Billionares and Guns...Money Talks
Gregory Kielma • August 6, 2024
Billionaires Laura and John Arnold – through Arnold Ventures, a Houston-based for-profit corporation are Anti Gun and funding Flawed Research
Laura and John Arnold
Billionaire Backing Biased Anti-Gun Research
“In this world, you get what you pay for,” said Kurt Vonnegut in Cat’s Cradle, his fourth novel. And when billionaire philanthropists are involved, Mr. Vonnegut is more than right. Nowadays, billionaires get exactly what they pay for.
An investigation by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project reveals how a former Enron trader and his wife are quietly paying millions of dollars every year to colleges, universities, think tanks and other groups for biased anti-gun research, which is then cited as gospel by the corporate media and used as propaganda by anyone who wants to infringe upon law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
Billionaires Laura and John Arnold – through Arnold Ventures, a Houston-based for-profit corporation the couple founded to “proactively achieve social change” and their nonprofit, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation – are quietly bankrolling research that promotes and supports their radical anti-gun views. Their Foundation has more than $3.5 billion in assets.
Despite their predilection to work in secret, the couple’s actions have not gone unnoticed.
“Arnold Ventures is the gun control backer most Americans have never heard of. They quietly work behind the scenes, unlike Michael Bloomberg. However, their influence on trying to shape gun control policy rivals that of the biggest backers of antigun efforts. They regularly donate money to think tanks and academia to propel biased research into the policy arena. Arnold Venture’s philanthropic outreach sounds well-intentioned, but they’re serving up snake oil when they peddle firearms as a disease,” Mark Oliva, public affairs director for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said last week.
The Arnolds’ massive financial clout creates an unholy alliance between grantor and grantee. Their paid researchers publish findings that support the couple’s views, or they risk the cash spigot being turned off and the loss of millions of dollars to their organization.
When it comes to their donations, it is clear who determines where the money goes.
“Laura and John established the Laura and John Arnold Foundation in 2010. They believe philanthropy should be transformational and should seek through innovation to solve persistent problems in society. As co-founders, Laura and John actively engage in the organization’s overall direction and daily execution,” the group’s website states.
John Arnold started as a trader for Enron, according to Influence Watch. He quit before the company imploded and was never accused of wrongdoing. In addition to gun control, the couple supports health care reform, criminal justice reform, prison reform and several nonprofit media groups.
The RAND Corporation is a major recipient of the Arnolds’ funding. RAND now maintains a gun-policy page. Much of their research is sponsored by the Arnolds.
According to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation’s 2022 IRS form 990, the couple paid RAND at total of $2.8 million, of which $1.7 million was for anti-gun research, including:
• $1,261,269 “to conduct research on how to reduce gun violence.”
• $99,000 “to support the first national conference on gun violence prevention research.”
• $89,000 “to support a convening relating to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Bruen case.”
• $283,546 “to provide objective information about firearm violence and how state laws reduce or exacerbate this violence.”
That same year, the couple paid more than $1.8 million for anti-gun research from other groups, including:
• $28,040 to the National Opinion Research Center “to support the NORC expert panel on reducing gun violence and improving data infrastructure.”
• $219,122 to the University of California at Berkeley “to evaluate the advance peace gun violence reduction program.”
• $1,065,933 to Princeton University “to develop a research infrastructure that helps cities better understand and respond to waves of gun violence.”
• $475,093 to the University of Maryland “to support the center for study and practice of violence reduction.”
In total, the Foundation donated more than $185 million, according to their 2022 IRS Form 990.
Arnold Ventures public relations director, Angela Landers, declined to be interviewed for this story, arrange an interview with the Arnolds or discuss the gun-control research they funded. Instead, Landers chose to send a written statement, which is unedited and reprinted in its entirety:
“Philanthropy can play a unique role in supporting research regarding the impact of many public policies, including those related to gun violence. In this instance, Arnold Ventures partnered with RAND Corp., a nonpartisan and widely respected research institution, to conduct scientific research that offers the public and policymakers a factual basis for developing fair and effective gun policies in the interest of public safety. Sound research is an important part of building evidence-based solutions,” Landers said in her statement.
RAND’s Response
While there were infrequent gun-related projects over the years, the RAND Corporation as a whole did not research “gun violence” until 2016, when there was a mass-shooting near their California office, according to Andrew R. Morral, PhD, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and the Greenwald Family Chair in Gun Policy.
