Cover: photo illustration. Source images: Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, Frederick County Government (official bio); Dan Cox, The Washington Post; Rob Krop, 930 WFMD via Instagram.
The case
In April 2023 a federal grand jury indicted Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and Robert Krop, owner of The Machine Gun Nest, in United States v. Jenkins and Krop, No. 1:23-cr-00123-SAG (D. Md.) [Doc 20-1; Maryland Matters]. Prosecutors alleged that from August 2015 to May 2022 the sheriff’s signature on official letterhead was used to request machine guns for evaluation and demonstration to his department. According to the indictment, Krop drafted the letters and Jenkins signed them, and both knew no demonstration would occur and the guns were meant for rental to paying customers [FOX 5 DC].
Krop walked out acquitted. Jenkins walked away when prosecutors dropped his case. No one was convicted. But the paper trail they left behind raises questions no verdict ever answered, and both defendants, along with the lawyer who won Krop’s case, are on the ballot this November.
Maryland Sheriff accused of conspiracy involving illegal machine guns | WUSA9 | YouTube
Mar-a-Lago’s Man in Frederick
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. Frederick County’s sheriff since 2006 and a fixture on conservative television. After he took office, Fox News named him the second-toughest sheriff on immigration in America, behind only Arizona’s Joe Arpaio; he has been a Fox News regular and has visited Donald Trump at both the White House and Mar-a-Lago [Bolts]. Media Matters catalogued years of his Fox appearances, including a segment on Laura Ingraham’s show [Media Matters]. He considers border czar Tom Homan a friend and has said the 2020 presidential election was stolen [The Baltimore Banner]. He is running for a sixth term this November against Democrat Karl Bickel.
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins parties at Mar-a-Lago with Lauren Boebert [The Baltimore Banner; The Hill]. Photo: source unknown.
“Maybe in a couple of years, we’re going to find out this was the biggest fraud ever played.”
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins on the 2020 election, Frederick County Conservative Club event, Dec. 12, 2020, as published with a recording of the speech by Dylan Petrohilos; see also FNP letter
The Man Who Would Be Governor
Dan Cox. Former state delegate, Trump-endorsed 2022 nominee for governor, and Krop’s defense lawyer. In late January 2026 he filed to run for governor again with his former client as running mate [Maryland Matters], and in June he won the Republican primary [FOX 5 DC]. For January 6, 2021, Cox co-hosted buses from Frederick to the pro-Trump rally in Washington with the Frederick County Conservative Club, promoting the trip with the hashtag #StoptheSteal, and as the Capitol was overrun he tweeted “Pence is a traitor” [Maryland Matters]. Then-Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, called him “a QAnon conspiracy theorist who says crazy things every day” [Maryland Matters]. Cox said his group stayed at the Washington Monument, left early, and took no part in violence [WTOP].
Dan Cox, Republican nominee for governor. Photo: The Washington Post
A sheriff who says the election was stolen. A gubernatorial candidate who bused constituents to Stop the Steal. A letter to the Frederick News-Post places Jenkins’ stolen-election remarks at the same Frederick County Conservative Club that co-hosted Cox’s buses [FNP letter]. How small is this circle, and how much does it matter who is in it?
“Pence is a traitor.”
Dan Cox, on Twitter, January 6, 2021, as the Capitol was under attack [Maryland Matters]
The Man Who Would Be Lieutenant
Robert “Rob” Krop. A Frederick realtor with a Liberty University degree in Biblical Studies, and by his campaign’s account the founder and owner of The Machine Gun Nest. His campaign biography presents him as a real estate team leader, property manager, range owner, husband and father; it lists no military or law enforcement service, and it calls his indictment false and the product of government overreach [Cox campaign site]. Today he is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Maryland [FOX 5 DC].
Rob Krop, Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. Photo: 930 WFMD via Instagram
“Glad to see the Biden Administration at work.”
