(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President Donald Trump’s election victory was made possible by millions of gun owners who are still angry about the treatment they received from Joe Biden and his antigun ilk. 

Biden and whoever was actually calling the shots targeted legitimate gun owners and gun dealers like it was cool – like it was a game. Biden even allowed these illegitimate forces to establish an antigun office right inside his White House. They met regularly with senior members of the antigun industry. 

This civil rights abuse was totally ignored by the mainstream media because the “journalists” themselves were all antigun and totally on board with Team Biden.

The ATF has a long and blood-soaked history. In addition to the more than 80 lives lost at Waco – which includes 20 children – a Deputy U.S. Marshal and Randy Weaver’s wife and son were killed during the Ruby Ridge fiasco. The ATF’s “Fast and Furious” scheme resulted in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of Mexican nationals, who were killed by the weapons ATF allowed to walk straight into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. The ATF has never fully addressed or apologized for these needless deaths that its agents caused. 

Nowadays, there are scores of examples of ATF crews laughing and joking with each other as they tear apart the homes of law-abiding folks who had done nothing wrong. The latest was Mark “Choppa” Manley, who along with his wife and children is lucky to have survived an early morning ATF search warrant that found nothing wrong. All of Manly’s firearms were legal and complied with both state and federal law. 

Thankfully, Manley recognized that armed ATF agents were taking tactical positions outside his home and put down his handgun right before they beat down his front door, threw two flashbang grenades and stormed inside. Bryan Malinowski never had that opportunity. The Arkansas airport director assumed that criminals had entered his home during the early morning hours of March 19, 2024. Malinowski grabbed a pistol and fired several rounds. ATF shot and killed the 53-year-old, who had absolutely zero prior criminal history. 

For decades, the gun community has talked about dumping the ATF, but the agency still exists, and its unlawful and deadly actions continue to this day. Under Biden, the agency actually got much worse. 

Their deadly and loathsome raids add further proof that the ATF can never be trusted again. It has become more dangerous than the criminals it allegedly tries to target. Thankfully, Congress has a bill in the works to dump the agency. Representatives Eric Burlison (R-MO-07) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO-04) recently introduced H.R. 221, legislation that is simple and succinct: “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is hereby abolished.”

According to its FY2022 budget, the ATF had around 5,000 employees, a little more than half were armed special agents. The rest were Industry Operations Investigators, who make life hell for gun shop owners, and other clerical and professional staff. They operated on a budget of $1.5 billion taxpayer dollars. 

Years ago, there were ATF agents who supported guns and our gun rights – older agents who didn’t let their administrators push them into breaking the law. But after four years of Biden and his chosen joke of an ATF director, these agents are mostly gone. They were replaced by younger antigun bureaucrats. 

If President Trump truly wants to take historic action, he will help end the ATF immediately, before another American is needlessly shot and killed, which, as history suggests, is guaranteed to happen.

This story is courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project.

100 COMMENTS

  1. Defund them. The last thing we want is moving the mission and budget to another agency and watching all the ambitious feds tripping all over themselves to get that bureaucracy entrenched and suck off that sweet,sweet budget. Defund them, take away all the toys, get rid of the door kicking jobs that attract meatheads. Make it a desk job with no police powers and pretty soon it be a useless aggregation of bored pencil pushers, not a high profile career maker.

    • May owe it to some Gun Owners but to Gun talking blowbags who held hands with slanderous democRats to bash Trump he doesn’t owe them squat and you politically inept azzhats know who you are.

      Never mind the atf when there’s an abomination that needs to be ripped first from the law books called the 1968 Gun Control Act. Rest assured there was no one in 1968 Defining Gun Control by its History and today we live under a law named on the behalf of an agenda Historical Analogies Confirm is Rooted in Racism and Genocide. Near riots over the sight of a fake noose all while throughout history Gun Control walked hand in hand with its sidekick mr. noose…where’s the near riot outrage? Nowhere.

  2. You don’t have to eliminate the ATF. Just repeal all of the gun laws and they will then serve no purpose and have no tools to violate a persons rights with.

      • The reason to keep them is so it is harder for them to hide their bad behavior. If you disburse them into different places it is far easier for them to hide their bad behavior!

        We need to delete the gun laws that they enforce and in the mean time we need to make it much easier to sue them. If the widow of Brian Malinowski could easily sue the ATF with that money coming out of the ATF budget, it should encourage them to clean up their act.

