By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Days after FBI and IRS agents staged a raid on a Great Falls, Montana gun shop, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is demanding details about the search from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
Daines sent a letter Wednesday after several days of mystery surrounding the incident. According to Tom VanHoose, owner of Highwood Creek Outfitters, 20 heavily-armed IRS agents came to his store on June 14 and left hours later with more than 20 boxes filled primarily with federal 4473 forms, but only one box containing financial information.
“They were professional, courteous, and didn’t ransack my store or living quarters,” Van Hoose acknowledged.
However, he cannot understand why IRS agents would want the 4473 forms, which are supposed to only go to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They contain no financial information. He said one ATF agent was present, but apparently his effort to prevent the IRS from taking the 4473 forms was reversed.
In his letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, Sen. Daines wants answers to the following:
- What was the scope of the search warrant you used to gain access to the store?
- Were ATF Form 4473’s seized as part of the investigation? If so, what do your agencies
intend to do with the information they contain?
- What communication, if any, did you have with local and state law enforcement prior to
the events of June 14th?
- Will you commit to sharing pertinent information and updates regarding your
investigation, where appropriate, with local law enforcement and the community moving
forward?
Daines further told Werfel, “Among the documents reportedly seized were Firearms Transaction Records (ATF Form 4473) that contain the personally identifiable information (PII) of prospective firearm purchasers.
“With the PII of an unknown number of Montanans potentially collected by your agents,” Daines continued, “the store’s customers and the community are rightfully concerned. As a result, local law enforcement has been inundated with calls and inquiries seeking information they are unable to provide.”
Great Falls is in Cascade County, where the sheriff is Jesse Slaughter. TGM reached out for comment, but he did not immediately respond.
VanHoose was alarmed at the number of IRS agents involved in the search of his shop. He said they apparently came from three different states. He retained an inventory of everything those agents took.
In the 13 years he has been in business, VanHoose told TGM he has been visited by ATF agents on routine inspections, but he was overwhelmed by the number of IRS agents and the firepower they brought.
“You can’t make sense of this unless it is a backdoor way to get firearm disposition records which they are not supposed to have,” VanHoose said.
He has been inundated by calls from across the map, and even from Europe. He is scheduled to appear on Fox News with Jesse Waters.
TGM spoke with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, whose office is looking into the incident. He confirmed the IRS agents all came from outside of Montana, but there has been no explanation about what they were looking for and why Van Hoose was not approached in a subtler way, such as with a letter or phone call rather than such a show of force.
“It’s a mess,” Knudsen said, “and the more we dig, the more frustrated we become.”
Knudsen said nobody from the IRS coordinated with the Montana Department of Justice.
“We found out about it the next day,” he said.
Knudsen has contacted Daines’ office and the local congressional representative, U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, who lives in Great Falls. Rosendale issued a statement on the day of the search: “I’m incredibly disturbed by initial reports that the IRS and ATF closed Highwood Creek Outfitters without any warning today.This is yet another example of the Biden Administration weaponizing federal agencies to target and harass hardworking Americans. We cannot allow Biden to continue expanding these agencies to infringe on our liberties.”
Knudsen said the incident appears to have been a “gross overreaction” by IRS agents.
Meanwhile, VanHoose is trying to raise money for legal action. He has opened a site at GiveSendGo.com for this purpose.
He has also scheduled a rally at his shop on July 1, and that event is already drawing attention from across the country. One firearms retailer based in Scottsdale, Arizona is apparently planning to fly up for the event. The theme of the rally is “Stand Up or Bend Over,” and VanHoose said he will be handing out stickers bearing the initials SUBO. Before long, he expects everyone in Montana will know what the initials stand for.