Rob Krop to ATF agents during the May 2022 raid on The Machine Gun Nest, as recorded in the agent’s report [Doc 20-1]
Jenkins’ role: his signature
Jenkins’ own lawyers never disputed that he signed the law letters. In a June 30, 2023 filing they wrote: “He signed some letters so Krop could obtain machine guns” [Doc 30, p. 5]. The same filing says the government conceded Jenkins received nothing in return, and that he declined an invitation to discuss a fundraiser for his re-election [Doc 30, p. 1].
Among the guns requested was an FN M249 SAW, a belt-fed machine gun the indictment said was not suitable for law enforcement [Doc 20-1, quoting the indictment]; court documents described it as “only suitable for combat” [CBS Baltimore]. Frederick County’s chief law enforcement officer put his name to a request for it.
- Did he read what he signed?
- Did he understand what an M249 is, or what it is built to do?
- Did he ask why his office would need to see one demonstrated, when, deputies testified, it had bought 16 new automatic weapons a year before the letters began [Frederick News-Post]?
- If he did not ask, what does that say about his judgment?
- And if he did, what does that say about his integrity?
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. Photo: source unknown.
What Is an M249 SAW?
The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is the U.S. Army’s 5.56mm light machine gun: fully automatic, gas-operated, and fed from ammunition belts or magazines. Its regulator selects a normal rate of about 750 rounds per minute or a maximum of 1,000, and it exists to give an infantry squad the sustained fire needed to suppress and destroy enemy soft targets [GlobalSecurity.org].
In combat it is the backbone of the fire team. Army doctrine paired every fire team with an M249 gunner, and the Marine Corps put one in each of a squad’s three fire teams [The National Interest]. Its job is suppression: pour enough fire onto an enemy position that the people there cannot shoot back, while the rest of the team moves to flank and kill them. At 750 to 1,000 rounds a minute, that is roughly twelve to sixteen rounds every second, belt after belt; the gun has a quick-change barrel for exactly that reason.
That is the weapon that went out under a sheriff’s letterhead.
- What patrol or SWAT scenario in Frederick County calls for squad-level suppressive fire?
- Who imagined it being demonstrated to deputies?
- And who imagined it being rented to weekend shooters at an indoor range?
Machine gun. M249 SAW 200rd dump on a FOB in the Triangle of Death (MMD-2009) Baghdad,Iraq.MOV | YouTube
A SAW is built for suppressive fire and devastating firepower. Deputies testified the Sheriff’s Office had already bought 16 new automatic weapons a year before Jenkins started signing the letters [Frederick News-Post].
Someone Should Tell Chuck Jenkins This is Frederick not Fallujah
Did Jenkins Rat on Krop to Save Himself?
His ATF interview. Judge Stephanie Gallagher’s order separating the trials cited a voluntary statement Jenkins gave law enforcement “implicating Mister Krop in what the Government alleges to be criminal activity” [WFMD].
Krop alone had a motive. Doc 30 argued that even if a conspiracy existed, the motive was Krop’s alone, because a law letter was cheaper than manufacturing the guns. It laid out, step by step, that Krop initiated contact, his staff drafted the letters, he chose which guns and how many, he handled all ATF filings, and he received and rented out the guns. Jenkins, it said, never dealt with ATF and was never told whether the guns arrived [Doc 30, p. 4].
Krop’s own employees. The filing previewed ATF interview summaries in which current and former Machine Gun Nest staff said Krop drove the effort; one reportedly said Jenkins may not have known what he was signing, and another that Krop sent Jenkins’ secretary flowers or a gift for fast turnarounds [Doc 30, p. 5]. These are summaries as characterized by Jenkins’ counsel, not sworn testimony.
An open promise to use it. Jenkins’ lawyers called that testimony very damaging to Krop, said a joint trial would force Krop to fight on two fronts, and promised to highlight the disparity between the two men at every opportunity [Doc 30, p. 5]. In court, Cox agreed to separate trials, warning that the sheriff’s team could throw Krop under the bus [CBS Baltimore].
The sheriff who signed the letters told federal agents about the man who asked for them, then his lawyers built a defense around pointing at that man.
- Is that a sheriff cooperating with an investigation, or a politician saving his own skin?
