(José Niño, Headline USA) Patrick “Tate” Adamiak, a former Navy Master-at-Arms, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence following his 2022 conviction for possessing and selling unregistered machine guns and destructive devices—charges stemming from him being targeted by an undercover ATF informant over his collection of historical parts and replicas.
The National Association for Gun Rights, a pro-Second Amendment organization, is demanding that President Donald Trump pardon Adamiak.
In an X post published last Friday, the National Association for Gun Rights called for President Trump to “immediately” pardon Adamiak.
We call on @POTUS to pardon Mr. Adamiak immediately.
Patrick "Tate" Adamiak, a serviceman in the Navy and a patriot, is serving 20 years in prison for possessing cut-up WWII parts kits and non-functional historical curios.
Why? The @ATFHQ told a criminal informant "find… pic.twitter.com/8eAUz64ziX
— National Association for Gun Rights (@NatlGunRights) March 28, 2025
Adamiak’s case has become a lightning rod in Second Amendment circles, with supporters arguing he is the victim of government overreach and prosecutorial misconduct.
He was an active-duty sailor who ran a side business called Black Dog Arsenal that sold military surplus items and firearms parts.
“I was buying guns, military surplus and replica firearms,” Adamiak told pro-Second Amendment writer Lee Williams. “My idea was to build a military display museum. I started buying, selling and trading to start my business, while I was in the Navy.”
Despite the innocuous nature of Adamiak’s activities, he was targeted by an undercover ATF informant. The informant was working off his own criminal charges.
“He used to own a machine gun shop,” Adamiak told Williams. “The ATF raided his house, found a gun and charged him with felon in possession. He kept asking me for a machinegun, which I never got him. I got him a shroud off of Gun Broker. The ATF paid him around $8,000 for my case alone.”
In October 2022, he was convicted on the following federal charges:
- Three counts of receiving and possessing an unregistered destructive device
- One count of receiving and possessing an unregistered firearm
- One count of unlawful possession and transfer of a machine gun
During an April 2022 search of his Virginia Beach home, investigators reportedly found “25 additional unregistered firearms, as well as two grenade launchers and two antitank missile launchers”.
At trial, the ATF argued these items constituted “machine guns” or “destructive devices” under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
Adamiak’s legal team and supporters contend that his conviction was based on ATF misconduct, flawed evidence, and unconstitutional reinterpretations of firearm regulation/
Adamiak received a 20-year prison sentence in June 2023.
Patrick Adamiak filed his notice of appeal on June 27, 2023, following his October 2022 conviction and subsequent 20-year sentencing for federal firearms charges.
The case (United States v. Adamiak, No. 23-4451) was docketed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on July 5, 2023.
As of the publication of this article, his appeal remains pending.
Defenders of Adamiak, which includes Williams, claim he “never sold a single real firearm—not one—even though he sold $10,000 per month of military gear and gun parts legally on his former website”. Organizations like San Diego Gun Owners argue he was selling demilitarized (“demilled”) parts kits that are not legally considered firearms and have been approved for import and sale by the ATF itself.
Williams also noted that an ATF technician modified RPGs so that they had holes drilled into their pipes and components removed—“taking the needed parts from one of ATF’s live RPGs and installing them and a subcaliber kit.
“Once restored, the ATF monkey managed to squeeze off one live 7.62x39mm round, which unfortunately, was all the jury needed to see,” Williams observed.
When asked about Adamiak’s ordeal, Taylor Rhodes, the Director of Communications at the National Association for Gun Rights, said the following:
President Trump should pardon Adamiak immediately. His case is a chilling example of the lingering effects of Biden’s ATF is weaponizing vague rules to target political enemies.
A major development in Adamiak’s case occurred last Wednesday, when the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Bondi v. VanDerStok figures prominently in the legal battle surrounding Adamiak’s conviction. The VanDerStok decision upheld the ATF’s authority to regulate ghost guns under the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968.
Following that decision, interim US Attorney Erik Siebert’s letter to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the SCOTUS decision supports the Justice Department’s prosecution of Adamiak. He asked the appeals court to affirm Adamiak’s conviction.
If Adamiak’s appeal is denied, pro-gun advocates such as Lee Williams warn the case could embolden ATF overreach. In addition, Rhodes told Headline USA that “unless the executive branch rolls back the rule and pardons Adamiak, the conviction stands.”
Before his arrest, Adamiak had served in the Navy for roughly 10 years.
Adamiak was also on track to become a SEAL officer. He has a service record that included “the Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist qualification, a Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and a Good Conduct Medal.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
