"I'll be taking those, thank you. Have a nice day."

Below is from an email I put out recently:

As you probably know, I was the principle organizer for the Restore the Constitution open carry rally which took place this past April 19th on the banks of the Potomac. It has been brought to my attention that,
unfortunately, one of the participants was stopped by police while on
his way home from the rally, and, unfortunately, the two officers who
stopped him seized his legal AK. He was charged only with a misdemeanor
and sent on his way, minus his gun. I can’t get too far into the
specifics at this point because I am still in communication with the
victim and he is trying to get his gun back. Once he is ready, I intend
to put out all details, names, everything. This is serious.

This is unwarranted gun confiscation. This is theft. This is the absence of the rule of law.

The officer is still working, to my knowledge, and the gun has not been returned to it’s owner. And the action was perpetrated against someone as a direct result of his choosing to travel and take time to
attend the Restore the Constitution open carry rally.

Part of the reason for holding the rally was to show that it could in fact be done and to verify the extent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights. By taking the participants weapon for no reason, a perfectly
legal weapon that the participant did not use in a crime, the officers
demonstrated that the citizen’s right to bear arms was not inalienable but
subject to the whim of the officer.

This cannot stand.

While it is only one incident, it could easily have been multiplied 10, 100, 1,000 times over. If police in Tennessee are able to seize someone’s firearm on a whim in one incident without recourse, what’s to
stop it from occurring on a larger scale? Where is the line drawn?

Additionally, this could have an obvious chilling effect on future armed rallies in which participants cross state lines. The fear of having one’s gun confiscated in a state distant from one’s home no doubt
played a part in many people’s decision not to attend the 4-19 rally.

This cannot stand.

At a minimum, the officer needs to be removed from the force and made an example of in that manner.

I’m sorry I cannot provide more information at this point, but I have to respect the wishes of the source/ victim. As soon as I am able to disseminate more info, I will do so. I am not asking anyone to do
anything in the absence of the full story, names and all. What I am
asking for is your willingness to get involved and bring all available
pressure to bear on this, once I am able to provide all the specifics,
and if you deem the details to fit with the broad outline of events i
just provided.

As I said, this is serious stuff. This is a line crossing. Damage has been done to all of our movement(s) and projects, and to the credibility of the Second Amendment.

Please confirm that you stand ready to assist in some manner once I am able to release more info.

-Daniel Almond.