This is how the federal agency that’s charged with regulating firearms conducts its business. According to the Washington Times, “ATF agents announced themselves to Mark ‘Choppa’ Manley and his family by tossing a flashbang into his living room and ordering everyone out at gunpoint during the predawn search days before Thanksgiving.”
Manley, who is described as a gun rights advocate and lives in Baltimore, thinks the raid by agents in battle rattle was an attempt to send a message to other black gun owners.
“I do feel like I was targeted. I do feel like the amount of guns I have made me a target and [put] me on their radar,” Mr. Manley told The Times. “Especially being a minority from the inner city.”
It isn’t really clear what the feds were looking for in the raid. They spent hours tossing Manley’s home, checking gun serial numbers, and ultimately confiscating his phone. But no one was charged or arrested and no guns were confiscated.
Harassment has been a hallmark of the ATF since the Biden administration launched its war on legal gun ownership not long after it took office. And the agency is, of course, refusing to comment on the case.
Mr. Manley’s growing profile put him in a league of gun owners, dealers and advocates who have either been monitored, approached or, arguably, harassed by the ATF in recent years.
Was ATF acting on bad information? Were they trying to provoke Manley into breaking the law? Whatever their motivation, the raid could have gone much, much worse. It wasn’t long ago that ATF decided that an early morning raid on the home of Bryan Malinowski was preferable to stopping him on his way to or from his place of work. Malinowski thought it was a home invasion, armed himself, and the ATF’s finest shot and killed him.
[Gun rights advocate Maj] Toure said the raid at Mr. Manley’s home was likely done in hopes of provoking the advocate into doing something criminal. At the very least, he said the ATF is putting on a “poker face” to try and intimidate Mr. Manley from organizing gun owners in the future.
“What’s happening is they’re trying to scare people — bluff them — into thinking ‘I better not do this. I better be quiet about it.’” Mr. Toure said. “The wrong party here is the ATF. Not the Constitution, not the Bill of Rights, not the American people that are safe and responsible firearms owners.”
January 20th can’t get here soon enough.
“It isn’t really clear what the feds were looking for in the raid.”
No warrent? They did not let him read the warrant? Sounds like time to go on the legal offensive.
“Sounds like time to go on the legal offensive.”
We can hope.
The government has always had a problem when one of its citizens get a little too ‘Uppity’ and ‘Don’t know their place”… 🙁
Since Biden freed up federal death row, we’ve got plenty of space for every “agent” of this terrorist organization.
I like the way you think… 😉
yeah, no. keeping them penned forever does not free up any space.
only prodigious brompton cocktails will make room.
Overseer sent the pattarollers out to bring the runaways home to the Democrat plantation.
This has nothing to do with politics, it’s racism you idiot. I hate when people try to make everything about politics, trying to divide the nation. It’s not about blue vs red, it’s about the 0.1% vs everyone else.
The government. State, local or federal. Doesn’t like black people, when they discover they have a civil right to Arms.
The orginal reason why the Black panther party was started was to control traffic at an intersection, that had a history of numerous accidents every week.
Gun control is racist. It has always been racist.
It’s one thing to say to middle-class blacks you have gun rights. It’s different to tell the poor or working class, you have gun rights too.
The poor and working class exercising their second amendment civil rights. Is a direct.
Threat to the government’s welfare industrial complex.
Accepting personal responsibility and learning to have self control is a threat to the establishment.
Sigh. Not everything has to be about race, in whole or in part. Sometimes it can be because you’re a vocal gun rights advocate, no matter your skin color.
Not that that’s better, of course.
Given his location this actually may have been about race with the history involved with that city. Doesn’t change anything regarding how it needs to be addressed as racism is an ineffective tool to use against actual power.
guns enable real human to defend themselves from gubmint assholes
Black Guns Matter!
Being Black, Mr. Manley is “obligated” to play the race card. I don’t think the raid had anything to do with his race. The ATF ONLY LIKES COWERING, COMPLIANT CITIZENS. If you are vocal about your rights –regardless of your ethnicity– eventually, you’ll end up in the gubmint’s crosshairs (PUN INTENDED).
Silencing a voice that a rapidly growing demographic of gun owners belongs to wasn’t about race? Not a racist raid because he was black more a strategic target to limit the spread of information to a historically under armed demographic that is black.
Question: “Why Did the ATF Raid Baltimore Gun Rights Advocate Mark ‘Choppa’ Manley’s House?”
Answer: Because they could!
Has nothing to do with right and wrong or any crime committed.
Why? To send a message as loud, clear, and as unambiguous as that flash-bang in his living room. Was it racist? Yes, every bit as racist as gun control started out to be. I’d love to know what the government used as basis for getting that kind of raid authorized.
“Harassment has been a hallmark of the BATF since the 1992 attack on Randy Weaver and his family.”
Fixed it for you.
A big thank you for your blog.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.