FARGO, N.D.- After a three-day trial, 24-year-old Patrick Ohdahl of Fargo has been found guilty of possessing a machine gun and an unregistered silencer. Sentencing will be scheduled for a later date. The incident began in February 2023 when police were called to a home in Fargo. Investigators say Ohdahl had pulled a gun during an argument with his parents and fired it into the ceiling. While his parents were able to escape without injury, Ohdahl refused to surrender, leading to a several-hour stand-off with law enforcement and a neighborhood shelter-in-place order.
Ohdahl eventually surrendered to the police, and during their search of the residence, they discovered several ghost guns, including a machine gun and an unregistered silencer. United States Attorney Mac Schneider commented on the case, stating, “Privately made firearms – more commonly known as ‘ghost guns’ – are especially attractive to dangerous and prohibited persons because of their untraceable nature.” He emphasized the threat posed by illegal machine gun conversion devices and unregistered firearms.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted the prevalence of ghost guns, noting that in 2022, the Department of Justice recovered 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures and an additional 2,453 through international operations. The case was investigated by the Fargo Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Lee and Trial Attorney Katherine Raut.