“A lot of our staff were rattled by it, as were RAND trustees and friends of RAND,” Morral told the Second Amendment Foundation last week. “They contacted our president and asked what we were going to do about it.”
RAND set aside some internal funds because the work was not yet sponsored and investigated, Morral explained. In 2018, they released their first tranche of research.
“Arnold Ventures picked it up and has funded us since then,” he said.
Today, Arnold Ventures is RAND’s largest sponsor of gun-control research. Together with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the two groups pay RAND more than $1.5 million annually, Morral said. Federal grants from the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Justice provide additional “gun-violence” research funding.
None of RAND’s estimated 1,900 employees are researching gun-control full time, Morral said. Although he estimated between six to eight staffers are studying gun-control topics “as part of their research portfolios.”
Morral denied that Arnold Ventures or any other donor interfered with their research.
“We are very careful to not allow that to happen,” he said. “We haven’t experienced any pressure and we have not been asked to share our findings with Arnold Ventures or any other sponsor. We aren’t held accountable for producing results in a certain direction. Our donors, generally, are interested in us being neutral and objective, which is part of the reason they came to RAND.”
Still, Morral acknowledged that their sponsors can use their research however they see fit.
“We realize it’s used for advocacy, of course. We’re producing scientific results. We can’t control how they’re used. People will use that in a variety of ways. Our results are used by both advocates for more restrictive gun laws as well as advocates for less restrictive gun laws.”
Morral said RAND takes no position on the right to keep and bear arms. “We don’t have policy positions on that or on gun laws or anything else,” he said. “We don’t advocate. We don’t do any advocacy.”
However, it is RAND’s opinion and Morral’s that “gun-violence” constitutes a public health crisis.
“I certainly think there’s a crisis in terms of the number of people dying and being injured each year,” he said. “The numbers are high enough to call that a crisis.”
RAND, Morral said, stands by the validity of their gun-violence research, “subject to the limitations reported in our reports. All research has limitations, and we try to be upfront about that,” he said.
RAND’s position on two frequent gun-control targets is clear, concise and published on its website.
• Concealed-carry laws increase homicides rates: “Evidence shows that concealed carry laws – when states implement more permissive concealed carry laws, there’s a small increase in homicide rates. Our own research has found evidence of that – some suggestive evidence,” Morral said.
• Stand-your-ground laws increase homicide rates: “The current evidence is that when states implement stand-your-ground laws, firearm homicide rates increase,” he said.
RAND researchers published a report last Wednesday, which was funded by Arnold Ventures and a National Institute of Health grant, titled “State Policies Regulating Firearms and Changes in Firearm Mortality.”
Morral was one of the scientists involved in the project.
The objective was to estimate the effects state firearm policies have on gun-related deaths. The researchers examined six policies: “background checks, minimum age, waiting periods, child access, concealed carry, and stand-your-ground laws.”
The findings were mixed. Child-access prevention laws can reduce gun deaths by 6%, and stand-your-ground laws can increase firearm deaths by 6%, the authors claimed.
“Our finding that most of these individual state-level firearm policies have relatively modest and uncertain effect sizes reflects that each firearm policy is a small component of a complex system shaping firearm violence. However, we found that combinations of the studied policies were reliably associated with substantial shifts in firearm mortality,” the authors noted.
All of the authors – Terry L. Schell, PhD; Rosanna Smart, PhD; Matthew Cefalu, PhD; Beth Ann Griffin, PhD and Morral – work for RAND at either its Santa Monica, California, or Arlington, Virginia, offices.
All of the authors except Morral disclosed conflicts of interest: “Dr Schell reported receiving grants from Arnold Ventures and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism during the conduct of the study. Dr Smart reported receiving grants from Arnold Ventures and the National Institutes of Health during the conduct of the study. Dr Cefalu reported receiving grants from Arnold Ventures during the conduct of the study. Dr Griffin reported receiving grants from Arnold Ventures during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.”
The authors claimed that neither Arnold Ventures not the NIH exercised any control of their work.
“The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication,” the report states.
RAND’s NIH Grant of $790,100 was awarded Sept. 25, 2020, and is ongoing.
“Don’t Get Mad About Guns …”
Three months ago, the Trace – the propaganda arm of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun empire – announced they were creating a Gun Violence Data Hub, which would “help journalists access data on one of America’s most critical – and opaque – public health crises.”
