By DaQuan Lawrence
AFRO International Writer
DLawrence@afro.com

A Baltimore family is still seeking answers after having their home raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, 2024. 

Months after the incident, Mark “Choppa” Manley, who maintains that the raid was carried out without probable or reasonable cause, says his family continues to suffer from being held at gun point without any justification. 

In addition to his roles as a father and husband, Manley is also an educator and intervention specialist who works in public schools. He is also a second amendment (2A) supporter and firearm collector. 

Well-known in the “2A community,” Manly regularly hosts large community events that provide hundreds of Black women, men and youth with education and training related to firearms. 

According to a survey by The Firearm Industry Trade Association (NSSF), in 2020, African Americans purchased firearms at a rate of 58 percent higher than in 2019. The trend held constant into 2021, where 60 percent of firearm retailers surveyed reported increased sales to African Americans, according to the NSSF.  

As a gun rights advocate for Black people – which remains one of America’s growing segments of new gun owners, specifically with Black women – Manley believes his pro-gun outreach to the Black community may have made him a target of federal agents. 

According to Manley, after waking up around 4:30 a.m., his wife informed him that people were outside of their home. After looking outside, he quickly tended to his children to ensure their safety. 

“Initially, I looked outside of the window and grabbed my firearm. I saw tactical units surrounding the house, so I assumed they were about to bust down our door,” Manley told the AFRO. “I put my firearm down, and I awakened our two daughters upstairs just to let them know that officers were outside. I wanted them to try to put some clothes on and to be prepared.”

Manley said that while walking downstairs, he heard his wife scream as a flash grenade was thrown into the house. Disoriented from the effects of the device, Manley and his wife attempted to alert their son, who had a room in the basement, before heading outside. 

“I called his name and assumed he heard me and was on his way upstairs. Me, my wife and my daughters were walking outside with our hands up and in our pajamas,” Manley explained. “The officers and agents had their guns on all of us – it was over a dozen rifles pointing. I assumed they were pointing at me, but when they told me to turn around, I saw that they also had their rifles pointing toward my daughters.”

Manley recalled that while waiting outside, in 20-degree weather for about half an hour, he and his eldest daughter were placed in handcuffs as the authorities tried to figure out where his son was located within the home. 

“They kept asking: ‘where’s your son,’ but I knew there were units behind the house that already broke down my son’s bedroom door. We found out that there were flash grenades thrown into his room. Officers held rifles in my son’s face and actually threatened to shoot him,” Manley said.  

After federal agents retrieved Manley’s son, they continued to check the home for other people or any signs of a threat. Once the property was cleared the Manley family was let back into the living room of their home as authorities continued their investigation. 

Upwards of 20 people entered the home to inspect the scene as a tactical unit with canines were also brought in, according to Manley. After waiting for about two hours, the family was shown the warrant that the authorities claimed was executed and led to the raid, however Manley told them the information on the warrant was inaccurate.

“It said they had probable cause due to suspicion of me being a felon in possession of firearms, including a machine gun, firearms trafficking, as well as drug trafficking,” Manley said.  “I am not a felon. I am a schoolteacher, girl’s football coach and a trial collector who has dozens of firearms. From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. I work with kids, and if I was under investigation then they would know I don’t have time because I am also a father and husband.

After searching the home and serial numbers of more than 70 registered weapons, Manley says the agents found that  every single firearm was compliant with federal and Maryland state laws. Nothing illegal was found, which Manley says led authorities to change their tone.

They explained that someone made a call with allegations of Manley being a felon, having weapons and distributing drugs. 

That’s all it took for the Manley’s to have their home raided. Black supporters of the Second Amendment wondered why gun enthusiasts were quiet regarding the incident.

More than two months after the raid, on Jan.30, the National Association of Gun Rights finally made a statement on social media in support of Manley and his family, declaring, “We are overjoyed that Mark’s story is spreading further. Previously overlooked or missed by many in the 2A, the tragedy of what he and his family went through is slowly going mainstream. Mark Manley did nothing wrong…” 

The  National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action declared that “the justification for the raid and the necessity of ATF’s heavy-handed tactics against the non-resisting couple and their underage children, remain unexplained.”

Despite their apology to the family during the unnecessary raid, Manley believes that the actions of the ATF agents were unforgivable. He says he is outraged over his family being traumatized based on allegations made in a tip call with false information.

The Manley family had only been in their home three months prior to the raid. Their new property was ransacked and left in disarray. The front and rear doors were crushed, windows were broken and floors were ruined from flashbang grenades. The family even had to clean up the dog excrement left behind by the federal canines. 

As the Manley family takes time to heal from the traumatic experience and prepares to take legal action, a Go Fund Me campaign has been established.

To date, Manley says the ATF has not publicly apologized for destroying parts of his home in the middle of the night, nor have they offered a valid explanation for why the raid was conducted. 

When contacted for a public statement on the matter, Katherine Rottman, the Public Information Officer for the Baltimore Field Division of the ATF, told the AFRO,  “At this time, I cannot comment on the existence of [an] investigation.”