In this shocking first time moment, 20 heavily armed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents completed a raid on a local gun store in Great Falls, Montana.
The agents seized Form 4473, a document that contains buyer’s information obtained during transaction, from Highwood Creek Outfitters.
Owner of the gun store, Tom Van Hoose, reveals that he has been under strict surveillance by both state and federal agencies for the last two years.
During the early morning of Wednesday, June 14, the agents arrived at the shop just as Van Hoose was preparing to open shop for the day.
KMON Radio reported on the incident:
“We have now confirmed that both the IRS and the ATF were at Highwood Creek Outfitters in Great Falls around 7 am this morning. Both the IRS and ATF would not say why they were there.”
The news outlet continued, “A spokeswoman for the IRS would only say they were there on official IRS business. 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.”
Van Hoose shared that that various agencies who had been scrutinizing him for the past two years included Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and now, the Internal Revenue Service.
While speaking to MTN News, Van Hoose stated, “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. However, anyone familiar with gun business profit margins would know that’s not the case.”
The gun shop owner was told that his business had been reported, although it was not explained who made the report or why. Van Hoose believes the incident was politically motivated.
Van Hoose stated:
“I can only assume that it’s because of the style of weapons that we have and the press that’s so against them. The current administration seems to be hell bent on getting those guns out of the hands of average Americans.”
As a result of the raid, the shop experienced a significant loss in revenue.