“The Data Hub is a multiyear project to increase the accessibility and use of accurate data on gun violence in journalism. Its team of editors, reporters and researchers will proactively collect and clean datasets for public distribution, write and share tip sheets, and serve as a resource desk to other newsrooms, assisting journalists in their pursuit of data-informed reporting,” the Trace reported.
Arnold Ventures was one of the Data Hub’s top sponsors.
To be clear, Arnold Ventures has radical anti-gun views. The group believes “firearm violence” constitutes a public health crisis. “Gun violence,” it claims, has become the leading cause of death of “young people,” not children, the group states on its website. By referring to young people rather than children, they can include 18- to 20-year-olds in their data set to make the numbers work.
Arnold Ventures wants to bridge the gap in anti-gun research, which they say was created by the 1996 Dickey Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from conducting anti-gun research.
Don’t Get Mad About Guns — Get Funding for Research, the group offers on its website.
“It isn’t enough to get mad about gun violence,” Asheley Van Ness, Arnold Ventures former director of criminal justice, wrote in The Houston Chronicle.“Change starts with adequate funding for research, or else policymakers may end up spending time and money on programs that simply don’t work.”
In 2018, to streamline its funding efforts, Arnold Ventures launched the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research (NCGVR). Its mission is to “fund and disseminate nonpartisan, scientific research that offers the public and policymakers a factual basis for developing fair and effective gun policies.”
“At Arnold Ventures, we use our resources to confront some of the most pressing problems facing our nation,” Arnold Ventures President and CEO Kelli Rhee stated on the group’s website. “Five years ago, we, like many others, recognized that our understanding of gun violence was suffering from a severe lack of investment in research, and we joined together with our partners to try and fill some of the gap. While more investment from both public and private entities is undoubtedly needed, the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research has made significant progress in building the gun policy evidence base.”
Since 2022, the NCGVR has issued more than 50 grants, including “13 dissertation research projects and seven post-doctoral research fellowships, as well as awards for large new studies on domestic gun violence, officer-involved shootings, harms to firearm owners associated with gun laws, gun suicides, gun policy analysis and urban gun violence.”
Arnold Ventures chose RAND to administer the NCGVR, and RAND put Morral in charge. Today, Morral co-leads the NCGVR, which he says brings RAND “a couple hundred-thousand dollars per year.”
“It was an opportunity to improve research in the field,” Morral told the Second Amendment Foundation. “It was something that seemed like an interesting project to work to elevate. There wasn’t much research going on, and it was an area we were trying to make some headway in with our own funding. We recognized there was a gap in knowledge about gun policy that wasn’t being studied.”
Takeaways
There is certainly nothing unlawful about a well-heeled couple sponsoring gun-control research or research of any kind. The Arnolds are free to spend their millions as they see fit. However, since their largesse can negatively impact the civil rights of millions of law-abiding Americans, the Arnolds should be prepared to answer for their philanthropy.
The couple has created a pipeline of sorts, cash goes in one end and anti-gun propaganda comes out the other.
The risks they’ve created are dire.
“When a cable TV news actor cites some farcical statistic about guns or gun owners, it’s important to understand how that number made it onto the teleprompter,” said Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “It starts with donor dollars sent to researchers at left-leaning colleges, universities or other groups, who publish reports that mirror their donors’ views, which are then regurgitated by the corporate media. It’s a factory-like process. We don’t have anything like that. We don’t need it. We simply rely upon the truth.”
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Can I be fired for merely holding a concealed carry permit? Gregg Kielma Say's Gregg Kielma FFL, Firearms Instructor, Gunsmith, First Aid Fundamentals Instructor and ERT Captain . This is a very good question. I get asked this every once in a while, during my firearms training classes. Let's take a look and talk more about this subject. My advice is keep your business private from all employers and coworkers. Let's Take a LOOK: I assume this stems from the 2018 news that a social worker in Roanoke , Virginia claimed she was fired for simply having the permit. It appears she was a city employee. I would suggest that if you are fired for merely holding a legal concealed carry permit or license, you have the grounds for an enormous civil rights lawsuit. I assume you are really discussing just getting the permit. Any private employer can fire you for carrying on their property- it’s theirs and they get to set the rules, including prohibiting lawful concealed carry by their employees. There is no doubt about that. If you are really asking about you just getting the permit? The right to arms is a “fundamental civil right” according to the US Supreme Court. Simply acquiring a permit so you can carry legally in your jurisdiction is none of your employers business and they cannot sanction you for the action. Acquiring a carry permit might be reasonably compared to a person registering to vote. Could your employer fire you for registering to vote? How about for you actually voting? How about firing you for you going to church on your own time, even if your employer doesn’t like that church? I don’t think you will find a court which would let your employer fire you for simply getting a permit. As I said- civil rights lawsuit. If the fired person was really a public employee and the story is actually as reported, the City of Roanoke was certainly in danger of legal action.
