Visit by Homeland Security yesterday for... a scope purchase?

[Rob R.]

I like Hickok, but agreed, he needs to get off the NRA's *cock! Sootch is in South Carolina.

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Same reason Colin Noir kinda lost my interest, smart guy (lawyer) who I think wants the right things ultimately and has a way with words to combat the anti’s arguments when doing national interviews but at the same time has very fuzzy squishy views on protecting ALL things 2a when that check from the NRA comes in regularly.
It’s become pretty clear who the real activists are and whose getting paid to be a real life puppet.
I do hope Adam Kraut is voted in for the NRA board this year, baby steps but I think they are too far gone and hope the GOA takes all their old members and new ones looking for real change. I think the bumpstock and fixnics situation opened up a lot of eyes about how the NRA operates

 

[Biggfoot44]

There are periodic events with rented tables . Some transactions still occasionally take place without service fees or interest .

 

[John from MD]

Looks to me like standard procedure when conducting an investigation. They were following leads and obtaining evidence to build a case. Not necessarily against you, but you were in the mix and they had to find out why. Chances are that you will just be a note in an evidence file that will either get destroyed five years after the case is closed.

As others have already said, it is never a good idea to invite government agents into your home without a warrant.

 

[ToolAA]

There are periodic events with rented tables . Some transactions still occasionally take place without service fees or interest .

Oh great. Now you have just confirmed the existence of the elusive gun show loophole to the feds monitoring this thread.


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[StantonCree]

I bought a AR scope on promotive when Leupod was still on there. The end user agreement specifically stated that I could not ship the item over seas which I thought was funny/weird and never really gave it any real thought.

It's crazy how some of this stuff works. I have to talk to people all the time because the specific sub set of crimes I investigate usually have an uninvolved middleman. Without that middleman i generally can't find my suspect. The middleman is almost never culpable and generally has no idea the crime has taken place HOWEVER the middleman is financially responsible at a civil level so it's much better for them to talk with me cuz once my case is solved they are financially off the hook.

Sounds like you did the right thing OP and thats kind of a crazy story, you just never know!


At one point I was conducting an investigation into essentially a cult. It was crazy cuz the cult leader and I sorta became friends. He knew why I was there but was always interested in what I knew so once every two weeks we would sit down and have coffee inside his house lol. Plus people like him were always looking to try to impart his law knowledge and challenge my views/authority, in a friendly manner of course.

 

[2ndMDRebel]

"Am I being detained"
"What is your reasonable articulable suspicion of a crime that you suspect me of having committed or are about to commit"
"I choose to remain silent"
"I do not consent to any searches of my person or seizures of my property"
"I want a lawyer present"

Shuts the good oath-abiding ones up real quick, triggers the costume wearing Jackboots.

There is no doubt the DHS knew the answers to everything they asked you and were simply trying to catch you in a lie to use against you. Its what they do.

 

[Schipperke]

"Am I being detained"
"What is your reasonable articulable suspicion of a crime that you suspect me of having committed or are about to commit"
"I choose to remain silent"
"I do not consent to any searches of my person or seizures of my property"
"I want a lawyer present"

Shuts the good oath-abiding ones up real quick, triggers the costume wearing Jackboots.

There is no doubt the DHS knew the answers to everything they asked you and were simply trying to catch you in a lie to use against you. Its what they do.

Or just keep it simple

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

First...thanks for posting.

I&W cannot be over rated.

FTR, I'd very much like to know where...what part ofDHS these guys came from.

Second, like other folks (not a commentary on your OP decision/actions), NO ENTRY for anyone into my home without a warrant. Your home. Your choice. Absolutely.

Having recently bought a thermal unit (whole thread on it somewhere around here), I found the admin process of getting and filling out the ITAR form to be a PITA. The form itself is pretty blunt and straightforward. The seller Fd the process up to a fare thee well. What should have been six hours took six weeks. That with me chasing them down and both Amazon and Optics Planet between me and the actual seller.

