ATF agents showed up at my house?

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+1 to Deanimator: if you want to sleep in grizzly country wearing lambchops, go for it.

If you're not guilty, I wouldn't worry about the meeting with the ATF agent. Contrary to what the tinfoil hat crowd claims, they're not out to get you.
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They're definitely not out to get you in the sense of, "Let's make a little trouble for our Persian friend and see if we can trump up anything against the little Iranian bastage." But they are always out to get you in the sense that their careers depend on getting results, and results mean arrests...

Even if the guy you talk to is scrupulously honest, he is in essence a trained interrogator. He knows the laws (which you don't), and his questions are phrased with that in mind. What to you are innocuous answers, to him will be confessions. Even if he isn't trying to "entrap" you, he might as well be: he's taking you for a walk in a minefield.

In short, I would definitely get a lawyer. Will they think you have something to hide because you lawyered up? Maybe--but their suspicions, plus $5, will get them a jumbo latte at Starbucks. You have nothing to gain by waiving your rights just to show how eager you are to please--and you have a great deal to lose.

--Len.
 
If you've sold a firearm recently, the buyer may have done something to get the ATF's attention. If you've purchased firearms over the internet and dealt with someone of interest by the ATF, they might want to talk to you too.

I've had the ATF contact me before. They wanted to talk about a case where a police officer forged letter head to buy a MP5 for himself through a FFL/SOT dealer I know. Even though I didn't know much about the case, I did know the officer who bought the MP5 illegally because he worked part time at another business as a security guard and I spoke with him a few times about weapons.

I talked to the ATF agent, he thanked me for what amounted to useless information on my part and that was it.

I wouldn't be worried about it, and you're obviously not. It's just them looking into something and it happens.
 
You don't have to waive your rights to chat with them to see what they want. If they ask you "where were you on Feb 15 at 5:06pm", then you politely say "I would like to have an attorney present." Let them do the talking, and if they ask you any direct questions that imply any guilt on your part for anything, you stop the discussion and request an attorney. Every time I've been questioned by police about something, it was regarding someone else's activities. If they're going to ask him about his activities, simply stop the interview.

Some people aren't smart enough to know when to shut their mouths, and it's good advice to just not say anything - period. But the OP is an educated man who seems to be pretty wise. I'm sure he can ask them what this is all about without surrendering his rights or incriminating himself, especially if he's done nothing illegal.
 
Some people aren't smart enough to know when to shut their mouths, and it's good advice to just not say anything - period. But the OP is an educated man who seems to be pretty wise. I'm sure he can ask them what this is all about without surrendering his rights or incriminating himself, especially if he's done nothing illegal.
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A physician talking to the BATFE without an attorney present is like a lawyer performing a cornea transplant on himself.
 
The raid, conducted by the FBI, was the execution of a search warrant issued based on an ATF investigation.
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No, FBI HRT responded to the scene after the USMS had one of their Deputies killed while doing recon in preparation for serving an ARREST WARRANT because Weaver had refused to appear in court for over one year.
The warrant involved a short barreled shotgun claimed to violate federal gun laws, and was later found to have been illegally issued (see Trial findings) [5]
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Nope, the arrest of Weaver on the SBS charge was done with no one getting hurt, and Weaver was released on bond, but refused to appear in court on the charges related to the SBS. Neither the original arrest warrant, nor the subsequent arrest warrant for failure to appear were "illegal." Weaver was acquitted on the weapons charges at trial, but was convicted and served time for the failure to appear charge.[/QUOTE]If you're going to rant about these topics, do yourself and everyone else a favor, and try to learn the truth rather than spewing lies.
 
an ATF showed up at my house

You had better listen to DEANIMATOR, because the ATF is in itself a criminal org. DO NOT TRUST THEM. You will be hard pressed to find a honest one and if he is honest he won't be with enforcement long. I had a friend set up because he had no balls. They tried to set me up as a dealer but they found out you have to be smarter than the person you are trying to set up. That cost two agents their jobs, but they should have been tried and convicted of perjury and sent to prison.

