William Wolf arrested on weapons charge

[Demosthenes]

From the same article:

All of the agent’s meetings with Wolf were recorded,

[Lambkin]

https://www.fbi.gov/saltlakecity/press- ... achine-gun

Bozeman Man Convicted of Illegal Possession of an Unregistered Machine Gun
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Montana

November 05, 2015

BILLINGS, MT—Following a three day federal trial, a Montana jury found William Krisstofer Wolf, 53, of Bozeman, guilty on two counts: Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun and Possession of a Firearm not Registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Judge Susan Watters presided over the trial. Sentencing is set for March 3, 2016.

At trial, the government introduced evidence that Wolf had repeatedly expressed an intent to acquire and possess dangerous weapons, including flamethrowers, incendiary ammunition, and napalm, and ultimately did acquire the fully automatic sawed-off shotgun that lead to his arrest.

In his weekly online radio show, named “The Montana Republic,” Wolf discussed his anti-government views and his plans to overthrow local, state, and federal governments by force. He advocated the affirmative targeting of law enforcement officers and stated on numerous occasions that he considered agents of local, state, and federal government to be the enemies. After holding a “committee of safety meeting” on January 29, 2015, Wolf stated in his “extreme movement…my preferred method would be to drop 500 pounds of napalm through the roof of the courthouse and burn it to the ground and roast some marshmallows on it.” He also told people at the meeting, that “my great fatal flaw is I’m gonna’ tell you what I’m going to do to you, and the bottom line is, I do it to you.”

In pursuance of his aims, Wolf stated his intent to acquire the “most devastating weapons he could use” including machine guns and flamethrowers. The FBI arranged for Wolf to meet a Confidential Informant (“CI”), who posed as a like-minded individual in order to determine Wolf’s true intentions. Over time, Wolf communicated to the CI his desire to obtain or build a “blowtorch gun” or flamethrower which could be used to target law enforcement officials and vehicles including the Bozeman Police Department’s recently acquired BearCat vehicle. Wolf agreed to be introduced to a friend of the CI who could help him obtain these items. The CI’s “friend” was actually an undercover FBI agent known only to Wolf as “Dirty.” During his discussions with both the CI and Dirty, Wolf demonstrated his knowledge of flamethrowers, how to make napalm, and fully automatic weapons, including his ability to describe in detail the merits and functionality of such weapons. Dirty offered to help Wolf procure a flamethrower; Wolf responded, “try to get me a Russian automatic shotgun too.” During a subsequent meeting with Dirty, Wolf stated his preference for the Saiga 12 fully automatic shotgun. Wolf also told Dirty that any fully automatic shotgun “will handle most riot crowds and cops.” When Dirty told Wolf that there would be “no paper” with the sale, Wolf replied, “I love that.” Wolf later sent a text message to the CI that he wanted a military-grade (sawed off) barrel on the machine gun he had previously requested from Dirty.

The FBI obtained a Saiga 12 by modifying a semi-automatic shotgun with a standard barrel to the specifications requested by Wolf. The FBI agent made a video demonstrating the fully automatic capabilities of the gun and forwarded it to the CI. The CI showed Wolf the video. The CI told Wolf he would have to pay an additional $125 for the conversion to fully automatic. Wolf readily agreed. Wolf communicated to the CI that he intended to build a flamethrower to mount under the barrel of the shotgun and observed that the shortened barrel was ideal for this purpose. Wolf stated, “the purpose of the gun is not to go hunting with, it’s to clean house.” Wolf agreed to purchase the gun. On March 25, 2015, Wolf met the FBI agent at a truck stop in Livingston, Montana. The agent communicated to Wolf that the weapon had been modified from semi-automatic to fully automatic, which Wolf acknowledged. Minutes before taking possession of the machine gun, Wolf told the agent, “I just need to kill the public officials.” The FBI agent also told Wolf that the weapon was an illegal firearm. Undeterred, Wolf paid the agent and transferred the firearm to his vehicle, at which point he was arrested by the FBI.

At trial, the government used a combination of Wolf’s recorded radio show, excerpts of his conversations with the CI and undercover FBI agent, and post-arrest recordings to demonstrate to the jury that Wolf was aware of the features of the gun that brought it within the scope of the statute requiring registration.

“The members of this Montana jury have sent a strong message that those, like Mr. Wolf, who seek anarchy and violence, and who willingly break federal firearms laws will not be tolerated in Montana,” said Montana U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter. “The agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are to be commended for their diligent work and effort in this investigation.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Whittaker and Trial Attorney Danya Atiyeh, from the Counterterrorism Section, National Security Division, of the United States Department of Justice. The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

[ArthurWankspittle]

Can someone clarify a couple of points for me? The Saiga 12 is fully automatic anyway isn't it? So the legal issue is either he's not registering it as a fully auto weapon and or because he had the barrel cut down it isn't legal.