October Gun Sales Surpass 1.3 Million, NSSF Reports Mark Chesnut - After slow sales in July ended the nearly six-year-long streak of firearms sales above 1 million, that sub-1 million figure only lasted for a month. Based on recent sales information, the new 1 million-plus streak has now reached three months. The National Shooting Sports Foundation-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure for October was 1,299,312, up from the September total of 1,091,342. That number marks a slight decrease of 0.3 percent compared to the October 2024 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,302,857. For comparison, the unadjusted October 2025 FBI NICS figure of 2,289,774 reflects a 0.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,298,383 in October 2024. The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016. Mark Oliva, NSSF managing director of public affairs, called the October numbers “encouraging,” as they indicate many are still very interested in acquiring firearms.
Dr. Michael Nance: Another Uninformed Pawn How one of the country’s loudest anti-gun doctors gets data for his anti-gun stories by Lee Williams Michael L. Nance, MD, is a very bus y m an. He is chief of the Division of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, and director of the Pediatric Trauma Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which is known as “CHOP.” Nance has also been called both an associate and an investigator for CHOP’s Center for Violence Prevention, which is almost violently anti-gun. The Center for Violence Prevention publicly supports wild anti-gun policies such as mandatory child-access laws, universal background checks, strict limits on “assault-style weaponry,” court-ordered firearm storage laws and, of course, more funding for firearm-related research, which of course would be paid directly to the Center for Violence Prevention. Nance has written scores of articles on what he believes are the perils of guns and gun ownership, including 2020’s “Most Mass Shootings Occur Within a Mile of a School or a Place Where Children Live, Learn and Play.” “Firearms are the second leading cause of trauma-related death in children in our Trauma Centers,” Nance said in the news release announcing his work. “Our findings highlight the sheer extent of the problem and show how closely mass shootings are tied to our communities, and especially to the places where children learn and play.” The story, for which Nance was the main author, raises the question of how his group defines a mass shooting. After all, the FBI defines a mass shooting as an event where four or more people are murdered. But Nance’s press release states his team uses a different definition, which they got from a cringe-worthy anti-gun group. “The researchers defined mass shootings as events involving four or more people injured or killed by a firearm in a single setting, using data from the 2019 Gun Violence Archive,” Nance’s story states. The Gun Violence Archive? Their data is bunk—it’s made up. Anything that’s based on the Gun Violence Archive is nothing but complete fiction. Literally, no one who matters uses their data anymore, not since we outed them in 2021. Even the Trace quit citing GVA numbers and created their own database, which isn’t much better. Why would Nance quote the GVA? "Because he doesnt know better"? The Gun Violence Archive, or GVA, was founded in 2013 by Michael Klein, a left-leaning philanthropist and open-government advocate, and Mark Bryant, a retired computer analyst and GVA’s current executive director. According to Bryant’s all-inclusive definition, there were 417 mass shootings in 2019. The FBI says there were 30, because it uses a much more realistic definition. Bryant’s mass-shooting definition—four people were shot—is the same one Nance is using. Still, the overly broad definition didn’t stop the anti-gunners. The Biden administration cited Bryant’s data constantly, as did a bevy of other elected officials and political candidates, at the local, state and federal level.
New York's Next "HUGE MISTAKE" SAF Files Reply Brief Challenging NYC’s Ban on Stun Guns Article by Scott Witner Comment by Gregg Kielma Comment: Gregg Kielma as former NYS state resident who left New York in 1977 I’m ashamed of what this state has become. Says Kielma, the once “I LOVE New York” is a thing of the past. It has become ruled by a tyrannical, socialist state government that is going to continue to send my beloved home state down the toilet. My dear friends, I grew up and went to high school with, PLEASE MAKE A CHANGE in leadership. I’m truly extremely concerned about you. Article Scott Witner: The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a brief reply with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing New York City’s total ban on stun guns violates the Second Amendment. Attorneys for the Second Amendment Foundation and its partners have submitted a reply brief in Calce v. City of New York, a case challenging the city’s complete prohibition on electronic self-defense weapons such as stun guns and Tasers. New York City’s law bars residents from possessing any form of electronic defensive weapon, even though such devices are widely used across the country as a non-lethal means of personal protection. SAF is joined in the lawsuit by five individual plaintiffs and the Firearms Policy Coalition. “Courts across the country have struck down similar bans as unconstitutional,” said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “The District Court upheld New York City’s ban by misapplying the ‘common use’ test, placing it in the wrong part of the analysis and effectively shifting the burden of proof from the government to the plaintiffs. That’s contrary to Supreme Court precedent, and this appeal seeks to correct that.” The brief argues that the lower court’s ruling conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, both of which establish that the right to keep and bear arms includes commonly used self-defense tools.
