan Gottlieb founded the Second Amendment Foundation more than 50 years ago and serves as its executive vice president. He was struck but not surprised by the problems with Everytown’s new AI system.

The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.

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