TUSKAHOMA, OK – According to reports, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raided a gun dealer’s home and walked away with 50 legally-owned firearms as well as the owner’s Federal Firearms License (FFL).
The homeowner, Russell Fincher, told The Epoch Times that after the raid, the ATF agents said to him, “Tell all your FFL friends we’re coming for them next.”
Like many others who live in the area, Fincher said that part of his enjoyment of the outdoors involves firearms. Fincher takes part in traditional activities like hunting and target shooting, and he also enjoys spending time with other firearm enthusiasts.
Fincher and his brother have gone to several gun shows in and around the state of Oklahoma. Gun shows often have private transactions, which have always been legal regardless of what state they occur in.
As long as the person selling the gun and the person buying the gun are allowed to legally own a gun, then the sale or trade of the legal firearms is allowed under the law. According to Fincher, years ago he legally traded a gun during a gun show and that transaction has now come back to haunt him.
Fincher identifies himself as a Southern Baptist pastor, high school history teacher, youth sports coach, and small business owner who has always strived to be responsible. He said that he is scrupulous when it comes to complying with the law.
“I don’t think I’ve had a speeding ticket in the past 20 or 25 years,” he said.
However, due to his regular attendance at gun shows, Fincher said that the ATF reached out and advised him to obtain an FFL based on how much he traded at the shows. Taking that advice, in 2020, he became a licensed firearms dealer, believing that it would help him avoid any type of trouble.
Obtaining an FFL meant that he had to follow certain storage requirements and had additional administrative responsibilities. It also came with some benefits, like helping friends and neighbors with their legal firearm purchases.
As an FFL holder, he was able to obtain some discounts and special pricing in addition to arranging for the shipment of his own gun purchases. According to Fincher, he has never sold a gun out of his home.
His most common transactions were through online sales and arranging the transfer of firearms for people within his community. He said, “The only way I was really going to find an audience was through [online sales].”
Fincher had a small store where he sold ammunition and be briefly considered moving his gun business into the store, but said that it would have required building renovations and more paperwork to transfer the FFL to the store’s business.
Since he had no desire to become a full-time dealer, he decided to keep the firearm business in his home. “I was never a big dealer," he said. "Some dealers have hundreds of guns on their books, but I never had more than 90. I was small potatoes. There were a lot of shows when I made no money. You just did it because you liked the experience.”
He was an excellent book keeper and knew the importance of keeping accurate records. He followed the ATF rules and said that he never had any concern over his ATF paperwork. So, when he was contacted for a regular inspection in April 2023, he said yes without hesitation.
He said that the two ATF agents were professional and polite. They looked over his gun safes and inspected his records. They made a few notes and left. Not long after, he received a letter that found fault with some entries, some were difficult to decipher, and a serial number for one pistol had not been recorded correctly.
This inspection was performed under the ATF’s “zero tolerance policy,” which according to Second Amendment proponents, is part of the Biden administration’s campaign to end legal firearms trade in the country.
A few days before the armed ATF agents showed up at Fincher’s home, a man was in his ammunition store acting “weird.” According to Fincher, the man was not the usual rancher, outdoorsman, or hunter that normally shopped at his store.
He also had a prominent neck tattoo and appeared nervous. Fincher added, “He said, ‘Man, I’m walking around naked out there.’ At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant.”
Then, the man asked if Fincher would sell him a gun. “I told him, I don’t sell guns from that store.”
The man with the neck tattoo pressed Fincher until he finally agreed to sell him a gun, but he told the man again that he does not run the gun business from that store. At that point, the man told Fincher that he was a felon and after that, Fincher changed his mind about selling him the gun.
“I told him I would not sell him a gun because that’s illegal," Fincher said. "I can’t sell guns to a convicted felon.”
Oklahoma state Rep. J.J. Humphrey is infuriated over what happened to Fincher. He is demanding an investigation. He said that there is a legal term for what the ATF did to get Fincher to give up his FFL. “It’s called extortion," the politician said. "The mob does it, criminals do it, and when you have a badge, that makes it worse.”
