One of the worst things ATF has ever done
It's part of a long list of immoral and illegal ATF actions.
by Lee Williams
Not one of the guns or gun parts the ATF seized from former sailor Patrick Tate Adamiak was illegal. Not a single gun or gun part required any additional paperwork beyond a Form 4473, and most didn’t even require that. Adamiak was always extremely careful and did absolutely nothing wrong.
Every single item that the ATF seized from Adamiak’s home is still sold to anyone who wants one. Most don’t even require an FFL for the transfer since they’re not even firearms but are instead legal gun parts.
So, why is Adamiak serving 20 years in a federal prison? Quite frankly, it’s because the ATF screwed up bigly and would rather incarcerate a completely innocent man than look foolish for believing the lies their informant—who was working off real criminal charges—told them.
This, folks, is as bad as law enforcement can get. The ATF is a sick joke and should be shuttered permanently, because ATF agents would rather charge a completely innocent man with bogus federal felonies and lie under oath than admit that they screwed up.
And lie under oath the ATF certainly did, none more so than ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Bodell.
Bodell’s incredible deceptions have become almost legendary. He actually turned toys into firearms and legal semi-autos into machineguns.
Bodell inserted a real STEN action and a real STEN barrel into Adamiak’s toy STEN submachinegun and got it to fire one round, even though the toy’s receiver wouldn’t accept a real STEN magazine. Bodell actually classified the toy, which are very popular, as a machinegun.
Bodell fired five of Adamiak’s very expensive and extremely collectible legal semi-autos, which fire from an open bolt. All the ATF technician could achieve was semi-auto fire, but that didn’t stop him. He classified all five highly sought after firearms as machineguns.
Bodell ruled that several receivers that had been cut in half were actually machineguns. The same parts are still legally sold online and do not require an FFL or any paperwork.
Bodell actually rebuilt three inert RPGs, which had holes drilled into their receivers and were stripped of internal parts. ATF’s “expert” added parts from real RPGs until they would fire a single subcaliber 7.62x39mm round. As a result, he classified the RPGs as destructive devices.
ATF must be ended
Last week, 30 U.S. Senators sent a letter to the ATF, which sought to align the agency with President Donald Trump’s Second Amendment agenda.
The lawmakers took issue with several ATF rules involving pistol braces, “ghost guns,” and its zero-tolerance policy.
“We urge you to immediately align ATF’s rules and policies with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment,” the Senators wrote. “Under former President Joe Biden, ATF adopted numerous policies and rules that infringed upon Americans’ Second Amendment protections. President Trump’s Executive Order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and develop a plan of action regarding President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations. We ask that you work with the Attorney General to quickly identify and rescind these policies.”
Behind their office closed doors, I’m pretty sure that senior ATF officials laughed at the Senators’ requests. In fact, they’re probably still laughing. After all, the ATF has become a criminal organization, which the Senators seemed willing to overlook. It’s the only way the dirty agency can remain in power.
Look at the lengths they took to prosecute Adamiak—an innocent E-6 sailor who would now be leading a Navy special warfare platoon if one of ATF’s mindless snitches had chosen someone else to hamper and harass, like an actual criminal.
To be clear, the actions that ATF agents took in Adamiak’s case are criminal in nature, and everyone involved who had a federal badge in their billfold should be fired and charged with a host of federal crimes.
Adamiak certainly isn’t alone. ATF has made a habit of bad searches with horrible results. Ask Russell Fincher, a high school history teacher, Baptist minister and part-time gun dealer whom the ATF targeted with excessive force. Ask Mark Manley and his family, who were victimized by an early morning search warrant by more than a dozen heavily armed ATF agents who lobbed flashbang grenades at his children. Or ask Brian Malinowski’s widow if you still need more proof.
Unfortunately, the ATF learned the wrong lessons from these illegal forced entries, which is unfortunate for those of us who do not want to get shot in the middle of the night by their agents. The ATF decided that they must come up with some type of criminal charges after they kick open a door. That’s why they charged Adamiak with a host of made-up crimes. I mean, ATF rebuilt a toy gun and DEWAT RPGs to make their case against an innocent man. Is there anything they won’t do?
In my humble opinion, President Trump should not worry about who he will appoint as the next ATF director. Instead, he should only concern himself about closing the ATF’s doors for good. Ask Patrick Tate Adamiak if you need any more information about that.
To contribute to Adamiak’s legal fight go to Change.org.
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.
The first step would be to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security and put the respective agencies back into the Departments they were originally.
While closing the ATF (BATFE) sounds like a good idea we would still have the NFA and GCA 68, which should be repealed, (Yeah, I know wishful thinking), and all the rules and regulations involved within, I cannot help but think the ATF's authority would just be shuttled to another agency, the FBI?
I can't see our government giving up any of the "control" they have over "We the People." There's just too damn many Republicans that feel obligated to throw in with the Democrats on issues and I doubt it we'd could get a consensus on eliminating the ATF
What is really concerning is that this is one of the worst things the ATF has done that we know about. How many people have they jailed and ruined over the years that no one has heard of, especially in the pre-internet days? This agency has been roughing roughshod for decades and is irredeemable at this point.