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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Your ATF on the Job: The Patrick Adamiak case | |
| 2026-05-19 | |
| [FreedomForTate] How the ATF Imprisoned an Innocent Sailor for 20 Years: A timeline of manufactured evidence, blocked testimony, and a conviction that legal experts say should never have happened. CHAPTER 1 The ATF Sting Operation In April 2022,
The headlines were sensational. The reality was very different. What the ATF Actually Found When agents raided Tate's home, they found no illegal weapons. Every item was a legally imported, deactivated WWII relic, surplus military parts kit, or replica collectible — items that had been approved by the ATF for civilian sale for decades. Rather than close the case, the ATF shipped Tate's collection to their Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division, where in-house gunsmiths rebuilt the inert items into functioning weapons using government-owned components Tate never possessed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu led the prosecution, relying on this manufactured evidence and misleading testimony to secure a conviction. CHAPTER 2 A Felon Informant Started It All Tate was never under investigation until a paid ATF confidential informant — a convicted felon with over 20 felony gun convictions — falsely reported that Tate possessed an Mk-19 grenade launcher in an attempt to get himself out of pending charges. What the informant actually saw was an air-powered replica. But his false report was enough to obtain a search warrant and set the entire case in motion. The investigation was triggered by a lie from a career criminal trying to save himself. Despite this, the ATF pressed forward — and the informant's credibility was never seriously challenged at trial. | |
| Posted by:Mercutio |
| #2 |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2026-05-19 06:49 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2026-05-19 06:35 |