Biden's ATF Shot Her Husband Dead for Legally Collecting Guns. Now Maria Malinowski is Seeking Justice.
The widow of the Bryan Malinowski, the former Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport director who was gunned down by ATF agents in March 2024, is seeking justice in a new lawsuit.
One of the worst gun control stories of 2024 barely made headlines. But that isn't stopping the survivors from seeking justice under the gun-friendly Trump administration.
Bryan Malinowski. Image credit: Clinton International Airport
Maria Malinowski, the widow of Bryan Malinowski, recently filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) alleging that the agency acted recklessly, negligently, and violated the Constitution while serving a warrant that resulted in the murder of her husband last March.
Restoration News was one of the few national outlets that covered the horrific and deeply unconstitutional killing of Malinowski, a law-abiding and respected member of the community in Little Rock, Arkansas. The story goes to the heart of the federal government's authoritarian and disturbing assault on Second Amendment gun rights—and gun owners everywhere should be outraged.
Around 6 a.m., the Malinowskis were awakened by loud noises outside their home followed by banging on the front door. Reasonably believing they were the victims of what seemed a home invasion, Bryan retrieved a legally owned firearm to protect his family—a completely understandable action of any responsible gun owner.
Just 28 seconds later the ATF would kick down his door and shoot him in the head.
Did Bryan Malinowski deserve do die? A new lawsuit will answer that question. https://t.co/UWimSEIEwN pic.twitter.com/RhfvhmjbXD
— WashingtonGunLaw (@GunWashington) May 26, 2025
A Complete Failure
It was a mess from the start. The ATF's failure to serve the warrant in an appropriate manner turned a peaceful morning into a bloody mess—the only loser was an innocent man lying dead on the floor for simply defending his home.
Despite the outcome, and the irregular decision to raid a man's home with military force under vague assumptions, the ATF quickly justified the shooting and cleared all agents involved. The justification: Malinowski had lawfully purchased over 150 firearms between 2021 and 2024—something well within his Second Amendment rights and a completely normal action for a lifelong gun collector and gun show attendee.
Maria Malinowski’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Little Rock, accuses ten ATF agents and task force officers of violating the Constitution. The lawsuit further alleges that the ATF failed to follow proper law enforcement procedure.
"The Constitution requires reasonableness and, specifically here, that defendants both knock and announce their presence and purpose and wait a reasonable time before entry. The ATF failed to do so, resulting in an entirely predictable, needless, and tragic outcome," argues the lawsuit.
Arkansas’ Castle Doctrine makes the ATF's case even more indefensible. The law allows homeowners to use force they believe necessary to protect themselves and others—yet the ATF waited just 28 seconds before breaking down the door. That is an irresponsibly short window to give a groggy, half-asleep Malinowski time to assess whether his home was being robbed or there were federal agents at his door.
Bryan Malinowski wasn’t a criminal. He had no record of any violence and there was no reason for the ATF to assume his case needed a military-style raid at 6 a.m. He had no idea he was under investigation and was never given a chance to speak with investigators about the case. The ATF could have made a phone call to this very public and eminently reachable figure. Instead, they chose a pre-dawn raid with no body camera footage. It was doomed from the start.
The ATF attempted to justify its actions by claiming Malinowski was an unlicensed gun dealer under the 1985 Firearm Owners’ Protection Act—which requires a federal license for anyone engaged in "repetitive" gun sales. But the overtly ambiguous law does not clearly define "repetitive."
"Mr. Malinowski was a frequent attendee of gun shows and collected firearms, which is not illegal. And for whatever reason, the ATF believed that he had somehow met the nebulous, somewhat subjective standard as to what constitutes a federal firearm dealer and what doesn’t," said Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R).
The raid should never have happened. Malinowski’s killing is a tragic example of what occurs when a federal agency is politicized and emboldened by a lack of accountability. This wasn’t a bureaucratic misstep. It was a government sanctioned execution by a branch of the federal government that overstepped its bounds with the backing of the Biden administration.
Bryan Malinowski's death stands as one of the most egregious examples of federal overreach under the Biden administration and it continues to serve as a stinging reminder of what can happen when leftist politicians use "progressive" policies against the people they are supposed to protect.
Unless Americans demand accountability and resist this creeping tyranny, tragedies like Malinowski's could become a reality in the years to come.
(READ MORE: Trump Justice Dept. Ends Biden's "Zero Tolerance" Policy Targeting Gun Stores)
