At 59lbs to 130lbs for the rifle, I guess this will be the first crew served weapon fielded by the FBI?

...and Carolyn McCarthy thought a .50 BMG was heavy when she tried to pick one up (and couldn't) at a press conference. I can only imagine her reaction to this thing!

I read this yesterday and I still don't get it. What possible valid purpose does the FBI have for this sort of weapon? Since they're only buying two, I'm guessing it's for some sort of evaluation program, but still...

Clearly the FBI is concerned about killdozer mechanized militias.

My answer may just be at the bottom of the document:

Contracting Office Address:
FBI Engineering Research Facility, FBI Academy
Quantico, Virginia 22135

Two possibilities: For the FBI exemplars museum, and for test and evaluation for attacking Americans.

Lon Horiuchi is getting his-self a 20mm!!

Gee, if Horiuchi had one of these at Ruby Ridge he could have eliminated all evidence that Vicki Weaver had ever existed.

This is a weapon of war, not law enforcement. We should be concerned about this. Do we need gun control for the FBI?

I'm waiting for the 30mm. The 20mm is way to small. If I have to pay a $200 tax I want the the big one.

"And so it begins."

Really its just one more logical step in the militarization of the police.

Our founders' disdain for a standing army is often mentioned; less often mentioned is that professional police forces in the modern sense were unknown to them. A standing, uniformed, professional police force with military training and equipment more closely resembles the "select militia" the founders warned against than it does the hue and cry or posse.

Which is not to say its possible to turn the clock back entirely, but the abandonmnet of Sir Robert Peel's principles of policing has profound implications on what we should expect from the police in future behavior.

And now, since the FBI has one, every two-star Mayberry department in the country will buy and use them....

I'm kinda tired of the militarization of the police - and even more tired of the Military being forced to act as Cops. It's in neither's best interest or pay-grade.

Didn't I see on some TV program where Barrett had built one as an experiment of sorts?

The answer is pretty simple, really. They've been calling around trying to find someone who would build one, so that they could figure out what happened to the helicopters that crashed on Henry Bowman's property...

Undoubtedly the stated reason is for anti-material work during hostage scenarios, and these will go to the national HRT team. However, as we all know, what works for killing engine blocks also works for anti-personnel work.

Mark - wouldn't that be a bit of overKill?

Unprecedented expansion of federal wealth (taxes, power) closely followed by an unprecedented expansion of para-military power by the principle federal law enforcement agency.

It all makes perfect sense. There's more to protect and too much to lose. This is what it looks like when a government gets "too big to fail."

They are obviously expecting armed and armored assaults against federal facilities.