Between 2011 and 2019, the FBI, Secret Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reportedly coerced at least 60 U.S. citizens into relinquishing away their Second Amendment rights, according to an exclusive investigation.
They coerced the 60+ citizens, all of whom were court defendants, by convincing them to sign a “secret form” as part of a plea agreement.
The Washington Examiner, which broke the story, notes that the form “was not authorized through Congress and has been slammed as ‘unconstitutional’ by Republican lawmakers.”
“In at least one instance, the bureau and Secret Service worked behind closed doors with what appears to be a government prosecutor who conditioned signing of the form as part of a legal case,” according to the Examiner.
This example comes from 2019 and involves a letter written by a lawyer to a Florida-based Secret Service agent concerning the lawyer’s client.
“Dear Agent [redacted]. You will find enclosed the NICS firearm form which has been signed by my client and his doctor. This is being provided in compliance with [redacted] plea agreement. Yours sincerely,” the letter reads.
The Examiner notes that it’s “unclear” why the lawyer’s client was in trouble, and why the FBI and Secret Service were involved with his case.
What’s known is that the form was used to register people into the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It was also used to have people identify as a “danger” and admit that they lack the “mental capacity adequately to contract” their lives.
The problem is that it doesn’t make sense.
“There’s a bit of a contradiction. They’re having you agree you’re incompetent. If you’re incompetent, how is that a binding agreement?” Gilbert Ambler, a constitutional attorney who specializes in firearms law, told the Examiner.
“It’s an example of something more nefarious, which is individuals within the government pursuing a goal of disarming people. That is not something supported by our legislature. In fact, it is contrary to what our legislature has done because there are set forth conditions on when somebody can be disarmed,” he added.
Ambler pointed to the Gun Control Act of 1968 as proof.
He said that via the law, there are “established conditions” for someone to lose their gun rights. And those conditions say that someone can be prohibited from owning a firearm if a court rules they’re “adjudicated as a mental defective” or the person’s been committed to a mental institution.
“Any person who has been ‘adjudicated as a mental defective’ or ‘committed to a mental institution’ is prohibited under federal law from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing any firearm or ammunition. Violation of this federal offense is punishable by a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to ten years,” according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives document on the Gun Control Act.
What it doesn’t say is that people can voluntarily give up their gun rights by just signing a form.
Yet as noted by the Examiner, there’s no indication that the lawyer’s client had been ruled a “mental defective” or been locked up in a mental asylum.
The latest revelation comes a few weeks after the Examiner broke a related story about the FBI secretly coordinating with hospitals to strip at least five citizens of their gun rights.
“Any time you have evidence of private entities coordinating with federal agents to strip Americans of their rights, the public should be alarmed and demanding answers and action,” Aidan Johnston, the federal affairs director for Gun Owners of America, said at the time.
“This is just the latest terrifying new instance of the illegal NICS self-submission form being used in nefarious ways, and those who used it to violate the public’s trust must be held to account,” he added.
Emails obtained by @dcexaminer also show federal agents communicating about their secret work with hospitals to strip US citizens of their gun rights
“Please advise if this is what you need or if I can provide more,” one federal employee wrote in September 2019 pic.twitter.com/UWG4OytsED
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) March 7, 2023
Tom Jones, the president of the American Accountability Foundation conservative watchdog group, also commented on the cases.
“Frustratingly, every day, there seems to be a new revelation of the FBI working to violate the rights of American citizens,” he said, adding that House Republicans should investigate the matter.
The good news is that House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan has already previously vowed to investigate these forms.
Plus, last year over a dozen congressional Republicans “demanded the FBI and Justice Department provide evidence that the forms are not being used anymore,” according to the Examiner.
A month later, Rep. Andrew Clyde reportedly sponsored a resolution calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to hand over documents related to the forms, but House Democrats predictably rejected it.
“These new revelations provide additional proof that the FBI has used deeply disturbing tactics to erode Americans’ Second Amendment freedoms,” Clyde told the Examiner at the time.
“Make no mistake — the FBI is weaponizing NICS forms to advance the Left’s dangerous agenda of dismantling our Second Amendment liberties and disarming our nation. Congress must thoroughly investigate this troubling matter and hold all unelected, anti-gun bureaucrats involved accountable for forcing Americans to relinquish their constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” he added.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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