<\/a> by <\/span>Lee Williams<\/a><\/p>\n David Schieferle, who spent 20 years as a U.S. Air Marshal, served eight months behind bars in the Miami Federal Detention Center\u2014which he described as a \u201chellhole\u201d\u201410 months on home confinement wearing an electronic ankle monitor, and is currently on probation for the next two-and-a-half years. Yet, he\u2019s still willing to risk even more time behind bars through a new trial by claiming his first attorney was incompetent and that he never broke any law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ATF is really screwing over law abiding Americans. The ATF screwed me over,\u201d he told the <\/span>Second Amendment Foundation<\/a> this week. \u201cWhat HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) and the ATF did to me was wrong. Every ATF person involved in my case seemed evil.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Schieferle\u2019s life-altering saga began in December 2020, when he was called into the Federal Air Marshal\u2019s office on his day off to be interrogated. Little did he know that the ATF and other federal agencies had dozens of agents positioned in cars, ATVs and even a helicopter, who were awaiting a \u201cgo\u201d order to invade his five-acre organic farmstead and home.<\/p>\n \u201cThe day of the raid they called me into the office,\u201d Schieferle said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know why until they asked me if I have ever bought a silencer. I told them no. They wanted to interrogate me. I told them I wanted to talk to my lawyer first. I called my wife who said there were already agents there.\u201d<\/p>\n Little did he know, this was Operation Silent Night.<\/p>\n This operation began in 2019, and <\/span>according to ICE and Homeland Security Investigations<\/a>, was a \u201cglobal\u201d operation responsible for seizing 42,888 Chinese silencers, 4,868 weapons and charging more than 200 people.<\/span><\/p>\n To be clear, Schieferle had never purchased a silencer, but he had spent hundreds of dollars on the Chinese website, which investigators claimed offered silencers and possible silencers before the federal crackdown. The site\u2019s incredibly low prices, not its silencers, first attracted Schieferle.<\/p>\n \u201cI bought an air compressor, filters and filter media from them,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir prices were lower than Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n Schieferle said he needed a lot of gear and equipment to operate his organic farm. He needed filters for fuel, water and more. He had tanks of fuel and water, and much of his fuel system and watering system was homemade and self-produced.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw a new type of tube and I bought a bunch of them for future farm projects,\u201d he explained. \u201cI wanted to use them to filter solvents or fuel. I bought a dozen of them for that. I\u2019ve also bought laser pointers and one carbon fiber air tank.\u201d<\/p>\n The HSI told Schieferle there was a search warrant taking place at his home but gave him no idea of its scope or size. He offered to cook up a barbecue lunch for the agents, who let him drive home. His mood changed when he drove onto his property.<\/p>\n The ATF and HSI sent a 24-agent entry team, who hit his home hard. Most of the exterior doors and much glass from pictures and picture frames was broken. His wife and four children were paraded out of the house before the agents busted down the doors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey knew I wasn\u2019t there, but the government likes to overdo it so they can justify you looking more dangerous later in trial,\u201d Schieferle said.<\/p>\n The agents threatened to break open his gun safes, which Schieferle quickly opened. After all, he had nothing to hide. His wife had been cooking a ham until the agents turned off the stove. There were two female ATF agents inside when Schieferle got there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ATF girls were unprofessional. They were holding our wedding vows, laughing and giggling,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone else except those two ATF girls was professional.\u201d<\/p>\n When the ATF left, they had one tube in a box that Schieferle hadn\u2019t opened.<\/p>\n <\/a> Schieferle, 55, was indicted in March 2021. He was charged with the illegal importation of a firearms and for illegal possession of a firearm, for a tube that he hadn\u2019t even opened. He was facing up to 20 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were excited because I own my house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Schieferle lost his Top-Secret security clearance once he was indicted, so he had to retire as an Air Marshal. He had to pay his personal attorney $25,000 to handle the indictment and another $25,000 if they went to trial. Expert witnesses were $30,000 each.<\/p>\n From the start, Schieferle had his attorney filing motions. The tube, or inline filter, he discovered, had been sold online for more than 10 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe filed a motion to suppress on the search warrant. They had five lawyers there who wouldn\u2019t even address our issues,\u201d he said. \u201cThey would never address that the inline filter wasn\u2019t a silencer. I actually never thought we were going to trial. I believed they were going to drop the case because there was no actual evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Schieferle\u2019s attorney strongly insisted that he accept an offer from the State, which required him to take a gun course and enter mitigation, but they had already destroyed his career.