The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a Department of Justice federal law enforcement agency charged with investigating violations of federal firearm, alcohol, and tobacco laws. The ATF’s mission is to protect the public from “crimes involving firearms, explosives, arson, and the diversion of alcohol and tobacco products; regulates lawful commerce in firearms and explosives; and provides worldwide support to law enforcement, public safety, and industry partners.” The ATF Director, whom the President nominates and the Senate confirms, heads the ATF, and ATF Special Agents conduct most ATF activities.
Title 28, Section 599A of the U.S. Code establishes the ATF and directs it to investigate: “criminal and regulatory violations of Federal firearms, explosives, arson, alcohol, and tobacco smuggling laws . . . and any other function related to the investigation of violent crime or domestic terrorism that is delegated to the Bureau by the Attorney General.” In practice, this often entails investigating the importation, manufacturing and possession of illegal firearms, ammunition, or explosives; investigating acts of arson and bombings; investigating illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco; and regulating federal weapon licensing. The ATF often combines their efforts with local law enforcement agencies.
A high-profile example of the ATF’s activities is their investigation of David Koresh and his cult, the Branch Dravidians, in Waco, Texas, in 1992. The ATF investigated the Branch Dravidian’s illegal production of machine guns and assault rifles, and a two-and-a-half-hour-long gunfight ensued when ATF agents attempted to raid Koresh’s compound. Four ATF agents lost their lives in the fight, but they seized the compound after a 51-day standoff when cult members set the compound on fire.
[Last updated in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]