October 8th, 2024
A jury in Alaska recently acquitted a man the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) accused of operating a gun store without possessing a federal firearms license (FFL).
Aaron Horwat has owned Gator Guns Inc. in Kenai, Alaska, since 1982. One day, an ATF industry operations inspector (IOI) was carrying out a regular compliance inspection of the store. What looked like a routine inspection soon escalated when the ATF functionary discovered 321 missing firearms.
Horwat asserted that the firearms were not missing. He argued that he made several paperwork errors in documenting these firearms. The ATF did not agree with Horwat’s contention. The ATF stripped Horwat of his FFL in 2019, thereby closing the store after operating for nearly 40 years without issue.
The rest of the firearms in the store would subsequently be transferred to Horwat’s personal firearms collection, according to John Crump of AmmoLand News. He would then sell the guns via private sales. A concerned citizen would later report Horwat to the ATF and inform them that the firearms store was still open and selling firearms to the public without conducting background checks.
Curiously, Alaska law stipulates that private gun sales do not obligate the seller to subject the buyer to a background check. But the overzealous ATF was hell-bent on making an example out of Horwat. In December 2022, the ATF deployed several undercover agents to buy firearms from Horwat. ATF agents made three purchases during this undercover operation. In the summer of 2023, the ATF arrested Horwat and slapped him with charges of selling guns without a license. The ATF argued that Horwat unlawfully sold hundreds of firearms.
Horwat opted to fight the case as opposed to taking a plea deal. His legal counsel, Steve Wells, asserted that these firearms were currently in Horwat’s private collection, and he had the right to sell the firearms. The ATF argued that he was still operating a business that sold firearms. Wells noted that the government couldn’t demonstrate that Horwat was purchasing guns with the aim of reselling them. He was only selling the firearms that he privately owned.
“I think a number of the jurors just looked at this and said, ‘You know, it looks to be his inventory,’” Wells stated. “As a private citizen, you can sell. And there’s no indication that he was buying and then turning around and selling after he lost his license.”
The trial took one day. The jury sided with the defense, ruling that the prosecution could not demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Horwat was selling firearms without a license. Despite Horwat previously possessing an FFL, the jury remained unconvinced of the argument that Horwat was still operating a firearms business. The jury ultimately ruled that Horwat was a private citizen selling his gun collection.
The fact that Horwat once possessed an FFL did not convince the jury that he was still in the business of selling guns. The jury believed Horwat was a private citizen selling his firearms collection. After raiding Horwat’s former business, the ATF confiscated 189 firearms. In light of this ruling, the ATF must return those guns to Horwat. That said, the firearms bought during the undercover operations do not have to be returned to Horwat.
The ATF is a petty institution that does not belong in any polity that styles itself as a constitutional republic. It’s a bureaucratic abomination that serves the agenda of Gun Control Inc. In fact, when there’s gridlock in Congress and gun control legislation can’t be passed, the ATF starts showing its tyrannical fangs.
Horwat’s case is one of pure intimidation, which is in line with the ATF’s despotic ethos. Good on justice being served here. Nevertheless, this is another reason why the ATF must be defunded and ultimately abolished. The longer this institution is allowed to exist, the more likely it will continue to infringe on gun rights with virtual impunity.
