A Texas man at the Center for the Supreme Court Case says he no longer wants guns

In a handwritten letter from prisonthe man at the center of a major Supreme Court gun rights case on Tuesday apologized for taking “the wrong path” and wrote that he would no longer carry a gun.

“This time I will make sure that when I end my time in prison, I remain the faithful, righteous person that I am today,” the man, Zackey Rahimi, wrote. He added that he wanted to “stay away from all firearms and weapons, and never be away from my family again.”

Despite Mr. Rahimi’s vows in the July 25 letter to a local judge and prosecutor, gun rights advocates acknowledge that he is not an ideal poster child for the Second Amendment.

“Presenting cases in the most favorable light possible is a fundamental strategic goal, and that includes having someone likeable and relatable,” said Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute, that advocates for gun rights. “I don’t know anyone who would see Zackey Rahimi as any of these things.”

Not only does Mr. Rahimi, 23, of Texas, face multiple gun-related charges, but prosecutors say that after a judge banned Mr. Rahimi from carrying weapons under a domestic violence protection order, he participated in a series of five shootings in just one year. two months.

A panel of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit wrote that he was “hardly a model citizen,” even though they sided with him.

Mr. Rahimi’s case could expand gun rights protections by overturning a federal law that criminalizes owning a gun while under a domestic violence protective order. Although the case has generated a flood of amicus briefs from groups like the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment FoundationAnd the Phyllis Schlafly Eaglesthe organizations have largely shifted focus from Mr Rahimi.

“I think the gun rights advocates who litigate these cases, as with other impact lawsuits, often try to reverse engineer the case with the most persuasive litigants, and this case just doesn’t fit that strategy,” said Eric Ruben, University associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University and fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. “You can imagine another case challenging the same law, with a much more sympathetic plaintiff.”

Mr. Rahimi declined an interview request, but court and police records reveal a portrait of a troubled young man who turned to drugs and guns after growing up in poverty in a family that immigrated to Texas from Afghanistan. He was painfully shy and overweight and said he was a target for bullies at school.

He felt financial pressure from an early age to help support his family, and he earned money by detailing cars, mowing lawns and moving appliances. He built a successful used car business, he wrote, before “hanging out with the wrong people.” He started “smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, taking pills and all kinds of junk.”

He said he wanted to take responsibility for his decisions, that “it was all my fault from day 1 for being in that cycle.”

Mr. Rahimi’s letter does not directly address the incidents that led to his incarceration, nor does it mention his case before the Supreme Court, but state and federal court filings detail the charges against him mention.

In December 2019, Mr Rahimi and his girlfriend got into an argument in a parking lot in Texas. During the struggle, Mr. Rahimi knocked the woman to the ground, dragged her to his car and pushed her inside, according to court records. When he realized a bystander was watching, he pulled out a gun and fired a shot.

Mr. Rahimi’s girlfriend ran from him, and he later called her and threatened to shoot her if she told anyone what happened, records show.

A Texas judge issued a two-year restraining order against Mr. Rahimi, who has a child with the woman, in February 2020. The judge ruled that he had “committed family violence” and that such violence was “likely to occur again in the future.” As part of the order, the judge revoked Mr. Rahimi suspended.

Prosecutors say Mr. Rahimi blatantly defied the court’s order. In August 2020, he contacted his girlfriend via social media and went to her house in the middle of the night. In November 2020, prosecutors say he threatened another woman with a gun, leading to his arrest on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to a briefing from the government’s lawyersAfter someone who bought drugs from him started “talking nonsense” online, he fired an AR-15 at the man’s home. The next day, they say, during a traffic accident he shot a driver. He is accused of firing a gun into the air in a residential area three days later. A few weeks later, after a truck flashed its headlights at him, prosecutors say he followed the truck and shot at another car. In January, they say, he fired shots into the air after his friend’s credit card was declined at a Whataburger restaurant.

During a search of Mr. Rahimi’s bedroom in January 2021, detectives say they found a loaded Glock and a rifle, along with a copy of the domestic violence protection order.

A grand jury indicted Mr. Rahimi on charges of violating the federal law that prohibits anyone under such a warrant from possessing a gun, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Mr. Rahimi argued that the law violated the Second Amendment.

Bee Mr. Rahimi’s convictionsaid one prosecutor that “it’s a miracle of God he didn’t kill anyone.”

“You’re talking about six separate shootings here,” Frank Gatto, the prosecutor, told the judge. “And for me, that first video, where he causes this accident and gets out and just starts filming, is one of the most horrifying videos to watch and see. If that doesn’t send shivers down anyone’s spine, I don’t know much else that can.”

Mr. Rahimi’s lawyer argued that he was still maturing and noted that Mr. Rahimi had a supportive family willing to help him.

After the Supreme Court delivered its landmark decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruenthe United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned Mr. Rahimi’s conviction, finding that federal law violated the Second Amendment. The appeals court based its reasoning on the fact that it could find no analogous historical law from the 18th or 19th century.

The government asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

Mr. Rahimi remains in the county jail pending the outcome of pending state criminal charges.

“I carried firearms for the right reason to protect my family at all times,” he wrote in his letter. He added that he would at all times do whatever was necessary “to be able to come home as quickly as possible to take care of my family.”

Krista Torralva contributed reporting from Fort Worth, Texas and Kitty Bennett research contributed.