Brian Tamaki Says New Zealand Police Revoked His Gun License Over Immigration Comments

Destiny Church founder Brian Tamaki posted a live video to X on his account, @BrianTamakiNZ, showing New Zealand Police officers at his property confiscating his hunting firearms.

Tamaki filmed the incident as officers worked in his garage and told him his gun license had been revoked, which he connected directly to his public comments opposing mass immigration.

"NZ Police turned up to my house this morning to confiscate my hunting guns, and to advise that they have revoked my gun license," he wrote in the caption. "All because I have spoken up about Mass Immigration!"

Tamaki is a New Zealand religious leader and politician. He founded Destiny Church, a Pentecostal group that follows a strict, fundamentalist view of biblical morality, according to Wikipedia.

Since 2022, he has led the Freedoms New Zealand political party. He has run for elected office on multiple occasions but has not won a seat.

Under New Zealand's Arms Act 1983, firearms licenses are issued and can be revoked at the discretion of police, who must determine whether a holder is a "fit and proper person" to possess firearms, free of significant criminal, psychiatric, or drug-related concerns, according to the Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand.

No public NZ Police statement addressing this specific incident or confirming Tamaki's stated reason for the revocation had been identified as of publication.

Replies to Tamaki's post on X were mixed. "When a government disarmed their citizenry, it never ends well," one commenter wrote. "They will end up imprisoning and/or killing you. No if, and, or buts about it. It never ends well."

One commenter asked why Tamaki let the police take his guns. Tamaki responded by referencing one of his past arrests. "I'm no use in prison mate," Tamaki wrote. "I've bn [sic] to Prison before for standing up in the Covid Scam. So I'm more use fighting for another day."

On January 17, 2022, Tamaki was arrested for allegedly breaching bail conditions after addressing an anti-lockdown rally in Christchurch's Hagley Park that he described as a "family picnic" rather than a protest. He denounced the arrest and described himself as a political prisoner, according to Wikipedia.

Another connected the incident to a wider political grievance. "They can take then [sic] as soon as license is revoked by force if necessary," the commenter wrote. "Just shows the lefts [sic] narrative. Collect weapons from NZers that want their country back."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the events described in this video or confirm the official grounds cited by New Zealand Police for revoking Tamaki's firearms license. The details above reflect the account as shared on X by @BrianTamakiNZ.