MORE ATF FOLLIES

According to Lao Tsu “Do not interfere when one's adversary is making self-destructive mistakes.”

Unfortunately we cannot agree with Lao Tsu in this case.

We wrote a while back about the Bryan Malinowski killing in Little Rock. The ATF’s poorly trained and controlled “Operators” managed to shoot and kill Bryan Malinowski in a raid whose tactics were totally unnecessary, whose execution was in violation of ATF’s rules (conveniently the ATF operators weren’t wearing body cams, so there’s no record of what really happened).

Many who are on the government’s side will poo-poo the Malinowski incident, justifying the shooting because Bryan shot first. Of course it was 6:03 am when the ATF broke in, no one except ATF can testify that the ATF identified themselves or that they had a search warrant, and according to ATF they had a locator on Malinowski’s car and could have taken him into custody in a traffic stop. All these things were mentioned in the previous article.

What wasn’t mentioned is the poor training ATF provides to their entry teams – we won’t call them operators going forward because their training and qualifications would insult real operators if they shared a title – and the lack of body cams even though they are required by ATF regulation. The Malinowski raid was a clusterfark, and ATF should be taken to task over it.

Then you come to more ATF incompetence, although this example of their professionalism also involves local police. This ATF blunder involves another Bryan – does the ATF have something against people named Bryan? – though this one was Bryan Wilson and occurred in Columbia South Carolina.

Bryan was arrested by the ATF at his workplace but they never showed him a badge or credentials. He was handcuffed and searched, as was his car. Nothing of interest to the feds was found. At the courthouse he was searched again, all his personal property was seized, and he was put in a cell.

Bryan Wilson was charged with five counts of possession with intent to distribute and three counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Wilson was indicted, and at the hearing an ATF agent falsely testified that Wilson had been under surveillance for 13 months. The agent also listed dates when Wilson allegedly sold drugs to undercover ATF agents. The claim was made that ATF had Wilson on tape committing the crimes he was accused of committing. ATF also claimed that other co-defendants were arrested as well.

Wilson pleaded not guilty.

From November 2022 to March 2023 two West Columbia Police Officers were assigned to the ATF task force, supposedly working under ATF supervision. These two police officers conducted a number of gun and drug purchases from someone they identified as Mr. Wilson. Their reports listed Wilson’s home address, their description of Mr. Wilson fit Bryan Wilson – and a lot of other West Columbia residents – although they had no pictures of Wilson in their file.

The reports listed many undercover purchases of crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and many firearms from someone they identified as Wilson.

Eight days before Wilson’s arrest, a federal grand jury issued an eight count indictment, alleging Wilson had committed the following federal crimes:

• Count One: Possessing and distributing crack cocaine on November 10, 2022, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).

• Count Two: Possessing and distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine (i.e., “meth”) and crack cocaine on November 18, 2022, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) and (b)(1)(C).

• Count Three: Possessing and distributing crack cocaine on December 8, 2022, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).

• Count Four: Using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on December 8, 2022, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).

• Count Five: Possessing and distributing five grams or more of meth and crack cocaine on January 17, 2023, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) and (b)(1)(C).

• Count Six: Using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on January 17, 2023, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).

• Count Seven: Possessing and distributing five grams or more of meth on March 13, 2023, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B).

• Count Eight: Using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on March 13, 2023, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).

There was just one problem: Bryan Wilson never sold guns or drugs to ATF agents, their informants, or anyone else. ATF arrested the wrong man. Wilson’s federal public defender investigated the case, and “somehow” ATF realized they got the wrong man.

Prosecutors dismissed the case, but never explained how the mistake had been made.

However, the allegations Wilson’s attorney included in his civil suit are eerily similar to the allegations ATF made about Bryan Malinowski, the 53-year-old Arkansas airport executive whom ATF agents shot and killed in his home on March 19th, 2024.

The ATF also claimed they had made several undercover firearm purchases from Malinowski. ATF alleged they had a tracker on Malinowski’s car. They said they surveilled Malinowski for months, too. Malinowski will never be able to refute these allegations or file a civil suit.

Civil rights violations by the ATF have skyrocketed since the Biden-Harris administration weaponized the agency as part of its war on law-abiding gun owners. Add the increased activity by ATF’s entry teams and the criminally short training they receive – a total of 2 weeks when other agencies’ training courses last 6 months or longer – and one has to wonder if ATF is sending trained law enforcement officers at all.

In the article titled “ATF’S POORLY TRAINED OPERATORS ARE A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY” by Lee Williams, he says:

ATF claims SRT’s two-week training course is an “intensive program,” during which SRT candidates “learn specialized skills such as marksmanship, manipulation of numerous weapon systems, individual and team tactical movement, tactical medicine, chemical agent deployment, use of less-lethal weapon systems, armored vehicle operations, surveillance, helicopter operations and operational planning. SRTs also participate in rigorous activities such as defensive tactics, breaching, rappelling, fast-roping, rural patrolling and operations.”

There’s no way anyone could develop adequate tactical skills in all these areas in two weeks. Without actually monitoring the ATF school we can’t say it is not effective, but personal experience tells us their claim of training to tactical proficiency in all these areas in two weeks is a lie.

And if their training claims are bogus, what else are they lying about? They accept evidence from local police without looking at it to determine if it’s provable, they claim they have been surveilling someone for months, and yet it all falls apart in the case of Bryan Wilson because the police accused the wrong man.

We wonder how the two police officers managed to accuse the wrong person, having surveilled him for months – surveillance usually involves photos of the person under surveillance – as well as buying guns and drugs from a person face-to-face over the course of months. Did they surveil Bryan’s home? It simply seems there was no way this error could have been made accidentally. There were at least eight times when the police were face-to-face with “Bryan.” They obviously weren’t very observant.

We hate to be the one to tell ATF their business, but a lineup would have proven or disproved who had been selling dope and guns. Small step, but important, as ATF found out.

We classify ATF’s entry teams as poorly trained, badly led, cowboys. They’re in it for the thrills, professionalism be damned.

The ATF should be disbanded. Any actually vital services they provide can be provided by another agency. Their lack of professionalism, training, adherence to law, and simple common sense as well as our concern for the safety of citizens they interface with demands it.

We the people deserve better, and Bryan Malinowski and Bryan Wilson certainly do.