        • That feels like a really big stretch. It isn’t really that ATF employees have been behaving badly. It’s the general culture of tyranny at the federal level in all agencies. Good or bad behavior, I want all redundant agencies and employees gone yesterday. There’s a mood in the country for real reform. People are fickle. You have to strike while the iron is hot.

  3. The Fight Heats Up to Destroy ATF’s Illegal Gun Owner Registry ~ VIDEO

    h ttps://www.ammoland.com/2025/01/fight-heats-up-to-destroy-atfs-illegal-gun-owner-registry/

      • While I’m in favor of attempting to destroy any firearm owners database, I believe that everything that is entered into a computer or database can be be retrieved. Obviously the storage requires off site storage somewhere “out there”. My bet is that it will never go away.

  4. Trump will do nothing to help up

    He nominated an AG that is NOT pro-gun

    He banned bump stocks

    Said “take guns first, due process second”

    Better than the alternative, but he is no friend

    • A sense of impending doom can be a symptom of several mental health conditions, including:

      Bipolar disorder
      Depression
      Panic disorder (during panic attacks)
      Generalized anxiety disorder
      Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
      Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

      • “A sense of impending doom can be a symptom of several mental health conditions, including”

        Head up ass, ignoring factual history IS a several mental health condition.

        What doom? I said nothing relating to doom. Who’s side of your family did you inherit your stupidity?

        • “What doom? I said nothing relating to doom.”

          You’re entire comment was doom and gloom. When Trump comes for your guns, then come on here and cry about it. You’re ignoring the history of the past four years.

          “Who’s side of your family did you inherit your stupidity?”

          Calling someone stupid for not being a pessimist is NOT an intelligent take.

            • All pols act as though they’re on our side while asking for support, then they do what they want. It’s funny how you guys act like Trump is some kind of unique threat. I couldn’t forget about those things if I wanted to with all of the stealth Democrats and third party utopian voters around here constantly bringing it up while they’re silent on the most corrupt DOJ in the history of this country. If banned bump stocks (which they had no authority to ban) and a throw away comment, in the heat of the moment, is the worst you can come up with, then things must be going pretty good for you.

          • Reminds me of enuf. Severe case of TDS, but an actual gun guy. Must suck to be him right now. Coping mechanisms not helping much…

              • Oh gosh no. I actually liked enuf. He had TDS real bad. He bought the Russiagate and traitor stuff due to existing bias, but so did a lot of people. Even after Russiagate blew over, he still hated Trump. I don’t care if someone hates Trump. I only care if they say dumb things. He was the first person to have an ongoing feud with Debbie for obvious reasons. Outside of the TDS and grumpy attitude, enuf seemed to be a cool person and a real gun guy.

                What’s really funny is that these TDS doomers have to reach back seven (Yes SEVEN!) years to trash Trump. And it’s over things that are basically irrelevant now. The red flag comment never had any weight because Trump never pushed it after that. Those doomer gloomers and stealth Democrats have conveniently ignored everything that has happened since then.

                If you want to yell at Trump, then yell at him for the bad things that we are still suffering from. The most consequential action was the approved spending. You know how I hate to say I was right, but when everyone on TTAG was celebrating their Covid welfare checks (while ignoring wealthy orgs also getting checks), I said this was stupid and will put us on the road to inflation. Not only did no one agree with me, but a couple of people basically said I was crazy to think that.

              • Gotcha and missed that one re the Covid check vs inflation (or was busy figuring out how to avoid NY nonsense at the time). Obviously correct but most people would have issues comprehending just how much grift would be associated with such programs.

            • The mental gymnastics people execute to excuse Trumps apathy toward the 2A.
              He is better than the alternate, but PLEASE stop making excuses for him when he messes up. He is supposed to represent US, not us defend him. If he claims to be a staunch gun rights supporter, then we have an obligation as gun owners with a vested interest in preserving that right, to hold him and every other politician accountable when they want to play games with our rights. I just find it funny that when literally any other republican sides with the antis they get waves of people rightly calling them a RINO or a traitor, but when it’s Trump, “OH NO, ITS ACTUALLY 7D INVERTED UNDERWATER BACKGAMMON AND ITS ALL SOME HUGE PLOY TO TRICK THE LIBRULZ INTO ACCIDENTLY REPEALING THE NFA!”
              I’m not saying he’s not better, but this resting on our laurels thing has literally NEVER worked out. We HAVE to keep the iron hot and ready to stick it to anyone who we vote into office to do specific things if they go back on them. Trump is fallable and to be honest, I don’t think he’s ever been necessary anti-gun, i just think he’s apathetic to it. He recognizes that people care and pledges to fight for it, but I think it’s far enough down the list of his priorities that there’s a way higher chance of him unwittingly going along with something on the idea of “making a deal” between sides instead of being hardline 2A. If all he does is pay lip service, he’s functionally useless for us. If he actually gets things passed like he promised, instead of like 2016-2018, when the Republicans had all the chambers and didn’t do a damn thing.
              We need to hold him to it and stop acting like he is perfect and infallible.

