20 “Heavily Armed” IRS and ATF Agents Conduct Raid on Gun Shop

A gun shop owner said 20 heavily armed federal agents raided his store Wednesday.

Tom Van Hoose, the owner of Highwood Creek Outfitters, said “at 7:30, I came in and they pulled in behind me with 20 heavily armed agents.”

Van Hoose said his gun shop has been under state and federal surveillance for two years now.

The raid, carried out by IRS and ATF agents, shows the federal government’s relentless pursuit to survey gun buyers’ information and dismantle the 2nd Amendment.

It has begun. Bidens IRS agents targeting gun stores & seizing gun buyers information. Our 2A is under seige. https://t.co/1roJKTfOYS

— C Young (@cathyyoung421) June 17, 2023

Van Hoose said Highwood Creek Outfitters has been targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the State of Montana and now the Internal Revenue Service.

“The fact that they think we make so much money as a gun business that they had to come investigate all the thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars whatever it is we supposedly absconded with, anybody that knows the margins in the gun business knows they’re not that high,” he said.

Van Hoose explained the raid felt political, according to KRTV.

“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.”

Van Hoose says the agents were cordial and professional, but still felt invaded and now has lost nearly a whole day’s revenue.

“I got 30 minutes of operating time in and made one $16 sale,” said Van Hoose.

Van Hoose says his shop has a good relationship with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fiearms, which was also present. He says because his shop carries “fun guns” like AR-15’s and AK-47s their level of licensing draws more scrutiny.

“We have a reputation of dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s because there’s so much legal fun to be had,” said Van Hoose. “It’s just not worth doing things that are going to get you in trouble.”

Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter says there is no law stating that the sheriff must be notified prior to any such investigation by federal agents.

The Great Falls Police Department was notified of the investigation and provided security.

KMON Radio on Wednesday confirmed the IRS and ATF’s presence at Highwood Creek Outfitters:

We have now confirmed that both the IRS and the ATF were at Highwood Creek Outfitters in Great Falls around 7am this morning. 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 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.

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) sent a letter to the ATF and IRS demanding answers for this weaponization of government.

“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 tweeted.

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! pic.twitter.com/IGyoWLrRu0

— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2023

Read the letter below:

“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 with sensitive personal details of every customer who purchased a firearm from Highwood Creek Outfitters,” Rosendale tweeted.

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 spoke about the raid on Newsmax earlier this week.

WATCH:

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

WLTReport reported earlier this year that the IRS had 360 vacancies on its USAJOBS page for “Criminal Investigator” and one of the key requirements is to carry a firearm.

IRS Posts Job Openings for Armed Agents in Every State