TEXAS MACHINE-GUN & ORDNANCE

DEALER MANUFACTURER IMPORTER EXPORTER BROKER

PO BOX 9091
BACLIFF, TX, 77518
WWW.TXMGO.COM
281-749-1438

3 January 2019

MEMORANDUM FOR U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Investigations Division, 1425 New
York Avenue, NW, Suite 7100, Washington, DC 20530.

SUBJECT: Request for Inspector General Assistance with ATF’s NFA Branch.

Bottom Line Up Front: This request is reluctantly submitted after exhausting all other options to professionally and
amicably resolve this matter. This request for assistance stems from my belief that the National Firearms Act Branch, of
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), has usurped the rule-of-law through its actions in
regard to the registration and transfer of explosive Destructive Devices under the National Firearms Act (NFA). This
request is exclusively oriented towards resolving the specific situation and is not a request for any further action or
investigations.

Overview:
1. This request for assistance regards two forms of wrongdoing:
• Abuse of Power: The administrators of NFA Branch have abused their official powers and authority through
abrogating their responsibility to impartially execute the duties of their position, and instead use arbitrary and
contradictory enforcement of unknown policies in regard to the transfer of Destructive Devices under the NFA,
and repeatedly refusing to reveal those policies.
• Violation of Federal Rulemaking Process: The administrators of NFA Branch have ignored the process
established under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) for legitimate rulemaking in the following manner:
Ø Replaced the required Federal Rulemaking Process, with arbitrary and ever-changing bureaucratic fiats
based on the whims of NFA Branch administrators.
Ø Failed to keep the public informed of NFA Branch’s policies and regulations, nor even provide any
guidance or clarification of what the latest administrative diktats on Destructive Devices are despite
reasonable and repeated requests for information.
Ø Failure to provide for public participation or comment on the unknown edicts it creates.

2. The requested resolution is:

• Approval ATF Form 4, Control Number 17-311-0287 for a TXMGO, The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch, S/N:
GRENADE-4-SEAN
• Approval of previously submitted Form 2s, 3s, and 4s for various Destructive Devices
• Written clarification of any additional requirements pertaining to the transfer of explosive Destructive Devices
• Protection from illegal retaliation for this action

3. This request is extremely narrow in both its scope and content, and I desire to resolve it at the lowest possible level
with as little conflict as possible. This request does not extend beyond the requested resolutions listed above, and we will
entirely drop this matter upon successful resolution of the request.

4. The question at hand is if NFA Branch’s administrators are able to arbitrarily choose what laws and regulations they
wish to follow, while also being exempt from the requirements of ATF’s own rulemaking process. Consequently, this is
purely a matter of the rule-of-law. This has no relationship with general firearms policy/regulation or the Second
Amendment. Additionally, the question of if NFA Branch should approve the transfer of a live hand-grenade or other
weapons to an individual as a matter of public policy is not relevant. Finally, the unusual nature of the weapons this
concerns is of no relevance either, as their status as Destructive Devices is prima facie. Therefore, this matter is entirely
about ATF’s arbitrary refusal to transfer Destructive Devices in accordance with the NFA.

6. Lindley Industries LLC (trade names: “Texas Machine-Guns & Ordnance” and “TXMGO”) is licensed by the ATF as
a Type 10, Manufacturer of Destructive Devices, Federal Firearms Licensee; Type 20, Manufacturer of Explosives,
SUBJECT: Request for Inspector General Assistance with ATF's NFA Branch. 3 January 2019

Federal Explosives Licensee; Type 08, Importer of Firearms Licensee; and Type 23, Importer of Explosives, Federal
Explosives Licensee. It is also a Class 02, Manufacturer of NFA Firearms, Special Occupational Taxpayer; authorizing it
to manufacture weapons controlled under the National Firearms Act (NFA), such as machine-guns, silencers, and
Destructive Devices.

7. Lindley Industries LLC has manufactured and registered a variety of explosive Destructive Devices including
fragmentation-grenades, bombs, and rockets; all of which are clearly Destructive Devices under 18 U.S. Code § 921. The
prima facie nature of the items as Destructive Devices is shown by the US Government’s regular prosecutions for
unregistered Destructive Devices for individuals found with such items. The registration of these items is done via ATF
Form 2 - Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported which have been submitted via both mailed in hard-copies, and
via ATF’s eForms online system.

