Washington, D.C. – Last week, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) joined the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Palmetto State Armory, B&T USA, and the States of West Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Utah in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in defense of former Iowa Police Chief Bradley Wendt. Chief Wendt, who previously ran the Adair Police Department, was targeted by the Biden-Harris DOJ for acquiring machine guns for his police department, which is expressly permitted under federal law.

Although federal law clearly allows local governments to acquire, possess, and use machineguns within their complete discretion, the ATF and DOJ have recently begun a malicious prosecution scheme aimed to crack down on the ability of local government officials to acquire machineguns. Tellingly, DOJ’s prosecutions have been brought against small town police chiefs and rural sheriffs – generally the very same officials who stand up for their constituents against the efforts of radical gun grabbers.

In July, Chief Wendt was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for making false statements and fraud in connection with acquiring machine guns for his department, and his case is now on appeal to the Eighth Circuit.

In our brief, the coalition argues that federal law expressly prohibits the federal government from interfering in a local police department’s authority to acquire, possess, and issue machine guns to officers. Additionally, our brief argues that the alleged false statements made by Chief Wendt could not be considered by ATF under their own regulation, meaning they were not material and should never have been presented to the jury.

Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:

“The Biden-Harris Administration has been weaponizing the DOJ against anyone and everyone who opposes its policy agenda. Make no mistake, under a President Harris, this sort of malicious prosecution will continue, and it's imperative that we dissuade the DOJ and make clear Americans will fight back at the polls and in the courts.”

Sam Paredes, on behalf of the board for GOF, added:

“We're proud to be working with our coalition partners in opposition to ATF’s targeting of state and local officials. It is clear that the current administration wants to disarm not only ‘the people’ but also elected officials and local governments who stand in their way. We are hopeful that Chief Wendt will succeed in his appeal.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

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