Prosecutors in Sherburne County dismissed their case against Matthew Walker Anderson, a Minnesota gun owner who was facing multiple felony charges for possessing firearms that did not have serial numbers.
The decision comes just days after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that state law allows Minnesotans to possess certain firearms that lack serial numbers.
In May of 2022, Matthew Walker Anderson was charged with violating Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3), a state law which bans Minnesotans from possessing firearms that do not have a serial number. The case centered on two rifles belonging to the 24-year-old.
Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a 4-2 ruling in a separate case which said the state law in question “criminalizes the possession of a firearm without a serial number only when the firearm must have a serial number under federal law.”
Since federal law does not require privately-made firearms created for personal use to have a serial number, the Supreme Court effectively said personal privately-made guns which lack a serial number are legal in Minnesota.
In court filings, Anderson’s lawyer had argued that his client’s rifles were privately-made, not subject to federal serial number requirements, and therefore not in violation of state law.
After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Anderson’s mother said she believed the charges against her son would be dropped, and Sen. Andrew Mathews and Rep. Shane Mekeland issued a statement calling on prosecutors to drop the charges against Anderson. Both lawmakers represent Sherburne County in the Minnesota Legislature.
On Monday, the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office filed court papers to dismiss their case against Anderson. The dismissal document, which was only two lines long, referenced the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
