FEDS TRASH LAW-ABIDING
GUN OWNER'S HOME
by Richard E. Gardiner


"Well, it's been a rough month," begins Johnnie Lawmaster. "I just get laid off, and my divorce became final. But I just wasn't ready for what happened this particular Monday."

That particular Monday was was December 16, the first day of the Bill of Rights' third century, the day when federal agents and local law enforcement officers broke into the house in Tulsa that always flew the U.S. flag. When Lawmaster drove into the driveway that bleak afternoon, one of his neighbors had some news.

"'Ohmigod, John, you are in big trouble!' my neighbor tells me. 'Sixty police, federal agents and the bomb squad busted into your house, kicked down the door, cut locks off your gun safe.' I couldn't believe it. Then I walked inside. What a nightmare."

It was no nightmare; it was horribly real life. Apparently acting on information the Lawmaster possessed an illegal firearm, some thirty agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) teamed up with state and Tulsa police authorities, search warrant in hand, to search for a "Colt, AR-15, .223 caliber machine gun, unknown serial number."

The warrant, issued by U.S. Magistrate John Leo Wagner, also authorized agents to seize "any tools used in the alateration or modification of firearms, such as files or drills;documents, papers, books, records, and other tangible properties which identify occupants or owners of the property to be searched...."

Reports vary, but according to neighbors, the joint task force operation aimed at the unemployed warehouseman from a nearby hospital involved some 60 agents and local law enforcement personnel against Lawmaster. They cordoned off the street; took station with weapons drawn in the back yard; used a battering ram to break through the front door; kicked inthe back door; broke into his gun safe; threw personal papers around the house; spilled boxes of ammunition on the floor; broke into a small, locked box that contained precious coins; stood on a table to peer through the ceiling tiles, breaking the table in the process. Then, they left. The doors were closed but not latched, much less locked. The ammo and guns were left unsecured.

"My neighbor said about 20 officers hid by the back shed and a boat trailered in the back yard before they began kicking in the back door. They broke the lock on the shed and left it open.

"My front and back doors were pulled shut, but they were busted through and couldn't latch. Anybody could have waltzed in there and stolen everything I own. A child could have taken a gun. The guns, the safe -- everything was open and laying around. I keep all my magazines empty, but someone had loaded them. While I was looking around in amazement, the gas, electric and water companies show up to turn the power off. They said they were told to shut things down.

Then I found the note. "Nothing Found - ATF."

One agent pressed the neighbor for information about Lawmaster. Agents began to break through the door of a trailer parked in Lawmaster's back yard, but the neighbor protested. "It was his trailer," Lawmaster relates. "He had a key and let them in. Then he asked my neighbor of I had an AR-15, and he said, 'Yeah.' 'Does he have an auto sear,' and my neighbor said, 'I don't know.' But my neighbor had an NRA cap on, so the agent said, 'Lapse of memory, huh?'"

Lawmaster's neighbor told him the agent nodded towards the neighbor's hat -- a cap bearing the NRA insignia. "The agent said, 'You're one of *them* and you don't know what an auto sear is?"

"The agent then pulled a book from the top of Lawmaster's stereo and, flipping through it, asked the neighbor about the photographs of firearms that were pictured in the book. 'Does he have this? Does he have this?' the agent keeps asking and my neighbor says 'No, no....'"

"They didn't make any attempt to notify me. I've lived in Tulsa all my life and never got more than a traffic ticket. How come they can't look that up, realize I've been law-abiding my whole life, then come to the door when I'm home? They didn't leave someone here to watch over my private property. They didn't even come by to explain what happened. They just raided my home, ransaked it, left it wide open and left."

Lawmaster placed a phone call to the local BATF agent. "I asked, 'Are you gonna' arrest me?' and he said, 'No.' I asken him, "Who is going to repair and clean up my house?' And he said, "If you're going to talk to me, come down to my office.'

"'I can't come down!' I said. 'My doors are broken!' If I had been on vacation and I didn't have friendly neighbors, I would have lost everything I own. Here I am a competent, responsible firearms owner, and the government leaves them open, unlocked, with ammo strewn around."

Lawmaster said the agent advised him, "If you want your door to lock and your gun safe to lock, you're gonna' have to pay for it yourself."

"'Oh, I'll come right down, alright,' I told him. 'I'll come down, but I'll bring my attorney.' And he said, 'Well, you bring your attorney, and we won't talk to you.'"

Lawmaster has gone back to cleaning up his home....restowing his firearms and ammunition....pulling a leather holster out of his dog's water bowl....arranging cans of food back in the cupboard....righting his bed....sorting through the Christmas presents that were dumped on the floor....putting his life back in order.

