Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

President Donald Trump’s pardon of Patrick “Tate” Adamiak brought a long-running firearms case to a dramatic close. For Adamiak, his family and the gun-rights groups supporting him, it was a major victory.

But it also raised an obvious question: What about the other people whose names were reportedly submitted for pardons?

Washington Gun Law host William Kirk examined that question after the Sept. 4 announcement. He said the National Association for Gun Rights had sent White House Counsel a letter requesting pardons or other relief for several people involved in federal firearms cases.

Kirk emphasized that he does not know why some names received action while others did not. The absence of an announced pardon also does not necessarily mean a request has been formally denied.

Tate Adamiak Heads Home

A federal jury convicted Adamiak in 2022 of receiving, possessing and transferring unregistered machineguns, along with possessing unregistered destructive devices. He received a 20-year federal prison sentence in 2023, according to the Justice Department’s account of the case.

Adamiak and his supporters strongly disputed the government’s description of the items.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) argued that several were legal parts, nonfunctioning replicas or demilitarized launchers. SAF also claimed government experts installed additional parts while testing the items.

“This is the day Tate and his family have fought for since his conviction,” SAF Investigative Journalism Project Editor Lee Williams said in the group’s pardon announcement.

Gun-rights organizations also reported pardons for George Peterson, Russell Fincher, Shane Cox and Jeremy Kettler. Still, several names discussed in the broader pardon campaign were not included.

The Auto Key Card Case Remains

Two of the biggest names left out were Kristopher Ervin and Matthew Hoover, the man behind the CRS Firearms YouTube channel.

Ervin sold stainless-steel cards containing etched outlines of lightning-link components. Hoover promoted the Auto Key Cards through his channel.

The defense maintained that the cards were artwork or novelty items. Federal prosecutors argued that they were machinegun conversion devices. A jury sided with the government.

Ervin received five years and eight months in prison. Hoover received five years, according to the Justice Department.

Hoover reportedly left federal prison for a halfway house in December 2025, although his conviction remains in place. Ervin and Hoover appealed their convictions to the Eleventh Circuit. Kirk suggested that the pending appeal might have affected the pardon decision, but made clear that this was only speculation.

Jelly Roll Presents a Different Situation

Country singer Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason DeFord, was another person named by Kirk.

DeFord has openly discussed his previous robbery and drug convictions. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted him a state pardon in December 2025 after the Tennessee Board of Parole recommended clemency.

That creates an important distinction. A president can pardon federal offenses, but not state convictions. However, a state conviction can still produce a federal firearms disability.

DeFord may instead be able to seek relief through the Justice Department’s new Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program. That process allows certain people to ask the attorney general to remove federal firearms restrictions after an individual review.

Two Missouri Defendants Also Remain

Kirk also discussed Aubrey Foxworthy and Philip Leroy Rains. Both men were in their 70s or 80s when separately indicted in Missouri.

Federal prosecutors accused both of dealing firearms without a license. Foxworthy also faces charges involving an allegedly unregistered short-barreled rifle, silencer and machinegun conversion device.

Neither man had been convicted when the pardon request was discussed. The charges remain allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent. The Justice Department announced the original indictments in April 2025.

Because those cases had not reached final judgments, the options could include presidential clemency, dismissal by prosecutors or continuing through trial.

The Marijuana Question

The reported request also sought broader relief for people convicted under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3), which restricts firearm possession by unlawful users of controlled substances.

That issue changed significantly in June. In United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not prosecute Ali Hemani based solely on his regular marijuana use without showing that his drug use made him dangerous.

However, the Supreme Court described its decision as narrow. It did not erase every conviction under the statute or prevent prosecutions involving intoxication, addiction or evidence of individual dangerousness.

That is the brass-tacks takeaway. Adamiak’s pardon provided individual relief, but it did not erase the conviction or rewrite federal firearms law. The Justice Department explains that a presidential pardon removes penalties and legal disabilities but does not expunge the underlying conviction.

Adamiak is coming home. For the other people highlighted by Kirk and gun-rights advocates, the legal fight is not necessarily over. Their next steps simply may not all run through the same door.

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