Notionally, I find this issue to be yet one more where government is more deeply involved (read intrusive) in our privacy than I personally think is necessary. I get the whole safety for security argument. They've flogged that notion way too long IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I see I'm "allowed" to buy night vision and or thermal. I get that this technology provides a distinct tactical advantage. I get that our guys n gals abroad need every advantage they can't get (understand my disdain for the political hamstringing they suffer with UNSAT ROE SOFA etc.). Having acknowledged all that, there has to be a better, less intrusive, less "big brother" method to accomplish their end. Forms and data bases and more forms and more databases. It's endless...and apparently, pretty damned ineffective too.

My tax dollars need to be better spent. The behemoth bureaucracy is a self perpetuating evil beast.

You need look no further than the co-ed from TX who was recently detained and jerked around by TSA in an airport when she made a widely understood and locally accepted/expected sports team related gun gesture to a fellow college attendee. Talk about an outfit run amok... Sheesh.

 

[Engine4]

eBay or PayPal must have an agreement with DHS to share certain purchase activity.

eBay does. Years ago I was contacted by a railroad police officer because someone with the same eBay buyers name as mine was buying & selling stolen RR locks & other items. The only difference in screen names was an "*" added to the other one. The only way they'll could've found my name was thru eBay.

 

[traveller]

Every purchase you make on eBay or Amazon or just by using a credit card processor goes to the big data center in Utah. An army of really smart kids with math degrees from MIT and Caltech do nothing but writing algoithms to mine that data for patterns that raise their curiosity. Welcome to dragnet.

Sure, you can say 'come back with a warrant'. They may just do that. And they'll show up with postal inspectors, IRS agents and dept of agriculture OIG in tow to make sure they find something they can use to turn you against your North Korean paymasters.

 

[BigSteve57]

Thanks for getting the word out. I'm sure we'll all have our own ways of dealing with this if/when it ever happens to us.
United we stand.

 

[snakep]

Shall I forward you both agents emails and phone #’s to verify? Maybe a friendly wager to a chairity of your choosing if proven true?

Not sure how anyone would find the fascination in fabricating a story as lame as this

Rob R, that won't be necessary. And I apologize to you for my earlier, thoughtless comment. s.

 

[GUNSnROTORS]

Rob, I've read through the entire thread and I'm not here to knock your initial response to the DHS guys.

I'm not aware of any new emphasis on ITAR-related epidemics, either personally or professionally. Emphasis has always been high. It's always been a problem. Penalties have always been severe. The warnings have been on products/packaging, even before algore invented the internewebz. I do remember late in O's second term, several related pushes initiated by the State Department. One or two were addressed in detailed threads here. Remember one to restrict the publishing of "technical data" on the internet and elsewhere. The definition of tech data was broad and included gun printing PDF designs and even "how-to texts" on topics like weapon-building and gunsmithing. Another, from 2015, was mentioned earlier in this thread.

One topic that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread is the associates you might come into contact with through work. I know it's more common in construction to deal with undocumented workers, etc. The nature of their undocumented status can leave their citizenship, associations, and loyalties in doubt, particularly in these uncertain times. Your associations and purchases, combined, might trigger electronic ITAR flags. Not intending to insinuate that this applies to you or even that it's a valid consideration, but it occurred to me so there it is.

 

[Inigoes]

I have been reading comments hear.

OP, file a police report. DHS does not investigate a potential crime, the FBI does.

You have just been cased.

you should have asked for a business card.

 

[GTOGUNNER]

I believe something is amiss as well. We know MSP FBI and ATF are on this forum. Ask silly questions about 30 round mag purchases. Get on a list. Loose lips....

Sent from the 3rd Rock

 

[traveller]

I have been reading comments hear.

OP, file a police report. DHS does not investigate a potential crime, the FBI does.

You have just been cased.

you should have asked for a business card.

Criminal violations of ITAR are investigated by HSI.

They did leave their card.

 

[Melnic]

So stupid
They would buy cash at store


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[rbird7282]

It could be completely a seller issue and has nothing to do with you. They might have just cleared you from the seller as a random purchaser.

This is what I'm thinking. Perhaps they are looking into the seller and trying to build a case against him, who knows.


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[rseymorejr]

My guess is USPS held the package after being scanned? Maybe they are red flagging every so often ?

I wonder if that would be the same USPS that left a box just sitting on my doorstep just last week with a C&R pistol in it? "Adult Signature Required" was printed right on the label.
LOL!

 

[AssMan]

Check your place for bugs.


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