              • Eh will take apathy over outright hostility. Only concern is too many H1B fraud immigrants brought in to suppress wages.

              • Are you speaking to me? I said none of those things that you’re talking about. I’m merely not crying over a seven year-old throw away comment, like you guys. Sue me. You should have voted harder for Jeb and Nikki in the primaries. They’re more politically adept at saying the correct words, just like all of the other Republicans before them for decades.

    • Show me anyone who supports glock switch ownership, by black teenagers or anyone else???

      The “gun community” doesn’t support the widespread ownership of machine guns in the general law abiding population.

      And no they don’t support echo triggers or bumpstocks.

      • Personally, I believe that machine guns are every Americans birth right there should be no restrictions of any type. The entire NFA needs to go. I would absolutely buy select five versions over semi automatic firearms if I had the option.

      • If someone has a go faster and its pointed at me I want a go faster too.
        Someones support has nothing to do with it..

        • Full auto is only really useful when you are with a group of other guys who also have full auto. Its utility in other circumstances is very limited unless you are talking about something belt fed.

            • In the era of cheap and readily avaliable body armor MP5s need to used in video games only. A semi auto one is equally suitable for the purpose you mentioned.

              • Part 1 while body armor is cheap and readily available few people wear it hence why pistols are typically more than sufficient for self defense and most police action. Part 2 yes the semi is about equally well suited for most purposes but having used both I do prefer the full auto especially for unknown numbers of intruder scenarios. Side note dated or not it still cycles everything from simunitions to +p+ ap (better have a plate for body armor) with no issues. The newer smg designs may struggle with the higher pressure rounds.

            • Sounds like you have limited experience with an MP5. You have to match the locking piece to the type of ammunition that you are using. They become fairly unreliable if you don’t or you beat them to death to insure reliability if you use a catch all locking piece. The type of people I have been after when engaging in CQB have access to armor and frequently have had it on. Here in the states I have seen drug dealers on the corner in several cities wearing body armor. If they can get it so can their friends. Stick with something chambered in a rifle cartridge if you have serious work to do. Bigger is always better. I would use a semi auto M14 in 300 Norma Mag if they made one.

              • Only MP in the army and dealing with the older ones so likely right with missing additional info/experience. Simunitions we’re the only parts swap we ever needed and the ap ammo we had would sail through 3a/helmets so riding the chest up to the head was fine. If anything the shorter length was the selling point for indoor use on our end. Which for me would translate fine for home defense use.

              • Now that I think of it DEA, . marshalls or larger city swat that has a cartel problem? Can’t think of very many groups that deal with body armor on the bad guys with anything past a rarity.

            • There is a serious misunderstanding of what body armor is for by the general public. Body armor simply buys you more time in a gunfight. The hope/intent is that you will have more time without sustaining an injury that will allow you to inflict an injury on your opponent. It is a brief race to see who can no longer continue the race. It doesn’t make you invulnerable to gunfire. The weapons in your hands along with your hands and arms and legs and crotch and armpits and neck and face is still exposed even when using the best armor. I have had a rifle in my hands shot to pieces while I was firing at someone with it. I have no desire to take the risk that comes with using something that could be defeated briefly by body armor.

              • Never saw many situations where chest chest head was too slow to make a difference (unprepared ambush always sucks) but whatever works on your end. With that said do agree with your assessment that body armor is there to buy time to eliminate the threat. Where are you seeing a lot of bad guys in armor where it is more than a handful of isolated incidents over years though?

          • Not all guns have to be useful or practical. It’s okay to have a gun because you like it. I would have a safe full of full auto guns if they weren’t artificially constrained by the government.

      • Hi Chris, I’m in the gun community and I fully support automatic weapons for all as is our right. If someone uses it offensively against another person, throw the book at them. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less if a black teenager had a Glawk wit da switch.

