As the oppressive and archaic National Firearms Act (NFA) is in its death rattle stage, more good news came from the White House last week concerning four gun owners charged and convicted during the ATF’s recent weaponization.
President Donald Trump (R) pardoned these Americans, including former Navy sailor Patrick “Tate” Adamiak.
Many believe this lifelong Second Amendment enthusiast was railroaded by an ATF bent on destroying small firearms and parts dealers. His story is compelling, and now he is vindicated through a full and unconditional pardon.
Gun parts dealer felt federal government’s power to target an individual
Adamiak told the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) over the phone from a New Jersey federal prison earlier this year that he’d grown up with a healthy passion and respect for firearms.
“My dad started teaching firearm safety,” the veteran recalled. “I had BB guns, and then I got my first rifle when I was eight. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I started collecting military gear and guns until I had a vast collection. This was our hobby together–me and my dad.”
This hobby led to getting an LLC and selling parts on Gun Broker. Before long, he was buying items in bulk, some of which were nonfunctioning replicas of military hardware. These included imitation grenade launchers.
Previous administration weaponized ATF to target 2A businesses
But this thriving business came to a screeching halt when a confidential informant tried to shake his own federal charges by providing the ATF with information to implicate Adamiak in transferring illegal weapons.
Over three dozen federal agents and law enforcement officers raided two properties Adamiak owned and seized several replica weapons. He was charged with possessing 33 machine guns, and the government seized his assets, making his defense against the prosecution even more difficult.
Prosecutors knew they could not make the accusations stick, so they pivoted.
Adamiak ultimately faced charges of possessing a single machine gun and four destructive devices. He told the SAF that his replicas were taken to a lab and rebuilt with parts off genuine weapons to make them fire rounds.
The ATF song and dance worked, and Adamiak was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison–where there is no parole.
Thanks to the White House last week, he is now a free man and a walking cautionary tale of how the government can “prove” anything.
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