Florida Man Arrested After Chicken Egg Argument Ends In Gunfire Outside Of Pub Comment by Gregg Kielma Story by Maria Hernandez I talk about this all the time in my CCW training classes says Gregg Kielma. Avoid-Escape- Defend. Never, ever put yourself in a position like the one below. Deescalate, before you find yourself in jail for either murder or attempted murder. Your firearm should be the last resort. A simple argument over eggs and Peter Riera will be going to jail for a very long time. Please use common sense. Never have a firearm on you when alcohol or drugs being used. Let’s Take a LOOK at Maria's article. A late-night debate over how many eggs a chicken can lay escalated dramatically last week, leading to a Florida man allegedly firing a handgun at three other bar patrons. Peter Riera, 44, was arrested after he called 911 following the incident outside a local pub. According to Port St. Lucie Police, the argument started inside the establishment over an agricultural topic—how many eggs a chicken could produce. The conversation became heated and moved to the parking lot as the pub closed. Police allege that Riera, who had been smoking marijuana, became "agitated" and "paranoid," believing the others were trying to con him. Riera reportedly fired four rounds from a .45-caliber Glock at the three patrons, who fled for cover. Fortunately, no one was injured. Riera faces multiple charges, including three counts of attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, four counts of discharging a firearm in public, and one count of use of a firearm while under the influence. He is being held without bond. Police also arrested two of the other individuals involved for obstruction or resisting arrest.
The Complex Smuggling Network TAMPA, Fla. - A Colombian national who masterminded a massive drug trafficking operation that smuggled over 43,000 kilograms of cocaine—valued at approximately $1.3 billion USD—into the United States was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison last week in a Tampa courtroom. According to court documents, Gonzalez-Ortiz established and led the sophisticated drug trafficking organization from 2016 until 2023. The operation relied on a network of corrupt officials and airport personnel to move massive amounts of cocaine disguised in boxes of fruit onto commercial flights. U.S. District Judge Kathryn K. Mizelle handed down the sentence to Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 49, of Colombia, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States on January 14, 2025. The journey began at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. From there, the drug-laden flights were destined for Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés Island, Colombia. The plea agreement details how the conspirators enlisted the aid of at least 20 corrupt Colombian police officers to facilitate the movement of the drugs. Once the cocaine reached San Andrés Island, the corrupt officers assisted in exporting the narcotics out of the airport, which were then smuggled by boat to either Nicaragua or Honduras. From Central America, the cocaine was transported through Mexico and into the United States via land routes. Inside the Operation The organization’s success hinged on key insiders at both airports: ・Airport Security: A security supervisor at the Cali airport was responsible for diverting security cameras away from external gates used to import the cocaine. ・Logistics & Personnel: The network included airport personnel who altered cargo manifests, as well as luggage cart drivers and warehouse employees who were responsible for loading and unloading the cocaine onto and from the commercial aircraft. Between 2016 and 2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz’s organization successfully smuggled cocaine onto at least 27 commercial flights in Cali. The Interception Investigators say the operation began to unravel on July 29, 2023, when Colombian National Police interdicted a shipment of 1,310 kilograms of cocaine after it was offloaded from a commercial aircraft in San Andrés Island. This seizure helped lead to the eventual charges and conviction of Gonzalez-Ortiz in the U.S.