When Lawmaster's attorney went to the U.S. Courthouse to obtain a copy of the affidavit supporting the search warrant so that he could determine whether there was probable cause for the issuance fo the warrant, he was told by court officials that the U.S. Attorney had asked that the affidavit be sealed. Wondering what exactly the government was trying to hide, Lawmaster's attorney, working together with the NRA's Legislative Counsel, is filing a motion asking the court to unseal the affidavit.

"You wouldn't believe the number of NRA members who have called to offer assistance. And I've asked them to call my congressman, [U.S. Rep. James M.] Inhofe. And they're telling him 'The government can't be allowed to do this to good people. This has got to be stopped.'"

IBTTBL/CBSF

I call

George Bush is president, not some commie democrat....

In before the Police Apologists

What is the source?  And, why is everyone calling BS?  We've seen stuff like this before and it's been true.  What's the skinny here?  C'mon Okies, chime in!

Quoted: FEDS TRASH LAW-ABIDING GUN OWNER'S HOME by Richard E. Gardiner "Well, it's been a rough month," begins Johnnie Lawmaster. "I just get laid off, and my divorce became final. But I just wasn't ready for what happened this particular Monday." That particular Monday was was December 16, the first day of the Bill of Rights' third century, the day when federal agents and local law enforcement officers broke into the house in Tulsa that always flew the U.S. flag. When Lawmaster drove into the driveway that bleak afternoon, one of his neighbors had some news. "'Ohmigod, John, you are in big trouble!' my neighbor tells me. 'Sixty police, federal agents and the bomb squad busted into your house, kicked down the door, cut locks off your gun safe.' I couldn't believe it. Then I walked inside. What a nightmare." It was no nightmare; it was horribly real life. Apparently acting on information the Lawmaster possessed an illegal firearm, some thirty agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) teamed up with state and Tulsa police authorities, search warrant in hand, to search for a "Colt, AR-15, .223 caliber machine gun, unknown serial number." The warrant, issued by U.S. Magistrate John Leo Wagner, also authorized agents to seize "any tools used in the alateration or modification of firearms, such as files or drills;documents, papers, books, records, and other tangible properties which identify occupants or owners of the property to be searched...." Reports vary, but according to neighbors, the joint task force operation aimed at the unemployed warehouseman from a nearby hospital involved some 60 agents and local law enforcement personnel against Lawmaster. They cordoned off the street; took station with weapons drawn in the back yard; used a battering ram to break through the front door; kicked inthe back door; broke into his gun safe; threw personal papers around the house; spilled boxes of ammunition on the floor; broke into a small, locked box that contained precious coins; stood on a table to peer through the ceiling tiles, breaking the table in the process. Then, they left. The doors were closed but not latched, much less locked. The ammo and guns were left unsecured. "My neighbor said about 20 officers hid by the back shed and a boat trailered in the back yard before they began kicking in the back door. They broke the lock on the shed and left it open. "My front and back doors were pulled shut, but they were busted through and couldn't latch. Anybody could have waltzed in there and stolen everything I own. A child could have taken a gun. The guns, the safe -- everything was open and laying around. I keep all my magazines empty, but someone had loaded them. While I was looking around in amazement, the gas, electric and water companies show up to turn the power off. They said they were told to shut things down. Then I found the note. "Nothing Found - ATF." One agent pressed the neighbor for information about Lawmaster. Agents began to break through the door of a trailer parked in Lawmaster's back yard, but the neighbor protested. "It was his trailer," Lawmaster relates. "He had a key and let them in. Then he asked my neighbor of I had an AR-15, and he said, 'Yeah.' 'Does he have an auto sear,' and my neighbor said, 'I don't know.' But my neighbor had an NRA cap on, so the agent said, 'Lapse of memory, huh?'" Lawmaster's neighbor told him the agent nodded towards the neighbor's hat -- a cap bearing the NRA insignia. "The agent said, 'You're one of *them* and you don't know what an auto sear is?" "The agent then pulled a book from the top of Lawmaster's stereo and, flipping through it, asked the neighbor about the photographs of firearms that were pictured in the book. 'Does he have this? Does he have this?' the agent keeps asking and my neighbor says 'No, no....'" "They didn't make any attempt to notify me. I've lived in Tulsa all my life and never got more than a traffic ticket. How come they can't look that up, realize I've been law-abiding my whole life, then come to the door when I'm home? They didn't leave someone here to watch over my private property. They didn't even come by to explain what happened. They just raided my home, ransaked it, left it wide open and left." Lawmaster placed a phone call to the local BATF agent. "I asked, 'Are you gonna' arrest me?' and he said, 'No.' I asken him, "Who is going to repair and clean up my house?' And he said, "If you're going to talk to me, come down to my office.' "'I can't come down!' I said. 'My doors are broken!' If I had been on vacation and I didn't have friendly neighbors, I would have lost everything I own. Here I am a competent, responsible firearms owner, and the government leaves them open, unlocked, with ammo strewn around." Lawmaster said the agent advised him, "If you want your door to lock and your gun safe to lock, you're gonna' have to pay for it yourself." "'Oh, I'll come right down, alright,' I told him. 'I'll come down, but I'll bring my attorney.' And he said, 'Well, you bring your attorney, and we won't talk to you.'" Lawmaster has gone back to cleaning up his home....restowing his firearms and ammunition....pulling a leather holster out of his dog's water bowl....arranging cans of food back in the cupboard....righting his bed....sorting through the Christmas presents that were dumped on the floor....putting his life back in order. When Lawmaster's attorney went to the U.S. Courthouse to obtain a copy of the affidavit supporting the search warrant so that he could determine whether there was probable cause for the issuance fo the warrant, he was told by court officials that the U.S. Attorney had asked that the affidavit be sealed. Wondering what exactly the government was trying to hide, Lawmaster's attorney, working together with the NRA's Legislative Counsel, is filing a motion asking the court to unseal the affidavit. "You wouldn't believe the number of NRA members who have called to offer assistance. And I've asked them to call my congressman, [U.S. Rep. James M.] Inhofe. And they're telling him 'The government can't be allowed to do this to good people. This has got to be stopped.'"

