By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
Tuesday should have been a big day for the Fort Devens Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc. After a legal battle that lasted three years, the civilian gun club members were about to return to the ranges of Fort Devens for a day of shooting and camaraderie.
The small but legally proficient gun club had won their lawsuit against the Fort. It had filed suit against officials for violating federal law granting them access to military rifle ranges at reasonable rates, as well as violating their members’ constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law.
The club members were thrilled to go back to the Fort. One drove more than two hours from Cape Cod to get there. However, not a single member was able to fire a single round.
According to new legal documents not yet filed by the gun club, which may seek a contempt order from the judge, Fort Devens commander, Lt. Col. Carlos Poventud-Estrada, and civilian Department of Defense lawyer, John C. Hollis, are personally responsible for ruining their range day.
The documents allege that the two officials, “intentionally and deliberately ignored, undermined, and disregarded this Court’s March 20, 2025 Judgment and Order and has interposed upon plaintiff and its members contrived and arbitrary new conditions and requirements in a concerted effort to keep plaintiff off defendant’s firing ranges, including the absolutely outrageous misconduct it perpetrated upon plaintiff and plaintiff’s members on May 13, 2025.”
The gun club may also seek a court to order U.S. Marshals to enforce the judge’s order “at the disobedient party’s expense.”
The club’s treasurer, James Gettens, knows best what happened and how things came to be. Gettens has been a club member since 1998. He is also a former Army JAG lawyer who served in the Iraq War.
On Tuesday morning, Gettens met other club members in the range parking lot. The club had reserved a handgun range for the day. Its members were excited to be back.
“I drove from Sterling. Others drove in from Bolton, Clinton, Lancaster, and Leominster,” Gettens wrote in a new document in support of the club’s motion for contempt.
Unfortunately, at around 8 a.m., two range officers told the club members that they were now prohibited from using pistol ranges and popup ranges. The staffers told the gun club they could go to a nearby rifle range, but Gettens pointed out that the club members had only brought pistols for their range day.
The club’s new court documents, which have not yet been filed, accuse both Hollis and the Fort’s commander of “imposing serial artificial, contrived, and non-sensical conditions and barriers in a transparent effort to prevent the Club from using Fort Devens firing ranges.”
These are nearly the same allegations contained in the gun club’s original lawsuit, which accused the Army staff of violating 10 U.S.C § 7409 by attempting to charge unreasonable and exorbitant range fees; violating 36 U.S.C § 40727 by failing to provide logistical support to a certified affiliate of the Civilian Marksmanship Program; violating 5 U.S.C. § 552 by failing to provide documents sought in a FOIA request, as well as violating the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights of due process and equal protection and treatment under the law.
Prior to 9/11, the club hosted many shooting events including Northeast High Power League Rifle matches and the annual Colt Cup Match.
After the terrorist attacks, the Fort began limiting the number of privately owned vehicles permitted on post, and refused to grant the club access on weekends, which killed the matches and severely reduced club membership.
Prior to the lawsuit, members were only allowed to shoot twice a month, usually Tuesday mornings—one day for rifles, one for pistols.
In a brief interview Wednesday, Gettens blamed the Fort’s actions on the club’s lawsuit.
“They lost and they can’t deal with it,” he said.
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