In a recent episode of their Minuteman Moment segment, Gun Owners of America spokesman Ben Sanderson says the story starts with something most people never see: a gag order.
According to Sanderson, GOA filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover what he calls an “illegal and unconstitutional surveillance program of gun owners” run through the ATF and FBI.
Sanderson tells viewers that a federal judge then slapped GOA with a gag order, limiting what the group could say publicly about the case.
That alone would raise First Amendment questions – but what happened next shocked even GOA.
In his Minuteman Moment video, Sanderson says 25 of the largest news organizations in the country – including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, and others – filed an amicus brief supporting GOA.
He notes that many of these outlets are usually “hostile” to GOA, but here they agreed the gag order “would make a shambles of the First Amendment.”
When outlets that often disagree with gun-rights groups suddenly side with them, that’s a sign the problem is bigger than just gun policy.
It’s about basic speech and the public’s right to know what their government is doing behind closed doors.
How The NICS Monitoring Program Actually Works
From there, Ben Sanderson turns to the heart of the issue: what he calls the NICS Monitoring Program.
He says the Department of Justice and the FBI have quietly built a system for law enforcement to monitor lawful gun owners’ purchases through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
According to Sanderson, any law enforcement officer can ask that a specific person be placed under “NICS monitoring” for up to six months at a time.
Whenever that target buys a gun and a background check is run, the officer gets a notification – basically a ping – that the person just made a firearm purchase.
Sanderson stresses that this happens without the gun owner’s knowledge.
He says there is no warrant, no requirement of probable cause, and no way for the person to appeal or challenge the surveillance.
Even more troubling, Sanderson explains that these six-month monitoring periods can be extended indefinitely.
In practice, that means the government can keep tabs on a gun owner’s purchases for as long as they want, for reasons that may never be shared with the target.
He calls it “tyrannical” and “dystopian,” and honestly, that’s not an exaggeration.
If you replace “gun owner” with “journalist” or “voter,” most people would instantly recognize it as a civil-liberties nightmare.
“Anti-Government Ideology” And Other Vague Excuses
Ben Sanderson says the latest batch of FOIA documents GOA received shows just how loosely this power has been used.
He highlights new records where the FBI requested “unlimited NICS monitoring” of several people the government claimed “subscribe to anti-government ideology.”
Sanderson asks the obvious question: what does that even mean?
Does it mean they didn’t like the current administration, complained about the government online, or maybe flew a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag?
According to Sanderson, that label is so subjective it could easily sweep up millions of ordinary Americans.
He points out that by that standard, “everyone at GOA” and many of their members would probably be considered “anti-government” by someone in D.C.
But more importantly, he reminds viewers that disagreeing with government is not a crime.
Using that as a reason to secretly watch someone’s lawful gun purchases moves the country closer to punishing thought and speech, not behavior.
Sanderson also cites a case where the FBI started monitoring a person’s gun purchases based on a random tip to their National Threat Operations Center.
The tip mentioned possible identity theft, fraud, or “concerning behavior,” but it wasn’t clear if any of it was true.
“What if it was an angry ex?” Sanderson asks.
The point is simple: the tipster walks away anonymous, but the target ends up under months of secret surveillance with zero chance to fight it.
Guilt By Association: Girlfriends, Mothers, And “Sins Of The Boyfriend”
If that were the end of it, it would already be bad.
But Sanderson says the FOIA documents show the FBI cast the net even wider than that.
In one example, he explains that a woman’s firearm purchases were monitored simply because she was the girlfriend of a man who allegedly threatened a federal official.
There were no allegations she herself had done anything wrong.
Sanderson jokes darkly about “the sins of the boyfriend,” but the underlying point is serious.
Under this program, just being close to the “wrong” person can quietly put your Second Amendment activity under a government microscope.
He adds another case where the mother of a prohibited person was also placed under NICS monitoring.
Again, not because she was accused of a crime, but because of who she was related to.
Sanderson says this is what happens when you let federal agents operate without warrants and without real guardrails.
When there is no meaningful oversight, the temptation is always to expand the list of “just in case” targets – until ordinary, law-abiding people are treated like active suspects.
This is where the program stops looking like targeted law enforcement and starts looking like a quiet blacklist.
You don’t know you’re on it, you don’t know why, and you don’t know how to get off.
The 4,100 Pages The FBI Won’t Release
So far, Ben Sanderson says GOA has received 10 separate document productions from the FBI in response to its FOIA lawsuit.
Those total just 297 pages.
But the Department of Justice has admitted there are 4,100 additional pages being withheld.
Sanderson says DOJ claims that “other agencies are consulting” on those documents, supposedly to decide what can be released.
The problem, he explains, is that some of these “consultations” have dragged on for more than a year.
In reality, he says, this isn’t just normal processing – this is stonewalling.
According to Sanderson, the court already ordered DOJ to turn over hundreds of pages per month.
Instead, he says, DOJ and the FBI have been slowly trickling out partial batches and hiding behind bureaucratic excuses for the rest.
Sanderson even notes that this stonewalling is happening under an administration that claims to support transparency.
He argues that the Biden Department of Justice appears to be covering up the scope of abuses committed against gun owners.
He also warns that the NICS monitoring program crosses administrations.
Whether it started under one president and expanded under another, the machine keeps running – and it keeps tracking people who haven’t been charged with any crime.
To Sanderson, the obvious question is: what’s in those 4,100 pages that they don’t want the public to see?
If the documents they did release already look this bad, it’s hard not to wonder how much worse the hidden material might be.
Why Gun Owners – And Everyone Else – Should Care
Ben Sanderson makes clear that GOA isn’t dropping this fight.
He says they’re filing a motion to force the government to release the remaining documents and to drag this surveillance program fully into the light.
From a civil-liberties standpoint, it’s not hard to see why this matters.
If the government can secretly monitor your gun purchases based on an ideology label, a tip from a stranger, or who you’re dating, then the barrier between “law-abiding citizen” and “watched person” basically disappears.
You don’t have to agree with Gun Owners of America on every policy point to see the danger of that.
Today it’s gun owners; tomorrow it could be political donors, dissident journalists, or anyone on the wrong side of a vague government category.
Sanderson’s core message is simple: rights don’t mean much if you’re afraid to exercise them.
If buying a perfectly legal firearm can quietly land you under long-term federal surveillance, a lot of people will simply choose not to buy one at all.
That kind of quiet chilling effect is exactly what the Constitution was supposed to prevent.
The government doesn’t get to keep secret lists of people exercising their rights and then hide the rules – and the records – behind endless “consultations.”
Sanderson ends by promising that GOA will push until the NICS Monitoring Program is dragged into the open and, in his words, “abolished forever.”
Whether you’re a gun owner or not, the documents he describes are a reminder that unchecked surveillance rarely stops where it starts – and it never ends well when the people being watched are kept in the dark.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