8. In regard to the Form 4 for The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch discussed above and below, I submitted an ATF Form
4 to transfer a live fragmentation-grenade out of Lindley Industries LLC’s Federal Firearms License to myself as a
private individual. This transfer would be as both a Destructive Device under the NFA via the Form 4, and as explosive
materials transferring from Lindley Industries LLC’s Federal Explosives License, to my personal, Type 60, Limited
Permittee, Federal Explosives Permit. Though a live fragmentation-grenade certainly is an unusual weapon for a private
citizen to possess, it is not illegal provided relevant laws and regulations are followed. The two relevant statutes for this
are the National Firearms Act, and Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title XI, the lawful processes of which NFA
Branch has chosen to ignore.
• Under the NFA a grenade is a Destructive Device. Provided a Destructive Device is registered in the National
Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), a Destructive Device is able to be legally possessed. A
Destructive Device can be transferred via an ATF Form 4 to a non-licensee resident of the same state as the
licensee is in. The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch is a grenade, thus a Destructive Device. The-Holy-
Handgrenade-of-Antioch is registered in the NFRTR as a Destructive Device. I as a private citizen am a resident
of the State of Texas, which is the same state that Lindley Industries LLC’s FFL is located in and where
Destructive Devices are legal. Therefore, there is no reason the weapon cannot be transferred to myself as an
individual under the NFA.
• Under §555.105(b)(3) “A holder of a limited permit is authorized to receive explosive materials from a licensee
or permittee whose premises are located in the same State of residence in which the premises of the holder of
the limited permit are located”. A live grenade is an explosive material and can only be transferred between
explosive licensees and permittees. Lindley Industries LLC is an explosive licensee. I, Sean Lindley am an
explosives permittee. The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch is a live grenade and explosive material. Therefore,
there is no reason The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch cannot be transferred from Lindley Industries LLC to
myself as an individual under federal explosives regulations.

Abuse of Power:
1. I believe the responsibility for the abuse of power lies mostly with Ted Clutter, NFA Branch Chief
(ted.clutter@usdoj.gov and 304-616-4500). Mr. Clutter has both refused to execute his duties to apply the regulations in
an impartial manner and refused to explain his refusal to execute his duties. Instead his actions are quite similar to Lucy
from Peanuts, while I’m Charlie Brown and the Form 4 is the football. This breaks down into 3 general categories:
• Ever changing justifications for disapproval of Form 4s
• Inconsistent approval of ATF Form 2s and Form 3s
• Refusal to answer inquiries on policy

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SUBJECT: Request for Inspector General Assistance with ATF's NFA Branch. 3 January 2019

2. As opposed to the actions of a civil servant faithfully discharging the duties of his office, Mr. Clutter’s actions have all
the hallmarks of bureaucratic grasping at straws. Mr. Clutter exhibits a consistency one might expect from a magic 8 ball
or the spinner from Twister, not those of a seasoned government employee. Nor does Mr. Clutter appear to consider the
second and third order effects of his actions, which are detailed in Enclosures 1 and 2, emails to Mr. Clutter on 4 Nov
2017 and to his supervisor Alphonso Hughes (Alphonso.J.Hughes@usdoj.gov) on 13 Nov 2017, where if his creatively
interpretive fiats become policy and/or precedent, it may pose problems for the prosecution of actual criminals.
Examples of Mr. Clutter’s capricious and paradoxical reasoning are:
• Disapproving an ATF 4 for a TXMGO Clock, S/N: 000001 on 4 August 2017 due to being “incomplete”, when
there was nothing incomplete about it. When my customer inquired about the disapproval, the only answer was
that the item did not constitute a Destructive Device. This is quite a novel concept, as if one had such as item
without in being in the NFRTR, one would most likely be charged with a felony.
• NFA Branch’s rank hypocrisy is further demonstrated by disapproving a different Form 4 for the same model of
Destructive Device, TXMGO Clock, S/N: 7OF7 on 25 September 2018, is indicated by the following:
Ø The stated reason was because the transferee didn’t have a Federal Explosives Permit. By using that as
a justification, NFA Branch turns the entire justification for the previous Form 4 on its head, as an item
which supposedly wasn’t a Destructive Device, now needs a Federal Explosives Permit (FEP) to
transfer.
Ø The Transferee was given no chance to demonstrate that they have an FEP. Had this been a good faith
processing of the application, the Form 4 would have been sent back for corrections requesting proof
that the transferee has an FEP. Instead NFA Branch decided to find a new convenient excuse to deny
it, without even bothering to attempt to conceal their arbitrary actions. Bear in mind this is after
sending the Form 4 for The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch back supposedly for corrections related to
an FEP.
• The most damning evidence of NFA Branch’s charade is with The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch I am
transferring to myself, which truly is life imitating art with Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football. This is
elaborated in Enclosure 3, which is email traffic with NFA Examiner Jason Furshour (who I believe is merely
doing as instructed and is not at all part of this complaint):
Ø Initially it was returned for corrections requesting that my personal Federal Explosives Permit number
to be put in the section where the transferee’s Federal Firearms License should go. How a Federal
Explosives License number relates to a Federal Firearms License is quite a mystery to me as it is not at
all grounded in regulations. Yet I humored NFA Branch, filled it in and returned it.
Ø The Form 4 was returned again, now requesting that the address on the Form 4 matches the address on
my FEP. As explained in an email on 28 August 2018 to Mr. Frushour, this is an absurd requirement
not grounded in any law and regulation. On 4 September 2018, Mr. Frushour emailed me and
instructed me to mail it back for immediate approval.
Ø After not receiving the Form 4 back, on 25 September 2018, I emailed Mr. Frushour requesting an
update. On 26 September 2018 he responded that the application was “in review”. When requesting
additional information, on 1 October 2018, Mr. Frushour forwarded a message from his supervisor that
because I was physically in possession of the item through Lindley Industries LLC, that was reason to
further “review” the Form 4.

