No Bail for Gabriel Metcalf, because he Believes he has a Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Montana

Modest home in Billings, Montana, where Gabriel (Gabe) Metcalf lives with his mother.

On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, Gabe Metcalf was arrested by ATF agents outside his home. Metcalf was arrested by federal agents of the ATF for possessing a firearm in a federal Gun Free School Zone in Billings Montana. A search warrant was executed after the arrest. The warrant shows the agents seized a single shot, break-open shotgun, six rounds of ammunition, and a Samsung phone.

Billings police had several contacts with Gabe prior to the arrest by federal agents. It has been reported Billings police stated he was not breaking any state law. From billingsgazette.com:

“We have made contact with him on multiple occasions, and currently he is refusing to stop displaying his firearms while on his property,” said police Lt. Matt Lennick. “At this time, he has not done anything illegal and we do not have the authority to arrest him, take his firearms, or force him to stop coming out into his yard.”

Gabe has stated he does not have mental problems, he is protecting himself and his loved ones, and he does not do drugs. He has stated he is not a danger to other people or the children at the school. The Billings police did not attempt to have him evaluated for any mental condition. This correspondent has not had contact with Gabe or his court assigned attorney.

The prosecution asked for a pretrial detention order. Pretrial detention is an unusual condition. No bail is set. The defendant is locked up until his trial is over. In the case of a constitutional challenge, this could take years. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan granted the Order of Detention for Gabriel Metcalf. The only reason checked on the order of detention pending trial form is a box for "History of Violence or Use of Weapons".

This is the first order of detention this correspondent has seen which cites the reason for pretrial detention is the defendant believes he has a right to keep and bear arms, and the federal Gun Free School Zone Act is unconstitutional. From the Order of Detention, pending trial:

This correspondent has not been able to find any history of violence for Gabriel Metcalf. His "use of weapons" appears to be a simple carry of a single shot shotgun without any threats or assaults associated with the carry. In a previous article, this correspondent speculated about the possibility of the prosecution attempting to punish Gabriel Metcalf by asking for exorbitant bail.

The detention order goes far beyond exorbitant bail. It precludes any bail at all. Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and wounded another in self defense in Kenosha Wisconsin, and had bail set at a two million dollars. The Billings Police were unable to find a legal reason to arrest Gabriel Metcalf. If he had assaulted anyone or threatened anyone, such as pointing a firearm at them, he would be subject to arrest. The Billings Police asked the ATF to investigate Gabriel Metcalf because the Billings Police had no reason to arrest him.

Much remains unclear at this time. The Billings Police had flagged the person Gabriel Metcalf said he was defending against, David Carpenter. The police hesitated to talk to David Carpenter in person, for safety reasons, so they used phone interviews to investigate.

The ATF has seized Gabriel's single shot shotgun and his six cartridges. It appears he does not have the means to purchase another firearm. As he is under indictment, he is precluded from legally purchasing another firearm. Yet Judge Cavan writes it is unlikely Gabriel Metcalf would abide by a requirement he have not firearms during his release, quote:

Gabriel's public defender may appeal this decision to hold him without bail until trial. Federal courts have ruled a person can be held without bail for an "important government interest". If belief the Second Amendment protects a persons right to keep and bear arms in public places is one of the conditions for pretrial detention, the fabric of the Bill of Rights is at risk.

Gabriel's mother, Vivian Young, has set up a GiveSendGo campaign, YoungMetcalfHomeDefenseFund, in order to aid in his defense and to provide much needed security for their home. Although the ATF had the keys to their home, an ATF agent kicked in the front door anyway.

Gabe and his mother, Vivian Young, are poor as church mice, in part because of the necessity of an ongoing defense of themselves and their home over the last two years. Now the federal government has locked Gabe up in pre-trial detention, so it has become very difficult for a 71 year old woman, who has to keep working, to defend their pets and home when she is not there.

Any State can fix this problem if they so choose, but it would take balls and integrity.

You pass the exact same law at the State level with one minor change:
There shall be NO exemptions, exclusions, privileges or preferences for ANY Federal Employee.

Then you Strictly and Vigorously enforce it against every Federal Employee in the State. If a Federal Employee drives by a School in possession of a firearm, you ARREST AND PROSECUTE.

They are keeping him locked up, I believe, to make his defense more difficult. It is also punishment by process.

I have read the impact statements for the restraining orders against David Carpenter. They are very specific and credible. I will be publishing more on that. The media in Billings is having a field day demonizing Gabe, who never threatened anyone, never pointed a gun at anyone, never assaulted anyone, and has no criminal record or record of violence.

He had/has legitimate reason to fear threats, including deadly threats. There is very good reason for him to have a firearm to defend himself, his mother and his home. So, of course, after refusing to protect him and his mother, the police conspire to have the federal agents disarm him and imprison him, without bail.

Any State can fix this problem if they so choose, but it would take balls and integrity.

You pass the exact same law at the State level with one minor change: There shall be NO exemptions, exclusions, privileges or preferences for ANY Federal Employee.

Then you Strictly and Vigorously enforce it against every Federal Employee in the State. If a Federal Employee drives by a School in possession of a firearm, you ARREST AND PROSECUTE.

No state has a big enough army to do what you suggest. It is a direct assault on federal power. The federal courts would likely rule it to be unconstitutional, but maybe not if you only went after off-duty federal officers. Maybe we can build state militias large enough to enforce it, but right now, that is not the case.

If we had the political will to do this, we would already have won.

Gabriel Metcalf's case is the best chance we have of a test case to take down the law in the courts. So far, no one is stepping up to the plate to help him and his mother.

That is because it is the YoungMetcalfHomeDefenseFund on givesendgo, as stated in the article. It would be folly to set one up on GoFundMe, with its history of cutting off people who defend themselves, like Kyle Rittenhouse.

It was set up by Gabe's mother, Vivian Young. She is 71, and not super tech-savy. Not sure if allowed to list the link here.

Gabe's mother, Vivian Young, has set up a givesendgo campaign, YoungMetcalfHomeDefenseFund under their legal section.

I was able to find it by going to givesendgo, using the discover menue in the top of the page, clicking on campaigns, then going to the magnifying glass search sign on the right side top of page, and searching for YoungMetcalfHomeDefenseFund.

This is hosed up. When I was growing up my Maternal Grandparents lived on one side of a school playground and my Paternal Grandmother and two spinster Aunts lived on the other side of the school playground. We could sit on the front porch and see who was sitting on the other front porch. Back then they had firearms. It is insane to think that they would have been criminals just because of an un-Constitutional and ineffectual law.

The Gun Free School Zone Act was found to be unconstitutional in 1994, in USA v Lopez.

President Clinton and Janet Reno pushed to have a few words in the law changed, claiming those words cured the Constitutional defect in the law.

The law has been challenged by criminal defendants several times since then. Five circuits currently have ruled the Clinton word change cures the Constitutional defect; three circuits have ruled the word change does not cure the Constitutional defect.

Gabe Metcalf is the first person, which I can find, who was charged only with the federal charge of possessing a firearm in Gun Free School Zone.

He has no criminal record or record of violence. He has/had a clear and present danger to defend against.

I have read some of what he has written. It is articulate and well argued.

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