United States v. Hoover

• Decision Date: 18 October 2022
• Docket Number: 3:21-cr-22(S3)-MMH-MCR
• Parties: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MATTHEW RAYMOND HOOVER
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MATTHEW RAYMOND HOOVER

No. 3:21-cr-22(S3)-MMH-MCR

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Jacksonville Division

October 18, 2022

ORDER

MARCIA MORALES HOWARD UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on two motions to dismiss filed by Defendant Matthew Raymond Hoover:^[1] (1) the Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 132; First Motion)^[2] and (2) the Motion to Dismiss for First and Second Amendment Violations and to Declare Unconstitutional the National Firearms Act of 1934 (Doc. 133; Second Motion), both of which were filed on September 22, 2022 (collectively, the “Motions”).^[3] The Government filed a response to Hoover's Motions on October 7, 2022. See United States' Omnibus Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motions to Dismiss (Doc. 138; Response). Accordingly, the Motions are ripe for resolution.

I. Relevant Background

The government initiated the instant criminal proceeding on March 3, 2021, by filing a Criminal Complaint (Doc. 1) against Defendant Kristopher Justinboyer Ervin charging that, on or around February 22, 2021, Ervin

did knowingly possess a firearm as defined under Title 26 United States Code, Section 5845(a) and (b), that is, a machine gun conversion device, that was not then registered to the defendant in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record,

in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(d) and 5871.

See Criminal Complaint at 1. Eight days later, on March 11, 2021, a grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Ervin with the same offense. See Indictment (Doc. 17). On April 1, 2021, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Ervin with causing a financial institution to fail to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(1) (Count One), structuring a transaction at a federally-insured financial institution while violating another law of the United States in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3) (Counts Two through Seven), transporting or causing to be transported unregistered firearms in interstate commerce in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(j) & 5871 (Count Eight), and possessing unregistered machinegun conversion devices in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) & 5871 (Counts Nine through Fourteen). See Indictment (Doc. 25; First Superseding Indictment).

Ervin filed a motion to dismiss the First Superseding Indictment, see Motion to Dismiss Superseding Indictment and Memorandum of Law (Doc. 30), which the Court denied on July 8, 2021. See Transcript (Doc. 48). On January 22, 2022, the grand jury returned a Second Superseding Indictment which in addition to charging Ervin, charged Defendant Matthew Raymond Hoover with committing federal crimes. See Indictment (Doc. 57; Second Superseding Indictment). On August 31, 2022, the grand jury returned a Third Superseding Indictment in which it modified several of the allegations in the Second Superseding Indictment and included an additional count of transferring, and aiding and abetting the transferring, of unregistered machinegun conversion devices via the U.S. mail as to both defendants. See Indictment (Doc. 120; Third Superseding Indictment). In all, the Third Superseding Indictment now alleges eighteen separate crimes. In Count One, Hoover and Ervin are charged with conspiring to transfer unregistered machinegun conversion devices in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. Id. at 1-10. In Counts Two through Eight, Hoover and Ervin are charged with substantive counts of transferring, and aiding and abetting the transferring, of unregistered machinegun conversion devices via the U.S. mail to various individuals, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(e) & 5871. Id. at 10-14. The remaining counts of the Third Superseding Indictment pertain only to Ervin and again charge him with causing a financial institution to fail to file a CTR (Count Nine), structuring transactions at a federally-insured financial institution to evade reporting requirements (Counts Ten through Fifteen), and possessing unregistered machinegun conversion devices (Counts Sixteen to Eighteen). Id. at 14-17. The Third Superseding Indictment also contains various forfeiture allegations which relate to each count. See id. at 16-19.

The Court summarizes the factual basis for the charges against Hoover in the Third Superseding Indictment here. The Government alleges that beginning in or about October 2020, and continuing through around July 2021, Defendants Ervin and Hoover conspired to transport unregistered machinegun conversion devices through Ervin's Auto Key Card business. See Third Superseding Indictment at 2-3. The Auto Key Cards, which Ervin allegedly designed and sold,

consisted of cards machined from stainless steel, into which were etched the design for machinegun conversion devices known as lightning links, which constituted machineguns as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a) and 5845(b) in that they are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun.

