Leftists targeted with gun charge just before ATF froze enforcement
A policy win by conservative Second Amendment supporters complicates the Trump administration’s prosecution of three alleged anti-police extremists.
TL;DR
- Three alleged anti-police extremists, Levi Belcher, Anthony Slota, and Tadashi Erekson, face federal charges for possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle.
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced it would no longer enforce the law against this offense starting October 9, four days after the defendants were indicted.
- This ATF decision follows a federal judge blocking portions of the National Firearms Act due to a lawsuit by right-leaning gun groups, a win celebrated by Second Amendment supporters.
- The defendants were allegedly tracked due to Belcher's threats against immigration officers and were found with body armor, guns, and ammunition.
- Authorities found indications of anarchist and antifascist ideology in their shared apartment, along with numerous weapons.