WASHINGTON — In an unexpected holiday weekend jubilee, on Friday, September 4, President Trump pardoned five individuals who were victimized through wrongful gun-related prosecutions, including Patrick Tate Adamiak, one of the most well-known individuals in the 2A community.
Mr. Adamiak reportedly made the following statement:
The feeling of freedom is surreal. After four years on the inside, I’ve been free for less than an hour, and I’m still in shock.
I’m beyond grateful to my family, friends, legal team, the organizations and journalists who fought relentlessly for me, and the thousands of strangers who refused to let my story be forgotten.
Thank you to President Donald J. Trump for granting me a full and unconditional pardon and giving me my life back.
To everyone who stood with me when I couldn’t fight for myself – thank you. I’m finally free.
Also pardoned were Russell Fincher, George Peterson, Shane Cox, and Jeremy Kettler. Their wrongful convictions were related to purported offenses ranging from unregistered silencers to selling ammunition.
According to Gun Owners of America, Mr. Peterson stated, “This has been a long and arduous journey for me and my family. I have always had faith in God that he was guiding me and directing me to do His will. My case was the proverbial ‘tip of the spear’ in taking down the unconstitutional NFA.”
The wrongful convictions of those pardoned represent an era of weaponized government bureaucracy that peaked under the Biden-Harris administration, and for which the offending judges and government agencies still have much to answer.
Referring to Tate’s conviction in particular, which was facilitated by a dishonest ATF, William Kirk, host of Washington Gun Law YouTube channel, stated, “This is arguably one of the greatest pieces of injustice ever committed in the history of the American jurisprudence system.”
While many individuals, groups, and activists were involved in fighting for Mr. Adamiak, the reporting of Lee Williams, chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project, deserves special credit. Mr. Williams tenaciously followed this story, and published over 50 articles on the subject of Mr. Adamiak’s trial, many of which documented the criminal actions of ATF agents.
President Trump signed an executive order to protect the Second Amendment in February of 2025, and for the last 12-plus months, the Second Amendment community has been calling for the exoneration of these individuals. The Labor Day weekend is a fitting time to see Second Amendment political prisoners return to their families.
Another high-visibility case that has not yet been addressed is that of Dexter Taylor, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison by an activist New York judge who told his attorney, “Do not bring the Second Amendment into this courtroom. It doesn’t exist here. So you can’t argue Second Amendment. This is New York.” Mr. Taylor, a father with no prior criminal record, was convicted in 2024 after building unserialized firearms in his New York apartment – an activity that has been an American tradition since our founding.