[noblepa]

The laws regarding fully-automatic weapons in the US are rather complicated.

For example, it is illegal for civilians to own full-auto weapons manufactured after 1986. Actually, only the receiver is bound by this prohibition. You can buy a receiver from a pre-1986 weapon and build a new weapon around it.

I'm not sure, but I believe that this prohibition would cover smooth-bore weapons, such as shotguns, as well. Since the Saiga was designed and first manufactured in the 1990's, no full-auto Saiga would be legal for a civilian to own in the US. Saiga probably exported semi-auto versions to the US, which some people then converted to full-auto. The laws require that this conversion be more than a simple parts replacement, but anyone with a decent machine shop and the appropriate knowledge can do it fairly easily.

[Lambkin]

Can someone clarify a couple of points for me? The Saiga 12 is fully automatic anyway isn't it? So the legal issue is either he's not registering it as a fully auto weapon and or because he had the barrel cut down it isn't legal.

From the press release:

The FBI obtained a Saiga 12 by modifying a semi-automatic shotgun with a standard barrel to the specifications requested by Wolf.

Sounds like FBI took a semi-auto Saiga and converted it to full-auto per Wolf's request. And shortened it as well.

[Jeffrey]

Surely a weapon custom made by the FBI would fetch a pretty price at auction.

[grixit]

I understand the value of stings in which the suspect ends up arrested for "wanna", but taking the trouble to provide someone with a lethal weapon and then charging them with having it makes me queasy.

[noblepa]

I understand the value of stings in which the suspect ends up arrested for "wanna", but taking the trouble to provide someone with a lethal weapon and then charging them with having it makes me queasy.

I am too, but from what little detail we have, this doesn't sound like entrapment to me.

As I understand it, the litmus test for an entrapment defense is the question, "Where did the idea to commit the crime originate?". If a cop walks up to you on the street and asks if you want to buy some cocaine, that might well be entrapment. If, OTOH, he is just hanging around known drug areas and you approach him to ask for cocaine, the fact that he sells you some real cocaine provides you with no defense.

The same would be true for illegally modifying a semi-auto Saiga into a full-auto version. If the suspect first asked a BATF agent to do the modification, then the fact that the agent did so does not indicate entrapment. Again, if the agent contacted the suspect and said "How'd ya' like to buy a full-auto Saiga? I've got a semi-auto that I can modify.", then there might be an entrapment defense. The suspect could always argue that he hadn't even thought of buying such a weapon until it was suggested by the agent.

[Arthur Rubin]

I was thinking of Randy Weaver, who was arrested on a fugitive warrant for a weapons charge, when, in addition to the badly done "sting", he had never received his court date. He was finally convicted only of "failure to appear". I'm not saying William Wolf's case is at all similar, but the charges are the same.

[KickahaOta]

As I understand it, the litmus test for an entrapment defense is the question, "Where did the idea to commit the crime originate?". If a cop walks up to you on the street and asks if you want to buy some cocaine, that might well be entrapment. If, OTOH, he is just hanging around known drug areas and you approach him to ask for cocaine, the fact that he sells you some real cocaine provides you with no defense.

It's not that simple.

First of all, the contours of entrapment vary quite significantly in different parts of the world.

Even in the US, the standard has evolved significantly over time, and different states have different standards, as well as the federal government. The Wikipedia article on entrapment has a good discussion of this. Basically, from a federal perspective, it now boils down to predisposition -- was the defendant already predisposed to commit a crime (and the government merely provided the opportunity), or did the defendant have no intention to commit a crime until the government stepped in?

This is often called the "subjective" test, since it focuses on the defendant's subjective intent. Some states still use an "objective" test, in which the question isn't "Was this particular defendant predisposed to commit a crime?", but rather "Would the government's conduct have induced a reasonable normally-law-abiding-person to commit the crime?"

In either case, the test isn't "Did the police bring up the idea of the crime first?" That would make sting operations pretty much impossible -- someone who wanted to purchase drugs could just stand in a drug area, refuse to actually ask anyone for any drugs, and instead wait for someone to walk up and offer some (thus confirming that he's a 'genuine' illegal seller and not a cop).

[Lambkin]

I understand the value of stings in which the suspect ends up arrested for "wanna", but taking the trouble to provide someone with a lethal weapon and then charging them with having it makes me queasy.

Actually providing is the only sure way to demonstrate that he would actually buy it. Otherwise he could just say he was in on the joke. I'm not sure why it had to be a fully functional full-auto rig, but perhaps they just needed to ensure it would pass muster with someone who had enough knowledge to tell if it had been converted.