- Would he have stood by Krop if the roles were reversed?
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins leaving federal court. Photo: Maryland Matters
Were the Demonstrations Ever Held?
We found no public record showing a formal demonstration to the Sheriff’s Office ever took place. The indictment alleged none was ever held [Maryland Matters]. In Frederick News-Post trial coverage, former Machine Gun Nest employee Matthew Jones said he was not aware of any demonstrations at the Sheriff’s Office range or at the business during his time there, and on an ATF recording played at trial Krop said he was not sure who arranged demonstrations because he did not work at the range daily [Frederick News-Post via Yahoo].
Krop’s defense said, in effect, that they happened. Cox alleged Jenkins visited the range multiple times and viewed the guns [Frederick News-Post via AOL], and claimed hundreds of law enforcement and military members, including county deputies, used them [Doc 20-1]. At trial the defense showed emails inviting Jenkins to see the weapons and argued ATF policy never defines a demonstration [Maryland Matters].
Jenkins’ defense said he was never told the guns arrived, while also arguing the guidance was vague enough that seeing them on display, or deputies renting them, could count [Frederick News-Post via AOL]. Current and former deputies testified the office had bought 16 new automatic weapons a year before Jenkins began signing the letters [Frederick News-Post].
Multiple government witnesses testified they were not aware of any demonstrations involving the specific machine guns requested in the law letters Jenkins signed between 2015 and 2022 [Frederick News-Post].
Krop’s side says the sheriff saw the guns. The sheriff’s side says he was never told they existed. Both cannot be fully true. So which defendant was telling the truth, and which was telling a story?
Follow the Money
The indictment alleged The Machine Gun Nest made more than $100,000 in profit from machine gun rentals in 2018 and 2019 alone [The Baltimore Banner]. CBS reported the same figure as rental fees [CBS Baltimore]. Jenkins’ severance filing cited an ATF summary of a former employee saying Krop had made hundreds of thousands of dollars from rentals [Doc 30, p. 5]. Krop’s defense said there was no evidence of profit from the guns at issue and that Krop draws no income from the range [Doc 20-1]. No court ever made a finding on the numbers.
On the other side of the ledger: zero. Jenkins’ lawyers wrote that the government conceded he received nothing for his signature, and Krop’s lawyers insisted no donation or payment was ever made to him [Doc 30, p. 1; Doc 20-1].
Six figures in two short years on one side. Nothing on the other.
- So why did Jenkins sign?
- Was it friendship, when he says he barely knew the man?
- Was it politics, a favor for a pro-gun business in his county?
- Or did a businessman who knew exactly what a law letter was worth find a sheriff who did not?
- Did Krop exploit Jenkins?
Krop Tried First
Prosecutors and Jenkins’ attorneys both wanted Krop tried first, viewing the case against him as stronger, and prosecutors said early on they might well drop Jenkins’ charges if Krop were acquitted [The Baltimore Banner]. In late October 2024 a federal jury acquitted Krop on all counts after about five hours [Maryland Matters]. Prosecutors then dropped Jenkins’ charges [Maryland Matters], with prejudice [WMAR]. Jenkins called it a legal and political “assassination attempt” and said he barely knew Krop [The Baltimore Banner].
Robert Krop and his attorney, former delegate and gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox. Photo: Graham Cullen/Frederick News-Post, via Maryland Matters
Fit to Be Sheriff?
Judgment in a sheriff is not abstract. At a campaign barbecue this September, Jenkins told a Bolts reporter what he thought of his opponent, Democrat Karl Bickel [Bolts, Sept. 22, 2026], and Bolts repeated the remark in its election preview [Bolts, Sept. 25, 2026]. The county’s chief law enforcement officer, describing physical violence against a political rival, on the record. His words are reproduced below.
It is not the first question about his conduct. Bolts reports Jenkins earned his reputation among immigrants in part by associating with far-right, anti-immigrant organizations designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2019 the ACLU of Maryland sued his office on behalf of a woman who said a deputy stopped her over a taillight and held her roadside for nearly an hour while trying to reach ICE; the 2021 settlement paid her $25,000 and required Jenkins to apologize to her in writing [Bolts].
