Austin man behind 3D-printed gun company charged with child sex assault

[Chance]

From ArsTechnica:

After skipping his flight back to the US in the wake of accusations of sexual assault against a minor, Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson attempted to rent an apartment in Taipei this week, according to United Daily News (Chinese, Google Translate), a Chinese-language media outlet based in Taiwan.

That article indicates that Wilson appears to have initially passed himself off as an American student living in the city. But after Wilson seemed to have secured an apartment by making an initial down payment, the rental agency reportedly recognized him and called the authorities. UDN writes that area police and Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau are now trying to again locate Wilson.

Who knows if that's true, but it's what's being reported.

[WobblyPossum]

From ArsTechnica:



Who knows if that's true, but it's what's being reported.

If that story is true it sure does scream “consciousness of guilt.”

[jetfire]

Well the latest update is that he’s been detained by the Taiwanese authorities, so I reckon he’ll be sent back here shortly.

[OlongJohnson]

Memorializing my current signature, so it will still make sense when I change it:

"3D-printed shitty plastic "guns" are the open carry bumpstocks of the right to acquire...kittening it up for the rest of us."

This nobody of a douche has inflamed and ridden anti-2A fears to a position of newsworthiness.

It started as a stupid pet trick.
Then it became a troll.
Then it became a fraud.

The idea that his all-plastic "gun" is a serviceable firearm that anyone can make in their mom's basement is stupid, but he's done nothing but sell this ridiculous idea to a credulous media that is always ready to get the vapors about anything that might go pop. And the politicians have reacted predictably, using it to fan fears and restrict the right of people to make actual serviceable firearms, which is a hell of a lot more difficult than pushing some buttons on a microwave. He is the open carry tard crew swarming Starbucks with AR-15s. Getting a lot of attention and accomplishing nothing except motivating the other side to act to restrict fundamental human rights. The fact that he ever got more than 15 minutes of Instagram fame out of this shows a serious willingness to deal in alternate reality.

The sooner no one ever hears of him again, the better.

[Chance]

From ArsTechnica:

"A management restructuring is coming," Stephen Sheftall, of Defense Distributed, said when Ars made an unannounced visit to the company’s offices on Friday. Sheftall noted that was all Defense Distributed was prepared to say at this time, but an official company statement is in the works (likely to be released through "pro-gun blogs").

For now, the only message to potentially come out of Defense Distributed may be an unofficial thread on the company subreddit, r/Defense_Distributed. Five years ago, a user named redditmudder did an unverified AmA after the announcement of The Liberator pistol, something the self-identified employee said they engineered. That same account took to r/Defense_Distributed at the end of this week to, in their words, reassure customers that Ghost Gunner's future is not immediately in jeopardy.

"We have operated without Cody's presence for long periods in the past. While these allegations are generating a media frenzy, I can assure y'all that it's business as usual for the most part," redditmudder wrote. "You must know that Cody and I have long understood that he might end up in prison (although I didn't think it would be under these circumstances), so rest assured we had a plan for when yesterday finally arrived."

[HCM]

https://www.ksat.com/news/owner-of-t...s-after-arrest

Owner of Texas 3D gun company resigns after arrest
Cody Wilson was arrested on charges of having sex with minor

[HCM]

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timei...dvocate-arrest

Cody Wilson, 3-D Printed Gun Advocate, Has Been Jailed in the U.S.

The owner of a Texas company that sells plans to make untraceable 3-D printed guns was back in the U.S. Sunday after being arrested in Taiwan, where police say he flew after learning he was being investigated for allegedly having sex with an underage girl.

The U.S. Marshals Service said 30-year-old Cody Wilson was booked into Harris County Jail in Houston early Sunday and was being held on $150,000 bond. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney yet.

He was arrested Friday at a hotel in Taiwan by local police. He is facing sexual assault charges in Austin, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals service.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chr...n-13251168.php

3-D printed gun advocate Cody Wilson bonds out of jail in Houston after arrest in Taiwan