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Gun safe manufacturer Liberty Safe has said its customers will now be able to have the records of their safe combinations "expunged" after the company faced growing backlash for handing over the access code to one safe to the FBI.
Liberty Safe customers will be able to fill out a form to have records of their safe access codes deleted, meaning they can "take control of how their information is stored and protected," the manufacturer said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
Earlier on Wednesday, Liberty Safe had said the FBI requested the access code to a safe on August 30, which it gave after seeing proof of a warrant. The safe belongs to 34-year-old Nathan Hughes, who has been charged with felony civil disorder and several misdemeanors relating to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"Our company's protocol is to provide access codes to law enforcement if a warrant grants them access to a property," Liberty Safe said on Tuesday evening. "After receiving the request, we received proof of the valid warrant, and only then did we provide them with an access code."
In the statement posted to social media, Liberty Safe said it was committed to protecting its customers' personal property and 2nd Amendment rights, "and has repeatedly denied requests for access codes without a warrant in the past."
Several conservative figures criticized Liberty Safe over the move, with the founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, calling the company "an enemy to gun owners."
In its updated statement, Liberty Safe said it understands that "many of our customers are willing to assume the responsibility of safeguarding their own combinations," and those who opt out of the company's "secure database" will have "limited recourse in case of a lost combination."
Liberty Safe has held records of "factory-set combinations" in order to help the safes' users regain access to their safe for many reasons, including if the user loses the combination, the company said.
"Our company, one of America's oldest and largest safe manufacturers, was founded on the belief that Americans should have the fundamental right to protect and safeguard their valuables and property," Liberty Safe said.
Update 09/07/23, 8:41 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more