A Texas man who posted on Facebook that he was selling his own guns was placed under warrantless surveillance by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The ATF investigated the man, found no evidence, yet gave his information to the FBI to monitor him for at least six months.
According to internal documents reviewed by The Epoch Times, two ATF special agents interviewed the Hispanic man who admitted to “advertising” his personal firearms for sale on Facebook. He stated that he had a “habit” of purchasing new guns, tinkering with them, losing interest, and subsequently selling them. The man told the agents that he never made a profit.
“I kept waiting for the part where ATF identified something illegal, and it never came,” Eric Olson, a lawyer for Gun Owners of America (GOA) told The Epoch Times. GOA obtained the records through its ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the ATF and FBI. This production is more heavily redacted than the previous ten, with entire pages covered in black.
“They are monitoring this guy for doing what millions of other hobbyists do—selling part of their personal collection. That’s not a crime, but apparently ATF doesn’t like people turning over their guns at a high rate,” Mr. Olson said.
— Emily Miller in FBI Carried Out Warrantless Monitoring on Man Who Posted Guns for Sale on Facebook