ATF Gets Creepy With Tweet Suggesting You Snitch on Your Ex for a ‘Valentine’s Day Surprise!’

Sarah RumpfFeb 14th, 2022, 6:44 pm
 
ATF valentine's day tweet

Screenshot via Twitter.

Your friendly neighborhood Mediaite contributing editor would question the sanity of anyone who would look to the federal government for romantic advice, but well, here’s the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with a truly bizarre suggestion for how you should celebrate Valentine’s Day: snitch on your ex to the feds.

“Valentine’s Day can still be fun even if you broke up,” the official ATF Twitter account posted Monday morning. “Do you have information about a former (or current) partner involved in illegal gun activity? Let us know, and we will make sure it’s a Valentine’s Day to remember!”

A graphic accompanying the tweet got even creepier, asking “Got an ex who buys or sells guns illegally? We would love to treat them to a Valentine’s Day surprise!” Bitter former lovers were urged to enact their revenge by contacting the ATF via phone, email, or their website.

The trouble with this silly tweet, of course, is that armed federal law enforcement officers who get a report of illegal weapons activity are not going to respond by sending a postcard or bouquet of flowers.

As Reason’s Scott Shackford pointed out in a column about the ATF’s “irresponsible” tweet, this is basically the federal government inviting people to SWAT their exes, the horrifically dangerous crime (the deadly nature of this vengeful activity makes me loath to call it a “prank”) in which a terrible person falsely reports a violent crime in progress with the goal of inciting the police to initiate a SWAT-type raid or other aggressive law enforcement action against the victim.

“This isn’t harmless,” wrote Shackford. “The potential for a vengeful former lover to target a completely innocent person should have given law enforcement agencies pause before posting these messages.”

His view was shared by many on Twitter, who voiced their horror and disgust at the ATF tweet.

Former Congressman Justin Amash may have had the most concise response: “Abolish the ATF.”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.