A new watchdog report reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been stockpiling $10 million worth of weapons, ammunition, and combat gear since 2020.
The New York Post reports that the findings, released by the group OpenTheBooks, show the IRS spending $5 million in 2021 alone as the agency ramped up the militarization of its agents. In the last three years, the IRS has spent a total of $2.3 million on ammunition, $1.2 million on ballistic shields, $474,000 on Smith & Wesson rifles, $463,000 on Beretta tactical shotguns, and $243,000 on body armor.
In addition to these purchases, the IRS’ expenditures include an additional $1.3 million that was spent on “various other gear for criminal investigation agents,” without any specifics as to what this “other gear” may entail.
The slew of new purchases build off of an arsenal that was already well-stocked prior to 2020, with the IRS already having in its possession roughly 5 million rounds of ammunition designated for its 2,159 special agents. Before 2020, the IRS owned 4,500 firearms, which included 621 shotguns, 539 semi-automatic rifles, and 15 submachine guns.
In conjunction with the spike in weapons purchases, the IRS has been hiring significantly more agents in all 50 states. In the job listing for new applicants, the agency notes that any potential applicants must be willing to “carry a firearm; must be prepared to protect him/herself or others from physical attacks at any time and without warning and use firearms in life-threatening situations; must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force.”
The weapon stockpiling and additional hiring comes after the IRS was given over $80 billion in new funding as a result of the highly-partisan Inflation Reduction Act, which was worth $739 billion overall. The agency has since claimed that the $80 billion was necessary in order to hire nearly 87,000 new agents across the country over the next 10 years, which has raised concerns among Republicans about the weaponization of an agency that has already been used to target conservatives in the past.
@#$%&+× revenoors!
the irs is not a security agency. at best all those idiots will morph into mall cop mindsets.
i suppose that there will be some Americans who grudgingly will take down those blue UN helmets on the long distance gun range and replace it with the appropriate color and emblem.
here’s a borrowed suggestion:
a now-dead author in California had a beef with a book publishing firm in New York. The man had an expanse large enough that he could shoot gophers from a house window with enough room beyond that the bullet would land on his property. the man packaged up airtight a freshly dispatched gopher, put it in a manuscript box and sent it book rateto New York .....in July.
needless to say the accompanying letter further demonstrated the ire of the author displayed by the now month and half ago dispatched gopher.
how about a medium sized javelina?
And the Fedgov wonders why there is a new growing suspicion about over-reach by Fedgov agencies. Is there any agency that doesn't have its own little army?
Years back there were questionable militias that were admitted Neo-Nazis and true White Supremacists during the Ruby Ridge and Waco fiascos, but where are they now as so many politicians and race-baiters claim on a daily basis?
No, I'm not going to Google. With being in my home stretch of life (73), I don't need the current questionable agencies harassment. Sorry, I'm too old and weak to fight the growing tyranny. Besides, there will be no armed civil revolution. We are all just sinking into the abyss of socialism/communism as taught by our schools and repeated by media, politicians, et al.
I just read that the Navy is going Bud lite with some sailor tranny as a new spokesperson. That one hurt to the bone. I hope Millenials and GenZ enjoy their ultimate DYSTOPIA. I will remember on my death bed how lucky I was to live when America was the "bright shining city on the hill" and which modern civilization emulated.
Feel free to call me a quitter, but many old timers here know I've done my duty many times over, including 11 years Navy and many years after in street activism. God bless those that have to watch this once great nation dissolve into a shadow of itself. Glad I won't see it.
The IRS only has about 2000 special agents, so that’s $5000 per agent. That’s a fair amount of gear and ammunition.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/22dbs06t32ps.xlsx
I’m not sure if the revenue agents are armed. I’m sure the special agents are, I know one. If you put those two categories together, that’s about 10,000 employees, which drops it to $1000 per agent.
