Eighth Circuit Overturns Machine Gun Possession Conviction for Iowa Police Chief

Summary

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in *United States v. Brad Wendt*, overturned the machine gun possession conviction (18 U.S.C. § 922(o)) of former Iowa Police Chief Brad Wendt, finding the "public authority" exception unconstitutionally vague as applied to him. However, the court unanimously affirmed his convictions for making false statements to the ATF and conspiracy to defraud the agency. Wendt, who operated FFLs in Iowa, allegedly profited from reselling machine guns authorized for a small police department.