November 20, 2019 – In News – KUT 90.5
Cody Wilson, the self-described anarchist and figurehead of the 3D-printed gun movement, led investigators on an international manhunt last year before being arrested and charged with having sex with a minor.
In August, he struck a deal with Travis County prosecutors, pleading guilty to a lesser charge of injury to a child, which is a felony.
He received seven years of probation and is now a registered sex offender, banned from being within 500 feet of playgrounds, schools and any other “child safety zone.”
He can no longer carry a handgun in public and, under federal law, he is barred from buying and selling weapons at gun stores.
(Cody Wilson, the owner of a Texas company that sells plans to make untraceable 3D-printed guns, was freed on bond from a Texas jail after being arrested in Taiwan where, police say, he flew after learning he was being investigated for allegedly having sex with an underage girl. Courtesy of CBS News and YouTube. Posted on Sep 24, 2018.)
Despite that, Wilson says he is getting back to the business of 3D-printed guns.
And according to interviews with state and federal authorities, there’s nothing standing in his way.
Wilson’s return coincides with the upcoming release of the Ghost Gunner 3, the latest iteration of a controversial gun-manufacturing machine produced by Defense Distributed, the company Wilson founded in 2012.
(See Ghost Gunner 3, courtesy of Defense Distributed and YouTube. Posted on Oct 23, 2019.)
The product is advertised to be bigger and faster, and its promoters boast that it can produce parts for AK-47 rifles.
The machine is the latest product to capitalize on the growing trend of homemade weapons, which can be acquired without a background check.
Right after his arrest, Wilson announced he would step down as Defense Distributed’s CEO.
Late last month, he told the Washington Free Beacon his criminal history isn’t enough for anyone to stop him from returning.
He said he is “definitely not a prohibited person” in Travis County, which has faced criticism for its lax approach to sexual assault prosecutions.
For Wilson, this means he can own guns and even run a business that sells guns – despite admitting guilt to a felony.
(In this extended interview, Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson told CBS News that he is a “publisher of information,” after a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the release of his company’s blueprints to make untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed guns. Courtesy of CBS This Morning and YouTube. Posted on Aug 2, 2018.)
Wilson confirmed that’s how he views his status, saying it’s consistent with what his probation officer told him.
He declined to offer further comment.
Turns out, he may be right. Wilson’s plea deal – known as a deferred adjudication – is more or less a frozen indictment.
If he meets the court’s terms in full, the felony charge is wiped.
And while on probation, the state doesn’t view Wilson as a prohibited person.
Continue reading… Despite His Criminal Record, Cody Wilson Is Back In The 3D-Printed Gun Business
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