{"id":118657,"date":"2026-09-09T19:47:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=118657"},"modified":"2026-09-09T19:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:47:34","slug":"118657","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=118657","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/saf.org\/oklahoma-pastor-targeted-by-atf-thrilled-by-president-trumps-pardon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oklahoma pastor targeted by ATF thrilled by President Trump\u2019s pardon<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sunday after he decided to accept a federal plea offer, in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of selling ammunition to a prohibited person, Pastor Russell Fincher submitted his resignation to the board of his small Oklahoma church, but the board refused to accept his resignation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou didn\u2019t change,\u201d he recalls one board member told him. \u201cThe government changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pastor Fincher has continued to preach the gospel to his small flock ever since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey kept me going,\u201d Fincher said Tuesday. \u201cGod told me the whole time: \u2018You trust me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thegunwriter.substack.com\/p\/breaking-tate-adamiak-pardoned\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\" data-feathr-link-aids=\"65679bf20c4b48357414b410\">Patrick \u201cTate\u201d Adamiak<\/a>\u00a0and others, Fincher was the victim of Joe Biden\u2019s ATF. \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He recalls the hellish day in 2023 when\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thegunwriter.substack.com\/p\/atf-swat-team-raids-parttime-gun?utm_source=publication-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\" data-feathr-link-aids=\"65679bf20c4b48357414b410\">a dozen ATF agents wearing tactical gear and carrying AR-15s<\/a>\u00a0stormed into his home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They handcuffed him and laid him out on his porch. Several agents yelled and screamed at him for more than an hour while others ripped apart his home. He offered to relinquish his Federal Firearm License, and an agent quickly had him sign three forms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ATF took more than 50 of his personal firearms, including a Colt Commander, five Glocks and a mint AK\u2014a Polytech Pre-ban milled under-folder, which was worth thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re done. We have to shut you down,\u201d Fincher recalls the lead ATF agent saying. \u201cYou tell all your FFL buddies we are coming for them. We are shutting the gun shows down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Months later, a federal grand jury issued a three-count indictment charging Fincher with two felonies and one misdemeanor:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Count one: Engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, a felony.<\/li>\n<li>Count two: Selling ammunition to a prohibited person, a felony.<\/li>\n<li>Count three: Making false entry in records by a federal firearms dealer, a misdemeanor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fincher\u2019s Federal Public Defender\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thegunwriter.substack.com\/p\/oklahoma-gun-dealer-raided-by-atf?utm_source=publication-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\" data-feathr-link-aids=\"65679bf20c4b48357414b410\">negotiated the plea agreement<\/a>, which kept Fincher out of federal prison. Both sides agreed that three years of probation would be \u201cthe appropriate disposition of the case.\u201d The plea agreement also specified that Fincher would not contest the forfeiture of his personal firearms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, Fincher received a letter from his Teachers\u2019 Retirement Fund, which scared him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey said they were kicking me out\u2014I spent 10 years as a teacher\u2014because I was a felon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Things changed just a few days later when he received a call from the Federal Public Defender who had handled his criminal case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna believe this, but you just got a full presidential pardon,\u201d Fincher said the attorney told him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump gave Fincher and several others a \u201cfull and unconditional\u201d pardon last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, with no criminal record, Fincher has been busy answering calls from friends, family and supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hopes he can return to teaching and coaching, in addition to his pastoral work. However, he has no plans to return to selling guns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no way I am going to invite the federal government back into my world,\u201d he said. \u201cI am still so petrified of the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hopes he can retrieve his personal firearms from the ATF, and he wants to meet and personally thank President Trump. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d be here,\u201d he said. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d get a pardon. I serve a mighty God, and as much as I love President Trump, God orchestrated this pardon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oklahoma pastor targeted by ATF thrilled by President Trump\u2019s pardon The Sunday after he decided to accept a federal plea offer, in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of selling ammunition to a prohibited person, Pastor Russell Fincher submitted his resignation to the board of his small Oklahoma church, but the board &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=118657\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bureaucraps","category-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118658,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118657\/revisions\/118658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}