The homeowner, Russell Fincher, told The Epoch Times that after the raid, the ATF agents said to him, “Tell all your FFL friends we’re coming for them next.”
Like many others who live in the area, Fincher said that part of his enjoyment of the outdoors involves firearms. Fincher takes part in traditional activities like hunting and target shooting, and he also enjoys spending time with other firearm enthusiasts.
Fincher and his brother have gone to several gun shows in and around the state of Oklahoma. Gun shows often have private transactions, which have always been legal regardless of what state they occur in.
As long as the person selling the gun and the person buying the gun are allowed to legally own a gun, then the sale or trade of the legal firearms is allowed under the law. According to Fincher, years ago he legally traded a gun during a gun show and that transaction has now come back to haunt him.
Fincher identifies himself as a Southern Baptist pastor, high school history teacher, youth sports coach, and small business owner who has always strived to be responsible. He said that he is scrupulous when it comes to complying with the law.
“I don’t think I’ve had a speeding ticket in the past 20 or 25 years,” he said.
However, due to his regular attendance at gun shows, Fincher said that the ATF reached out and advised him to obtain an FFL based on how much he traded at the shows. Taking that advice, in 2020, he became a licensed firearms dealer, believing that it would help him avoid any type of trouble.
Obtaining an FFL meant that he had to follow certain storage requirements and had additional administrative responsibilities. It also came with some benefits, like helping friends and neighbors with their legal firearm purchases.
As an FFL holder, he was able to obtain some discounts and special pricing in addition to arranging for the shipment of his own gun purchases. According to Fincher, he has never sold a gun out of his home.
His most common transactions were through online sales and arranging the transfer of firearms for people within his community. He said, “The only way I was really going to find an audience was through [online sales].”
Fincher had a small store where he sold ammunition and be briefly considered moving his gun business into the store, but said that it would have required building renovations and more paperwork to transfer the FFL to the store’s business.
Since he had no desire to become a full-time dealer, he decided to keep the firearm business in his home. “I was never a big dealer," he said. "Some dealers have hundreds of guns on their books, but I never had more than 90. I was small potatoes. There were a lot of shows when I made no money. You just did it because you liked the experience.”
He was an excellent book keeper and knew the importance of keeping accurate records. He followed the ATF rules and said that he never had any concern over his ATF paperwork. So, when he was contacted for a regular inspection in April 2023, he said yes without hesitation.
He said that the two ATF agents were professional and polite. They looked over his gun safes and inspected his records. They made a few notes and left. Not long after, he received a letter that found fault with some entries, some were difficult to decipher, and a serial number for one pistol had not been recorded correctly.
This inspection was performed under the ATF’s “zero tolerance policy,” which according to Second Amendment proponents, is part of the Biden administration’s campaign to end legal firearms trade in the country.
A few days before the armed ATF agents showed up at Fincher’s home, a man was in his ammunition store acting “weird.” According to Fincher, the man was not the usual rancher, outdoorsman, or hunter that normally shopped at his store.
He also had a prominent neck tattoo and appeared nervous. Fincher added, “He said, ‘Man, I’m walking around naked out there.’ At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant.”
Then, the man asked if Fincher would sell him a gun. “I told him, I don’t sell guns from that store.”
The man with the neck tattoo pressed Fincher until he finally agreed to sell him a gun, but he told the man again that he does not run the gun business from that store. At that point, the man told Fincher that he was a felon and after that, Fincher changed his mind about selling him the gun.
“I told him I would not sell him a gun because that’s illegal," Fincher said. "I can’t sell guns to a convicted felon.”
Oklahoma state Rep. J.J. Humphrey is infuriated over what happened to Fincher. He is demanding an investigation. He said that there is a legal term for what the ATF did to get Fincher to give up his FFL. “It’s called extortion," the politician said. "The mob does it, criminals do it, and when you have a badge, that makes it worse.”
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