https://townhall.com/tipsheet/...do-gun-shop-n2624634



Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) is demanding answers after he says a group of armed IRS agents raided and temporarily closed a Montana gun shop in Great Falls Wednesday.

"This event is another example of President Biden weaponizing federal agencies to target and harass hardworking Americans for exercising their constitutional rights," Rosendale said in a letter to leaders of the Internal Revenue Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Twenty heavily armed federal agents pulled in behind Highwood Creek Outfitters' owner Tom Van Hoose as he arrived at his shop Wednesday morning, KRTV reported.

IRS agents confiscated background check forms from the store that contained sensitive personal information about all customers who ever purchased a gun at the shop. The forms do not include financial information, Rosendale said, calling the act an "egregious breach of privacy" that "showed no regard for federal law."

"There is no circumstance in which 4473s would be necessary in an investigation spearheaded by the IRS," Rosendale said in a letter addressed to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.

https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-...un-purchase-records/

They took dozens of boxes full of 4473s — more than a decade’s worth

The ATF form 4473 has a gun purchaser’s name, address, birthdate, state/city of birth, gender, social security number, and the serial number of any guns purchased in the store

I read this yesterday. Need a lot more information before I can draw any conclusions.

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
I read this yesterday. Need a lot more information before I can draw any conclusions.

I'm pretty sure that all we're going to hear about this from the IRS and FBI is "we can't comment on ongoing investigations". A RedState article is linked on the Bongino Report website. Seems as though the governor of Montana has weighed in on the story.

Here is a report from the locals. The store owner even admits that the feds, and even his state, have been watching him for a couple of years, now. Got to be some real shit going on.

Great Falls gun shop re-opens after a visit from federal agents
By: Tim McGonigal
last updated 9:38 PM, Jun 17, 2023

GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls gun shop owner says he was targeted by federal agents Wednesday. In fact, he claims that he's been in the crosshairs of the government for a couple of years now.

“At 7:30, I came in and they pulled in behind me with 20 heavily armed agents,” said Tom Van Hoose, the owner of Highwood Creek Outfitters.

Van Hoose says for two years his Highwood Creek Outfitters gun shop has been the subject of surveillance by state and federal agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the State of Montana and now the Internal Revenue Service.

“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,” said Van Hoose.

Van Hoose says all he was told is that his business had been reported. He doesn’t know by whom, or the reason. He thinks it’s part of a nationwide pattern and feels it’s political.

“I can only assume that it’s because of the style of weapons that we have and the press that’s so against them,” said Van Hoose. “The current administration seems to be hell bent on getting those guns out of the hands of average Americans.”

Van Hoose says the agents were cordial and professional, but still felt invaded and now has lost nearly a whole day's revenue.

“I got 30 minutes of operating time in and made one $16 sale,” said Van Hoose.

Van Hoose says his shop has a good relationship with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fiearms, which was also present. He says because his shop carries “fun guns” like AR-15's and AK-47s their level of licensing draws more scrutiny.

“We have a reputation of dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's because there's so much legal fun to be had,” said Van Hoose. “It's just not worth doing things that are going to get you in trouble.”

Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter says there is no law stating that the sheriff must be notified prior to any such investigation by federal agents.

The Great Falls Police Department was notified of the investigation and provided security.

The Montana Department of Justice said that it had no involvement in this incident.

An IRS spokesperson confirmed to MTN News that the agency was at Highwood Creek Outfitters on official business, but declined to provide any details.

According to a news release from U.S. Representative Matt Rosenadale (R-MT), the IRS confiscated all the 4473 forms from the store. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms website, generally, the forms must be completed at licensed business premises when a firearm is transferred over the counter.

Click here to read the letter Rosendale sent to the IRS and ATF.

There's more going on than just the initial reports...which we all know are usually short on facts and filled with buzzwords.

This is Montana, Highwood Creek Outfitters is not the only shop in that county and state selling AR-15's, AK's and various other 'scary guns'.

If customers of the store are the subject of of an IRS CI tax investigation, why go in heavy? You'd think they would want the records on the sly to keep from alerting the subjects. If the owners of the store are subjects, do you need larping commandos to get their business records? The ATF pretty much shuts dealers down sua sponte for clerical errors in paperwork right now.

One of the projects IRS CI have been working are non-filers or those who understate AGI who are spending regular money purchasing guns. Safe streets task force units are pushing to prosecute those cases under the theory that those taxpayers are unlicensed dealers selling guns for profit to prohibited persons.

Keep in mind the commies keep coming for Adventure Outdoors in Marietta, GA.

I shop there every chance I get.

Why does a bean counter need a machine gun and grenades to go see some ledgers?

Saw this yesterday as well.

quote:

Need a lot more information before I can draw any conclusions.

If the following is true, then we can easily conclude that somebody has a hard on for this guy, and it probably has nothing to do with him being a bad guy:

quote:

Van Hoose says for two years his Highwood Creek Outfitters gun shop has been the subject of surveillance by state and federal agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the State of Montana and now the Internal Revenue Service.

Even OSHA is in on the action? Where's FEMA and the FDA on this?

