Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our mission is to give you the reality of federal silencer charges - not the sanitized version gun forums present, not the fiction that the 2026 tax stamp elimination somehow made suppressors "legal," but the actual truth about what happens when you possess a silencer without proper registration. And that truth is more complicated than almost anyone realizes.
Most people think the silencer issue comes down to a $200 tax stamp. Pay the fee, wait for approval, you're legal. Don't pay, you're not. Simple. But the federal definition of "silencer" under the National Firearms Act is so absurdly broad that a single metal baffle, a solvent trap marketed as a cleaning device, or even a PART that the ATF decides is "intended" for silencer assembly is a federal felony carrying up to ten years in prison. The ATF determines what "intended" means based on "objective design features" - not what you actually intended. And even with the 2026 tax stamp fee elimination, possessing an unregistered suppressor or component can destroy your life just as thoroughly as it could in 2020.
This is the trap nobody explains until it's too late. By the time most people understand how exposed they are, they're already facing federal charges.
What The 2026 Tax Stamp Change Actually Means And Doesnt Mean
Heres the thing everyone is getting wrong. On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1 - the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" - which eliminated the $200 NFA tax stamp fee effective January 1, 2026. Gun owners celebrated. Forums lit up with excitement. And the misconception took hold that suppressors were somehow now legal without paperwork.
Thats the fantasy version. The reality is that ONLY the $200 fee was eliminated. You still need to file an ATF Form 4 or Form 1. You still need fingerprints and photographs submitted. You still need to pass a background check. You still need ATF approval before you can take possesion. And if you possess an unregistered silencer - meaning one without that ATF approval - your still commiting a federal felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and $250,000 in fines per device.
Let that sink in. The criminal penalties didnt change at all. Not the maximum sentence. Not the minimum guidelines of 27 months. Not the drug enhancement that triggers a 30-year mandatory minimum. None of that changed when the fee went away.
The fee elimination removed a financial barrier. It did absolutly nothing about the criminal barrier. If you possess an unregistered suppressor today - even a single component that the ATF classifies as a silencer part - your exposure is identical to what it was five years ago.
Why A Single Baffle Can Send You To Prison For Ten Years
Most people think your need a complete, functional silencer to face federal charges. This is wrong. Under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(25) and 26 U.S.C. 5845(a)(7), the term "firearm silencer" includes "any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication."
Read that again. Any part. A single baffle is legaly a silencer on its own.
This means the complete device carrying a 10-year federal sentence and the individual component carrying a 10-year federal sentence are treated exactly the same under federal law. The ATF dosent need to prove you had a functional suppressor. They need to prove you possessed something that meets there definition - and there definition includes parts that could theoretically be assembled into one.
Heres were it gets interesting. The statute says parts "intended" for silencer use. But who decides intent? The ATF does. And they dont ask what you intended. They look at what they call "objective design features" - characteristics of the device itself that they beleive indicate silencer purpose. Your actual mental state is basicly irrelevant. The object speaks for itself, and the ATF is the interpreter.
As Todd Spodek explains to clients facing these charges, this is strict liability in practice. Possession alone completes the crime. The moment you posses an unregistered silencer or part - even if you didnt know it was a silencer, even if you thought it was a cleaning device - the federal felony is complete. There is no "I was going to register it" defense. You cant un-commit the crime.
The Solvent Trap Trap How Cleaning Devices Become Federal Felonies
OK so heres the specific mechanism that catches people. Solvent traps are marketed and sold as "gun cleaning devices" - tubes with internal cups or baffles designed to catch cleaning solvent that drips from your barrel. Legitimate use case. Sold openly online. Looks completely innocent.
But the ATF has looked at these devices and determined that many meet the definition of "firearm silencer" becuase they have the "objective design features" of sound suppression. In there words, characteristics like "baffles, spacers, ported inner sleeve or tube, expansion chamber, end caps, and dampening material" indicate a device is "for" reducing firearm report - even if the seller markets it as a cleaning tool.
The ATF's Open Letter on solvent traps was explicit: "Although solvent traps are generaly marketed as having an intended use other then as a silencer, that is not determinative under the statute." Translation: what the seller says it is doesnt matter. What YOU say it is doesnt matter. The ATF decides based on physical characteristics.
Heres the kicker. The ATF has shut down numerous companies that sold these devices. When those companies got shut down, their customer records became evidence. If you purchased a solvent trap from one of these companies, there is a digital trail leading directly to your door.
The consequence chain is predictable. Purchase made online. Company shut down by ATF. Customer records seized. Warning letter sent - or investigation initiated directly. Search warrant executed. Device seized. Possession charge filed under 26 U.S.C. 5861(d). Defendant faces up to ten years federal prison.
If you have purchased a solvent trap online, the ATF may already know about it.
What Happens When ATF Knocks On Your Door
This is were cases are won or lost - often before charges are even filed. And most people destroy there own defense in the first five minutes.
Picture this. ATF agents arrive with a warrant. They find a suppressor or solvent trap in your gun safe. The agent asks a simple question: "Is this your safe?" You answer yes. "Do you have the only key?" Yes. Congratulations - you just admitted ownership and exclusive control. Those are the exact two elements the government needs to prove possesion.
