Del Mar Shooting Video Was Likely Felony, Experts Say
Republican Lt. Governor candidate Aaron Del Mar fires an automatic rifle. Prosecutors say Del Mar likely committed a felony. (Photo: Facebook)
Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Aaron Del Mar committed felony gun crimes in a video posted on his campaign Facebook page this weekend, multiple prosecutors and experts tell The Illinoize.
The video, posted Saturday, shows Del Mar firing a semi-automatic rifle at a gun range and appearing to use a switch on the gun, also known as an “auto sear,” to turn the weapon into fully automatic mode.
The video is dubbed over by Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E” and includes the caption “Switching to automatic!”
But, firing an automatic weapon in Illinois is a felony. Depending on the severity, sources say, can result in the charge of a Class X felony, which has penalties including prison time of 6 to 30 years.
The event took place Saturday at the Illinois State Rifle Association gun range in Kankakee County, confirmed ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. But, the range was rented to Guardian Concepts, a personal defense and concealed carry training company based in Kankakee, and ISRA had no role in providing the firearm to attendees.
It appears Titan Guardian contracted with a Wisconsin-based firearms dealer, or a “Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL),” to provide attendees to the event with the opportunity to fire an automatic rifle under the supervision of employees of the dealer. It was advertised as a “full auto experience.”
The National Firearms Act, a federal law, provides an exception to automatic weapons laws if an FFL provides a weapon at a range for a person to use “under direct supervision.”
But, in this case, Illinois law appears to supersede the federal exemption.
“There’s no express exemption in the law,” one prosecutor told The Illinoize, referring to the use of the weapon through an arms dealer. The prosecutor asked not to be identified because they did not have jurisdiction over the case. “The only exemption is for a law enforcement officer who is specifically licensed for the use of an automatic weapon.”
We have reached out to Guardian Concepts for comment.
Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, a conservative Democrat who challenged the state’s SAFE-T Act in court in 2022, is considered by experts as unlikely to charge Del Mar, or anyone else, with a crime for the incident. Rowe did not respond to a request for comment.
The weapon Del Mar used in the video also appears to use a suppressor, a device attached to the muzzle of the rifle to reduce sound and recoil. Suppressors are explicitly illegal under Illinois law and could be charged with a Class 3 felony, punishable by up to 2-5 years in prison.
Multiple prosecutors we spoke with admit events like the one Del Mar attended Saturday likely happen often around the state and are almost never charged criminally.
The campaign for Del Mar and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, who has repeatedly claimed he supports “zero” gun regulation, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Pritzker campaign, though, jumped at the opportunity to attack Del Mar and Bailey.
“Dangerous Darren Bailey and Angry Aaron Del Mar are sending the clearest possible signal to voters that they are still 100% behind their extreme, pro-gun agenda and oppose safety measures,” said Pritzker campaign spokesman Alex Gough. “Unfortunately, this kind of performance is what Illinoisans have come to expect from the running mate of a man who told victims of the Highland Park massacre to ‘move on’ while the shooter was still at large.”
Bailey made the ‘move on’ comment in a hastily posted social media video from a parade in the Chicago suburbs on July 4, 2022 in the immediate aftermath of the Highland Park shooting that killed seven and wounded 48 others.
Politically, many Republicans questioned why Del Mar would post the video, especially as the Bailey campaign has repeatedly said it was focused on appealing to suburban and female voters. Polling often shows guns, including semi-automatic and automatic rifles, are unpopular among those demographics.
“This is the dumbest unforced error of the campaign,” said one GOP operative not affiliated with the Bailey campaign. “It is tone deaf and stupid and shows these guys aren’t ready for prime time. And it shows why they’re going to lose big in November.”
