According to an exclusive report by The Epoch Times, after posting on Facebook that he was selling his personal guns, the Hispanic man was put under warrantless surveillance by the ATF. The agency apparently found no evidence of wrongdoing but still forwarded his details to the FBI for at least six months of monitoring.
Agents interviewed the man and found that he confessed to a habit of purchasing weapons and keeping them for a bit. He said he ends up selling them and does not make a profit.
The outlet reviewed records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the ATF and FBI. Attorney Eric Olson explained that he looked for an explanation from the ATF showing that an illegal activity occurred, but it was never provided.
“They are monitoring this guy for doing what millions of other hobbyists do — selling part of their personal collection,” Olson observed. “That’s not a crime, but apparently ATF doesn’t like people turning over their guns at a high rate.”
Agency spokesperson Erik Longnecker revealed to the Epoch Times the ATF’s reasoning for placing the citizen under FBI monitoring.
He said the man was hit with daily monitoring from the bureau in 2021 over “suspected violations” of federal statutes against straw purchases of weapons and being a firearms dealer without a license.
Further, the ATF and FBI partnered to use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to search for possible violations of the law. This system was implemented to prevent prohibited individuals from obtaining guns.
The procedure is immediate. When a citizen is checked by the ATF and submitted to the FBI’s NICS protocol, they are now subjected to a daily manual check for weapons transactions for a period of 30 to 180 days.
This surveillance may be renewed countless times.
The outlet’s review of agency records did not uncover how the Texas man came to the attention of the ATF. The agency declined to comment when asked if the social media platform alerts them to such transactions.
Facebook permits licensed gun store owners and online dealers to use the platform to sell their wares if they are following the law. It does not, however, permit private gun owners to buy, sell or trade their weapons.
There is a major caveat that must be noted here.
Simply because Facebook parent company Meta does not allow the private sales of weapons does not mean it is against the law. And if the company is indeed reporting such attempts to the ATF, that is a policy that users should be well aware of.
After all, this Texas man was subjected to at least six months of warrantless surveillance that may still be ongoing.
The ATF’s own investigation appeared to exonerate the man from suspicions of making straw purchases. These are the buying of weapons for those who by law may not obtain them for themselves for a variety of reasons.
The man told agents that he mostly sold weapons to his friends. He did not, however, buy them specifically to resell to individuals. Rather, he enjoyed tinkering with the weapons in ways such as adding a new spring to the trigger.
Federal law specifically permits an individual to sell firearms without a license if the deals are “occasional sales, exchanges or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby.”
This not only sounds exactly like this Texas man, but it appears to expressly clear him of any wrongdoing or suspicion.
