Olofson Released
April 2011
Regular readers of our work will remember the story of David Olofson. He was a decorated veteran and Sergeant in the Army National Guard who was convicted of illegally transferring an unregistered machinegun after he loaned a 20-year old AR15 rifle to a friend and the rifle malfunctioned while the young man was shooting it at a local range. Olofson appealed the conviction all the way up to the Supreme Court, but was denied and ordered to serve 30 months in prison. That sentence has now been completed and David is finally out of prison.
The saga, which began in July of 2006 will never truly be over as Olofson is now a convicted felon with all of the stigma and loss of rights associated with that label and his military and professional careers have been thoroughly destroyed. Nor can Olofson recapture the time he lost with his kids, one of whom was born just as the case began and has only known her father through visits to the Federal Prison.
Thanks to some support from the Gun Owners Foundation, the family managed to keep their home during David’s forced absence, but the struggle isn’t over. It can be hard for someone with a felony conviction on their record to find work so Olofson has launched an on-line business selling hand made, natural soaps and bath products. Our first order for gift baskets have already been placed and we hope that many of our members and guests will also choose to sample Olofson’s wares.
To visit the Olofson’s business, place an order, and show your support, Click Here.
The other shoe drops: Supreme Court denies cert
Latest Development: Octover 14, 2009
David Olofson’s case was rejected without comment by the Supreme Court on October 13.
Links to CNN, Lou Dobbs report on this case:
First Segment click here.
Second Segment click here.
Note: This is a longer format than our normal Knox Reports. This was written for general public consumption so forgive some of the rudimentary explanations, etc. A shorter, more concise version was produced for Shotgun News and other “gun media,” but we felt it was best to post the full version here.
Here is a link to an image library containing dozens of documents from the case – Click Here. The library also contains a few photo’s of military gear that has nothing to do with the case. Those interested in the details of the case can also read a long-running forum discussion on AR15.com which includes scanned immages of the case documents and comments on the case from Olofson himself. Olofson is known as Bladerunner2347 and posted this information himself as the case was developing. To read the entire 40+ pages of the discussion, click here .
The Accidental Felon
By Jeff Knox
(January 29, 2008) There are several ways for a person to unintentionally commit a felony, but most of them are looked at by prosecutors, judges, and juries as the accidents they are and dealt with accordingly. Such is not always the case however, especially when firearms are involved; for the past 2 years David Olofson has been learning that the hard way. Olofson is a regular guy who happens to be fond of AR15 style sport-utility rifles. He loaned a rifle to a friend. While the friend was shooting it he moved the safety switch to a point beyond the Fire position. The rifle fired a couple of short bursts and jammed. Someone at or near the club called the police to complain about machinegun fire. The police notified the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and David Olofson was subsequently charged and convicted of illegally transferring a machinegun.
Continue reading Olofson’s Troubles →
