ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in October 2022.
An amended lawsuit first filed in 2022 accuses a popular Midwestern sports and outdoor retailer of negligence after it revealed the company sold firearms to alleged straw purchasers over a 16-month period. A judge last week approved the prosecution's request that further actions be taken by the company to "remedy the harm" it allegedly caused.
According to the documents amended in district court on March 5, 2024, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is asking for relief on behalf of the state in the form of civil penalties and costs and fees associated with the initial October 2022 claim that Fleet Farm, LLC, aided and abetted in violating Minnesota's firearm laws and regulations by selling guns to straw buyers.
Straw buying describes the act of obtaining firearms from licensed sellers with the intention to sell/provide them to those who can't acquire them legally.
Ellison said in the suit that many of the alleged straw purchases were later discovered to be involved with various crimes. Prosecutors called the company "careless" in the lawsuit, claiming it "knew or consciously avoided knowing that these individuals were straw purchasing firearms."
Fleet Farm, a limited liability company based in Appleton, Wisconsin, has 14 stores located in Minnesota that are licensed to sell firearms. Each location is required to adhere to the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as well as Minnesota's Gun Control Act, in an effort to prohibit gun dealers and manufacturers from selling firearms to known traffickers and straw purchasers.
Under these rules, distributors are required to conduct background checks, verify the purchasers' identification, record each transaction and present them with a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) form that asks the buyer to confirm they're making the purchase for themselves.
After an ATF audit, prosecutors claim in the lawsuit that Fleet Farm "failed to meet its duties," by ignoring "blatant warning signs of straw purchasing," including, "multiple purchases of similar handguns (especially 9mm caliber); buying sprees over concentrated periods of time; and staggered visits to different Fleet Farm locations to elude multiple-sale reporting requirements."
Further, they accuse Fleet Farm of profiting off the guns' unlawful sales.
One ATF finding showed Fleet Farm sold two dozen firearms to a man accused of making straw purchases in 2021 despite the aforementioned warning signs and an agent's court testament to the man's "suspicious" buying behavior. Prosecutors claim that although Fleet Farm then became aware of the ATF's concerns about the purchaser, the company continued to sell him guns.
The lawsuit goes on to say the man sold the firearms to third parties who "caused harm to Minnesotans," going on to discover those exact firearms had been used in various gun-related crimes — including St. Paul's October 2021 fatal shooting incident at Seventh Street Truck Park.
Ellison's lawsuit seeks corrective measures by Fleet Farm to "abate the public nuisance" they've created and "prevent future misconduct" by, ordering the company to submit to sales and records supervision by a court-appointed monitor; require employees involved to undergo a court-approved training about the legal sale of firearms; and paying civil penalties to "remedy harm and injury," as well as covering state fees associated with the case.
According to ATF data, 4,605 firearms recovered in Minnesota were traced by the ATF to their first retail seller in 2021, showing an upward trend of gun crimes in the state. The data also shows 4,072 firearms were traced in 2020 and 4,112 firearms were traced in 2019.
KARE 11 reached out to Fleet Farm in 2022 about the allegations, in which they sent a written response that said:
We strongly disagree with the Attorney General’s lawsuit. We comply with all applicable gun laws and devote substantial resources to training and compliance. It is disappointing that Attorney General Ellison filed his complaint without ever once talking to us.
It’s also worth noting that at the time of the tragic shooting in Saint Paul described in the Attorney General’s complaint, we were told by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that our team members had “done nothing wrong” and had complied with all applicable gun laws.
We are confident that we will prevail in this matter.
KARE 11 reached out to Fleet Farm representatives again on Monday for comment and will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
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