Without that admission, they have a constructive possession problem. See, aproximately 78% of NFA possession cases involve firearms found in locations accessible to multiple people - shared homes, gun safes with multiple users, vehicles, storage units. If other people had equal or greater access, if the item was in an area of the home you rarely used, if co-owners could have placed it there without your knowlege - these facts create reasonable doubt about possesion.
But most people talk. They want to explain. They want to be helpful. And they hand the government exactly what it needs.
Heres what nobody tells you: you do not have to answer questions. You have the right to remain silent. Use it. The single best thing you can do if ATF agents appear is say these words: "I will not answer questions without an attorney present." Then stop talking. Completely.
At Spodek Law Group, we've seen cases collapse becuase defendants refused to admit possesion, and weve seen cases become unwinnable becuase defendants tried to explain there way out. The difference is usually wheather they talked.
The 30-Year Sentence Nobody Sees Coming
Now heres the twist that transforms a bad situation into a catastrophic one.
Under 18 U.S.C. 924(c), possessing a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense triggers massive mandatory minimum sentences. And under federal law, a silencer IS a firearm. Which means possessing an unregistered silencer while also possessing drugs with intent to distribute triggers this enhancement.
The numbers are devistating. A standard silencer possession charge carries up to ten years and a minimum guideline of 27 months. But add the 924(c) enhancement? Thirty years mandatory minimum. Not maximum - minimum. No parole. No early release. Three decades in federal prison.
Think about what this means practicaly. Say you have marijuana in your home - maybe your in a state where its recreationally legal. Maybe you bought it at a dispensary. Doesnt matter - its still federaly illegal. Now add that solvent trap in your gun safe that the ATF classifies as a silencer part.
Marijuana plus solvent trap equals potentialy thirty years federal prison.
This isnt theoretical. This enhancement is activly used. And most people never see it coming until the charges are filed.
If you have any controlled substance in the same location as an unregistered silencer or part, your criminal exposure multiplies exponentially.
Why Were Your Charged Matters More Then What You Did
The federal judicial system has 94 district courts. And prosecution patterns vary wildly. The same crime, with the same facts, can result in completely different outcomes depending on geography.
The District of Columbia has near-zero tolerance for NFA violations. Eastern District of New York has high conviction rates and harsh sentences. But other districts decline most first-offender, single-suppressor cases as low priority. They dont have the resources, or they have bigger priorities.
This is the system revelation that practicioners know and defendants discover too late: justice in federal silencer cases is partly a geographic lottery. Were you stopped matters. Who prosecutes matters. Which judge you get matters. What jury pool decides your case matters.
Todd Spodek has handled federal firearms cases across multiple districts and the variation is stark. A case that might result in prosecution decline in one district could mean aggressive prosecution in another - same defendant, same facts, completely different outcomes.
This matters for defense strategy. If your being investigated, understanding the local prosecution patterns can inform whether to push for declination or prepare for trial. If charges are filed, understanding the district's tendancies affects plea negotiation and trial strategy.
The Window That Closes Before You Know It Exists
Heres the part nobody talks about, and its the most important thing in this entire article.
Between the time ATF completes its investigation and the time the U.S. Attorneys office presents the case to a grand jury, theres a window. Often six to eighteen months. This is when a defense attorney can contact prosecutors and present your side BEFORE charges are filed.
During this pre-indictment window, effectiv representation can:
Present exculpatory evidence the agents didnt find. Present mitigating circumstances - first offender status, medical issues, PTSD, elderly age, veteran status. Negotiate civil forfeiture instead of criminal charges in appropriate cases. Highlight weaknesses in the governments case that might lead to declination. Demonstrate cooperativeness that affects prosecutorial discretion.
Once your indicted, the negotiating position is much weaker. Grand juries indict on the prosecutors recommendation in aproximately 99.9% of cases. After indictment, your fighting an uphill battle against the full weight of the federal government.
At Spodek Law Group, we've successfully intervened in NFA cases during this window, achieving outcomes that would have been impossible post-indictment. The key is acting immediately - before the investigation concludes, before the case goes to the grand jury, before your options narrow to plea or trial.
If your reading this because you have an unregistered silencer, or youve received contact from the ATF, or your worried about a purchase you made - the window may be open right now. And it will close.
In March 2025, the Department of Justice requested 30-day pauses in multiple criminal suppressor prosecutions. The same DOJ that spent decades defending these laws is aparently reconsidering there position. For defendants with pending cases, this creates negotiation opportunities that didnt exist before. Constitutional challenges post-Bruen have circuit courts split on whether NFA suppressor regulations survive scrutiny. The Fifth Circuit has been receptive. Others are divided.
This is a moment of legal flux. And in moments of flux, experienced representation matters more then ever.
What This Means For You
The next 48 hours after you learn about exposure determine the next twenty years. Thats not hyperbole - thats federal sentencing reality.
If you possess an unregistered silencer or component, the crime is already complete. You cannot un-commit it by registering now. The only question is whether it becomes a prosecution and what happens if it does.
If the ATF has contacted you, say nothing without an attorney. Not one word. The admission that destroys your defense can come in a single sentence.
If you've purchased a solvent trap or similar device from a company that's been shut down, you may already be on a list. The question is what happens next.
The government has had years to build its case. You have days to respond. Use them.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. The conversation is confidential. The window is closing.
