Posted on 02/17/2021 11:06:52 AM PST by ransomnote
In San Antonio today, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint against an Iron Youth member for illegally possessing a machine gun, announced U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Caleb Nathaniel Oliver, age 19 of Smiley, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun. Upon conviction, Oliver faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
The criminal complaint alleges that on February 5, 2021, Oliver purchased a fully automatic machine gun from an undercover officer for $1,000. According to the complaint, Oliver is a member of the group called Iron Youth, a racially motivated violent extremist group that advocates violence in the furtherance of its objectives. Beginning in September 2020, Oliver had several meetings with the undercover officer to discuss the purchase of the machine gun.
Oliver, who was arrested on Friday evening after exchanging money and taking possession of the machine gun, remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing expected later this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth S. Chestney in San Antonio.
It is important to note that a criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The FBI is conducting this investigation with assistance from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William R. Harris and Mark Roomberg are prosecuting this case.
#####
For clarity, not telling you personally to sod off.
Telling the hypothetical agent to piss off.
“The reality is such a weapon is not in any way needed by anyone not in military or training for military action.”
What do you say to someone whose aspiration in life is to be the best she can be in the extreme sport of accurately firing a machine gun at paper targets - perhaps reaching civilian world class status, winning a one million dollar prize, and becoming a celebrity endorser?
And perhaps own and manage a machine gun museum in an urban city where disadvantaged youths who want to design new firearms for the military can go after school and study current technology?
How do you tell a young woman those are not legitimate aspirations? And she will need to own a machine gun to practice because the military is not allowed to loan her one.
If the Left has found a way to their salaries, benefits and pensions, they will.
They will be "Only Followink Ordahs" you know.
Your apples to oranges comparison was amusing.
Do you mean the either the FBI infiltrator, the DEA infiltrator, the ATF infiltrator, or the Capital Police undercover agent? 4 of the total 7 members being government agents!!!! Sarcasm
It's called the Bill of Rights, not the Bill of Needs.
The other four members were all FBI agents
Only $1000 for a machine gun? I guess he never looked at the prices before.
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument
The militia-related clauses of Congress's constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers aside, patriots are reminded that the states have never expressly constitutionally given the federal government the specific power to regulate either the peacetime use of firearms, or over the counter sales of guns and ammo imo.
"State inspection laws, health laws, and laws for regulating the internal commerce of a State, and those which respect turnpike roads, ferries, &c. are not within the power granted to Congress [emphases added].” —Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
”From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added].” —United States v. Butler, 1936.
In fact, the congressional record shows that Rep. John Bingham, the main author of the 14th Amendment (14A), had clarified that, until 14A was ratified, the states had never expressly constitutional given the feds the power to make peacetime penal laws, not even for murder.
"Our Constitution never conferred upon the Congress of the United States the power - sacred as life is, first as it is before all other rights which pertain to man on this side of the grave - to protect it in time of peace by the terrors of the penal code within organized states; and Congress has never attempted to do it. There never was a law upon the United States statute-book to punish the murderer for taking away in time of peace the life of the noblest, and the most unoffending, as well, of your citizens, within the limits of any State of the Union. The protection of the citizen in that respect was left to the respective States, and there the power is to-day [emphases added].” —Rep. John Bingham, Congressional Globe. (See bottom half of third column.)
Note that 14A gives Congress the power only to STRENGTHEN rights that the states have amended the Constitution to expressly protect, including 2nd Amendment (2A), from abridgment by state actors.
In fact, the congressional record also shows that Bingham had included 2A when he read the Bill of Rights as main examples of privileges and immunities that 14A applies to the states.
John Bingham, Congressional Globe. (See 2nd Amendment (Article II) about in middle of 2nd column.)
Again, while desperate federal Democrats want to take our guns away to try to stay in power, the only constitutionally express power that they have to make gun-related laws is, ironically, to make peacetime laws that STRENGTHEN gun rights.
So it's up to each state to use it's 10th Amendment (10A) powers to make reasonable, restrictive gun laws, such laws reasonably checked by Congress (ahem!).
In fact, Justice Reed had noted that it was the job of judges to balance 10A-protected state powers with 14A-protected rights.
"Conflicts in the exercise of rights arise and the conflicting forces seek adjustments in the courts, as do these parties, claiming on the one side the freedom of religion, speech and the press, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, and on the other the right to employ the sovereign power explicitly reserved to the State by the Tenth Amendment to ensure orderly living without which constitutional guarantees of civil liberties would be a mockery.” —Justice Reed, Jones v. City of Opelika, 1942.
It is disturbing that federal peacetime gun regulations seem to have started appearing in the books during FDR Administration, FDR and the Congress at that time infamous for making laws which they had no express constitutional authority to make.
Franklin Roosevelt: The Father of Gun Control
Finally, for the sake of argument, even if 2A was to disappear from the Constitution, it remains that the feds have no constitutionally express power to make peacetime, restrictive gun laws.
"The government of the United States is one of delegated powers alone. Its authority is defined and limited by the Constitution. All powers not granted to it by that instrument are reserved to the States or the people [emphasis added]. No rights can be acquired under the constitution or laws of the United States, except such as the government of the United States has the authority to grant or secure. All that cannot be so granted or secured are left under the protection of the States." —United States v. Cruikshank, Et Al."
"The second and tenth counts are equally defective. The right there specified is that of 'bearing arms for a lawful purpose.' This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence [emphasis added]. The second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed; but this, as has been seen, means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress. […] —United States v. Cruikshank, Et Al."
If someone ever offers to sell me a machine gun for $1,000, I will immediately think, 1. “set up” and b. call the local police to make a set up of my own and help them make an arrest of an FBI informant.
Same way undercover buying and selling of anything controlled/restricted in violation of the law (w/o paying the tax man first (if possible)) isn’t.
The Guy could have purchased a legal pre86 whatever by going through the process and handing over the $20-40k...
Or he could have become a LEO and bought a milspec whatever for pennies on the commercial dollar.
That said, ATFE ought to be a convenience store....
Well, sorry to say that there are many situations where a FA weapon is the most effective and useful tool in the box.
However, that kind of situation is very far and few between for a non-military warrior.
Even cops ought not have anything FA- they are in my limited but real experience, very likely to be the blunter end of the stick so to speak. Kinda hard to arrest anyone after a room clearing event.... Same with Frag grenades.
IF FAs were affordable and I wanted one, I would still not purchase one (suppressors too for that matter). I don’t tell my neighbors what I have, why would I want to tell complete strangers whom I cannot vette who work for Leviathan?
They picked some low hanging fruit.
I don’t think you could buy a select fire weapon for $1K 40 years ago! At least none of the ones I wanted... It would have been a good investment though.
Show me a 19 year old who says they wouldn’t jump at the chance to buy a fully automatic firearm and I’ll show you a liar.
“What did the other four members have to say about his arrest?”
The FBI guy, the 2 ATF guys, a DEA agent, and the retard who thought he could buy a machine gun for $1000 was probably the whole club.
Probably not. The BATFE, and FBI are both known for setting people up.
Thanks for fully fleshing out your "support" for the 2nd Amendment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.