<\/p>\n \u201cFor three months we talked about taking a deal, but I never thought I could be found guilty,\u201d Schieferle said. \u201cI needed to show what that HSI and ATF had done. Everybody else took a deal. Finally, my attorney makes me sign this letter saying we were going forward against his judgement, and we started getting ready for trial.\u201d<\/p>\n Schieferle said he actually believed the trial would stop any second because the evidence presented against him was so outrageous.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was this photo of three-dozen guns the agents had placed on a bed. Some were air rifles. Half of the jury convicted me because I own a lot of guns, which were for my family. They kept that picture up for hours until the judge told them the guns were legal, and they needed to take it down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Schieferle even started to develop bad feeling about his defense attorney.<\/p>\n \u201cMy lawyer did exactly the opposite of what I wanted him to say, so I stood up and said I\u2019ve got to represent myself,\u201d he said. \u201cThe judge cleared the courtroom, and I told her it was not the evidence I wanted presented. My attorney didn\u2019t even object when they called the tube a silencer. He never even questioned it was a silencer. That\u2019s messed up. My attorney just said the judge would never accept it. Looking back, I should have raised my hand much earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/a> Schieferle never testified during his trial. He said his attorney would not allow his wife or their children in the courtroom when the jury delivered its verdict.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t say anything to offend the judge,\u201d he recalls his attorney telling him before the verdict was read.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an Air Marshal, I flew more than 6 million miles with weapons on me and never violated anything,\u201d Schieferle recalled thinking.<\/p>\n The judge announced that the jury had found Schieferle guilty on all counts.<\/p>\n Schieferle was sentenced to eight months in a federal prison, which turned out to be the Miami Federal Detention Center. He received 10 months of home confinement, during which he had to wear an ankle monitor, followed by three years of probation. He was given three days to get his farm in order before turning himself in.<\/p>\n He said the Miami FDC was \u201chellish.\u201d He spent his first week in solitary\u2014the SHU\u2014because he was a former law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first day they let me out of the SHU there was a stabbing. The facility is falling apart. It makes you want to deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When he returned home eight months later, he said there were weeds 20-feet high.<\/p>\n \u201cI started cleaning up the farm and was able to fix some of the stuff they broke,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel betrayed by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n Legally, he is running out of options. An appeal was denied, and he lost his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n \u201cLegally, now I can attack my lawyer\u2014an ineffective counselor,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted it to be a Second Amendment issue but was told I was being arrogant. He wouldn\u2019t let me show my previous purchases from the site.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> Schieferle\u2019s father died several months into his prosecution.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents never had any problems, but now everyone thinks I am a dirty cop,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a great career. To have this come up is outrageous. We have neighbors who don\u2019t let their kids play with my kids because we had an army here a couple years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Schieferle and his family run <\/span>Redland Farm<\/a>, a live pastured, certified organic farm that offers Kune pigs, coconuts, Noni, Moringa and Longan during harvest.<\/span><\/p>\n Schieferle wants everyone to know he\u2019s a tinkerer who bought the tubes in case they were ever needed. Running his organic farm has turned him into somewhat of a high volume or bulk buyer.<\/p>\n \u201cI had numerous uses for them,\u201d he said. \u201cI could have used them to filter water or oil\u2014anytime I see a new tool I will buy a few. If I see something I don\u2019t have, I will buy it. I\u2019ve got a pile of a couple thousand concrete blocks that I\u2019ll use someday, if I can find a use for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Schieferle: \u201cIf I had to venture my best guess at what happened during my trial, the ATF reluctantly admitted the tubes were legal. The problem was the DOJ was allowed to convince a clueless jury that I intended to use or convert the tubes into illegal silencers. The DOJ won this trial by using innocent gun data on my hard drives and by not allowing me to present to the jury any evidence nor my expert witness to give his full testimony. I never did anything illegal, and I never took one step or thought to convert anything into a silencer.\u201d<\/p>\n The ATF did not respond to calls or emails seeking their comments for this story.<\/p>\n The Second Amendment Foundation\u2019s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn\u2019t be possible without you. Click <\/span>here<\/a><\/strong> to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd060f3cf-7cf4-4c77-a8cc-71b7d649304a_1100x1100.jpeg\")
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