Judge allows most wrongful-death claims in ATF raid case to proceed
June 18, 2026 | Rose Bud, White County, Arkansas
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A federal judge in Little Rock has allowed most claims in a wrongful‑death lawsuit brought by Maria Malinowski over the March 2024 ATF raid that killed her husband to proceed in federal court.
District Court Judge Lee Rudofsky denied the U.S. government's request to dismiss all nine claims in the suit and permitted eight of those claims to go forward against the individual ATF agents and the experts who organized the raid, the transcript reports. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was released as a defendant.
The lawsuit concerns an early‑morning entry at the West Little Rock home of Brian Malinowski. According to the transcript, Malinowski fired on ATF agents as they forced through the door while serving a warrant tied to suspected illegal gun sales; an exchange of gunfire followed and Malinowski was killed.
Malinowski's lawyers told the court that agents acted negligently and did not follow procedures during the raid. The U.S. government had asked the court to dismiss all nine claims against the agency and the individual agents; the judge's order allowed most claims against the agents and the experts to proceed.
The ruling is recorded in a 57‑page order issued after a hearing held in December, according to the transcript. The decision means the plaintiff may continue litigation against the named individuals and seek discovery and further court proceedings; the transcript does not specify trial dates or additional deadlines.
The transcript does not quote the order verbatim and provides no additional details about the specific legal theories the judge accepted or rejected beyond the count of claims allowed and the bureau's release as a defendant.
District Court Judge Lee Rudofsky denied the U.S. government's request to dismiss all nine claims in the suit and permitted eight of those claims to go forward against the individual ATF agents and the experts who organized the raid, the transcript reports. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was released as a defendant.
The lawsuit concerns an early‑morning entry at the West Little Rock home of Brian Malinowski. According to the transcript, Malinowski fired on ATF agents as they forced through the door while serving a warrant tied to suspected illegal gun sales; an exchange of gunfire followed and Malinowski was killed.
Malinowski's lawyers told the court that agents acted negligently and did not follow procedures during the raid. The U.S. government had asked the court to dismiss all nine claims against the agency and the individual agents; the judge's order allowed most claims against the agents and the experts to proceed.
The ruling is recorded in a 57‑page order issued after a hearing held in December, according to the transcript. The decision means the plaintiff may continue litigation against the named individuals and seek discovery and further court proceedings; the transcript does not specify trial dates or additional deadlines.
The transcript does not quote the order verbatim and provides no additional details about the specific legal theories the judge accepted or rejected beyond the count of claims allowed and the bureau's release as a defendant.
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