Someone from the California Attorney General’s Office leaked files from their database, including the home addresses, full names and dates of birth for every gun owner in the state.
The leak included the private information of 244 judges and 420 reserve officers in addition to thousands of private civilians, according to The Reload.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a press release Monday announcing, “new and updated firearms data available through the California Department of Justice (DOJ)’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal.”
“Today’s announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state,” Bonta said of the dashboard.
WATCH:
JUST IN: California Attorney General accidentally publishes full list of EVERY concealed carry member in the state, to include Names, Home Addresses, Phone Numbers, Sex and Race of every member, on state government website. pic.twitter.com/KtMhQt8m29
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) June 29, 2022
The outlet reported that social media posts confirmed the leak revealed data from an “assault weapons” registry as well.
The Reload provided further details:
The California Department of Justice’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal went live on Monday with publicly-accessible files that include identifying information for those who have concealed carry permits. The leaked information includes the person’s full name, race, home address, date of birth, and date their permit was issued. The data also shows the type of permit issued, indicating if the permit holder is a member of law enforcement or a judge.
The Reload reviewed a copy of the Lost Angeles County database and found 244 judge permits listed in the database. The files included the home addresses, full names, and dates of birth for all of them. The same was true for seven custodial officers, 63 people with a place of employment permit, and 420 reserve officers.
2,891 people in Los Angeles County with standard licenses also had their information compromised by the leak, though the database appears to include some duplicate entries as well.
A video reviewed by The Reload shows the databases with detailed information were initially available for download via a button on the website’s mapping feature. They appeared to have been removed from public access by Tuesday afternoon and replaced with spreadsheets without the individualized identifying information.
The office of Attorney General Rob Bonta (D.) confirmed private information had been exposed and said they are examining the situation.
“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” a spokesperson for the office told The Reload. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”
The California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) slammed the leak and said it was looking into potential legal action against the state.
“Vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information,” Chuck Michel, CRPA President, told The Reload. “CRPA is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by DOJ’s doxing of law abiding gun owners. Litigation is likely.”
California appears to have leaked the names, addresses, and ages of every person in the state who holds a concealed carry permit. That includes judges, cops, and regular civilians.
I was able to review the Los Angeles data and it's extensive. https://t.co/uiooUyFv5A
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) June 28, 2022
The detailed private information appears to no longer be accessible via the state's dashboard. However, it appears a lot of people were able to download it while the files were publicly available. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has not responded to my requests for comment.
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) June 28, 2022
@DarrellIssa: “This is a shocking betrayal of trust by state officials, whether an act of corruption or incompetence. We must absolutely get to the truth of what happened and develop any legislative solutions that will ensure gun owners and their rights are protected.”
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) June 28, 2022
At the time of publication, the link to the dashboard alerts users the website is “temporarily unavailable.”
The Daily Caller added:
The Reload did not publish the leaked data due to security concerns for those involved in the leak.
“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” Attorney General Bonta’s Press Office told the Daily Caller. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable.”
“We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”
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