The widow of Bryan Malinowski, a former executive director of Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) following his fatal shooting during a federal raid in March 2024.
Maria “Maer” Malinowski filed the suit in federal court, alleging wrongful death and other violations stemming from the March 19, 2024, early-morning raid. The complaint names the ATF, along with 10 individual agents and law enforcement officers who participated in the operation, as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the ATF executed a search warrant based on suspicions that Bryan Malinowski was unlawfully selling firearms without a federal license. At approximately 6 a.m., agents forcibly entered the Malinowski residence using a battering ram. Within two minutes of entry, the suit alleges, an ATF officer shot Bryan Malinowski in the head. The complaint states that Malinowski, 53, retrieved a firearm in self-defense, believing intruders had broken into his home, unaware that it was a law enforcement raid.
At the time of the incident, Malinowski had no criminal record and held a prominent public position as airport executive director.
The suit argues that the search warrant did not authorize an arrest and was executed without sufficient justification or necessity. It further claims that the timing of the raid—less than a month before the ATF announced efforts to close the so-called “gun show loophole”—was significant. The agency had reportedly targeted Malinowski for selling firearms at gun shows while identifying as a private seller.
Another point of contention in the complaint is that the ATF had initially prepared to conduct the raid on March 12, but postponed it after learning Malinowski had left the house early that day. The lawsuit argues that there was no legal barrier to executing the search warrant at that time.
“Nothing prevented the agents from executing the search warrant on March 12, 2024,” the filing states.
The 72-page complaint includes a detailed timeline of events, including the treatment of Maer Malinowski following the shooting. It alleges she was covered in her husband’s blood and detained in a patrol car for several hours. Upon her release, she went to the hospital but was advised by family and friends not to view her husband’s body. Bryan Malinowski succumbed to his injuries on March 21.
The suit also highlights that none of the agents involved wore body cameras during the raid, despite federal policies mandating their use in such operations.
Maer Malinowski is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. The lawsuit accuses the federal government and individual agents of negligence, wrongful death, assault and battery, emotional distress, false imprisonment, and violations of Arkansas state law.