3. NFA Branch’s justification for further “review” because I am physically in possession of the item through Lindley
Industries LLC’s Federal Firearms License further exemplifies NFA Branch’s disregard for the rule-of-law. Legally
Lindley Industries LLC and I are two separate entities. Therefore, the item is legally not in my possession as an
individual. The de facto facts of the situation have no relevance to the adjudication of a Form 4 which is a matter of
established policy and procedures in accordance with the de jure facts of the matter. Rules, regulations, and written
procedures are designed to establish an impartial process of government functions and form a bedrock of legitimacy for
the government. Allowing bureaucrats to arbitrarily ignore rules, regulations, and established procedures at their leisure,
undermines the fundamental trust required for effective administration of the law.

4. Mr. Clutter’s own personal actions on various ATF Form 2s and Form 3s are entirely inconsistent. In some instances,
he has personally approved ATF Form 2s and Form 3s for various items, and on other examples of the same items,
neither approved nor disapproved multiple ATF Form 2s - Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported to register a
variety of items which are obviously classified as Destructive Devices. The refusal to act on attempts to register items
which are obviously Destructive Devices, shows Mr. Clutter picks and choose what duties he wishes execute based on
his personal fancies.
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SUBJECT: Request for Inspector General Assistance with ATF's NFA Branch. 3 January 2019

5. When asked as to why forms are not approved and requesting explanation as to what NFA Branch’s policies for
Destructive Devices are, the only explanation received from Mr. Clutter was from a customer’s inquiry as to why an
ATF Form 4-Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm, which was disapproved for being
“incomplete” without being incomplete. When asked how the form was “incomplete” Mr. Clutter refused to answer.
Further elaboration on this topic and the nature of the items is found in Enclosures 1 and 2. Neither of these emails were
responded to, nor were several other emails and phone calls to Mr. Clutter by me and a customer.

Violation of Federal Rulemaking Process:

1. Like all federal agencies, the ATF is subject to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and in fact the ATF’s
website has a flowchart which explains how legitimate rulemaking is done. Examples of legitimate rulemaking are things
such as the recent Final Rule 41F – Background Checks for Responsible Persons, clearly indicate the NFA Branch is
aware of the correct manner to implement changes to established rules. Yet NFA Branch’s actions seem to indicate that it
believes it is above the law and can unilaterally implement regulatory changes based on the unchecked impulses of
administrators.

2. The refusal of NFA Branch to answer reasonable requests for information and clarification of changes to
interpretations of the plain language of the law as written, shows a purposeful disregard by NFA Branch to keep the
public informed of established policies and procedures.

3. NFA Branch’s purposeful disregard of the requirements under the Federal Rulemaking Process, also undermines the
public’s right to comment on potential regulatory changes.

Summary:
1. As mentioned above, this request for assistance with NFA Branch is the culmination of months of fruitless efforts to
resolve this professionally and amicably with NFA Branch. However, NFA Branch has chosen to act in what we regard
as an unprofessional and potentially illegal manner. This comes as a great disappointment to us, as every other ATF
employee we have worked with has been 100% professional and helpful. NFA Branch’s actions bring discredit to the
organization. Arbitrary diktats and refusing to answer sincere questions from the public, undermine the credibility of the
organization and help to further the stereotype of ATF as an out of control bureaucracy bent on harassing gun-owners; as
opposed to an organization with patriotic Americans who follow their oath to “faithfully discharge the duties of the
office”.

2. This is the only instance where we have had conflict with the ATF, and we desire to resolve it as simply and quickly
as possible, so we can resume a normal professional relationship with NFA Branch. To again reiterate our desired
resolutions:
• Approval ATF Form 4, Control Number 17-311-0287 for a TXMGO, The-Holy-Handgrenade-of-Antioch, S/N:
GRENADE-4-SEAN
• Approval of previously submitted Form 2s, 3s, and 4s for various Destructive Devices
• Written clarification of any additional requirements pertaining to the transfer of explosive Destructive Devices
• Based on the unprofessional and arbitrary conduct of the administrators of NFA Branch, we request the
Inspector General’s assistance in monitoring of NFA Branch for potential illegal retaliation or harassment due
to our bringing attention to their unprofessional and potentially illegal conduct.

3. Point-of-contact for this memorandum is the undersigned at 936-334-4748, sean.lindley@txmgo.com or the address
on this memorandum’s letterhead.

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SUBJECT: Request for Inspector General Assistance with ATF's NFA Branch. 3 January 2019

ENCLOSURES:
1. Email to Ted Clutter dated 19 September 2017
2. Email to Alphonso Hughes dated 11 November 2017
3. Email traffic with NFA Examiner Jason Frushour