On Monday, the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office filed court papers to dismiss their case against Matthew Walker Anderson, a Minnesota gun owner who was facing multiple felony charges for possessing firearms that did not have serial numbers.

The decision comes just days after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that state law allows Minnesotans to possess certain firearms that lack serial numbers.

In May of 2022, Anderson and a friend were target shooting on private property in Sherburne County. An incident prompted a complaint from a neighbor,  who said he “heard glass shatter” on the lower level of his home. Discovering a broken sliding glass door the neighbor called the police leading to the intervention of local sheriff’s deputies.

Anderson fully cooperated with the deputy who arrived to inspect the shooting range. He and his friend agreed to show the deputy their firearms, which included Anderson’s privately made firearms that did not have serial numbers.

Anderson was then detained for several hours and the firearms were confiscated. Anderson was told by the deputies that he would be charged for possessing firearms without serial numbers, violating Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3), a state law which bans Minnesotans from possessing firearms that do not have a serial number. 

Anderson was charged with two felonies six weeks after the incident. The case centered on two rifles belonging to the 24-year-old.

Anderson’s mother, Sara Forgues, said that her son had consulted with an ATF agent prior to building his firearms to ensure he was abiding by all relevant laws. The agent reportedly confirmed that Anderson was not violating any federal or known state laws.

The case has cost Walker and his family distress as well as financial peril. Forgues believes that the charges was an abuse of legal power from the state. In order to help cover her son’s legal costs, the family had to dip into Anderson’s college fund.

In February of 2024, a trial appeared likely for Anderson after Sherburne County District Court Judge, the Honorable Kristi Janislawski, issued a ruling rejecting three defense counsel motions to dismiss charges in the case.

Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a 4-2 ruling in a separate case which said the state law in question “criminalizes the possession of a firearm without a serial number only when the firearm must have a serial number under federal law.”

Since federal law does not require privately-made firearms created for personal use to have a serial number, the Supreme Court effectively said personal privately-made guns which lack a serial number are legal in Minnesota.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Forgues said she believed the charges against her son should be dropped. Sen. Andrew Mathews and Rep. Shane Mekeland, political representatives of Sherburne County issued statements calling on prosecutors to drop the charges against Anderson. 

On Monday, the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office filed court papers to dismiss their case against Anderson. The dismissal document, which was only two lines long, referenced the Supreme Court’s recent decision and is signed by Dawn Nyhus, Sherburne County’s lead attorney who was appointed to the job in  May after 22-year former attorney Kathleen Heaney retired.