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
There's more going on than just the initial reports...which we all know are usually short on facts and filled with buzzwords.

I believe you're absolutely correct. However with this and similar cases of questionable government behavior I'm far less inclined to give the feds the benefit of the doubt.

Well, I do know a bit more now then I did before, thanks to the forum members. I hope that we will be able to keep up with this happening as it unfolds.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
Even OSHA is in on the action? Where's FEMA and the FDA on this?

In the commission of abuse of authority, the more the merrier.

I sure hope these IRS Agents have a federal warrant issued but a member of the Judicial Branch specifically authorizing the IRS to remove the original 4473s from the licensed location. Per 27 CFR § 478.129(b):

quote:

(b) Firearms Transaction Record. Licensees shall retain each Form 4473 until business or licensed activity is discontinued, either on paper, or in an electronic alternate method approved by the Director, at the business premises readily accessible for inspection under this part. Paper forms over 20 years of age may be stored at a separate warehouse, which shall be considered part of the business premises for this purpose and subject to inspection under this part. Forms 4473 shall be retained in the licensee's records as provided in § 478.124(b), provided that Forms 4473 with respect to which a sale, delivery, or transfer did not take place shall be separately retained in alphabetical (by name of transferee) or chronological (by date of transferee's certification) order.

If BATFE goes in now, and the owner cannot produce EVERY ORIGINAL 4473 or a copy of the federal seizure warrant specifically authorizing the IRS to remove those forms, right then and there, it is grounds for revocation of the license.

I still recall the BATFE IOI who did my pre-license site visit telling me that BATFE rarely removes an original 4473 (they take a copy if needed) and do so only with a warrant so authorizing BATFE. The only time I’ve ever had a LEO (State Trooper) come over a denied transaction, he only wanted a copy which he watched me make him. As far as I know, taking all 4473s is pretty rare unless BATFE is going for license revocation.

Now my best friend until he passed in 2019 was a senior criminal investigator for IRS. He’d likely flip his shit over this story (his agency outside their primary mission) but he did tell me, parts of the IRS like taking everything. He preferred narrow warrants as they tended to box miscreants in quickly.

Bottom line: there are facts we do not know, like if there was a warrant for the 4473 seizure, but IRS? Not BATFE?

Somethings fishy.

Surprised the Department of Education wasn’t in on it also.

I got a Flyer from Matt Gaetz inviting us to a meeting on Monday the 26th. He is calling this an “ATF Accountability Forum” to discuss the weaponization of the ATF and raise awareness of the heightened ATF targeting of FFL holders in FL-01.

I’m sure there will probably be a fundraising pitch also..

After a few times with no accountablility, they're emboldened.

quote:

Originally posted by HKAngusKL:

One of the projects IRS CI have been working are non-filers or those who understate AGI who are spending regular money purchasing guns. Safe streets task force units are pushing to prosecute those cases under the theory that those taxpayers are unlicensed dealers selling guns for profit to prohibited persons.

This raid feels like a fishing expedition if the purpose is to identify potential crimes. If they have the names of suspects whom they have some reason to believe are illegally selling to prohibited persons, they do not need to scrape up decades of 4473's. They just need the records of those individuals.

But, buying guns is not a crime, nor is selling to legal buyers. Knowing that Joe bought a bunch of guns that he no longer owns is not evidence of a crime.

If the shop owner is suspected of tax fraud, again the 4473's do not seem relevant.

I'll wait for more complete information before getting in a lather on this, but it smells fishy.

I read several reports on this incident yesterday. Some info:

- 20 kitted and armed IRS agents shut the guy's shop for 10 hours, with assistance from armed ATF agents and local LE. Owner Tom Van Hoose opened the shop in the early morning, the only person there.

- An IRS operation, they had a warrant for financial and banking records, seizing physical records and computer files. They also seized 13 years worth of 4473 NICs forms, thousands of them, and removed them from the premises in boxes. These forms were not listed on the warrant.

- Tom Van Hoose was able to reopen the next day, he was not arrested.

4473 Forms are the jurisdiction of the ATF, not the Internal Revenue Service. They contain no pricing, no financial elements, they are not transaction receipts. By law, Van Hoose is supposed to hold those records for 20 years.

quote:

They took dozens of boxes full of 4473s — more than a decade’s worth

The ATF form 4473 has a gun purchaser’s name, address, birthdate, state/city of birth, gender, social security number, and the serial number of any guns purchased in the store

Didn't we see this in a movie?

^^^^^^^
One of the first things I thought of along with this…

“Them motherfu**ers!”

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
…

By law, Van Hoose is supposed to hold those records for 20 years.

Actually, that rule changed last year. It is now the licensee who maintains them to surrender or revocation of that FFL, then all of them are to be sent to BATFE for eventual scanning under “out of business records.”

If you are surprised BATFE is scanning firearms transaction records into a searchable database, they’ve been doing it for 20 years, or more. Also in that database is every Multiple Handgun or Long Gun report ever submitted. Plus other records.

ETA: The IRS May have stepped on their crank in golf shoes by taking records subject to a federal record keeping requirement sans warrant.