        • As a civilian I don’t have the unlimited funds that the government has. So I’m happy to purchase a weapon that simulates full auto. And saves me money. And yes, they have many draw backs compared to a real machine gun.

          And so what??

          Simulated full auto is a very effective psychological weapon. Just as fixed bayonets are also a very effective psychological weapon.

          And I love bayonets too. I’m putting them on all my guns. Including some of my hand guns. Yes that’s correct.

          If I have to open carry in my neighborhood. Because of some natural disaster. I’m pretty sure having a fixed knife will make an even bigger impression on possible looters.

          That is what the 2A is about. Arms. Not just guns.

  5. Fire all of the over 2 million federal government employees. And yes, I’m sure there will be many people, who are waiting for whatever the federal application they have applied for, put be processed.

    The consequences of allowing the size of government to get out of control.

    • First off, the firearm application should not require FBI approval for purchase, similarly a form 4 should not be required for a suppressor, short barreled rifle, or machine gun. Get rid of the “applications” and make them records of sale once more, get rid of the ATF, get rid of the “problem”.

  6. Trump cares not one bit about anyone but himself, his bank account and staying out of jail. He will do nothing to help gun owners unless it serves one of the above.

    • If you will wait until Trump actually comes after your guns before crying about it, then I might consider not calling you a cry baby.

      • I said nothing about trump coming for guns. Read my post again and again and maybe your limited reading comprehension will kick in. You say “I might consider not calling you a cry baby.” like that might mean something to me. Go suck start a glock and relieve the world of your stupidity. My guess is people in your high school class voted you the most likely to breed outside of your species. So was it snake, goat, pig or democrat?

    • you are delusional,if he were going to be a democrat gun-ban jerk he already had 4 years to do it.biden on the other hand woke up from his frequent naps thinking of ways to oppress us.

    • I agree Missy12.
      However I did vote for Saint Trump because here in America we have the freedom to vote for the lesser of two evils.

    • Being the President has cost Trump dearly. He isn’t in it for the money and everyone wants to stay out of jail/prison.

      • Being president has cost Trump nothing. Before his first term, he was merely a millionaire, now, he is easily a billionaire.

        • You need to read a bit more. Trump has been worth billions since the late 80s. Becoming the president cut his net worth in half during his first term in office.

        • Net worth prior to 2016 was 4.5 to Billion, leaves office net worth was 2.5 billion (est.).
          h ttps://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-donald-trumps-net-worth-2014-2024/.
          If the Fed is spending 10s of millions of tax $$$ to prosecute & in a conspiracy with states AGs to prosecute using tax $$$.
          The Don still had some 454 million tied up in a NY court over a FL property, another panel of judges reduced the bond to 175 million.
          This Fascisti ‘Dem’ party has bankrupted too many in the DJT circle.
          Stop with the lies.

          • If you got those numbers from Trump he has a tendency to inflate his net worth.
            And
            Gee whizz, with all that money and yet to this very day still asking me for more donations to further the cause.?

  7. Nobody else seems to be asking this, but…
    Why the heck is the ATF in charge of investigating the California wildfires?
    Do they think the California wildfires were started by alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or explosives?
    Well, I can see how tobacco could have started the wildfires (carelessly discarded cigarettes), but I don’t see what alcohol, firearms, or explosives have to do with the wildfires.

      • Reminds me of a point of order. Know how many tons of CO2, plus actual pollutants, are released into the air by these wildfires? Why no histrionics from the leftist global warming crowd? Too busy rigging their golden parachutes?

    • It started on a ‘park trail’. Its funny how the wildfires out there always seem to start along trails.

      Its not climate change, even though they are trying to blame it on climate change to distract from the fact of their own negligence in clearing brush and having water and firefighters and …ya know a bunch of other things that DEI and liberals took from them in the name of crazy.

      Anyway, the ATF has a thing called a “National Response Team’ (NRT). They supposedly specialize in large scale events like this. The NRT has certified fire investigators (CFIs).

      The ATF did a press release on it > ATF National Response Team Mobilizes to Investigate Cause of the Pacific Palisades Fire > https://www.atf.gov/news/press-releases/atf-national-response-team-mobilizes-to-investigate-cause-pacific-palisades-fire

      But its probably to eliminate the now stray dog population.

    • It started on a ‘park trail’. Its funny how the wildfires out there always seem to start along trails.

