Three weeks out, here is where things stand.

"I am home"

On September 17, Tate posted his first public statement as a free man:

"After four and a half years and the biggest fight of my life, I am home."

He thanked his family and friends, his attorneys at Fudd Busters and Welch Wright Law, journalist Lee Williams — who published more than 60 investigative stories on the case for the Second Amendment Foundation's Investigative Journalism Project — and Reps. Eli Crane, Eric Burlison, Jen Kiggans, Rob Bresnahan, Daniel Webster and Paul Gosar, each of whom pushed to get his case in front of the administration.

His first interview

On September 18, News2A published the first long interview Tate gave after his release. Asked what kept him going, he said it was "my belief that the truth would eventually come out and that, in time, people would understand what happened."

He was blunt about what the experience cost him in confidence as well as years: "I would say I've completely lost faith in the justice system and the legal system, and I don't think it's truly about justice."

Other things he shared:

• He has been in contact with Navy recruiters about reinstatement. He was discharged with full honors.
• The ATF still holds property seized from his home, including a collection of antique currency he says was reimbursed at a small fraction of its value.
• His legal defense cost more than $100,000.
• He wants to see reform at the DOJ and ATF, clearer firearms rules, and real accountability for the agents and prosecutors involved in his case.
• He has given some thought to his first firearm purchase as a free man — an FN M249S or an Ohio Ordnance M240-S are on the list.

On stage in Dallas

From September 25 to 27, Tate appeared as a speaker and honored guest at the Second Amendment Foundation's Gun Rights Policy Conference at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport, where Lee Williams interviewed him in front of the movement that spent four years demanding his release. Dana Loesch was added to the same agenda. Tate is also scheduled to be interviewed at AMM-Con.

What's still unfinished

The pardon closed the case. It did not settle it. There is no court ruling holding that the ATF's theory was wrong, which means the framework used against Tate is still available to use against someone else. That, the seized property, and the question of accountability are what's left.

Read the pardon and what comes next → · Support Tate →