Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told Newsmax on Friday the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives needs to answer for a predawn raid in March that resulted in the death of a 53-year-old Arkansas man.
ATF agents raided the home of Bryan Malinowski, the executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton International Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the early hours on March 19 to serve a search warrant. According to the affidavit for the search warrant, Malinowski was being investigated for purchasing more than 150 guns between May 2021 and February 27, 2024, and reselling them without a license.
Malinowski and his wife were asleep when agents broke down his door. He grabbed a handgun and fired three shots at a low angle, possibly at the agents’ feet, family attorney Bud Cummins told KATV in Little Rock. The agents returned fire, killing Malinowski.
It is not known who shot first or whether the agents announced who they were before entering. Malinowski’s wife, Maer, said she only heard loud banging immediately followed by the crash of the front door being forced open, KATV reported.
“It’s beyond me as to why this isn’t one of the most talked about news stories in America,” Huckabee told “Eric Bolling The Balance.” “This is a very prominent individual, manager of the Little Rock airport. A gun collector. Was there something that he was doing that was criminal? We don’t know. He was never charged.
“He was being served with a search warrant. But it’s 6 a.m. and they break his door down while he’s sleeping and proceed to shoot him in the head and kill him. There’s something here that we need to know.”
Huckabee said the big question is, Why didn’t the ATF approach Malinowski during the day, maybe when he was leaving his home for his office at the airport, or even at his airport office, which would be in a gun-free zone?
“There are no questions being answered by the ATF right now,” Huckabee said. “It’s just bizarre.”
Huckabee said there are so many unknowns, including whether the agents were wearing body cameras and if such footage is available. The only video made available was footage from the doorbell camera on Malinowski’s home and from a neighbor’s home. The footage showed an agent covering up the camera at Malinowski’s home.
“That’s one of the things that’s disturbing,” Huckabee said. “Once they carried out the shooting, they have answered no questions. One of the things they are required to do is have body-worn cameras. We don’t know if they had them.
“If they did have them, then release the footage, and if they didn’t have them, then they have a lot of explaining to do as to why they didn’t.”
KATV reported that the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the incident at the request of the ATF. Once it finishes its investigation, the file will be handed over to the prosecuting attorney, who will determine if the use of deadly force was justified under state law.
“I’ve read the search warrant,” Huckabee said. “They wanted to search to see what weapons and firearms he may have had at his home. They had some questions, OK, but this is a process crime.
“At this point, it is a paperwork crime, and even if he was guilty of the worst thing they thought he might be guilty of, it basically is a typical probation [punishment]. It certainly doesn’t warrant that kind of draconian raid on his home.”
Newsmax reached out to the ATF for comment.
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