President Trump Grants Pardon To Navy Sailor Convicted In Disputed ATF Weapons Case

President Donald Trump has granted a presidential pardon to Patrick “Tate” Adamiak, an active-duty Navy sailor whose federal conviction over inert weapons parts drew significant scrutiny from gun-rights advocates. The announcement was made Friday by the Second Amendment Foundation, a firearms advocacy organization that closely covered the legal proceedings.

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Adamiak four years ago following a search of his home. Prosecutors charged him with the unlawful possession of destructive devices in connection with two inert rocket-propelled grenade launchers that had internal components removed and holes drilled into their receivers.

Adamiak was convicted in federal court in 2023 and received a prison sentence of more than 20 years. The conviction hinged in part on testimony from an ATF expert who reassembled the inert launchers using functional components until one fired a single 7.62x39mm subcaliber training round. The defense argued that the items, in the state Adamiak acquired them, were non-functioning collector pieces that remain commercially available to the public without federal licensing.

“Meet the man whose lies put an innocent sailor in prison for 20 years”

https://saf.org/meet-the-man-whose-lies-put-an-innocent-sailor-in-prison-for-20-years/

“Adamiak, who is now 31, was just a 28-year-old E-6 in the U.S. Navy prior to his arrest. He enjoyed firearms and ran a private website that sold gun parts—not guns. He was always extremely careful about what he sold. After all, he had to protect his naval career, which was doing extremely well.

Adamiak was unprepared for Bodell or his incredible deceptions, which have become almost legendary. Bodell actually turned toys into firearms and legal semi-autos into machineguns.

Bodell inserted a real STEN action and a real STEN barrel into Adamiak’s toy STEN submachinegun and got it to fire one round, even though the toy’s receiver wouldn’t accept a real STEN magazine. Bodell actually classified the toy, which are very popular, as a machinegun.

Bodell fired five of Adamiak’s very expensive and extremely collectible legal semi-autos, which fire from an open bolt. All the ATF technician could achieve was semi-auto fire, but that didn’t stop him. He classified all five highly sought after firearms as machineguns.

Bodell ruled that several receivers that had been cut in half were actually machineguns. The same parts are still legally sold online and do not require an FFL or any paperwork.”

Peterson case:

“WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) delivered an opening statement at today’s roundtable titled “Suppressing the Second Amendment: Examining DOJ’s Posture Toward Firearm Suppressors.” In his remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Higgins emphasized that firearm suppressors are designed to reduce the decibel levels of gunshots in order to protect against significant and possibly permanent hearing loss, and also noted that there is no statistical evidence that suggests a link between the use of suppressors and criminal activity. He further stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to uphold Biden Administration-era policies against suppressors.

[snip]

Which leads us to the unfortunate case of Mr. George Peterson.

In 2022, federal agents hit his house. George Peterson was a was a licensed firearm dealer. But it was a small deal for him. He had a business, yes, but his business was out of his garage, you know, connected to his house. And he followed the law.

He was licensed, but he was no big gun dealer. The ATF, under that in that oppressive era, [they] created a case against him and [was] sufficient to get a warrant signed. They hit his house, they hit his house and terrified him and his family.

And out of all the probable cause listed for the warrant that allowed them to hit his house, all of it evaporated, and they were left with one charge. George Peterson had one old, manufactured suppressor in his safe that he had used for, for varmints and snakes around his property on a .22 rifle. And he’d have a snake in the yard. [He would], in order to not frighten his other animals and etcetera, use that to kill a snake.

And it never rose to the level of significance, [for] Mr. Peterson, to register that thing. It wasn’t high on his priority list. It was just a tool that he used. But at worst, you could say, ‘well, you failed to register this suppressor.’ And indeed, that was a regulatory offense that he was charged with. But they prosecuted the hell out of this man.

Despite this, because the suppressor was not registered under the NFA, Mr. Peterson is now serving twenty-four months in federal prison.”

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/939217808/higgins-leads-roundtable-on-suppressors-and-their-relationship-with-the-second-amendment

“two inert rocket-propelled grenade launchers that had internal components removed and holes drilled into their receivers.”

There isn’t even a case? These are display items at that point.

They may as well arrest him for building an RPG out of Legos.

If I were part of that case, I’d be personally and professionally embarrassed.

Thank you Trump. You saved another person from ideological lunacy.

“Thank you Trump. You saved another person from ideological lunacy.”

The ATF agent, Jeffrey R. Bodell, should be brought up on charges for even initiating the case.

“The worst thing Bodell told the court were his misconceptions about two inert RPGs.

Bodell took the inert rocket launchers to the ATF’s lab and added missing fire-control components including a firing pin from a functional RPG from the ATF’s collection. The agent also added a sub-caliber training device that resembles a warhead, which can fire 7.62x39mm rounds on its own without even loading it into an RPG.

“He fired a 7.62x39mm rifle cartridge through it utilizing the sub-caliber training device, which is a standalone rifle that can be fired independently on its own,” Adamiak said last week.

Bodell falsely testified that the missing parts didn’t matter, legally.

“It doesn’t matter whether it fires or not, and if it’s missing some component parts, it wouldn’t be relevant to the classification of a destructive device,” Bodell told the court, which is not what the statute or case law state.”

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