Screenshot: Bolts, “We’re Afraid on a Daily Basis” (Sept. 22, 2026)
- Is that how a professional lawman talks?
- Is it the same judgment that put his name to a request for a combat machine gun his lawyers say he was never even told had arrived?
- Is a sheriff who says the 2020 election was stolen, who signs what he is handed, and whose own statement to agents implicated his co-defendant, the person Frederick County should trust with a badge, a jail and a sixth term?
Side by Side: What Jenkins Claimed vs. What Krop and Cox Claimed
Positions taken by each defendant in court filings, at trial, or in public statements. The final column marks whether the two sides contradicted each other, diverged, or agreed.
| Issue | Jenkins claimed | Krop / Cox claimed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who drove the law letters | Krop initiated contact, his staff drafted the letters, he chose which guns and how many, and he handled all ATF filings. Jenkins only signed [Doc 30]. | The Sheriff’s Office asked TMGN whether a form existed for law letters; the letters were lawful statements of the office’s interest, and the sheriff is the office [Doc 20-1]. | CONTRADICT |
| Did Jenkins see the guns? | He was never notified when or whether the guns arrived [Doc 30; FNP]. | Jenkins visited TMGN several times and viewed the guns; a TMGN social media video shows him on site with them [Doc 20-1; FNP]. | CONTRADICT |
| How well they knew each other | Met Krop perhaps twice [Banner]. | The sheriff appeared at TMGN on several occasions [Doc 20-1]. | DIVERGE |
| Motive and money | Only Krop had a motive, which was financial: a law letter was cheaper than manufacturing the guns [Doc 30]. | No evidence of any profit from the guns at issue; Krop draws no income from TMGN and works full time as a realtor [Doc 20-1]. | CONTRADICT |
| Were demonstrations held? | ATF guidance is vague enough that seeing the guns on display, or deputies renting them, could count [FNP]. | Demonstrations happened routinely; hundreds of law enforcement and military members used the guns, and ATF never defines a demonstration [Doc 20-1; MM]. | DIVERGE |
| Political support / quid pro quo | Jenkins declined a TMGN employee’s offer to discuss a fundraiser; the government conceded he received nothing [Doc 30]. | No donations or payments were ever made to Jenkins; the COO’s emails were protected political speech [Doc 20-1]. | AGREE |
| The ATF interviews | Jenkins’ voluntary statement implicated Krop, per the severance order; his team flagged the interview as a problem for Krop at a joint trial [WFMD; CBS]. | Moved to suppress Krop’s own ATF interview, alleging agent intimidation [CBS]. | DIVERGE |
| Joint or separate trials | Krop’s political attacks on prosecutors and agents would spill onto Jenkins; a joint trial would prejudice him [Doc 30]. | Agreed to separate trials, arguing the sheriff’s team could throw Krop under the bus [CBS]. | AGREE (opposite reasons) |
| Was the prosecution political? | Counsel had grave concerns about the government’s motives, citing agents’ questions about January 6; Jenkins later called it an assassination attempt. But his filing called Krop’s political framing irrelevant and dangerous [Doc 30; Banner]. | A vindictive, politically motivated prosecution by the Biden administration aimed at removing the sheriff [Doc 20-1]. | DIVERGE |
Key takeaway: the two defenses agreed there was no quid pro quo and that the trials should be separated, but directly contradicted each other on who drove the letters, whether Jenkins ever saw the guns, and where any financial motive lay.
Analysis
On the record, the sheriff signed the letters on official letterhead, including one that sought a belt-fed combat machine gun.
When the case came, his ATF statement and his court filings framed Krop as the sole motivated actor and Jenkins as a passive signer.
- If so, was Jenkins just a useful idiot?
- And if he was not, what was he?
The strategy worked for Jenkins: a separate trial, Krop first, and Jenkins never faced a jury.
It did not sink Krop, whom the jury acquitted, and who now stands one election away from Maryland’s second-highest statewide office beside the lawyer who won his case.
