Man apologizes for threats after Tenn. revokes his carry permit

A Tennessee man apologized this evening after the Tenn. Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security suspended his handgun carrying permit earlier today because he threatened to "start killing people" in a video posted to YouTube Thursday.

James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, threatened to "fire the first shot" of the civil war and "start killing people" if President Barack Obama used an executive order to ban assault weapons.

Yeager appeared with his attorney and said that he was angry when he made the video and it was already copied when he tried to remove it. He apologized and said that he doesn't advocate the violent overthrow of the government and he doesn't "condone any violent actions towards any elected officials ... it's not time for that. It's not time for any type of violent action."

Earlier in the day, Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons told Nashville's NewsChannel5:

"The number one priority for our department is to ensure the public's safety. Mr. Yeager's comments were irresponsible, dangerous, and deserved our immediate attention. Due to our concern, as well as that of law enforcement, his handgun permit was suspended immediately. We have notified Mr. Yeager about the suspension today via e-mail. He will receive an official notification of his suspension through the mail."

When asked if the state could take further action, a spokeswoman said, "I can only speak on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. We have taken the action that the department is authorized to take by Tennessee law."

Say Uncle, a popular Tenn. gun blog, wrote this about the situation, "This would be what I call unhelpful for a couple of reasons. First, it’s bad and horribly stupid PR. Second, if that’s actually your plan, why are you telling everyone that?"

In the YouTube video, Yeager said:

Hi, this is Jim Yeager from Tactical Response and I'm kind of mad right now. I just got a news update — today is the ninth of January, 2013 — that Vice President Biden is asking the president to bypass Congress and use executive privilege/executive order to ban assault rifles and to impose stricter gun control. F--- that. I'm telling you that if that happens, it's going to spark a civil war and I'll be glad to fire the first shot.

I'm not putting up with it, you shouldn't put up with it, and I need all you patriots to start thinking about what you're going to do. Load your damn mags, make sure your rifle's clean, pack a backpack with some food in it and get ready to fight.

I'm not f------ putting up with this. I am not letting my country be ruled by a dictator. I'm not letting anybody take my guns. If it goes one inch further, I'm going to start killing people.

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