fuck them. they are a bunch of low life cock suckers.

I AM ONE OF "THEM"

Quoted:

Old story, but apparently a true one.

Quoted: I call George Bush is president, not some commie democrat....

I call on YOU


This happened in 1991 - ATF Wrecks Tulsa Home   WAY BEFORE GWB was in office.

On December 16, 1991, a joint task force of some sixty ATF agents and local law enforcement personnel, accompanied by two television crews, broke into the Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of John Lawmaster. Acting on a tip that Lawmaster had illegally converted a semi-automatic to full automatic, the ATF worked with Lawmaster's ex-wife to lure Lawmaster away from his home before the raid. With Lawmaster absent, ATF knocked down his front door with a battering ram. While some agents stood guard with weapons drawn, other agents broke open his gun safe, scattered his personal papers, spilled boxes of ammunition onto the floor, and broke into a small, locked box that contained precious coins. To look through some ceiling tiles, one agent stood on a table, breaking the table in the process. Neighbors who asked what ATF was doing were threatened with arrest. The ATF left doors, tables, and safes broken and guns and ammunition unsecured on the floor, and a note: "Nothing found -- ATF." No charges were filed. The affadavit supporting the search warrant was sealed by the US Attorney's office. When Lawmaster returned, utility company representatives arrived, and told him that they had been told to shut off all his utilities.

his name is "Lawmaster" too.




seriously though, this is messed up.  LAWSUIT TIME!

I'm gonna go run and bury all my guns now, since the scary ATF is now randomly doing warrantless searches with no probable cause...

What a load of BS

Link?

After having something similar happen to a friend right here in San Antonio, I'll be the last to raise the BS flag.

Welcome to 1991

Isn't this an old story from many years ago?

where is tc556 at? He would assure us that 'REAL' street cops wouldn't ever do something like this...

What ever....

Hmm.. methinks I just found my Ethics project.....

And George Bush WAS president, but it was Daddy Bush.

IIRC this is old news & happened years ago.  1991-ish

<eta>  Damn, too slow.

Hey what did they do two years later?

Quoted: Quoted: I call George Bush is president, not some commie democrat.... I call on YOU This happened in 1991 - ATF Wrecks Tulsa Home   WAY BEFORE GWB was in office. On December 16, 1991,

And you are only half right. In 91 it was GHWB.

I think that this was in the The American Rifleman magazine, can't remember what issue though.

It seems to be too f**ked up to be true, but .....

Edit, found it, from March 1992 issue.

Ok, old story.  Still makes me mad, though.

Link


ATF Abuse

Everything old is new again and/or slow news week so we gots to go back to 1991...

With every passing sentence my blood pressure went up.

Quoted: Everything old is new again and/or slow news week so we gots to go back to 1991...

- The Michael new thread this morning should have been an indicator

Benn arround the block again! That was a long time ago. Does anybody have "the rest of the story"?

"Well, it's been a rough month," begins Johnnie Lawmaster. "I just get laid off, and my divorce became final.


Just a little final adios from his ex-wife.

Quoted: Quoted: Old story, but apparently a true one.

yes late 80s  1991  i believe  NRA had artiles about this guy for quite awhile
Never heard if was able to get anything sorted out

I laugh at all the BS flags going up as I remember this story quite well. As I remember, it was also in the American Rifleman. I do remember it happening when Bush Sr was prez and it left a bad taste in gunowners mouths, especially after he screwed us in 89.

