Sunday, January 18, 2009

"History has shown us time and time again that it must always get worse before it gets better": David Olofson Updates Us From Prison

DAVID OLOFSON, FEDERAL PRISONER AT THE BEHEST OF JODY "You're wrong, test it again" KEEKU, ATF. ("Has anybody seen my pistol?")

Just received this from David.

David R. Olofson
08632-089 K1
FCI
PO Box 1000
Sandstone, MN 55072

Mike,

Hope the new year finds you well. I believe we will be kicking it off shortly with some good news from Larry Pratt and the Gun Owners of America. As I write this we have oral arguments in my case scheduled for the 22nd of January. We are hoping to have a ruling sometime in a 2-6 week time frame if all goes well (but it could be just one day, or as long as a year). Larry Pratt and the legal team he brought on for this case has already done so much more than my family could have hoped for, and I have no doubt in my mind that they will carry this through to a successful conclusion.

I hope you can forgive my tardiness in keeping you up to date but the system in here is set up in a way that makes communication difficult at best. (MBV Note: David's kind words shame me, here. It is actually I who owed him a letter and dropped the ball.) So many road blocks exist that I'm surprised any of the inmates doing their own legal work ever make the court appointed deadlines at all. It took me the last three months and many "lost" requests just to get my order of typewriter ribbons in (and they are only good while the 30+ year old typewriters work, no computers for us). Not to mention the limitation on spending so we can only buy so many stamps to send mail out of the institutions. I have been inundated with letters, post cards, and soft cover book donations over the last few months. It will keep me busy sending replies and thank yous out to folks for many months after my exoneration and release. The books have been particularly helpful in keeping me entertained. Unfortunately I'm a fast reader so a 600 page novel only takes me 2 days. I have already exhausted the prison's sci fi, action and fantasy and religious books. If not for the ones sent in, the arrival of my ribbons, and the repair of a few typewriters I don't know what I would be doing.

Thanks to the trust fund GOA set up for the family my wife has been able to keep her head above water with the house and kids. Having to deal with the needs of three little ones has been hard on her as that was usually my job. But she has managed to hold up rather well all things considered. Calls of encouragement from Mr. Savage, his wife, Candy Dainty from the Second Amendment Sisters in Wisconsin, Larry Pratt, and even the attorneys in this case have helped her keep her chin up. There are no words that can properly convey the gratitude my family and I have over the inundation of support we have received from fellow gun owners over the last few months. They can rest assured that justice will be pursued in the courts by my family and I, my neighbors (whose house the ATF broke into without a warrant to keep them safe under their armed and watchful eye), and that the bill introduced to prevent this from befalling any more innocent Americans has my full support and whatever backing I can give it.

History has shown us time and time again that it must always get worse before it gets better, that man will suffer evil so long as it is sufferable. This case has brought us to brink of a legal edge that threatens to cut across the rights of not just gun owners, but of all Americans. But despite the hardships my family and I have endured, I have full faith that with the hard work and help so many other Americans have put into this case that nothing but good will come out of it. It may take some time yet, but the extent of the injustice done in this case will let us put measures in place to protect many others. Let that be the silver lining in this storm cloud we have weathered for so long.

Hope to see you soon,

David R. Olofson.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wheres Bushmaster in all this? Wasn't this their firearm malfunction? mthead

MPA dragon said...

David is the reason that I joined GOA, I hope that Larry can do some magic for him.

Unfortunately I doubt that is possible.

Also as a note to readers, GOA has a fund set up to help David's wife with day to day expenses, check out the GOA website to donate!

Anonymous said...

My best wishes to him and his family and he shouldn't have to worry: we will weather the storm alongside him.

LAO TIEN BAO YO NI OLOFSON SHIENSEN
(God bless you Mr. Olofson!)

Anonymous said...

Godspeed to all the folks helping this fella. I guess it boils down to "don't ever loan your weapon to anyone other than family and closest of good friends". And remember, the po-leese are NOT your friends, no matter what they say.

Hope everything turns out for David and his family.

Jim

Anonymous said...

Olympic firearms is the company that built his AR15.
I have zero information what Olympic has been doing if anything to help David Olofson. If Olympic is helping I would like to know about it. If that company isn't helping that information is something many of us would like to know.

tom said...

AvgJoe

Olympic Arms have always been good folk to deal with in my experience since they opened.

I would put a wager on the fact that they chipped in a bit too. Couple decades of good experience with their people and products on my part.

Reckon you could call and POLITELY ask if it concerns you assuming the best, not worst. I'd assume the best rather than the worst with that bunch.

As to the trials of Olofson, it's unlikely that judge would have allowed any testimony from the manufacturer, considering how the judge acted on even informing the jury of basic firearms function (which he disallowed except as explained in a ludicrous manner by the BATFE "test branch").

III