DOJ Expands Asset Seizure to ATF

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice altered rules to initiate a one year trial program to allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives the right to seize assets believed to be used in conjuction with a crime. Citing the close connection between firearms and drugs, the rule change allows for guns to be seized on the mere suspician that a crime has been committed. President Obama's civil liberty page has been updated to reflect this page.
The Department of Justice’s Assets Forfeiture Fund had $2.8 billion in booty in 2011, according to a January audit. In 2011, the Justice Department destroyed or kept 11,355 guns and returned just 396 to innocent owners. Critics of the rule have stated that it was designed to ramp up gun confiscation.