(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ deadly March predawn raid on a Little Rock airport executive is beginning to look a lot like murder.
The ATF has yet to publicly comment on its killing of Bryan Malinowski, other than to say that the former director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport shot first. But Malinowski’s family has released footage showing the ATF covering a Ring doorbell camera before its raid, suggesting that Malinowski didn’t know who was at the door.
In a recent statement, Malinowski’s family said there is no publicly available evidence showing whether agents knocked on the door or announced their presence. His wife Maer said she only heard loud banging immediately followed by the crash of the front door being forced open.
“Bryan Malinowski was asleep but rose to the sound of the door crashing and located a firearm. His wife believed the noise must have been intruders and she fully believes her husband thought the same. He loaded a magazine into a pistol and emerged from the master bedroom into a hallway leading indirectly to the front entryway,” Malinowski’s family said.
“He reached a corner in the hall and looked around it to see several unidentifiable figures already several steps inside his home. We do not know who shot first but it appears that Bryan shot approximately three times at a decidedly low angle, probably at the feet of the intruders who were roughly 30 feet away.”
Meanwhile, it has been revealed the ATF’s raid on Malinowski was over a paperwork issue.
Malinowski was allegedly selling guns without having a required federal firearm license, of FFL. Someone is required to have an FFL if selling guns is his or her principal livelihood—though the Biden administration has recently changed that to cover potentially all private gun owners.
For that minor infraction, the ATF had Malinowski under surveillance for days, installed a GPS tracker on his vehicle, and had undercover ATF agents had made several controlled buys from him at gun shows.
Now, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is calling for answers amidst a state investigagtion.
“As someone who couldn’t be a bigger law enforcement supporter, when our government acts in a particular way that raises questions, we have an obligation to say something, Griffin said during an interview with local media Sunday.
“My understanding, having looked at the ATF rules is that they generally require a bodycam when there’s a preplanned raid, right? Why? Well, because information from a camera helps fill the vacuum of conspiracy and all this other stuff. So, record it with a bodycam that’s required and then there’s policy that it shall be released as soon as possible.”
According to Second Amendment journalist Lee Williams, the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating Malinowski’s killing. Once their investigation is complete, state prosecutors, not federal, will determine whether any ATF agent should face criminal charges, Williams said in an article Wednesday.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
