Documents Expose FBI Secretly Working with Hospitals to Disarm Americans Without Warrants - Report
Documents obtained by Gun Owners of America show the FBI worked with doctors in multiple states beginning in 2011 to disarm a number of American citizens, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
The Examiner, after reviewing documents obtained by the firearm rights group through the Freedom of Information Act, reported the disarmament occurred in five states and was done in secret.
More than two dozen people were affected, with at least five people having their gun rights completely revoked, according to the report, which said the records show the bureau worked in tandem with hospitals and medical clinics to strip individuals of their rights.
Examiner investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service worked directly with the FBI and without the approval of Congress.
People in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oklahoma were affected, according to the Examiner.
The plot used the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System Indices Self-Submission Form.
The form, if filled out and signed by a patient and a doctor, prevents an individual from buying, owning or handling firearms.
It permits the FBI to obtain mental health records for those who sign or are seemingly compelled to sign. The signatory is likely to be barred from exercising his or her Second Amendment rights for life.
The Examiner reported it had obtained internal FBI emails from September 2019 in which an agent and another bureau employee discussed working with a hospital to strip someone’s gun rights based on social media posts where a desire to buy a firearm was expressed.
“Agent, I have reviewed the NICS Indices Self-Submission Form regarding [redacted],” someone with the FBI wrote. “In order to make this entry, we will need to verify the subjects DOB. It appears as an incorrect DOB on the form. Also, if only the form is returned with no specific documents establishing federal criteria (see below), A temporary record will be created for this subject that will expire in 30 days.”
The hospital was not named.
Hours later, another FBI agent responded, “Attached is the Petition I submitted to the hospital to have [redacted] committed for Mental Treatment along with the supporting Social Media Posts expressing a desire to obtain a firearm.”
The FBI program to collude with hospitals to have the Indices Self-Submission Form filled out ran from 2011 to 2019, according to the Examiner.
It is not clear why the secretive program was halted.
In one instance in Massachusetts, a man was said to have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health treatment. The FBI “brought” a form for him to fill out, according to the report.
However, documents seen by the Examiner showed the man stated on the form he was in treatment voluntarily.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the Trump administration, commented on the reported collusion between the FBI and doctors.
“It really speaks to the rogue nature of the ‘Deep State’ mentality,” Cuccinelli told the Examiner.
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Documents discovered by GOA and shared with the Washington Examiner give additional credence to the scary fact that the US Government is abusing and weaponizing its power to restrict the rights of citizens. https://t.co/8sg9Y2vnJi— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) March 7, 2023
The fact that the FBI was working directly with medical facilities without any Congressional approval or oversight to force Americans to deem themselves a “danger” should be clear indication that the NICS system is broken and the FBI should be investigated. pic.twitter.com/hwmGpxBAMh
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) March 7, 2023
Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director for Gun Owners of America, told the Examiner, “Any time you have evidence of private entities coordinating with federal agents to strip Americans of their rights, the public should be alarmed and demanding answers and action.”
“This is just the latest terrifying new instance of the illegal NICS self-submission form being used in nefarious ways, and those who used it to violate the public’s trust must be held to account,” Johnston said.
The Examiner said the FBI did not respond to a request for comment.
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