Marianna Mitchem, ATF’s former Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations), is now working for former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety, according to a former ATF senior official who did not want their name used in this story.
Mitchem has turned on the ATF since joining Everytown, the former official said. She is reaching out to her former colleagues, trying to target Glock and Glock-type handguns.
Mitchem began her 20-year ATF career in 2005 as an IOI, an Industry Operations Investigator, who inspect gun shops to make sure their records and inventory are documented correctly. She worked unarmed and was never an ATF Special Agent, who are armed and charged with enforcing federal law.
Mitchem was promoted to field supervisor in 2011, and by 2014, was put in charge of Industry Operations for ATF’s Phoenix Field Division.
She moved to Washington D.C. in 2017, when she became ATF’s deputy chief of Field Management Staff. One year later, she was promoted to Chief.
In 2019, Mitchem became ATF’s deputy chief of staff, and reported to ATF’s director. One year later, she became the chief of the Firearms and Explosives Industry Division.
Mitchem held her final position as Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations), from March 2024 until she left in May 2025.
Anti-gun history
The former ATF senior official who worked with Mitchem said she was smart, a good communicator but very anti-gun.
Things changed for Mitchem when former President Joe Biden appointed Steve Dettelbach to run ATF, the former official said. Mitchem was given more duties and responsibilities.
The former official described her as “Dettelbach’s puppet.” She was his “superstar,” and was responsible for ATF’s frame or receiver ruling and for going after “ghost guns.”
The actions Mitchem took regarding these un-serialized firearms were wrong, the former ATF official said. The agency included pre-1968 firearms on its “ghost gun” list, even though firearms manufactured prior to 1968 were not required to have serial numbers. Homemade firearms, which do not require serial numbers in free states, were also added to the list.
In addition, if law enforcement officers could not find a serial number, the firearm was still added to the “ghost gun” list, because the ATF never checked or verified any of the firearms added to the list.
This caused ATF and other agencies to question the validity of its own database, which Mitchem was responsible for creating. However, the Biden Administration used the list strongly to promote its anti-gun efforts.
Takeaways
Attempts to contact Mitchem were not successful. Her cell phone has been disconnected and changed. Voice messages, emails and texts left with Everytown were not returned.
The former senior official who spoke out against Mitchem said now that she’s gone, there is only one anti-gun senior official left at the ATF.
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About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
once a snake, always a snake. it is incestuous how these snakes just slither from one pit full of vipers to another.
hopefully she quit and will not be living off the taxpayers while working against them, like she did while at batfe. but i think that is just wishful thinking.
How many more fATF agents secretly work for these anti gun orgs?
So who is the “one anti-gun senior official left at the ATF.”?
Another deep state DEI hire. Honestly, if you value the constitution, how can the federal government hire these people? She should be horsewhipped.
Just another traitorous, Cant Understand Normal Thinker!
Why am I NOT surprised???
should be in a jail cell or sold to slavers another good idea
I don’t know why anyone would be surprised that someone who’s job was violating rights would go work for an organization that advocates for violating rights. Shocking!
And Jen Psaki works for MSNBC. Why is it so surprising that an anti-gun ex-ATF administrator would find a safe rock to crawl under? She has been their puppet in the ATF for years. The leftist sleezeballs always take care of their own, so long as they tow the party line.
This traitor was working for the gun grabbers BEFORE she left the ATF. NO ONE who works at the ATF is not a gun grabber. Their agency’s sole job is taking people guns.