Last June Rep. Matt Gaetz called attention to the literal weaponization of the IRS. The agency spent $20 million on guns and ammo between 2006 and 2019, and had stockpiled more than 5 million rounds of ammo, Gaetz pointed out at the time, as The Free Press reported.
“The IRS should be people in cubicles with green [eye] shades and calculators,” Gaetz said. “They shouldn’t be people with guns and ammo.”
Yet guns and ammo are what the IRS is buying — in bulk.
A watchdog group called Open the Books reported that the federal tax-law enforcement agency has spent $2.3 million on ammunition, $1.2 million on ballistic shields, $474,000 on rifles, and $463,000 on shotguns, and $243,000 on body armor vests just since 2020.
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The IRS also spent $467,000 on tactical lighting, $354,000 on gear bags, and $1.3 million on “various other gear for criminal investigation agents” over that same period, the report noted.
This was on top of the $35.2 million, once adjusted for inflation, that the IRS had doled out for guns, ammo, and military-style equipment since 2006.
In its report, which updated weapons purchases as of March 31, Open the Book noted that back in 2021, the IRS defended its spending spree.
“CI [Criminal Investigation] special agents have been using weapons throughout their history as they have consistently found themselves investigating the most dangerous criminals involved in organized crime, drugs, and gangs,” the IRS said in a statement.
“These types of cases are typically worked in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement agencies. Firearms and equipment are also used for training purposes. Special agents are required to train and qualify for their weapons and must participate in quarterly trainings to maintain proficiency.”
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Open the Books also noted that the IRS is not isolated in its weapons upgrade.
Since 2006, 103 rank-and-file agencies outside of the Defense Department spent $3.7 billion on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment, the group reported.
Just 27 of those agencies are “traditional” law enforcement, Open the Books added, coming under the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
The other 76 are regulatory agencies, such as the Environment Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Overall, the group noted, “There are now more federal agents with arrest and firearm authority (200,000) than U.S. Marines (186,000).”
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