On the central factual question, whether the guns were ever shown to the sheriff, the two men’s own lawyers told contradictory stories.
Neither man was convicted of anything, and both say they were targets of a politically motivated prosecution. Voters in November will decide whether that settles the questions above.
Who is telling the truth?
1. Who drove the letters?
Jenkins said: Krop initiated contact, his staff drafted the letters, he chose the guns and handled all ATF filings; Jenkins only signed [Doc 30].
Krop said: the Sheriff’s Office asked whether a form existed for law letters, and the letters were the office’s own lawful requests [Doc 20-1].
2. Did Jenkins see the guns?
Jenkins said: he was never told when or whether the guns arrived [Doc 30; FNP].
Krop said: Jenkins visited the range several times and viewed the guns, and a range social media video shows him on site with them [Doc 20-1; FNP].
3. How well did they know each other?
Jenkins said: he had met Krop perhaps twice [The Baltimore Banner].
Krop said: the sheriff appeared at The Machine Gun Nest on several occasions [Doc 20-1].
4. Whose motive, whose money?
Jenkins said: only Krop had a motive, and it was financial; a law letter was cheaper than manufacturing the guns [Doc 30].
Krop said: there was no evidence of any profit from the guns at issue, and Krop draws no income from the range [Doc 20-1].
Sources
1. Doc 30, Jenkins’ Reply on Severance, U.S. v. Jenkins, No. 1:23-cr-00123-SAG (D. Md. June 30, 2023)
2. Doc 20-1, Krop Omnibus Motion, No. 1:23-cr-00123-SAG (D. Md. May 31, 2023)
3. Maryland Matters, indictment report (Apr. 5, 2023)
4. FOX 5 DC, indictment report
5. WFMD, “Trials for Jenkins, Krop will be separate” (Aug. 30, 2023)
6. CBS Baltimore, severance hearing report
7. Maryland Matters, Krop acquitted on all counts (Oct. 23, 2024)
8. Maryland Matters, prosecutors drop charges against Jenkins (Nov. 12, 2024)
9. The Baltimore Banner, Jenkins press conference after dismissal
10. WMAR-2 News, charges dismissed with prejudice
11. Frederick News-Post (via AOL), Jenkins files motion to dismiss
12. CBS Baltimore, Krop pleads not guilty
14. Frederick News-Post (via Yahoo), Prosecution rests, defense witnesses testify
15. Bolts, 25 sheriff and prosecutor races preview (Sept. 25, 2026)
16. Bolts, “We’re Afraid on a Daily Basis” (Sept. 22, 2026)
17. The Baltimore Banner, A red stalwart in blue Maryland
18. Media Matters, Jenkins’ Fox News appearances
19. Dan Cox for Governor, Lt. Governor candidate page
20. Maryland Matters, Cox files second bid with Krop (Feb. 1, 2026)
21. FOX 5 DC, Cox wins GOP primary (June 23, 2026)
22. Maryland Matters, Cox arranged buses, calls VP a traitor (Jan. 7, 2021)
23. Maryland Matters, Cox opens gubernatorial committee
24. WTOP, Cox denounces mob violence
25. Frederick News-Post, letter to the editor on the sheriff’s race (2022)
26. GlobalSecurity.org, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon
27. The National Interest, M249 in Army and Marine squads
28. The Hill, Boebert’s ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ dress at Mar-a-Lago (Nov. 2021)
29. Frederick County Government, Sheriff Jenkins official bio (cover photo source)
30. 930 WFMD on Instagram (Krop photo source)
31. Dylan Petrohilos (Medium), Jenkins speech at Frederick County Conservative Club, Dec. 12, 2020
32. WUSA9 (YouTube), Maryland Sheriff accused of conspiracy involving illegal machine guns
33. YouTube, Machine gun. M249 SAW 200rd dump on a FOB in the Triangle of Death (MMD-2009) Baghdad, Iraq
34. The Washington Post, Dan Cox launches 2026 bid for governor (photo source, Jan. 31, 2026)