Did DHS Buy 1.2 Billion Rounds of “Domestic Anti-Personnel” Ammo?

A story claims that the Department of Homeland Security has purchased 1.2 billion rounds of “domestic anti-personnel” ammo. Is this true?

The story is satire.

The humorous article was published by the satirical website The Duffel Blog on January 29, 2014. The fictitious story states that over one billion rounds of ammo were manufactured to “guard against those guarding against tyranny.”

“It won’t really penetrate any significant body armor, but that stuff is illegal to purchase anyway,” said Regina Dugan, a DARPA spokesperson speaking to reporters only on background. “These are for pacification of the law-abiding, protest prone people: Truthers, Birthers, you know the type. Don’t quote me on that.”

Although certain passages indicate a clear attempt at satire, such as, “the design is extremely effective at creating permanent tissue damage to unarmored doughy middle-aged targets,” some readers shared the article unaware that it is intended as a work of humor.

This work of humor sounds quite similar to – and is likely referencing – a real report in early 2013 that the DHS had ordered 1.6 billion rounds of ammo. While the 2013 report is worthy of debate, the “domestic anti-personnel” article by The Duffel Blog is not.

The Duffel Blog

A glance at the Duffel Blog’s “A brief history” reveals the humorous nature of the website:

The Duffel Blog is sometimes referred to as “The military version of The Onion,” but this is a popular misconception. The misnomer was cleared up in May 2012 when TDB staff successfully conducted an airborne assault on the offices of The Onion News Network so that others would know “The Onion was actually the civilian version of The Duffel Blog.”

Bottom Line

The Department of Homeland Security did not order over a billion rounds of “domestic anti-personnel” ammo. This report stems from a humorous article on a satirical website, although it may be inspired by real reports of large ammo purchases by the DHS in early 2013.

Source:

• DHS Purchases 1.2 Billion ‘Domestic Anti-Personnel’ Rounds (The Duffel Blog: January 29, 2014)