On April 7th, 2022; Tate’s home was raided by upwards of seven federal agencies. The primary agency in charge was the ATF, and it was clear that they were there to look at his firearms and surplus military antiques; which he is an avid collector of. He figured there had to be some sort of misunderstanding. Tate had no clue what the matter was about, as he always strived to comply with the law.  After 6 plus hours of watching approximately 40 armed men, tactical units, bomb squads, and other people search every square inch of their home while his loved ones and he were in hand cuffs, Tate was brought to jail.  Although Tate was not told specifically why he was under arrest, it was inferred that he possessed "machine guns''. Tate spent 7 days in jail awaiting a bond hearing.

Upon his release, he learned that he was accused of dealing firearms without a federal firearms license, multiple counts of transferring and possession of machine guns, possession of 25 additional machine guns, and it was reported that he had multiple improvised explosive devices in his home. None of this is true, as Tate does not own a single illegal or illicit item, and he has never sold a single firearm in his life. Every item that was labeled as a "machine gun", was either a 100% legitimate unmodified title 1 firearm (regular over the counter from a FFL shop), an inert display piece, surplus parts kit, or simply non-restricted parts. Anything that resembled a machine gun, was identified as one, and Tate was charged as such. The falsely identified "IEDs" were finally classified as to what they are; novelty prop "dummy training grenades"; something commonly purchased at surplus stores.

The agents seized all their money, falsely labeling it as “illegal proceeds”, (to include sentimental antique currency left from deceased grandparents), confiscated all electronics, some of which were required for family members work, and ordered Tate to cease all operations of his firearm part/accessory business. This is not to mention that a tremendous amount of his firearms and collectibles were taken. Tate was given absolutely no warning or cease and desist letter, no phone call, and zero indication that he was doing or possessing anything even questionably considered as unlawful. Tate would have 100% complied if afforded the opportunity to.

Tate is now facing felony charges for possessing items that are known to be legal. Items that anyone can publically purchase from the open internet or at your local surplus shops with absolutely no issue to this day. This may be one of the first times in U.S. history for someone to be charged for having surplus parts that are commonly circulated and available in the open market. Additionally, Tate’s career that he has invested 10 years of his life into is on the line. If convicted, everything he’s worked so hard to achieve will come crashing to an end.

As much as he would hate to admit it, Tate needs our help!

This is going to be a daunting legal battle and we need to back Tate up, and help him stand up for what is right! PLEASE help fund the legal battle in front of us to keep our friend and a great American from suffering the consequences of unfair and unlawful prosecution. Every cent that is donated will be directly used for legal defense and/or damages associated with this unjust prosecution. If in the event there is any excess funds, they will all be donated to 2nd amendment organizations that fight for our freedom. 

Please donate what you can afford, even if it's minimal; and then share this with all of your friends who support the 2nd amendment. We need to fight back!

A little background on Tate.

Tate has always had a passion for military history and historic firearms. He is an avid collector and enthusiast. Tate started his business "Black Dog Arsenal” in 2017, and his goal was to build the company as large as possible while serving in the military, and to eventually open up a military museum/rental range to where patriots could enjoy our country's military history and weaponry in a safe and controlled environment. Tate collected everything from historic war-time documents, demilitarized WWII era antique firearms, to inert ordnance display pieces. He also collected many firearms made famous by various films and historic events.

He has been a long time seller of various parts and accessories on gun broker, and many members of the community know him well and have developed close friendships with him over the years. He always put his company first to better serve his customers. Tate went from living the American dream to his life crumbling apart in a matter of days due to this unbelievable circumstance. We need to be there not only for him, but to ensure that more of our rights are not pulled from beneath us.

Post-Trial Update October 21^st 2022

The circumstances of Tate’s case have taken the absolutely most devastating turn for the worst. On Friday October 21, 2022 Tate was convicted of 5 felony charges and had his bond revoked. He was taken away after a sham of a trial where the Assistant US Attorney showed the jury a barrage of evidence of legal items that weren’t even the subject of any charges. The prosecution decided to attack his character and confuse the jury by showing endless images of his legal inventory because they didn’t have the evidence to support their case. Unfortunately the jury bought it. Additionally, a number of extremely pertinent Supreme Court decisions were not allowed to be considered in jury deliberation, which would have had immense impact on the way the jury considered the facts and the law surrounding these charges. His trial was a seemingly endless line of ATF “experts” all contradicting each other, character smearing, and shameful display from their star witness—a convicted felon who lied repeatedly on stand. It was, in short, a grotesque miscarriage of justice. And now, the battle for an appeal begins. Tate desperately needs your help now more than ever because he doesn’t even have the freedom to fight for his own justice. This conviction is yet another display of the ATF’s unconstitutional overreach and infringement upon law-abiding citizens’ constitutional rights. If you are like us and you believe that our constitutional rights are truly unalienable and not to be infringed upon by the government then please help us in this fight moving forward. As always, no donation is too small and every cent will go towards legal fees. If there is anything in excess, it will be donated to a pro Second Amendment organization. 

Additionally, any information on relevant cases is also welcome. Thank you all for your support and your defense of our constitutionally protected rights. 

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