David Chipman | |
|---|---|
 David Chipman during a congressional hearing on May 26, 2021 | |
| Born | 1966 (age 56–57) Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Education | American University (BS) Johns Hopkins University (MS) |
David Howland Chipman (born 1966) [1] is an American former ATF agent and gun control advocate who was most recently the nominee to serve as the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Biden administration; however, this nomination was withdrawn. [2]
Chipman was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, and raised in Oakland County, Michigan. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in justice from American University and a Master of Science in management from Johns Hopkins University. [3]
Chipman spent 25 years as a special agent in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, monitoring firearm trafficking from Virginia to New York City. [4] After leaving the ATF, Chipman became a senior policy advisor at Giffords. [5] In late-2013, he joined ShotSpotter as the senior vice president of U.S. public safety solutions. [6] Chipman was nominated as director of the ATF in April 2021, following an announcement from President Joe Biden. [7] On April 12, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate. [8] On May 26, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [9] The committee deadlocked on his nomination in a party-line vote on June 24, 2021. [10] On September 9, 2021, the White House announced that it would withdraw Chipman's nomination due to opposition to his stances on gun control. [11] [2]
During his confirmation hearing, photos of David Chipman being present at the ruins of the Mount Carmel Center following the Waco Siege began to circulate online after being published by multiple news outlets. [12] Chipman later denied being the man present in the photo, and it was said in Justice Department Records that the photo was taken on April 19, 1993, and that Chipman was not sent to the site until early May, thereby verifying his presence at the scene, albeit at a later date. [13]
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and tax evasion of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce. Many of the ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods. The ATF operates a unique fire research laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. The ATF had 5,285 employees and an annual budget of almost $1.5 billion in 2021. The ATF has received criticism over its handling of the Ruby Ridge siege, the Waco siege and other incidents.
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