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FBI Caught Spying on Lawful Gun Owners—You Won’t Believe Why
Jeff Charles
Jeff Charles | April 04, 2025 2:30 PM
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
The ATF and FBI have been monitoring gun purchases made by California residents to bust them for violating the state’s assault weapons ban.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) recently revealed that the ATF and FBI have been using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to surveil lawful gun owners to help the Golden State enforce their gun control laws.
In a recent “Minute Man Moment” episode, GOA’s Ben Sanderson broke down the operation, noting that the FBI, initially tasked with targeting violent gangs and cartels, has instead been “using unconstitutional investigations, not to enforce federal, but state gun control laws.”
Sanderson explained that federal and state law enforcement officials can request the gun purchasing records of American citizens, including those legally purchasing firearms. When granted permission—which is typical—they can monitor an individual’s purchases for six months without a warrant or judicial review. They are not required to inform the individuals they monitor.
“The FBI has been secretly exploiting the law to hold on to the records longer than the statutory limit of 24 hours,” Sanderson said. This means these agencies have turned what is supposed to be a temporary background check into a months-long surveillance program.
Among the rationales agents use to justify the surveillance, they stated they wished to surveil an individual for being “too poor to own firearms based on her reported income.” In another instance, they surveilled a citizen for purchasing a shotgun during the George Floyd protests, reasoning, without evidence, that he probably intended to use it during the riots.
