KBCraig
Regular Member
imported post
LEO, the argument being made here is that they were arrested on U.S. soil for something that is not a violation of U.S. law. None of the firearms are illegal in the U.S., and method of transport is entirely up to the user.
The article said they were stopped on the Stanton St. bridge in El Paso. If they were actually on the bridge, they had already passed the CBP checkpoint, so I suspect they were actually arrested at the checkpoint itself.
The circumstances do make a case that they intended to export firearms without the required permission from the Department of State. But, the firearms and manner of possession were not otherwise illegal in the U.S.
What if this stop had been made at an interior CBP checkpoint, which can be up to 100 miles from the border? (Yes, you can be required to clear CBP while driving entirely within the U.S., without ever leaving the country.)
This boils down to a "time, place, manner" case, because what they were doing would not have been arrestable otherwise.
LEO, the argument being made here is that they were arrested on U.S. soil for something that is not a violation of U.S. law. None of the firearms are illegal in the U.S., and method of transport is entirely up to the user.
The article said they were stopped on the Stanton St. bridge in El Paso. If they were actually on the bridge, they had already passed the CBP checkpoint, so I suspect they were actually arrested at the checkpoint itself.
The circumstances do make a case that they intended to export firearms without the required permission from the Department of State. But, the firearms and manner of possession were not otherwise illegal in the U.S.
What if this stop had been made at an interior CBP checkpoint, which can be up to 100 miles from the border? (Yes, you can be required to clear CBP while driving entirely within the U.S., without ever leaving the country.)
This boils down to a "time, place, manner" case, because what they were doing would not have been arrestable otherwise.