Updated: Federal judge dismisses indictment against business owner in machine gun conspiracy case

A federal judge dismissed an indictment against a Frederick machine gun business owner during a hearing Friday morning, stating his speedy trial rights were violated in his machine gun conspiracy case.

Federal prosecutors will have three weeks to decide whether they want to file another indictment against Robert Krop or not, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher said.

After the hearing, Krop, who co-owns The Machine Gun Nest, said he was lucky to have had an attorney like Dan Cox who cared about his rights and fought for him, and God on his side.

Otherwise, Krop said, he would currently be like Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, who is still facing charges.

In a statement released on Saturday, Krop shared how much the case personally impacted him and his family.

"They stole the last year of my life, losing my freedoms, stripped of travel privileges, unable to work at my place of business, draining me financially as I answer their asinine motions filled with blatant lies, and loss of business due to the horrible false story painted by the government to the media,” he said.

Justice was served, he said.

"Today marks another strike against the corrupt [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] and again shows the gross negligence of this organization," he said in the statement. "They have no concern for the rule of law, and in fact, go so far to create their own."

Cox said in an interview after the hearing that he appreciated the judge’s ruling. He said prosecutors needed to take a step back and consider their words when they had said they likely wouldn’t continue with a trial for Jenkins if the Krop trial failed.

In the Saturday statement, Cox echoed Krop's sentiments on the ATF unjustly targeting Krop.

"Two years ago, Rob Krop was legally operating his Maryland businesses providing shooting ranges and firearms to law enforcement officials and law-abiding Americans, when officers of the ATF targeted him in a scheme to thwart local law enforcement, undermine legal gun ownership in Maryland, and ruin my client," he said.

Now, Krop can finally begin rebuilding his life, Cox said in the statement.

The indictment and its charges are still standing against Jenkins, Cox said after the hearing, but he argued that they, too, should be dismissed.

Andrea Smith, one of Jenkins’ attorneys, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Krop and Jenkins were indicted in April of 2023 with five counts of conspiracy and making false statements to illegally acquire machine guns. Krop was additionally charged with illegal possession of machine guns.

Both pleaded not guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Goo and P. Michael Cunningham had no comment after the hearing.

Federal prosecutors and Cox argued over the past few months over how many days under the Speedy Trial Act should be counted.

Krop had invoked his right to a speedy trial during his arraignment in April 2023, which placed the Speedy Trial Act in effect. The act states that a defendant has a right to trial within 70 days of being indicted or from the first day a defendant shows up in court, according to the Department of Justice.

However, that 70-day clock can be paused for certain proceedings, like pretrial motions. A co-defendant’s actions also could pause the clock.

Cox argued in motions and in court Friday that the 70-day deadline had long passed. Prosecutors disagreed.

The crux of the question was whether the clock was paused after Krop and Jenkins were severed as co-defendants. Both parties were counting it differently.

Goo had argued that because Krop piggybacked off a motion Jenkins made immediately after, that paused the clock for Krop.

Cox said it didn’t stop the clock, since he was not able to argue for the motion and that after severance, Krop and Jenkins were no longer co-defendants.

Gallagher ultimately agreed with Cox, saying the clock didn’t stop for Krop under Jenkins’ motion.

Taking that into consideration, Gallagher calculated that roughly 91 days would have passed under the Speedy Trial Act, therefore violating Krop’s rights.

Krop’s wife, Stephanie Krop, began crying in the gallery when Gallagher made her ruling. Krop, looking to Cox with a small smile, nodded in triumph.

On the other side of the room, Goo shook her head.

Gallagher also ruled that the violation was without prejudice, meaning that she did not believe prosecutors intentionally sought out to delay the trial.

Gallagher also said she did not find a constitutional violation of Speedy Trial rights under the Sixth Amendment, which has different standards than finding violations under the act.

If there is a violation of the Sixth Amendment, a conviction or sentencing must be wiped out. If a trial hasn’t happened yet, the charges must be dismissed.

It is unclear how Krop’s case would have been affected if Gallagher found a constitutional violation.

Part of this was because she said the 13-month delay could at least be partially attributed to Krop and Cox’s “litigious approach, volume of motions and challenges.”

Until prosecutors decide whether to file a new indictment, Krop’s current trial date of Oct. 15 will stay in place, Gallagher said.

Jenkins has a trial scheduled for Jan. 27, 2025. It is expected to last seven days.

Prosecutors alleged Jenkins signed letters on official Sheriff’s Office letterhead that allowed Krop to obtain machine guns that he otherwise could not procure.

The letters, called “law letters,” said the sheriff’s office wanted demonstrations of various machine guns, prosecutors have said.

The letters were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which approves the transfer, possession and importation of post-1986 machine guns for select license holders under narrow criteria.

The Machine Gun Nest held such a license.

Prosecutors alleged that even though the letters asked for demonstrations of the machine guns, those demonstrations never happened. Krop rented out the machine guns to the public when he received them, they said.

Krop stated in previous court filings that he contacted Jenkins to try to set up demonstrations.