They are not a Law Enforcement Agency! Never forget that.:cuss::cuss::fire::evil:
 
DMF: What I posted is not correct, sorry I didn't research it carefully enough. The fact remains that the Marshals service fired first and that an HRT sniper murdered a woman holding a baby. Those facts are indisputable.
 
A physician talking to the BATFE without an attorney present is like a lawyer performing a cornea transplant on himself.
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Deanimator--you're really coming up with quotables today.

Alpha6164, I'd listen to Deanimator. Educated folks like MDs are at higher risk of screwing themselves over, because they think they're smart. And they are smart, or they wouldn't be MDs--but "smart" doesn't make you a lawyer, or an investment counselor, or any other type of expert except an MD. If you'd advise your lawyer to handle his own medical needs, then by all means try and be your own lawyer.

--Len.
 
LAwyer up. As a medical Doctor, would you talk to someone fron the DEA with a lawyer present? Same deal only with a more incompetant agency. And great that your lawyer is former Fibbie. Those guys usually have no respect for batfe agents.
 
I am not really qualified to give advice on this issue. Still, I will chime in.

The BATFE initiated contact with you, presumably, with the intention of gathering information. Now, if you meet with them, how much information you volunteer is up to you, and there is no reason why you could not meet with them with the explicit purpose of gathering information yourself.
 
I had a similar circumstance a while back. I had bought from a dealer then sold an old pre-T series HiPower. The guy who bought the HP from the dealer bought 2 pistols, hence the extra paperwork that had to be faxed to the ATF.

HP came up as stolen. ATF shows up at my house wanting to know where I got it. I show them reciept from the dealer I bought it from and send them on their way, where they found the 4473 NICS check with the handgun on it where I purchased it.
 
parisite, frankly, it's counter-terrorism that's a bigger threat to life, liberty, etc. than the terrorists.


OP: Talk to no one without a lawyer. The BATFE is one of the most low-life agencies in the .gov
 
Let me say to clarify, I do not approve of the BATF as an organization, never-the-less, they exist, so we must deal with them. If you are innocent of crimes (ie, you're not buying illegal weapons to defend your cocaine stash) you really don't have much to fear from the ATF. I'm sure they can make your life a living hell and I would never go as far as saying that someone in the ATF hasn't tried to trump up charges against someone unjustly, but in general, they're just another government agency. Yes, they are a pain in all our asses, much like the IRS. But you know what though? The people that work for them are just that, PEOPLE. They are not these comic-book like characters of mythical proportions that some of you claim. Now, maybe I just haven't met the right (or wrong as it may be) ATF agent yet, but my experience with people in general, is that if you are calm and civil, they will be willing to work with you.

Again, I am not happy that an organization exists that prevents me from lawfully owning a brand new Type-56 with a happy switch, but the fact is that they DO exist and we MUST deal with them.

This is something that has been bothering me recently in a number of posts. We get someone complaining about the ATF or police and posters tell that person to SPITE the officer. On a purely human level (we're talking regardless of the person's status), advising someone to spite someone, especially someone in a position to wreck your life, is not sagely advice.

If we go off on the ATF for things like the OP's described incident, how in the hell do you expect to win something like a machinegun possession case (especially if said case is pivotal to getting our 2a rights back)?

I think 99% of you guys have the right idea about the ATF, the problem is how you go about responding to them.
 
Mention of ATF brings the wacko's out of the woods. :)

Talk to them. If they ask anything that seems to be headed in the direction of an investigation of a criminal investigation, ask to speak to a lawyer. If they ask you do something of questionable legality, ask to speak to a lawyer.

If you turn on the evening news and see that your house is surrounded by 100s of US Marshals and the HRT, turn yourself in, and you'll be fine. :) If you find yourself in that situation, and you want to defend your rights to the death, expect to die. My own suggestion in that case is to move women and children out of the combat zone.

