By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
Special to Liberty Park Press
The Ft. Devens Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc., warned Fort Devens officials multiple times that if they didn’t let the civilian club shoot, they would take official action.
Act they did.
On Tuesday, the gun club sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, notifying him of the five-year history of problems that the gun club has had with Fort officials. The letter was written by the club’s treasurer, James Gettens, an attorney and Iraq War veteran.
“On instructions issued by bent DoD civilian lawyer John Hollis, Fort Devens chain of command has, since the March 20, 2025, Judgment and Order entered in the action referred to above, employed multiple stratagems to evade implementing that Judgment and Order and thus has prevented the Club and its members from using Fort Devens,” Gettens wrote. “That dishonesty and obstructionism forced the Club to file its Motion for a Finding and Order of Contempt, with supporting documents.”
Copies of the letter were also sent to LTG Omar J. Jones, IV, the three-star general in charge of U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Stephen Miller, Esq., the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association.
It was DoD’s civilian lawyer, Hollis, who initially stonewalled the Club’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Gettens wrote, for which the club paid $1,056 and never received a single document.
“The Club was never repaid the $1,056. Hollis should be fired for continuing misconduct,” the letter states.
The Ft. Devens Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc., also told Secretary Hegseth how the Fort was over-charging their gun club and non-DoD law enforcement organizations, too.
“The Club demonstrated that Fort Devens is only paying a daily rental fee of $2.29 per ‘Porta-John’ but is still charging municipal, state, and federal non-DoD law enforcement agencies more than $140 per range outing for use of a ‘Porta-John’ located near each firing range,” the gun club reported in its letter.
Gettens was very clear to Hegseth about the Fort’s obstructionism.
“I remind you that on February 7, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order upholding and promoting U.S. citizens’ Second Amendment rights.” Gettens wrote. “I suggest that you order all component commands to honor citizens’ Second Amendment rights and implement 10 U.S. Code Section 7409 honestly and in good faith.”
The gun club held regular shoots at the large military base for decades until December 2020, when Joe Biden’s defense officials decided to bill gun clubs for using their ranges, which violated federal law.
“Moving forward, the Department will no longer provide non-reimbursable support of any nature to other Federal, State, Territorial, Tribal, or local government entities; private groups and organizations; foreign governments; and international organizations (hereinafter non-DoD entity or entities), unless such support is required by statute or if discretionary non-reimbursable support is authorized but not required by statute. such support: (I) is authorized by the DoD Joint Ethics Regulation or DoD Public Affairs guidance; or (2) is provided after approval of an exception under the process prescribed below,” Biden’s DoD officials wrote in a June 2020 memo titled “Reimbursable Activities in Support of Other Entities.”
The gun club first filed suit in August 2022. The club won the lawsuit March 20, 2025. The Fort had 60 days to appeal the court order but allowed it to expire without filing any appeal. Club members showed up to shoot on May 13, 2025, but officials wouldn’t allow them access. The club had been told they would shoot handguns, so all of the members brought handguns. However. when they arrived at the base they were told they had been reassigned to a rifle range without any notice.
As part of their initial response, the gun club filed a motion for an order of contempt against Fort officials, which has officials scared, insiders say.
Fort Devens public relations officer, John Quinn, had not yet received the letter. Gettens, however, was willing to talk.
“Secretary Hegseth has to see the microcosm first—what the Fort did to our club. However, we know this is going on all across the nation. It has to stop.” Gettens said Wednesday.
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