Id. at 2. The Government explains “[a] lightning link was a particular design of auto sear,” which is a

category of machinegun conversion devices that may be installed into an otherwise semi-automatic AR-15 type rifle and function to convert the AR-15 type rifle to fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger.

Id. As part of the conspiracy, Hoover created and posted various videos to his YouTube Channel, CRS Firearms, in which he “promoted the sale of [Ervin's] Auto Key Cards.” Id. at 3. For example:

b. On or about November 4, 2020, a video created by Hoover was posted on the YouTube channel CRS Firearms. In the video, titled “Is this An ATF Trap And How Does It Work,” Hoover described how to order an Auto Key Card and further described how to cut the lightning link from the Auto Key Card and install it into an AR-15 style rifle, thus converting the AR-15 style rifle into a machinegun. ...

l. On or about January 8, 2021, a video created by Hoover was posted to the YouTube channel CRS Firearms. In the video, titled “This Makes an illegal Machine gun,” Hoover described autokeycard.com as the sponsor of his video and promoted sales of Auto Key Cards.

Id. at 4, 7. Shortly after Hoover would post videos identifying autokeycard.com as a sponsor and promoting the sale of Auto Key Cards, Ervin would mail Hoover cash or items of value such as a Louis Vuitton bag or video production equipment. See generally id. at 4-10.

As further part of the conspiracy, less than three weeks after the grand jury returned the First Superseding Indictment in this case, Ervin, Hoover, and another individual “participated in a phone call in which they discussed plans to continue selling Auto Key Cards and create additional videos promoting Ervin and his Auto Key Card business.” Id. at 10. Around this same time in March 2021, and up until July 2021, Hoover and the other individual raised funds to use, in part, to obtain Ervin's release so he and Hoover “could continue to pursue their conspiratorial goals.” Id. at 10. Hoover now seeks dismissal of Counts One through Eight of the Third Superseding Indictment.

II. Summary of the Arguments

In the First Motion, Hoover asserts that the Government has “failed to state a crime” against him. First Motion at 9. Hoover contends that in order for a device to qualify as a machinegun under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), “it must (1) be a part or combination of parts; (2) which is designed and intended - and in the case of a single ‘part' - solely and exclusively for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun.” Id. at 10. Hoover argues that the Government has failed to sufficiently allege that the Auto Key Card was designed for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun. Id. In addition, Hoover argues that

the Indictment is facially defective because there is no “plus” factor alleged to sustain the legal conclusion that these cards are designed and intended solely for use as a weapon, as required by the statute. They are mere stainless-steel cards, into which a design was lightly etched.

Id. at 11. Similarly, Hoover asserts that as pled, the Auto Key Card is not a “combination of parts” or a “part” under the statute, it is merely a drawing on a single card. Id. at 12-14. For the same reasons, Hoover maintains that the Government has “failed to state sufficient ultimate facts to sustain [the aiding and abetting] allegations.” Id. at 15.

Hoover next raises various constitutional challenges to several of the charges in the Third Superseding Indictment. First, Hoover contends

[a]s applied against Mr. Hoover 26 §§ U.S.C. 5861(e) and 5871, and 18 U.S.C § 2 are unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment. Mr. Hoover had no reason to believe, at any point, that he would be engaging in criminal conduct if-as alleged-he entered into an agreement with a tchotchke salesman to discuss stainless steel cards with a design on them on his YouTube channel.

Id. at 15-16. Hoover also contends that “the government is acting outside the limits of the taxing and spending clause” because it “will not accept the payment of the tax required by the charged statute, and yet nonpayment presents serious criminal consequences and permanent deprivations of liberty.” Id. at 21-22.

In the Second Motion, Hoover argues that “[f]acially and as applied, 26 § U.S.C. 5845(b) is a content-based restriction that is simultaneously overbroad and under inclusive.” Second Motion at 3. According to Hoover, it is overbroad to the extent that

the broad sweep of the § 5845(b), as wielded here violates “the requirement that a legislature establish minimal guidelines to govern law enforcement.” Kolender, 461 U.S. at 358.^[4] There are no such guidelines in the law or regulations. Any item,

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