Mike
 
Let me say to clarify, I do not approve of the BATF as an organization, never-the-less, they exist, so we must deal with them. If you are innocent of crimes (ie, you're not buying illegal weapons to defend your cocaine stash) you really don't have much to fear from the ATF.
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Tell that to the folks at Waco, who broke no laws but were cooked to a crisp by the BATF anyway.

--Len.
 
Prince Yamato said:
Let me say to clarify, I do not approve of the BATF as an organization, never-the-less, they exist, so we must deal with them.
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This is going to be out of step here, but I don't fundamentally disagree with BATFE. I think that there is a need for some federal agency to try to make sure that weapons, explosives, etc. aren't sold/bought by criminals. Are people really arguing that no federal agency should monitor the sale of weapons and or explosives?

It also sounds to me as though the ATF is unpopular because it enforces unpopular laws. But I really do think the founding fathers got this one right - the legislative branch makes the laws, and the executive enforces them. The alternative is really to have the executive make and enforce laws. I think that's a bad idea.

As with any large federal agency, they are going to screw up, but then I am not perfect at my job, either.

I honestly have little sympathy for gun store owners that screw up paperwork, and whine when the ATF comes knocking. Try being a pharmacist, nurse or doctor and screwing up your cocaine paperwork. There are a lot of folks whose jobs depend on accurate paperwork.

Mike
 
What always bothers me is the "we want to talk to you, but we won't tell you about what. But don't worry about it."

I'd demand to know in advance what the interview is about. Otherwise they're just on a fishing trip.
 
This is going to be out of step here, but I don't fundamentally disagree with BATFE. I think that there is a need for some federal agency to try to make sure that weapons, explosives, etc. aren't sold/bought by criminals. Are people really arguing that no federal agency should monitor the sale of weapons and or explosives?
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I would counter, there should be a federal agency that investigate why criminals are running around in society.

Actually, law enforcement should be the domain of the States, not the federal government. Downsizing means something. Localize it and control it.

Jerry
 
If you are innocent of crimes (ie, you're not buying illegal weapons to defend your cocaine stash) you really don't have much to fear from the ATF.
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Have you talked to Kenyon Ballew about that? It might be tough, since I think he has brain damage since they shot him in the head. He was one of their very first victims.

Or how about Louis Katona's wife? If I recall, they slammed her into a wall, causing her to miscarry. Should pregnant women fear being battered to the extent that they lose their children?

Even one of the anti-gun leftwing free weeklys here in Cleveland did an expose on their entrapment tactics and their refusal to STATE the standards for what determines whether someone is in the BUSINESS of selling firearms.

Then there's their little Klan rally which they used to put on, the Good Old Boy's Roundup. WHITES ONLY, organized out of agency offices, on agency time, using agency resources, with the invitations going out on agency letterhead. THEIR company picnics have a "ni**er checkpoint". In the finest traditions of public service, huh?

BATFE agents are "PEOPLE"? So are Mike Tyson, David Duke and Scott Petersen.
 
Jerry Morris said:
Actually, law enforcement should be the domain of the States, not the federal government.
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I know this is a mantra for states' rights folks, but I am not all that convinced. I suspect that there are some laws that should be enforced by states, and some by the feds. Is there a clear argument for the belief that all law enforcement should be only in the domain of the states?

For all laws, you'd have to convince me that treason should be prosecuted only by state governments. Maybe that's too high a standard.

Jerry Morris said:
Localize it and control it.
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When I was growing up, that meant that no white man could be convicted of killing a black man at any time for any reason in some of our states. That's not a real big selling point for me.

Mike
 
What always bothers me is the "we want to talk to you, but we won't tell you about what. But don't worry about it."
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Hate to date myself, but Erma Bombeck suggested the following cure for snoring husbands: right before bed, tell him, "The IRS called. They'll call back tomorrow."

--Len.
 
I'll go against the grain here....If I have broken no laws I'd be glad to have a chat and listen to what they have to say. ATF did a great job of straighten out a pompous, arrogant and ignorant County Sheriff who had the contract for doing NICS checks for the entire state. I appreciated that. Essex
 
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