Kyle Myers (FPS Russia) raided

Sounds like feds grasping at straws to me. Go after the high profile gun guys, try to scare the average Joe. Can we say propaganda war?

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Average Joe? Given essentially none of us have legal access to many of the weapons used in the videos i think that's a stretch. Let's also not forget about the murder and the feds made statements about explosives.

Yeah, this might be related to the murder investigation but it is not really known yet. I am not sure that they can go after him for the explosives and profiting stuff. He did not, that I know of, manufacture the explosives but purchased them. I am sure he makes money off the videos though.

The charges definitely look like fishing on the ATF's part. "Manufacturing explosives for commercial use/profit"? If mixing tannerite together is "manufacturing explosives" then I guess under the strict sense of the law yes, he was.

However, the conflicting testimony from the Sheriff's department that this raid was in connection to the murder of his partner seems to present a more muddled picture.

Wait and see...

What day is it today?

What day is it today?

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You already know the answer to that, but the story broke last week.

Solo said:

What day is it today?

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Today is April first but the article is from March 29th

Solo - sadly I think this is a legitimate news article. Plus, it was posted on the 29th - last Friday.

-e-: Just to re-iterate, I think this article is legit from last week .

Dang, they must cater to retards with all their hotlinks to every other word and what words they conveyed were actually worthless to the "issue". and forty agents when all you gotta do is knock on the front door, remove actor/s and secure the premises for search?

Here's the article I first read from the 28th... http://www.guns.com/2013/03/28/fpsr...rss&utm_campaign=fpsrussia-home-raided-by-atf

“It’s difficult for people to understand how [Myers] makes a living off of a monetized Youtube channel.”
...
...Coes said that the warrant is usually the beginning of an investigation.

Wandel said that she and Myers are in shock about all this, but are trying to help with authorities the best they can. “I offered them the accounts over a month ago,” she said due to the lack of understanding of how Youtube paid it’s directors like FPSRussia.

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Looks like this began months ago with inquiries about money. The ATF appears to be in the dark about how YouTube channels make money and the investigation originated around that issue.

He recently had a video with supposed HE50bmg ammo but in the same video he made a remark that he had packed the target with an explosive recipe of his own. Whether or not these comments in an entertainment context would/should be enough to raid his home and his father's property, I don't know but it seems like the ATF didn't have a whole bunch of evidence to begin with and their raid turned up nothing to add.

If they are just fishing, it would be like the feds raiding the home of Brad Pitt because of some comments he made while portraying a fictional character in a video.

So if I film myself building an AR and host the how-to on youtube, I'm manufacturing firearms for profit without a license.

Bovine Fecal Matter.

I also pretty sure the laws 'DEALING IN THE BUSINESS OF' mixing tannerite and filming it is not being in the business of mfg explosives. Profit has nothing to do with it.

Making black powder at home, if you allow others to use it, could possibly make you in violation. They will kill us by a thousand laws, sooner or later you too will be in violation.

I was reading about this yesterday... it is an interesting situation.

• The guy who was murdered, Keith Ratliff, had a Class 10 FFL.
• The star of the videos, Kyle Myers, is an American faking a Russian accent (at first I thought the Russian Mafia might have been upset with his act and knocked off the wrong guy).
• The federales tossed his property and reportedly found no infringing firearms or explosive materials, nor the "murder weapon".

It "sounds like" the federales think something fishy is going on, but can't prove anything and are trying to use "You made money on a YouTube video of an otherwise legal explosion" like they use "Tax Evasion" charges to prosecute organized criminals and other people who get sideways with them that they can't prosecute otherwise.

If profiting from filming an explosion equates to "explosives manufacture for profit", Hollywood is in deep doodoo....

Just sayin'.

Hollywood is in deep doodoo....

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Don't be ridiculous, they'll be wavered...

You're not suggesting the feds would enforce the law selectively, are you? That's crazy talk! If tgey did that, the next thing you know, they'd be selectively enforcing drug law, or immigration ...

There is still, in this country, such a thing as the rule of law and equal protection under the law.... isn't there?

Lol yeah right

If profiting from filming an explosion equates to "explosives manufacture for profit", Hollywood is in deep doodoo....

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Quite certain they have the necessary permits.

Speaking of, the ATF really started cracking down on businesses who use explosives over the last 5yrs or so. Its kinda sad when your average joe reloader can keep and store more explosive material than a business that depends on it for its operations.. i.e. Cutters and Perforating Guns in the Oil and Gas Industry

"If profiting from filming an explosion "

Talk about getting far off the subject and trying to confuse things with silliness.

The law posted on the ATF site says a person cannot make explosives and use them in a business - blasting, entertainment, etc.

There isn't anything about filming, so I suppose you were making a bad joke, right?

The ATF site specifies that mixing 2 things together and getting an explosion is making an explosive.

John

The ATF ultimately found nothing. He kept his stuff on the straight and narrow.

Fishing expedition

They suspect, but can't prove anything, they probably hoped to stumble across incriminating evidence, but didn't.

Having pulled a few warrants (and assisted in the execution of many years ago...) you can call it a fishing expedition all you want, but I have my doubts and here's why...

In a preliminary investigation (even if it's just comprised of a study of published stuff...) you have to come up with facts and circumstances that allow you to provide a sworn affidavit to a judge to get your warrant (and that goes for any kind of warrant....). Yes, there are always judges that will look favorably on law enforcement and not be too picky about what your'e submitting... but most won't authorize a warrant without specific cause, either. Whether the results of your search help or hurt your ongoing investigation - that you just won't know until the dust settles. Yes, there are times when a minor crime -if proved... will allow you to develop info about a major crime... and that can be very attractive.

Now for the kind of stuff you won't see on TV or at the movies... If it's a serious crime (and there is a homicide at issue in the published data...) then everything should be done strictly by the book and as carefully and with as much thought as possible. A homicide investigator at a murder scene who sees a portion of a firearm (maybe the murder weapon...) in a locked vehicle will usually get a warrant first before retrieving that possible piece of evidence - something that many will consider a waste of time. The main reason is that if a judge issues a warrant, then the search is legal in most instances. If the investigator acts on his/her own, then the search can be challenged in any subsequent court case..... Not exactly entertaining but very important since you not only want to arrest the killer but you also want a successful prosecution....

My guess in this situation is that there's a lot of info we're not hearing about and we'll just have to wait to find out what's really going on. If this is a federal prosecution, that will be a long time.....

I've often wondered how he could procure and demonstrate so many high-end (to me) pieces of hardware on his channel. But he is doing it, so it must be on-the-level, even after the alphabet soup agency fishing expedition.

If the explosive stuff is what prompted a criminal investigation, it sounds like he prevailed, for the moment.

I have this vision where the lead agent points his two fingers at his eyes and turns them around and pokes them at FPS, as they get into their assault vehicles and ride off into the sunset.

Time will tell.