ATF ammo raid
Youve likely seen this one John but
for the benefit of others and hoping it hasnt been posted
lately.
ARIZONA GUN DEALER RAIDED AGAIN!!
ARIZONA GUN DEALER RAIDED AGAIN!!
ARIZONA GUN DEALER RAIDED AGAIN!!
http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com
Arizona Gun Dealer Raided a Second Time
BATF Thieves Strike Again.
This time it was over ammunition.
by Angel Shamaya
Director, KeepAndBearArms.com
15 November 2000
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=914
Jerry Michel of Specialty Firearms in Mesa,
Arizona was raided on October 25. As the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was stealing
274 guns valuing over $300,000, he was told he'd
failed to secure a $100 "pawn permit." After
looking over the Statement of Probable Cause he
and I picked up at the federal courthouse in
downtown Phoenix, we discovered that they'd also
accused him of conducting strawman sales, as well.
(A strawman sale is a sale in which a buyer purchases
a firearm and makes it known to the licensed dealer
that the gun is actually being purchased by another
person.) Such a sale, says Mr. Michel, never happened
in his shop. Ever.
The BATF -- Stomper of Liberty and Strangler of
Freedom and the Constitution -- behaved in very
unAmerican ways on that day. You can read the
original report and the follow-up report on
KeepAndBearArms.com. (Links below)
And now the "taxing agency" who has killed and
imprisoned quite a few people over technical gun
violations has raided this man -- a man who
heretofore had not even a parking ticket to his
name -- a second time.
This event took place on Friday, 10 Nov 2000.
Jerry dropped by his ransacked store to take
care of some very brief business Monday afternoon.
Though he has felt uncomfortable being in his
store since he was first assaulted, handcuffed,
interrogated, lied to and about and after being
forced to watch 30 or so armed "men" steal his
life's gun collection, he stopped by the store
anyway. He went in, locked the door and proceeded
to the back of the store. Within a minute or two,
the police began pounding on the door, saying,
"Open up! Police!"
Within moments, Jerry was whisked outside, frisked
in front of his store and taken inside, all the while
befuddled as to what these folks were doing -- and why.
In a word: ammunition.
Yes, ammunition.
Jerry Michel was accused of manufacturing ammunition
for resale without a license. The BATF confiscated
-- this past Friday afternoon -- approximately 30,000+
rounds of ammunition, kegs of powder, cases of bullets
in various calibers, primers, shell casings, etc.
etc. -- ammo stuff.
Jerry guesses the value of everything these agents
stole from him to be approximately $30,000.
Funny thing is, Jerry doesn't sell the ammo he reloads
from scratch. Never has. The only reloads he sells are
those he purchases in quantities from licensed
ammunition manufacturers. That was Jerry's personal
ammo, for personal use.
One of the 8 BATF agents who committed this latest
assault against Jerry Michel told him he doubted that
Jerry could possibly have so much ammunition for
personal consumption. When Jerry explained that he
sometimes shoots 10,000 rounds in a month's time, he
was talking to a wall -- a wall who doesn't understand
that some people shoot up as much ammunition as they
can afford, simply because they enjoy shooting.
To illustrate just how ridiculous this latest assault
against good-natured Jerry is, I tell you the
following, and I urge you to read it twice:
The BATF confiscated 15,000 rounds of reloads Jerry
recently purchased, directly from a friend who works
at Dillon Precision. (We are fortunate enough to have
Dillon's here locally, so it's a quick jaunt over to
see Mike Dillon and company to get all kinds of
reloading supplies and equipment.) This ammo was in
army cans in the back of the store -- in the area
Jerry has for two years considered his home...his
living quarters.
This rogue agency also confiscated (stole, swiped,
transferred ownership unlawfully, absconded with,
snagged, robbed, took without remuneration) reloads
that Jerry has had in his possession dating as far
back as 1974.
You read that correctly.
No, he wasn't arrested this time either. (In case
you missed the previous reports, the first BATF
assault on Jerry Michel -- which followed an 8 month
investigation that involved at least 5 undercover (as
in, imposter) agents -- never resulted in an arrest,
or any charges. The same holds true in this latest
harassment.
You getting this? The scumbags (bags filled with scum)
did it over AMMO.
John Arbon of CPHV.com and longtime friend of Jerry
Michel called the BATF the other day to find out when
they'd be returning Jerry's stolen property. Many of
those 274 guns are owned by Jerry's friends -- and his
customers -- and a great many of them are a part of his
own personal collection, as well.
They told him they'd be keeping them for 6 months
to a year, "as evidence."
No more "evidence" is required to understand who the
BATF is. They are the modern day Nazis. They are the
henchmen of the 21st century doing the bidding of
tyrants. They are enemies of our beloved nation, and
they are stepping up their efforts to eliminate gun
dealers in a very calculated and systematic
methodology that looks very much like targeted
eradication.
Since Jerry's first raid on October 25th, two more
raids have happened in Arizona, and God knows how
many have happened elsewhere. We haven't been able
to make contact with the recently-raided Arizona
dealer, or with the Arizona citizen who was charged
with "trading without a license", but we'd like to
help them -- ASAP. Any information you have about
their situations, please post it in our online
user-publication form here:
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNPAdd.asp
I know quite a few people who reload ammunition for
their friends. In fact, I give my empties to friends
from time to time to have them reload for me, as well.
I buy reloaded ammunition from people who don't have
this fancy "ammunition manufacturing license."
Judging by this latest BATF farce, my friends and I
must be engaging in some "illegal" ammunition dealing...
so is BATF going to come and get me now? Are they going
to swing by my house, kick my door in, and come and
cuff me to a chair while they steal MY stuff? Are they
going to bring their unregistered, unregulated, fully
automatic HK-MP5's -- any time they please -- to assault
me for buying reloaded ammunition? If so, it is
recommended that they knock first. My private property
is my domain. If someone comes into my home uninvited,
they are -- according to state "lethal force" laws
-- instantly shootable.
What really amazes me is this: since our first report
and our follow-up report, and since Neal Knox's writeup
on the assault against Jerry Michel, Jerry has received
a whopping $65 for his legal defense. Sixty-five dollars.
Bizarre. I know guys who shoot up more than $65 worth
of ammo in one day -- in the same town where Jerry is
being taken on a one-way ride to Gun Owner Hell.
If everyone who reads this report would send Jerry
$1 or $2, he'd have enough to cover the first phase
of the legal proceedings just fine. If you happen to
have a dollar bill in your back pocket, trust me;
it's better invested on behalf of Jerry Michel than
on the extra few rounds at the range this week.
Jerry Michel, Specialty Firearms: (480) 962-0913
1055 N. Mesa Drive, Mesa Arizona 85201.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Previous Reports of The BATF Slimebuckets'
Raids on Jerry Michel:
ATF Rips Off Another Gun Dealer in Arizona
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=834
Follow-up on the Assault on the Arizona Gun Dealer
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=854
~~~~~~~~~~~
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