Deterrence Dispensed

Deterrence Dispensed (DetDisp) is a decentralized, online collective that promotes and distributes designs for open-source 3D-printed firearms, gun parts, and handloaded cartridges.[1] The group describes itself as aligned with the freedom of speech and anti-copyright movements.[2]

DetDisp is best known for developing and releasing the FGC-9, a semi-automatic 3D-printed carbine requiring no regulated gun parts.[3] The group has been linked to the publication of the 3D files for the gun that killed UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson.[4]

History

In February 2019, a group of 3D gun designers chose the name "Deterrence Dispensed" as a reference to Defense Distributed, the first 3D firearms organization.[1] By 2020 the group claimed thousands of members, many of whom lived in jurisdictions where unlicensed firearm production was illegal.[3] Prominent among the group's pseudonymous members was the late German-Kurdish gun designer "JStark1809".[1][3]

Deterrence Dispensed has used multiple, alternative social networks and platforms due to suspensions from mainstream sites, including Tumblr and Keybase.[5][6] At one time, Deterrence Dispensed was the sixth most popular team on the Keybase platform, but by January 2021 they would be banned, a decision attributed to Keybase's acquisition by Zoom Video Communications.[5][7] The group has published files and blueprints on file-sharing websites built by LBRY, including the website Odysee, and has attempted to rebrand itself under the name "The Gatalog".[4][5]

In November 2024, the group's administrator Peter Celentano was arrested by the New York State Police and faces over 1,000 firearms-related charges.[4][8] In December of 2024, The Gatalog took credit for releasing the files for the printable frame and suppressor allegedly used by Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.[9][10]

Designs

Deterrence Dispensed is best known for developing and releasing the FGC-9, a 3D-printed carbine requiring no regulated parts.[11] At the peak of its popularity, the group also distributed blueprints for AR-15s, an AKM receiver called the "Plastikov", handgun frames, and a magazine for Glock pistols named after New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who once pushed for crackdowns on the online sharing of 3D-printable firearms designs.[5][11] In 2019 the group released a design called the "Yankee Boogle", which is an auto sear that converts a semi-automatic AR-15 into a fully automatic one.[12]

Another Deterrence Dispensed design is FMDA 19.2, a Glock-derived partial 3D-printed pistol blueprint, released in 2021. In 2024, an iteration of FMDA 19.2 may have been used in the killing of Brian Thompson.[4]

Criticism

Since the death of JStark, former members of DetDisp have been criticized for founding organizations in opposition to the original open source and anti-copyright values of the organization.[13]

See also

• Gun control
• Improvised firearm
• Liberator (gun)
• List of notable 3D printed weapons and parts
• Right to keep and bear arms
• Crypto-anarchism

References

1. Hanrahan, Jake (20 May 2019). "3D-printed guns are back, and this time they are unstoppable". Wired UK. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023.
2. "det_disp". Keybase. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Code is free speech. Copyright is theft.
3. Simpson, John (November 23, 2020). "Militant network pushes homemade assault rifles". The Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.(
4. Greenberg, Andy. "The 'Ghost Gun' Linked to Luigi Mangione Shows Just How Far 3D-Printed Weapons Have Come". Wired. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
5. Barton, Champe (July 25, 2019). "As Social Networks Crack Down, 3D-Printed Gun Community Moves to New Platforms". The Trace. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
6. Barton, Champe (August 27, 2019). "3D-Printed Gun Group Moves to Tumblr". The Trace. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
7. "Keybase, a Platform Owned by Zoom, Will Ban Groups Sharing Blueprints for 3D-Printed Guns". The Trace. 2 February 2021.
8. "Multi-agency arrest of Bergen man for over one-hundred 3D printed weapons". Troopers.ny.gov. November 27, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
9. McWhirter, Cameron (December 10, 2024). "UnitedHealth Exec Shooting Heightens Debate Over Ghost Guns". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
10. Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (December 12, 2024). "When a Glock Isn't a Glock: The History of the Pistol Found With Luigi Mangione". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
11. Kelly, Kim (May 21, 2020). "The Rise of the 3D-Printed Gun". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
12. Greenberg, Andy (November 4, 2020). "FBI Says 'Boogaloo Boys' Bought 3D-Printed Machine Gun Parts". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
13. Wilson, Cody (May 31, 2024). Black Flag White Paper: A Primer on Copyright and 3D Guns. ISBN 9798988553816.

External links

• Official website