A True Idiot: Lucien Alexandre Crooks Davenport Man’s Florida Keys Vacation Ends In Felony Arrest, Murder Threats Against Deputy Story by Maria Hernandez MONROE COUNTY, Fla. - A Davenport man with a previous felony record was arrested in the Florida Keys late Saturday after a traffic stop escalated into charges involving weapons possession and threats to kill a law enforcement officer and his family. Lucien Alexandre Crooks, 30, faces multiple charges, including possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, resisting arrest, and threatening a law enforcement officer. According to deputies, the incident began at approximately 8:36 p.m. when a Sheriff’s Office Deputy stopped Crooks’ Nissan SUV near Mile Marker 100 on U.S. 1. The initial reason for the stop was Crooks’ failure to move over and slow down for another law enforcement officer who was conducting a separate traffic stop nearby. Upon questioning, the Deputy discovered Crooks was driving without a valid license. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of an open bottle of tequila and a cup containing an alcoholic beverage near the driver’s seat. The situation worsened when a pair of brass knuckles with an attached knife was in Crooks’ pocket. Authorities confirmed that Crooks has two previous felony convictions in Florida, making the possession of such a weapon a serious felony offense. According to the Sheriff’s Office report, the suspect, Lucien Crooks , became volatile upon his arrest. While being transported to jail, Crooks repeatedly threatened to murder the arresting Deputy and his entire family. Bad move Luciferien... lolol you be a dumbass.
Secret Arsenal Shut Down In Florida: Jacksonville Man Gets Four Years For Explosives Cache Story by Maria Hernandez A Jacksonville man, Matthew Reid Davisson, 36, has been sentenced to four years and five months in federal prison for illegally possessing unregistered destructive devices. U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard handed down the sentence after Davisson pleaded guilty on February 18, 2025. The investigation also revealed an unregistered firearm. One of Davisson’s family members surrendered a gun belonging to him, which was later identified as an unregistered machinegun with an unregistered homemade silencer attached to the barrel. Davisson’s arrest stems from an unrelated state charge on October 26, 2023. Following his arrest, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) received a tip that Davisson was storing large amounts of chemicals and possible grenades at his Jacksonville residence. A search of the home by law enforcement uncovered a significant cache of illegal materials, including: ・Two improvised explosive bombs ・One improvised explosive grenade ・Parts to readily assemble three additional improvised explosive grenades ・Quantities of homemade high explosives and detonators ・Large volumes of explosive precursor chemicals ・Homemade explosive manufacturing equipment None of these destructive devices were registered to Davisson in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), a violation of federal law. The investigation also revealed an unregistered firearm. One of Davisson’s family members surrendered a gun belonging to him, which was later identified as an unregistered machinegun with an unregistered homemade silencer attached to the barrel. The case was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the JSO. Assistant United States Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Rachel Lasry prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling Firearms Without a License and Conspiracy Thursday, November 13, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully living in Milford was sentenced on Oct. 24, 2025 in federal court in Worcester for conspiracy and engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license. Rafaell Martins Ferreira, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman to time-served (approximately 13 months) followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In July 2025, Martins Ferreira pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Between February and March 2024, Martins Ferreira sold two firearms to cooperating witnesses without the required license. In addition, Martins Ferreira indicated he had access to additional firearms. One of these firearms included a large capacity magazine (capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition). United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Milford Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case. Updated November 13, 2025
FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS PENSACOLA MAN FOR SHOOTING AT DEA SPECIAL AGENT Thursday, November 13, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Austin James McCastler II, 36, was convicted by a federal jury on two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, attempted prevention of the government’s authority to take property during an authorized search and seizure, assault with a deadly weapon of a Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. John Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the verdict today. US Attorney Heekin said: “This case exemplified the extreme dangers faced by the brave men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe from violent criminals. I am incredibly proud of the outstanding trial work by the talented prosecutors in my office that resulted in this successful verdict.” Trial testimony and evidence revealed that, after undercover law enforcement purchased methamphetamine from McCastler’s Pensacola residence on two occasions, a search warrant was obtained to search for and seize illicit narcotics from his home. On March 7, 2025, law enforcement attempted to execute the lawful warrant. McCastler would not comply with orders to surrender to law enforcement, and he armed himself with his American Tactical Imports assault rifle. As law enforcement surrounded the residence, McCastler opened fire, including one shot intended for the DEA Special Agent. McCastler then fled from the residence, jumped in his vehicle, and a high-speed chase ensued. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was immediately on the tail of McCastler and eventually immobilized his vehicle in traffic. McCastler then tried to flee on foot, but law enforcement captured him. A search of his residence ultimately revealed the loaded assault rifle, a second firearm, dozens of rounds of ammunition, fentanyl, and marijuana, amongst other things. McCastler is scheduled for sentencing on February 10, 2026, before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers. McCastler, who has more than five prior state felony convictions, faces up to life imprisonment. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton prosecuted the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html. Contact United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida USAFLN.Press.Office@usdoj.gov X: @USAO_NDFL Updated November 13, 2025
