Is Justice at Risk? ATF’s Controversial Courthouse Arrests

NASHUA, N.H. — In what some are calling a bold new interpretation of “public safety,” federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested a man attending a hearing at Nashua’s Hillsborough County South Circuit Court—because apparently Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needed backup for its now-regular courthouse takedowns.

The man, whose name has not been released, had reportedly answered a summons issued by the New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Instead of facing justice, he encountered a coordinated federal ambush on state property—just another reminder that showing up to court might be bad for your legal health.

While ICE has long dominated the unpopularity charts for federal agencies, the ATF seems hungry for its own slice of infamy. “We don’t really give a shit about who we arrest,” said Kash Patel, Acting Director of the ATF and, apparently, its impromptu public face. “Why should the ATF care if whomever we’re arresting has alcohol, tobacco, or firearms when we slam them to the ground? It’s more about the vibe, honestly.”

The federal vibe, it seems, has shifted squarely into “arrest first, jurisdiction later.” In today’s enforcement ecosystem, any federal agency with arrest authority—from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General—appears free to detain whomever they please, especially if Big Daddy Trump or his orbit signal that someone “doesn’t belong” in the United States. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the DEA, and yes, even the IRS Criminal Investigation Division—if they’ve got cuffs and a badge, they’ve got the green light. The definition of who “belongs” seems to depend less on legal status and more on whether one has irritated the wrong segment of executive power.

Faith in the state judicial system, meanwhile, is withering like an underfunded public defender’s office.

“This is outrageous,” said a Nashua Circuit Court judge, who requested anonymity for fear of suddenly being listed in a federal watchlist or picked up during a smoke break. “They’re turning our courthouses into federal dragnet zones. It’s not just overreach—it’s obstruction. They’re undermining the very function of justice in New Hampshire. People will stop showing up to court because they think it’s a trap. And now, unfortunately, it is.”

Despite the backlash, ICE and ATF remain proudly unrepentant. In a joint statement, they offered, “Honestly, we don’t give a shit.”

Agents on scene were even overheard joking about how funny it would be if they accidentally arrested Patel himself, given his “very suspicious shade of brown skin.” One ATF officer chuckled, “We base most of our arrests on the prominence of melanin anyway. Fair is fair.”

The comment—which was either a joke or an accidental truth—has only deepened concern among civil rights advocates, who warn that law enforcement discretion is increasingly guided by racial profiling and political cues rather than actual criminal conduct.

As federal agents expand their operations from borders to courthouses to possibly your living room, the state judiciary is left grasping for relevance. “Justice isn’t just about outcomes,” the Nashua judge added. “It’s about fairness, dignity, and due process. And these agents just kicked all three down the courthouse stairs.”

And so the message is clear: if you’re headed to court in New Hampshire, it might be less about seeking justice and more about surviving federal bingo. Because in today’s America, if any alphabet agency with badge authority decides you’re on the wrong list, your biggest mistake might just be showing up.

—
Crag Donovan is Alpine 6 Action News’ chief science and technology correspondent, and believes the First Amendment still technically applies, at least until the FCC buys handcuffs.