Montana AG: IRS sending armed agents to 'harass' gun owners

FPI / June 19, 2023

A squad of 20 "heavily armed" IRS agents seized dozens of boxes of background check forms from a Great Falls gun shop, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said.

The agents raided Highwood Creek Outfitters on Wednesday morning and seized dozens of boxes of ATF form 4473s, Knudsen told Breitbart News.

ATF form 4473 has a gun purchaser’s name, address, birthdate, state/city of birth, gender, social security number, and the serial number of any guns purchased in the store (emphasis added).

Store owner Tom Van Hoose said: “At 7:30, I came in and they pulled in behind me with 20 heavily armed agents.”

Van Hoose said the agents essentially occupied his shop and left him with about 30 minutes of time to do business so he lost virtually an entire business day.

Van Hoose said all he was told is that his business had been reported. He doesn’t know by whom, or the reason. He thinks it’s part of a nationwide pattern and feels it’s political, KRTV 3 reported.

“I can only assume that it’s because of the style of weapons that we have and the press that’s so against them,” said Van Hoose. “The current administration seems to be hell bent on getting those guns out of the hands of average Americans.”

There is a real danger in federal agents taking this information, Knudsen told Breitbart News: “I spoke with the shop owner who told me that 20 heavily armed IRS agents from multiple states in our region served a warrant before his business opened. They took dozens of boxes full of 4473s — more than a decade’s worth. This is extremely concerning because it seemingly exceeds the search warrant which limited the scope of the search to financial records. These aren’t financial records, they’re records of lawful firearm purchases. What the hell does the IRS need with 4473s? We know the ATF in Washington, D.C. is trying to scoop up as many of these purchase records as possible, and that’s what it looks like they’re trying to do here.”

Knudsen added: “There’s a clear and disturbing pattern developing of the Biden administration sending federal agents to harass American gun owners, shops, and manufacturers.”

The harassment is happening while Team Biden is pushing to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), thereby opening up gun makers to lawsuits over the illegal use of firearms, Knudsen said.

“Biden wants to repeal PLCAA so they can shut down gun companies and coerce states to implement ‘red flag’ laws so firearms can be seized without due process. Now, they’re sending federal agents door-to-door in my state to intimidate people. There’s no question about it, this is the most anti-gun administration in the nation’s history,” Knudsen added.

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