      Its not climate change, even though they are trying to blame it on climate change to distract from the fact of their own negligence in clearing brush and having water and firefighters and …ya know a bunch of other things that DEI and liberals took from them in the name of crazy.

      Anyway, the ATF has a thing called a “National Response Team’ (NRT). They supposedly specialize in large scale events like this. The NRT has certified fire investigators (CFIs).

      The ATF did a press release on it > ATF National Response Team Mobilizes to Investigate Cause of the Pacific Palisades Fire > h ttps://www.atf.gov/news/press-releases/atf-national-response-team-mobilizes-to-investigate-cause-pacific-palisades-fire

      But its probably to eliminate the now stray dog population.

    • Because they handle federal Arson investigations. Probably why so few of the summer of love perps that burned down minority owned businesses ended up in prison, BATFE incompetence.

      The bill Beebert introduced is no different that any of the ones Gaetz introduced, besides what will Brandon Herrera lead if this passes?

  8. SCOTUS BREAKING: NEW POWERFUL OPINION IS GREAT FOR 2A.

    The US Supreme Court’s decisiion in EMD Sales just offered a powerful argument in favor of due process in future 2A fights. Mark Smith Four Boxes Diner discusses.

    h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8czL7PEkas

  9. If the hearing protection act is passed, that will start the ball rolling to remove SBS, SBR’s AOW’s. As to abolishing the ATF, I really don’t think that’s gonna happen unfortunately because then we just have another federal agency that will take over the same role and the argument will be we don’t have the resources or the funding and will be back to massive delays waiting for stamps to get approved.

  10. The only real remedy to all this is the repeal of the NFA, and all subsequent gun control laws, regulations and ordinances Nationwide. Unfortunately, that is not something that can be done peacefully, as history has taught us.

    • “The BATFE is never going away, it’s a tax enforcement agency.”

      Making it suspicious that it ended up in the DOJ, which seems to not have any authority over taxes…other than prosecuting tax crimes; but not collecting taxes.

  11. Trump owes it to gun owners.
    Somehow I do not believe he see’s it that way.
    More like gun owners owe it toTrump.
    Narcissism has its ways.

  12. “Years ago, there were ATF agents who supported guns” – if “years ago” = multiple decades. ATF was into thuggery in the 80s.

  13. Civics 101, Mr Williams: DID YOU PASS IT????

    Congress created the ATF, and therefore CONGRESS will have to pass the law to abolish it. All President Trump can do is sign it.

    • Trump can order the ATF to stand down and cease operations either partially or ‘almost’ completely. He can also order them to rescind or change stuff, change operational parameters, change operations and tempo, eliminate certain positions, move personnel around, ya know just like Biden did. He can also fire or suspend anyone in the ATF and not worry about the usual ’employment’ stuff of ‘reasons’ as they are in the executive branch where all employees serve at the will and pleasure of the president and not because they got hired. In a way, in effect, he could ‘abolish the ATF’ by making it ineffective by orders – or as they call it in the ‘corporate’ world ‘down sizing tactics’.

  14. Fifth Circuit Slaps Down Anti-Gun AGs.

    h ttps://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/01/17/fifth-circuit-slaps-down-anti-gun-ags-n1227401

  15. Congressman closing in on ATF’s illegal gun registry with new bill – Paul speaks to (interviews) Rep. Cloud.

    h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYnz_qE39s8

  16. Armed LA Residents Patrolling Neighborhoods.

    LA residents are taking up arms and violating evacuation orders to protect their homes from looters.

    h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DdpanC130U

  17. Biden Attempts To Change The Constitution Via Press Release On His Way Out. (Note: Contrary to the delusional Biden press release and wording there is not actually an ERA 28th Amendment to the Constitution – Joe lied again).

    h ttps://thefederalist.com/2025/01/17/biden-attempts-to-change-the-constitution-via-press-release-on-his-way-out/

    Biden declares there is now a 28th Amendment. There is not. > h ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/17/biden-declares-there-is-now-28th-amendment-there-is-not/

  18. Biden and whoever was actually calling the shots targeted legitimate gun owners and gun dealers like it was cool – like it was a game. Biden even allowed these illegitimate forces to establish an antigun office right inside his White House. They met regularly with senior members of the antigun industry.

  19. Trump owes gun owners nothing. Especially those who refuse to throw off the bonds of tyranny in the states. Relying on a system or person that the tyrants hate and refuse to abide by is a fools errand at best and a road to sub-servitude at worst as has been the case for many in regards to their Constitutional Rights… 91 days

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