Two Delaware ATF agents and a Delaware state trooper showed up seemingly warrantless, in tactical gear, to a man’s home and demanded he prove he did not make a straw purchase, a video posted Wednesday appears to show.
Frankie Stockes of the National File shared the video, and reported that the agents were “warrantless.” The agents were trying to ensure no straw purchases were made. A straw purchase is when an individual buys a gun for someone else.
“All I’m doing is verifying that you have it, you got two different purchases,” an unidentified agent can be heard saying in the video, which was captured by a Ring camera. “If you have them, I’m out of here. That’s how quick it is. Yeah. Do you have them with you by any chance?”
“They’re in my safe,” the homeowner said.
“If you can unload them and bring them out, we can go out to your foyer here, check them out, write the serial numbers and we’re out of here,” the agent responded.
“That’s it?” the homeowner asked.
“Yep,” the agent said before a second unidentified agent jumped in and said, “It will take five seconds.”
A third individual, who appears to be a state trooper, said “the reason we’re out here is obviously gun violence is at an uptick. We want to make sure – we’ve been having a lot of issues with straw purchases. One of the things, indicators we get is someone making a large gun purchase, and then a lot of times, we’ve been there and ‘oh, those guns got taken.’”
“The idea is that when you purchase more than two guns at a time it generates a multiple sales report and it comes to us and we have to check them out,” the first agent then added. “That’s all that is. You did nothing wrong – absolutely zero. I noticed you were stopped in Philly though with one of your guns?”
ATF agents and a #Delaware state cop show up warrantless at a man’s home demanding to see his firearms. #2A pic.twitter.com/NBGGrufeRD
— Frankie Stockes – Reporter (@stockes76) July 20, 2022
“We’ll wait if you feel more comfortable,” the trooper then said.
“I’m okay. I just – I didn’t expect,” the homeowner began before the first agent interjected.
“Oh no. It just came up. We came here, look, I’m telling you. There’s an email from the federal side saying can you make sure this guy’s got his guns. If you recently purchased a whole bunch of guns, if we can look at them and just scratch them off,” the agent said before the homeowner said he does have all his guns.
“We can look at them and write which ones you just bought, so we can save a trip from coming back,” the second agent said. “We’ll confirm that you have them.”
The homeowner retreated inside, while outside the trooper, seemingly unaware he’s on camera, said, “He doesn’t believe we’re cops.”
“I don’t blame him,” the first agent said.
pic.twitter.com/elWf8e5LSr
— Frankie Stockes – Reporter (@stockes76) July 20, 2022
The homeowner brought out one rifle and one of the agents checked the serial number before saying it wasn’t necessary for the homeowner to retrieve any more guns, according to The Truth About Guns.
The homeowner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, said the situation was embarrassing, according to the report.
“I was embarrassed,” the homeowner reportedly said. “My neighbors saw the whole thing – guys in these police vests standing in my yard. I was really uncomfortable. I felt really confused, like I was in some way being accused of something even though I didn’t commit a crime. It was quite embarrassing. I knew they couldn’t come in, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to get put on some watch list.”
“I felt like they were invading my privacy.”
A spokesperson for the ATF said they “are unable to comment on the details of any ongoing investigations; however, interviews are an entirely appropriate part of the investigative process for any law enforcement agency.”
The agency would neither confirm nor deny the incident, and would not provide details as to whether the agents had warrants and if not, whether that is protocol.
* Article from: The Daily Caller
