Maker of rapid-fire triggers falsely told customers they are legal, judge says
A federal judge in New York City has ruled that evidence shows a company whose after-market triggers can make semiautomatic AR-15-style rifles fire like automatic weapons fraudulently misled consumers that the devices were legal
A company that sold triggers that make semi-automatic, AR-15-style rifles fire like automatic weapons likely misled consumers that the devices were legal, and it continued selling them even after being warned by the U.S. government, a federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday.
The judge barred Rare Breed Triggers from selling any more of its forced-reset triggers until further notice — a blow to the company's defense against the government's civil fraud lawsuit, which remains pending.
“The Court concludes that the Government is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims,” U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison wrote, adding the company “placed tens of thousands of their customers at risk of criminal prosecution and the loss of their right to own firearms.”
Rare Breed Triggers and its lawyers are disappointed by the ruling and are considering how to respond, said David Warrington, one of the company’s lawyers. He also noted the ruling is not a final decision in the lawsuit.
“It is just a preliminary ruling made on a partial, truncated record,” Warrington said in an email to The Associated Press. “This is just the beginning of a long fight and Rare Breed is assessing its next steps.”
Federal authorities sued the company in January, alleging its FRT-15 triggers qualify as illegal machine guns under federal law and regulations. The government's lawsuit seeks a permanent ban on selling the triggers.
Rare Breed argues the triggers are legal.
The classification of Rare Breed's FRT-15 triggers as machine
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