Most guys were probably calling BS because the lack of a date on the article.  When I first read it, it came across as somethign that happened today.  However Lawmaster's name started to ring a bell and then I recalled the actual date of the event.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I call George Bush is president, not some commie democrat.... I call on YOU This happened in 1991 - ATF Wrecks Tulsa Home   WAY BEFORE GWB was in office. On December 16, 1991, And you are only half right. In 91 it was GHWB.

HAHAHA! You, sir, have been pwned.

"A republican would NEVER infringe your gunrights!"

/snicker

I sure made A Lot of $$$$$$$ After what the Old Gipper signed back in May '86.
Fortunately, I made the NFA plunge back when it was "affordable."

Quoted: Quoted: Old story, but apparently a true one.

March 1992, by Richard E. Gardiner

HA!

you guys are easy, I was just stiring the pot.....

Does anybody know what the final outcome of this was

I'm not sure, I looked for a wile and found nothing

Participants should be burned to death in front of their children, after a trial with full attention to the niceties of the CoC and due process.

Quoted: where is tc556 at? He would assure us that 'REAL' street cops wouldn't ever do something like this... What ever.... Hmm.. methinks I just found my Ethics project..... And George Bush WAS president, but it was Daddy Bush.

Don't fret....     the Token Arfcom Contrarian should be along shortly.

Quoted: Participants should be burned to death in front of their children, after a trial with full attention to the niceties of the CoC and due process.

+1

Quoted: I'm gonna go run and bury all my guns now, since the scary ATF is now randomly doing warrantless searches with no probable cause... What a load of BS

You must have missed  this part:

"some thirty agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) teamed up with state and Tulsa police authorities, search warrant in hand, to search for a "Colt, AR-15, .223 caliber machine gun, unknown serial number."

Quoted: "where is tc556 at? He would assure us that 'REAL' street cops wouldn't ever do something like this..."

I am right here.

Why is a 15 year old case being brought up?

That this happened long in the past - 1991 - and there were no  "Live, Geraldo" news feeds from destroyed  offices and homes of participants proves the validity what some on this board contend:  when "they" come to take your guns, or run you to "butt - bongo house", you will roll over and say "OK".

Quoted:

Uh-oh!

Looks like you, yourself, are full of shiite, calling 'BS' on history.

What true supporter of the RKBA didn't already know this story about Lawmaster?

Some of you guys are idiots!

You claim to be 'patriots' and you don't even know American History!

Sheesh!

Save America from such 'summer soldiers and sunshine patriots'!

Know where that's from?

Eric The(IThoughtNot!)Hun

Quite.
Old story, but we need to be reminded of it from time to time.
When a Dem gets into office, where do you think the focus of the war on terror will swing?

Quoted: Quoted: Uh-oh! Looks like you, yourself, are full of shiite, calling 'BS' on history. What true supporter of the RKBA didn't already know this story about Lawmaster? Some of you guys are idiots! You claim to be 'patriots' and you don't even know American History! Sheesh! Save America from such 'summer soldiers and sunshine patriots'! Know where that's from? Eric The(IThoughtNot!)Hun

Even if it were, there is enough of this with the "wrong" and  "mistake" searches referenced on the board to extrapolate such an occurrence.  Compound that with the increasing arrogance of people in agencies.

It just takes "Common Sense."   (sorry, couldn't resist)

I thought they had to secure an area after they searched it.  I had to let the police into my parents house once.  I told them to break a window if they needed access.  They told me they couldn't since it would leave the house un-secured.

Quoted: I thought they had to secure an area after they searched it.  I had to let the police into my parents house once.  I told them to break a window if they needed access.  They told me they couldn't since it would leave the house un-secured.

Yes, which makes the story as related somewhat improbable and most likely embellished.

Quoted: Quoted: I thought they had to secure an area after they searched it.  I had to let the police into my parents house once.  I told them to break a window if they needed access.  They told me they couldn't since it would leave the house un-secured. Yes, which makes the story as related somewhat improbable and most likely embellished.

We need to be reminded from time to time that the ATF is STILL in its fine form

Quoted: Participants should be burned to death in front of their children, after a trial with full attention to the niceties of the CoC and due process.

Burn the children too, because if personality is in part genetic (in adition to environment, but thats not the point) we can't let people who think as that be allowed in soceity.

What stood out for me was the word "EX-WIFE".  That's the lesson here, IMO.

Quoted: "Well, it's been a rough month," begins Johnnie Lawmaster. "I just get laid off, and my divorce became final. Just a little final adios from his ex-wife.

Sounds like it.

An anonymous tip about a possible machine gun is pretty thin to get a warrant with.