Georgia Congressman's gun shop being monitored by feds

Guns sold at Rep. Clyde's shop linked to crimes, ATF says

Andrew Clyde

A gun shop in Athens that is owned by a Georgia Congressman is being monitored by federal investigators.

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Athens) is the owner of Clyde Armory, a gun store on Atlanta Highway located about 20 minutes from Sanford Stadium. Clyde is only in his second term representing mountainous Northeast Georgia in Congress but has quickly become a favorite on the far-right for his opposition to bills that restrict access to guns.

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing last spring, Clyde and his fellow Republicans grilled the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) about a watchlist, known as Demand 2, which monitors gun stores and manufacturers that produce a high number of firearms that are associated with or used in violent crimes.

But Rep. Clyde omitted the fact that his Athens shop is now under that same watchlist. An open records request revealed that at least 25 weapons bought at Clyde Armory had been used in violent crimes within three years of their purchase.

The New York Times has more:

It is not clear what crimes were traced to guns sold through Mr. Clyde’s stores, or whether his businesses have been cited for violations that could be used to revoke their licenses. Restrictions on releasing information about federally licensed dealers, imposed by Republicans at the urging of the National Rifle Association, prevent the A.T.F. from publicly disclosing most information about traces.

But the agency regards a Demand 2 designation as an important indication that a seller might be a popular destination for criminals or the target of so-called straw purchasers who use surrogates to buy guns, according to current and former law enforcement officials.

The time element is critical. Guns traced to crimes within three years of their purchase are considered weapons that have a brief “time to crime,” a serious warning sign.

The Times goes on to note that only 3 percent of the roughly 80,000 federally licensed gun stores in the United States are part of the Demand 2 program.

Clyde has so far not responded to these new developments. As mentioned before, he has been an outspoken opponent of bills that restrict gun rights. In February he admitted to handing out assault rifle-shaped lapel pins to his colleagues as the House honored victims of gun violence.

Perhaps most memorably, Rep. Clyde has downplayed the seriousness of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, dismissing the violent pro-Trump mob as a “normal tourist visit” after he was photographed that day helping his colleagues barricade the doors leading to the House chamber.

Clyde later said that his comments, which were met with widespread condemnation from Democratic leaders, were taken out of context.