A Michigan man who appeared with his family as the central figure in the TLC show Meet the Putmans has been charged with illegally possessing an AR-15 rifle that was converted to operate as a machine gun.
A federal indictment against 57-year-old William Putman II was unsealed on Monday.
The charge is a 10-year felony, but his defense attorney, Paul Beggs, believes Putman will be exonerated.
William Putman II (pictured), 57, who is the central figure in the TLC show Meet the Putmans, has been charged with illegally possessing an AR-15 rifle that was converted to operate as a machine gun
A federal indictment against 57-year-old Putman was unsealed Monday. His defense lawyer Paul Beggs said he believes Putman will be exonerated. Meet the Putmans aired on TLC last fall
‘This is a case that is going to be vigorously contested,’ Beggs told the Detroit Free Press late Monday.
‘Mr. Putman has been caught in the crosshairs of a political hot potato.’
Beggs described Putman as an avid sportsman, hunter and ‘responsible firearm owner’.
Putman was released Monday on an unsecured bond of $10,000.
The indictment comes after Putman’s son Brandon Putman was charged earlier this year after authorities say he tried to get copies of a component to convert an AR-15 into a machine gun.
Federal firearms agent Stephen Ross said Brandon Putman, 31, went to a machine shop and asked for 10 copies of a metal part.
The indictment comes after Putman’s son Brandon Putman (right) was charged earlier this year after authorities say he tried to get copies of a component to convert an AR-15 into a machine gun
The younger Putman also stars in Meet the Putmans, which aired on TLC last fall. The show features three generations of a family (pictured), 25 in total, living in one house in Michigan
The shop owner later contacted officials with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) agency, which launched an investigation.
The ATF examined the part that Brandon Putman wanted copied and confirmed that it was ‘an authentic AR15 drop-in auto sear designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun’.
If the part was legally registered, Ross wrote, it would cost $40,000 apiece.
But Brandon Putman was willing to pay $100 apiece, according to a conversation he had with an undercover ATF agent who called him and pretended to be a machinist.
Ross said Putman texted the undercover agent in January to ask about the parts.
About a week before his son was charged, William Putnam suffered a heart attack while they were in Las Vegas purchasing furniture for their new home that’s under construction.
The younger Putman also stars in Meet the Putmans, which aired on TLC last fall.
The show features three generations of a family, 25 in total, living in one house in Michigan.