ATF and IRS agents raided a gun store in Montana, seizing background check records for those who bought guns as a result. according to U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale, the IRS asserted that 4473 forms accounted for the records of background checks. No financial data was obtained.
Highwood Creek Outfitters owner Tom Van Hoose reported that highly armed agents came to his shop on Wednesday morning shortly before he was about to open. He arrived at 7:30 am to find 20 agents pulling up behind him, which worried him.
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Federal law enforcement agents have been looking into a Van Hoose-owned company for the previous two years. Van Hoose hasn’t been told the reasons for the probe, despite it being ongoing. His only knowledge is that his company was “reported,” and he hasn’t been able to learn anything further.
“The fact that they think we make so much money as a gun business that they had to come investigate all the thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars whatever it is we supposedly absconded with, anybody that knows the margins in the gun business knows they’re not that high,” Van Hoose said.
Van Hoose continued by stating that he thinks his company is being targeted for political reasons. “I can only assume that it’s because of the style of weapons that we have and the press that’s so against them,” he remarked. “The current administration appears to be steadfastly committed to removing those firearms from the hands of regular Americans.”
Rep. Rosendale visited the store on Friday and disclosed that the IRS had seized customer records. In a tweet on Friday, Rosendale stated that “Tom informed me that these agents confiscated all the 4473 forms, none of which contain any financial information; instead, the IRS now has access to these forms with sensitive personal information of every customer who bought a firearm from Highwood Creek Outfitters.”
In a letter to the heads of the Internal Revenue Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Rosendale sought explanations. “These background check forms contain no financial information, and there is no discernable reason why the IRS would need these forms,” Rosendale wrote.
“The IRS committed an egregious breach of privacy for Montana’s gun owners and I am outraged that the agents involved showed no regard for federal law. Although there are still some murky details regarding the events at Highwood Creek Outfitters, there is still no circumstance in which 4473’s would be necessary in an investigation spearheaded by the IRS.”
The letter urgently asks the agencies to immediately stop their intimidation raids in the pattern of the Soviet Union.
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He offered a set of additional questions in addition to his initial inquiry concerning the raid, and he has asked the relevant agencies to respond by June 23.
An official IRS Criminal Investigation spokesman told the Billings Gazette of the recent raid and stated that it was carried out for official business objectives. The ATF declined to comment when pressed for more information and instead suggested contacting the IRS.