[notorial dissent]

It comes under the heading of that if he was wanting to buy such and such, then the seller had to come up with it or he might walk away since it would be assumed he would know what he was wanting to buy.

Same reason that they use real coke(or whatever) when they are trying to take down drug runners.

[arayder]

Can someone clarify a couple of points for me? The Saiga 12 is fully automatic anyway isn't it? So the legal issue is either he's not registering it as a fully auto weapon and or because he had the barrel cut down it isn't legal.

A fully automatic firearm works such that once the trigger is pulled and held in a firing position the action cycles, or fires all the rounds in the magazine.

A semi-auto firearm requires a trigger pull for each round fired.

The laws regarding fully-automatic weapons in the US are rather complicated.

For example, it is illegal for civilians to own full-auto weapons manufactured after 1986. Actually, only the receiver is bound by this prohibition. You can buy a receiver from a pre-1986 weapon and build a new weapon around it.

I'm not sure, but I believe that this prohibition would cover smooth-bore weapons, such as shotguns, as well. Since the Saiga was designed and first manufactured in the 1990's, no full-auto Saiga would be legal for a civilian to own in the US. Saiga probably exported semi-auto versions to the US, which some people then converted to full-auto. The laws require that this conversion be more than a simple parts replacement, but anyone with a decent machine shop and the appropriate knowledge can do it fairly easily.

Yes, and the process by which an individual in the U.S. goes about obtaining a fully auto weapon is so very expensive and arduous that very few shooters bother.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014 ... full-auto/

But some do. . . http://www.knobcreekrange.com/events/fe ... -gun-shoot

Knob Creek is about 20 miles from my door. I have been there. The machine gun owners and shooters tend to be well heeled rule followers. The guns and their ammo are very expensive.

[Judge Roy Bean]

... The machine gun owners and shooters tend to be well heeled rule followers. The guns and their ammo are very expensive.

Actually, while the regulated firearms are comparatively expensive, the ammunition itself is not, particularly if you have the equipment (and patience) to reload your own.

[arayder]

... The machine gun owners and shooters tend to be well heeled rule followers. The guns and their ammo are very expensive.

Actually, while the regulated firearms are comparatively expensive, the ammunition itself is not, particularly if you have the equipment (and patience) to reload your own.

I guess it's all relative. I am .22 cheap.

But back to the subject at hand. . .I have commented on this before, but I can't see why freemen and sovs let themselves get tripped up on things like this. I mean what the heck does Wolf really need a full auto shotgun for?

He can't kill cops with a semi-auto shot gun, or an AR-15, or a 1911?

I guess I am from the old school which held that if you are on the violent end of criminality the you don't get speeding or jay walking tickets or anything else that will get you tripped up. It's kind of like how organized crime realized that they had to have better fronts and accountants after Al Capone got jailed for failing to report his crime income to the IRS.

[Lambkin]

It comes under the heading of that if he was wanting to buy such and such, then the seller had to come up with it or he might walk away since it would be assumed he would know what he was wanting to buy.

Same reason that they use real coke(or whatever) when they are trying to take down drug runners.

Yeah I suppose you want to charge them with possession of the actual thing, not possession of fake coke with intent to buy real coke.

[Judge Roy Bean]

...

I guess it's all relative. I am .22 cheap.

But back to the subject at hand. . .I have commented on this before, but I can't see why freemen and sovs let themselves get tripped up on things like this. I mean what the heck does Wolf really need a full auto shotgun for?

He can't kill cops with a semi-auto shot gun, or an AR-15, or a 1911?

I guess I am from the old school which held that if you are on the violent end of criminality the you don't get speeding or jay walking tickets or anything else that will get you tripped up. It's kind of like how organized crime realized that they had to have better fronts and accountants after Al Capone got jailed for failing to report his crime income to the IRS.

In the fantasy world some of these people live in, an all-out confrontation with multiple enemy combatants is on a spectrum of possible, likely or certain. In close-combat situations against trained LEOs, massively superior firepower is their answer.

[arayder]

One of my Canadian relatives went through what we yanks consider the arduous Canadian screening process for firearm ownership.

During the interview process the authorities focused on the fact that he was a trained metal worker who could relatively easily modify a semi-auto rifle into a full auto. Interestingly after his approval my relative later bought an SKS, the same rifle Dean Clifford got busted for having but not registering.

My Canadian relative eventually got tired of the the approval process (I am assuming renewal or re-approval was done periodically) and sold all his firearms to a dealer.

[Jeffrey]

Arguably, for a final stand against the evil gubmint, a semi-automatic weapon would be superior to fully automatic.

[obadiah]

Unless you are being charged by a human wave and you can't miss, hand carried full auto is an ego thing, not a practical thing.