By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
As a lone appellate attorney representing Patrick “Tate” Adamiak is furiously preparing for an appeal hearing that takes place in Virginia in just eight days, rumors are swirling about whether any public official may help free the 31-year-old former sailor who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence even though he broke no law and did nothing wrong.
In all honesty, the rumors are doing much more than just swirling. They’re hitting like a Category 5 hurricane. I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’ve only been doing this for a few decades.
It’s too bad none of rumors are true.
President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and whoever is actually running the ATF lead the rumor list.
I’ve also been told that FBI agents, former FBI agents and possibly even ATF agents may also jump in at the last minute and help Adamiak’s bid for freedom.
One ATF official told me they were going to review Adamiak’s case and get a U.S. Attorney to release him from prison. However, this ATF official no longer returns calls. I think he was just playing for time and trying to stop us from telling and retelling Adamiak’s story.
I’ve even been told that Kash Patel has Adamiak’s file sitting right on top of his desk, but that he’s waiting for something yet unknown before he too jumps into action.
I believe none of these and neither does Adamiak.
As it stands now, not a single politician of any party has helped the young former sailor, who should be leading a Navy SEAL platoon rather than wasting two decades of his life sitting behind bars in a federal prison in New Jersey.
However, while the government waits and does nothing, pro-Tate activity in the gun community is actually increasing. He’s become the subject of pro-gun news stories, podcasts, websites, news shows and even fundraisers.
It’s time to recognize and thank those who made this possible.
First, I need to thank my boss, Alan Gottlieb, who founded the Second Amendment Foundation more than four decades ago. Mr. Gottlieb has let me run at Tate’s stories hard. He is much smarter than any newspaper editor I ever worked for, and I worked for more than a few.
Tate’s dad, Dave Adamiak, needs plenty of thanks, too. Dave helped create the Freedom for Tate website, which chronicles all of the stories and videos about his son. Now, he is attending gun shows seeking signatures of those who support his son. Dave does more to help Tate in just one day than most do in years.
Adam Myers, one of Tate’s former colleagues, has been a tremendous help too, for reasons best left unsaid.
The pro-gun media has led from the front with their stories about Adamiak. They were the first to recognize that the ATF was lying, that Tate did nothing wrong, and that he needs real justice.
Pro-gun readers have contributed massively too, but most of us knew long before Tate’s arrest that this is exactly the kind of crap the ATF is willing to pull. At least they didn’t shoot and kill him during his arrest like they have before.
Tate Adamiak is more than grateful for everyone’s interest, help and support.
“While I appreciate everyone’s help, I just hope it’s not too late. The government is trying anything they can do to affirm my conviction. I would like any one of these political leaders to actually look at what they are claiming to be machineguns—the physical evidence. It’s shocking to me they know who I am, but the evidence is straight forward. I did nothing wrong,” he said.
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