(READ) Watchdog sues for ATF records about shooting death of Arkansas Airport Official

The watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) records regarding the fatal shooting of Little Rock, Arkansas, resident and Executive Director of the Clinton National Airport: Bryan Malinowski.

Malinowski was shot and wounded by ATF agents in shootout an ATF raid on his home in March. He died of his injuries. When originally asked for pertinent records, ATF produced only heavily redacted search warrant court filings.

The lawsuit was filed June 10, 2024, after the ATF failed to respond adequately to an April 16 FOIA request for:

All emails and text messages sent to and from ATF officials regarding Little Rock resident Bryan Malinowski who died in an ATF raid on March 19, 2024.

All records related to the raid on the home of Bryan Malinowski, including but not limited to, re-operational briefing documents, raid plans, investigative reports, memoranda, warrants and audio and video recordings.

On April 22, 2024, Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, asking for details about “the deadly pre-dawn raid conducted by ATF in Little Rock, Arkansas, while executing a search warrant on the home of Bryan Malinowski, a local airport executive.”

An affidavit, which was unsealed after Malinowski’s death and produced to Judicial Watch, alleged he unlawfully sold guns without a license.

Malinowski’s family lawyer and former federal prosecutor, Bud Cummins, reportedly described Malinowski’s gun sales as “a hobby and protected by the Second Amendment.” In testimony before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives, Cummins testified, “Malinowski never broke any laws selling the way he did, even when a handful of weapons turned up at crime scenes later.”

Video footage of the raid recently released by X and the Arkansas Times, shows that Malinowski’s wife thought that the law enforcement officers raiding their home were intruders.

“The Biden ATF’s deadly raid on Bryan Malinowski’s home, in what was essentially a licensing dispute, screams out for a thorough examination,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Slow walking the release of basic information about this raid suggests that the ATF has something to hide.”