For more than a year the Department of Justice (DOJ), with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other federal and state agencies, has been operating an entrapment scheme to snare websites selling Chinese-made Glock switches.
Last week the DOJ celebrated their results. The year-long effort resulted in their “seizing” of
355 websites selling the offending switches,
700 switches,
87 silencers (suppressors),
59 handguns, and
36 long guns.
That’s it. That’s the victory celebrated by the federal government in its continuing quest to remove firearms and their related accessories from the American people.
“Deadly” Switches
After all, say the authorities, these switches are “deadly.” They can be used by criminals in committing gun violence, according to U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona:
The violence that we are seeing in our communities is flagrant and unacceptable. Machinegun conversion devices have no place in our community. Though small in size, a switch is deadly, and a lot of innocent people can be injured with one pull of the trigger.
People should feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods, and public spaces. That is why we will use every tool in our toolbox to aggressively prosecute those who possess such deadly devices. [Emphasis added.]
Notice please the focus on the switches. Authorities never mention the criminals who might be using some of them to turn their (likely stolen) firearms into machine guns.
Marcus Watson, special agent in charge of the ATF in Alabama, reiterated the misdirection away from criminals and their illegal use of firearms (modified or not) and toward the inanimate firearm and its accessories:
The proliferation of machine gun conversion devices adds another, even more deadly, layer to the firearms violence in our community. These devices, in the wrong hands, can have catastrophic consequences. They easily convert handguns into fully automatic weapons that can fire a remarkable number of shots in a split second.
They are an acute danger to our communities, illegal under federal law and a critical priority in our efforts to combat violent crime. Keeping these illegal firearms off the streets of Alabama and the citizens free from the fear of their usage is one of our highest priorities.
ATF will continue to aggressively work with our partners to take these devices off the streets. [Emphasis added.]
This is the “aggressive work” done by the ATF and their “partners” to ensnare and then emasculate the offending websites:
In August 2023, federal authorities began targeting multiple websites, businesses and individuals selling, offering for sale, importing and exporting machinegun conversion devices in violation of federal law.
It is alleged that law enforcement engaged in undercover purchases from the website domains promoting the sale of [National Firearms Act]-prohibited items — confirming that the domains were being used to sell illegal switches and silencers.
The federal government declared the switches to be “contraband”:
The contraband items were then allegedly shipped from China to government-controlled mailboxes in the United States with false descriptions of their contents — such as “necklace” and “toys” — in an effort to conceal the alleged illegal importation.
The victory celebration was led by Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy:
Our office remains committed to protecting our communities from the dangers posed by illegal firearms and firearm accessories, wherever the evidence takes us.
The seizure of these domains is a critical step in disrupting the flow of dangerous contraband that threatens public safety. Those who attempt to exploit online platforms to traffic in highly lethal firearm parts will be held accountable. [Emphasis added.]
We will continue to pursue and dismantle these illicit networks wherever they operate to uphold the integrity of our laws and safeguard our communities.
Bang for the Buck?
After a year of operating the entrapment scheme, this is all they could come up with? After spending hundreds of man-hours and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars? Wrote NRA instructor and website blogger at Ammoland John Crump:
Although the investigation took over a year and millions of dollars, the result might be temporary. Websites like the ones that the government shut down pop up one day and are gone the next.
The sites will be back online under a new domain name soon if they aren’t already. This situation is a cat-and-mouse game. In this case, the cat is the federal government, and the mouse doesn’t care.
And neither do the criminals who are actually committing the crimes with these “deadly” and “dangerous” items that are now officially declared by the powers-that-be to be “contraband.”
