A Bristol man was taken into custody after opening fire on law enforcement as they tried to execute a federal search warrant at his home, federal prosecutors said.
John Caleb Allen, 26, was charged with assault of a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and illegal possession of a machine gun, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Jack Heekin of the Northern District of Florida.
On July 24, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives agents and Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to Allen’s home to serve the warrant, the release said.
Allen then fired “multiple rounds at the agents” but was “arrested without the agents discharging their weapons,” according to the release. Some “suffered minor, non-critical injuries as a result of the assault.”
Court records weren’t immediately available online, including whether Allen had a lawyer, and the release did not reveal the nature of the warrant.
The news release did say the case was part of Operation Take Back America, “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
“A criminal complaint is merely an allegation by a sworn affiant that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt,” the release said. “All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to due process, to include a fair trial, during which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”
If convicted, he faces a possible 40-year sentence.
Jim Rosica can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gunfire erupts as ATF, deputies serve warrant on Liberty County man