GREENVILLE, S.C. -(Ammoland.com)- The man that was the first known target of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) crackdown on forced reset triggers has spoken to Paul Glasco of Legally Armed America, and Paul has graciously shared his notes with AmmoLand News. This article breaks down the encounter between the gun owner and the ATF Special Agents. This encounter was the first visit of an ATF agent to a person’s home to confiscate a Rare Breed Trigger. We have been notified of other visits in different parts of the country that followed the same pattern of intimidation and pressure.
The gun owner has requested that AmmoLand News only use his first name. Paul and his wife live in South Carolina. The couple purchased two Rare Breed FRT-15 triggers. One trigger was purchased from Gun Broker. The other trigger was purchased directly from Rare Breed Triggers. Paul and his wife purchased the triggers before he knew the ATF considered them to be machine guns. The couple is law-abiding American citizens and never expected a visit from a government law enforcement agency.
Paul was napping inside his house while his wife was outside. ATF Special Agent Chuck Donahoe and three other agents rolled up onto the couple’s home. The agents approached Paul’s wife and demanded to know about the Rare Breed FRT-15 the couple purchased on Gun Broker. The ATF agents started threatening Paul’s wife about what could happen if the couple didn’t cooperate and forced the ATF to get a search warrant. The ATF was applying intimation tactics to get the trigger. Paul’s wife finally admitted to having the trigger and told the agents that the trigger was locked up and she would have to get her husband to retrieve the Rare Breed FRT-15.
Paul’s wife woke him up. She was visibly shaken by the ATF’s agents’ “visit.” Paul, confused, walked out to see what the agents wanted. The agents were in no mood for talking. They told Paul they knew he bought a trigger from Gun Broker. They knew the name of the person that sold him the trigger and demanded he hands the FRT-15 over. If he didn’t hand it over, the agents would get a search warrant to take the trigger from the house forcibly. Paul could either turn over the trigger or have his home ripped apart by the ATF and face possible other charges. Paul felt he had no other choice but to give them what they wanted.
Special Agent Donahue wanted to know if Paul and his wife had purchased any other force reset triggers. Paul admitted to buying an FRT-15 directly from Rare Breed Triggers but told the agents that he sold it to someone else from a 2A chat. The agents wanted to know the identity of the person who bought the triggers. Paul only knew the buyer as Joe Rare Breed. The agents accepted the answer and left with his trigger.
AmmoLand News reached out to ATF Special Agent Chuck Donahoe with a series of questions about the visit, but SA Donahoe chose not to respond to our phone calls or texts.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
