N.C. Gun Dealer Gets Bank To Release “Choke” Hold

posted on June 11, 2016
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **

Fox News reports that a North Carolina gun dealer, once denied banking services because of the Obama administration’s Operation Choke Point, has won his battle with HomeTrust Bank. 

In 2013, HomeTrust told Luke Lichterman of HuntingAndDefense.com that Choke Point barred them from serving a “risky” business. However, Lichterman’s business was completely above-board: “I sell firearms, which is constitutionally protected, and am licensed by the federal government to sell firearms.” 

After several meetings and pressure from gun-rights groups, HomeTrust has now relented and agreed to process digital payments for his business. “The only reason Luke Lichterman was able to get his account back was because he went public with his story,” said Kelsey Harkness, who first revealed Operation Choke Point writing for The Daily Signal. “It makes you wonder how many other innocent business owners are being victimized by this secretive government program without even knowing it.”

Latest

Screenshot 2026 02 20 At 11.38.22 AM
Screenshot 2026 02 20 At 11.38.22 AM

Ryan Petty Explains How to Stop Possible School Shooters

After Ryan Petty lost his 14-year-old daughter, Alaina, to a 19-year-old mass murderer in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 in Parkland, Fla., he wanted to know what happened. Most of all, he wanted to find the holes in the system to, as best we can, stop such horrors long before they occur.

Another Example of What Actual Free Speech Does for the Second Amendment

This is the sort of truth bombing X can now give us—thanks to Elon Musk’s purchase of the social-media site—if we are discerning about who we follow and take the time to be cautious about what we believe.

Hawaii Wants to Go Further Than Mere “Aloha Spirit” in Defiance of Citizens’ Rights

Within weeks of the U.S. Supreme Court’s hearing oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez, Hawaii lawmakers are moving on legislation to find other ways to keep citizens’ Second Amendment rights effectively off-limits.

The DOJ Civil Rights Division Strikes Again

In a poignant rebuke of the Massachusetts handgun roster, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the case Granata v. Campbell.

Armed Citizen Interview: NYC Homeowner

Moshe Borukh heard glass breaking downstairs in his Jamaica Estates home in Queens, N.Y., around 2:40 a.m. Borukh grabbed his pistol and investigated. He soon discovered that a man was inside his home.

Why Did This NFL Offensive Tackle Get Arrested in NYC?

Rasheed Walker thought he was following the law when he declared he had an unloaded Glock 9 mm pistol in a locked case to a Delta Air Lines employee at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on January 23.

Interests



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.