Heavily Armed IRS Agents Raid Gun Store, Seize Firearms Purchase Records
Heavily armed agents with Democrat President Joe Biden’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have raided a gun store in Montana, according to reports.
The unprecedented move saw twenty armed agents raid a gun store in Great Falls and seize all documents that record buyer’s information during firearms transactions – Form 4473.
The owner of the store, Highwood Creek Outfitters, blasted the move in a statement to local media.
Tom Van Hoose alleges that his store has been under constant surveillance by state and federal agencies for over two years, KRTV reported.
On Wednesday, the gun shop owner reported an unexpected visit from heavily armed IRS agents at his store.
The agents reportedly arrived at the shop early in the morning, as Van Hoose was opening for the day.
“We have now confirmed that both the IRS and the ATF were at Highwood Creek Outfitters in Great Falls around 7 am this morning,” KMON Radio reported.
“Both the IRS and ATF would not say why they were there.
“A spokeswoman for the IRS would only say they were there on official IRS business,” the news outlet added.
“The ATF says it was providing assistance to the IRS. We attempted to enter the store today and were stopped by agents at the door who would only say that the gun store is closed and will reopen tomorrow.”
According to Hoose, the federal scrutiny began two years ago.
He says the effort has involved various agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and now, the Internal Revenue Service.
“They must think we’re making a fortune in the gun business to investigate us like this, assuming we’re hiding thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars,” Van Hoose told MTN News.
“However, anyone familiar with gun business profit margins would know that’s not the case.”
Van Hoose claims that he was simply told his business had been reported, although he remains in the dark about who reported it or why.
He believes the whole episode was politically motivated.
“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.”
The day’s operations were disrupted, leading to a significant loss of revenue.
“I had about 30 minutes to operate, making just a single $16 sale,” Hoose said.
Highwood Creek Outfitters is America’s largest online firearms and accessories mall, according to its website.
The store is known for selling what Van Hoose calls “fun guns,” including AR-15s and AK-47s.
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The Great Falls Police Department confirmed it was informed about the investigation and provided security, according to KRTV.
Although the Montana Department of Justice claimed no involvement in the incident, an IRS spokesperson confirmed their presence at Highwood Creek Outfitters.
However, the IRS refrained from providing further details.
The recent incident has attracted political attention, with Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) expressing his concern over the IRS and ATF’s actions.
The congressman says he’s interpreting the raid as another example of the Biden regime’s weaponization of federal agencies against hardworking Americans.
“I’m incredibly disturbed by initial reports that the IRS and ATF closed Highwood Creek Outfitters without any warning today,” said Rosendale in a statement.
“This is yet another example of the Biden Administration weaponizing federal agencies to target and harass hardworking Americans,” he added.
“We cannot allow Biden to continue expanding these agencies to infringe on our liberties.”
20 armed IRS agents raid Great Falls gun store.
They didnt take any financial records, accounting or tax statements.
But they did take all the 4473 forms. (Buyer’s Information)
Now we know what the 87,000 IRS agents are for.#614clinton pic.twitter.com/uJCTfcJfIK
— Clinton (@614clinton) June 17, 2023
On Friday afternoon, the congressman announced he sent a letter to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, asking for answers.
“The weaponization of our government must be STOPPED, which is why I sent a letter to ATF Director Dettelbach and IRS Commissioner Werfel demanding answers about this outrageous attack and have used every tool available to me to remove funding for the 87,000 additional IRS agents!” Rosendale said.
I met with Tom Vanhoose this morning after 20 armed IRS agents raided his store in Great Falls earlier this week.
Tom informed me that these agents confiscated all the 4473 forms, none of which contain any financial information; instead, the IRS now has access to these forms… pic.twitter.com/HPFEgZedKI
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2023
Rosendale joined Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo to discuss the incident.
“Here’s what they took out,” said Rosendale.
“IRS – financial records, accounting, making sure what transactions were taking place.
“No, they took all of the 4473 forms.
“The 4473 forms are what everyone fills out when they go to purchase a firearm.”
“And it’s just a big disclosure to make sure that you don’t have a criminal background or other reasons where you should not be purchasing a firearm,” he added.
“So the IRS took every single one of the 4473s that Tom Van Hoose had in his possession there at Highwood Creek Outfitters.”
