Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is making LibertySafe the focus of an investigation after the company provided the FBI with a customer’s private safe code.
Nathan Earl Hughes of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was arrested on Aug. 30 for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riots, according to The New York Times.
The FBI executed a search of Hughes’ home and then sent a request to Liberty Safe asking for the code to access Hughes’ gun safe.
SEE IT: FBI arrest of Nathan Hughes over J6. I’m curious why they didn’t want anyone recording the arrest! WATCH pic.twitter.com/fPFWaPEYBt
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 7, 2023
Hughes’ lawyer, William Shipley, said Liberty Safe voluntarily gave the FBI the passcode to get into the safe. However, there was no court order requiring the company to do so, the Times reported.
Conservatives targeted Liberty Safe for a major boycott after the news broke.
NEW: America’s top gun safe manufacturer, Liberty Safe, gave the FBI an access code to a safe owned by someone who was present at the J6 protest.
We have officially found the Bud Light of gun safes. Enjoy going out of business, @libertysafeinc.
The situation gets even worse: On… pic.twitter.com/MY7jSlJoyK
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 6, 2023
In a public statement, LibertySafe defended its decision.
“On August 30, 2023, Liberty Safe was contacted by the FBI requesting the access code to the safe of an individual for whom they had a warrant to search their property. Our company protocol is to provide access codes to law enforcement if a warrant grants them access to a property. After receiving the request, we received proof of the valid warrant, and only then did we provide them with an access code. Liberty Safe had no knowledge of any of the details surrounding the investigation at the time,” the company wrote.
In response, Bailey is now taking legal action against the firm, pointing out that the FBI “did not have a court order ordering Liberty Safe to provide the safe’s combination.” The attorney general is also investigating whether Liberty Safe has been honest with their customers about providing safe combinations to third parties.
“In an era where the federal government weaponizes our national security apparatus against political opponents, the last thing we need is for a private company to sell out its fellow Americans under pressure from federal bureaucrats,” Bailey said.
“I am using every tool at my disposal to protect the rights of all Missourians,” he continued. “That’s why my office is opening this investigation to ensure Liberty Safe is not deceiving its customers in its terms of service.”
On Wednesday, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk shared FEC filings that show Liberty Safe’s parent company, Monomoy Capital Partners, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats.
“I pulled the FEC reports on the company and found approximately $400,000 over the last 10 cycles of max donations to Democrats,” Kirk wrote.
“Liberty Safe’s current CEO, Justin Hillenbrand, was a founding partner of Monomoy and donated $4,600 to Obama for America,” Kirk added.
