Education | Law | National

Tulalip Tribes man on trial for acquiring guns despite court order

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Raymond Lee Fryberg at the federal courthouse in Seattle, Washington, in April 2015. Photo by Craig Newcomb / KOMO / Twitter

Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr., a member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, went on trial on Tuesday for purchasing firearms despite being under an order of protection.

Fryberg bought five guns at Cabela’s, a privately-owned company with a store on the reservation. Each time, he signed a form stating that he was not subject to a domestic violence protection order that was issued by his tribe's court.

Still, each time Cabela's ran a background check, Fryberg came up clear because the order at issue was never entered into a national criminal database. Tribes still lack direct access to the system although that is finally changing as the Obama administration moves to implement a key provision of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.

One of the guns acquired by Fryberg was used in a school shooting last October. Four young people lost their lives and a fifth was seriously injured. Fryberg's son, Jaylen, then turned the gun on himself.

Fryberg faces a total of six charges. He's being accused of violating Title 18, Section 922 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits people who are the subject of domestic violence protection orders from obtaining firearms.

The law does not specifically mention tribal court orders. It merely states "a court order."

Get the Story:
Attorney: Father of Marysville school shooter believed he could legally possess guns (The Seattle Times 9/22)
Firearm trial opens for shooter’s father (AP (9/23)
Father of Washington State Teen Gunman 'Slipped' Through System: Reports (Reuters 9/23)

Also Today:
What Led Jaylen Fryberg To Commit the Deadliest High School Shooting in a Decade? (Newsweek 9/16)