Tate Adamiak's story is one we followed pretty closely. I was overjoyed to write the story of him receiving his pardon, thus making him a free man. The great thing about pardons is that they wipe the slate clean, more or less. They make the whole thing go away, almost as if it never happened.
Because of that, Adamiak can return to the realm of gun ownership. So can Russell Fincher, who also received a pardon at the same time.
Unfortunately, for that to happen, someone needs to let the FBI know to update NICS.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has denied recent firearm purchases by both Pastor Russell Fincher and Patrick “Tate” Adamiak who were each pardoned by President Donald L. Trump nearly two months ago.
Adamiak tried to purchase an Auto-Ordnance semi-automatic Thompson, which had engraved images of President Trump. Fincher tried to buy a Smith & Wesson Victory handgun. Each completed an ATF Form 4473, but each was denied by the FBI.
Both Adamik and Pastor Fincher received Presidential pardons, which were signed by President Trump Sept. 3, 2026, but neither man’s Second Amendment rights appear to have been fully restored.
ATF Director Robert Cekada was quick to point out that his agency had nothing to do with the denials.
“I am fully aware of that, but it has nothing to do with us,” Cekada said Friday morning. “We don’t block anybody. The 4473 goes to the FBI. Anyone who gets a denial on a background check gets denied by the FBI.”
The FBI requires members of the media to submit their question via email. Questions were sent Friday morning, but so far, the agency has not called or sent a response.
Fincher described this as "frustrating," which I completely get. Legally, he and Adamiak should be able to purchase firearms. They can legally own them, after all, but the problem is that they currently can't walk into a gun store and get a firearm because the FBI can't seem to get off its posterior.
The fact that investigative journalist Lee Williams has to email his questions to the FBI and they couldn't be bothered to answer, at least as of his writing, tells you this isn't a priority for them. To be fair, I get it. Answering the media about two guys getting a bad NICS result is probably secondary to hunting actual terrorists or investigating numerous federal crimes that really need to be investigated.
But both Fincher and Adamiak are free men. They received presidential pardons. Their records are, in fact, clean. NICS needs to be updated and updated a hell of a lot quicker in cases like these, especially since they're not like the feds are giving them back the guns they had before their convictions.
I'm not sure who at the FBI needs to get their heads out of their fourth point of contact, but they need to do it now and get the damn job done. These two men have been punished enough as it is, and with a pardon having been granted, that punishment is supposed to be over.