American Spirit Arms Leaves BofA, Moves To Local Bank

American Spirit Arms

Jan. 7, 2013 - Bank of America (BofA) tried to take the law into its own hands in late December when it froze the deposits of gun manufacturer American Spirit Arms. Late this morning, however, American Spirit announced that it has "gotten most of the deposits and have set up new accounts with a local bank."

Joseph P. Sirochman, owner of American Spirit Arms, says that BofA put his company's deposits on hold and under "further review." He says a bank employee told him, "We believe you should not be selling guns and parts on the Internet." Needless to say, Sirochman was very upset. On December 29, he posted about the ordeal on Facebook

This update was posted by American Spirit Arms at 10:45 AM CST, January 7, 2013 as a comment to the original post on Facebook (below):

I first want to thank all of you that have called, emailed and posted your support. I also wanted to post an update and to clear up some questions... BANK OF AMERICA started holding American Spirit Arms deposits for REVIEW on 12-18-12. Since that time we had to fight tooth and nail to get them released... We have now gotten most of the deposits and have set up new accounts with a local bank. Again I want to thank everyone for the outpour of support on this matter and believe because of you we were able to get our deposits..

Sincerely and Many Thanks,

Joseph P Sirochman
American Spirit Arms

Note: Sirochman's post got a lot of comments, and they're still coming in. Many commenters are urging him to sue BofA. A typical comment: "Get a good attorney and sue them... I am quite sure you will win, I would go for a few years worth of receipts for the damage done to your reputation and your business..."

Following is Sirochman's original Facebook post on December 29, 2012.

BREAKING: BANK OF AMERICA GIVES IN, WILL HELP REPUBLIC WINDOWS...

Bank of America blinked and will help Republic Windows & Doors LLC in Chicago, after all. But there are catches... Bank of America Offers Loans to Republic for Workers (Update1) Workers win: Bank to give credit to Chicago plant

BIG BANK OF AMERICA PROTEST, CHICAGO, DEC. 10

An anonymous tipster let this be known to The Bench: A protest at Bank of America, 231 S. LaSalle (at Jackson) in downtown Chicago on Wednesday, December 10. (Say, wait a minute! That's "Day Without A Gay" day! There won't be anybody working at B of A!) There will be a protest at B of A headquarters 231 S. LaSalle, Chicago on Wednesday, December 10 at noon. Fran Tobin of "Jobs With Justice" is the person who told [The Bench's source] about this. Please stay informed. The protest was changed to Wednesday from Tuesday. Even if the Republic Windows and Doors matter is settled (BofA loans Republic enough to pay its workers their severance, sick pay and vacation) we will still gather to protestthe financialconsequences of the bailout wherein banks are paid but do not pass the benefiton to American workers.Hope to see you at 231 S. LaSalle on Wednesday at noon." Now, won't that be fun?

Illinois Gov: No to Bank of America

UPDATE: Illinois Attorney General To Look Into Factory Closing Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said the state will suspend business with Bank of America Corp. until the lender restores credit to the shuttered Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago where workers are staging a sit-in. Blagojevich, a Democrat, spoke at a news conference today after meeting with employees who remained at the factory since Dec. 5, when it closed following the bank’s cancellation of its credit line. Illinois does “hundreds of millions of dollars” in business with the bank, he said. The Illinois Department of Labor will sue the manufacturer if Republic doesn’t respond to employee requests for vacation and severance pay, the governor said in a press release. More at Bloomberg... There are a lot of videos related to this story. Click here. RELATED: Obama Sides with Workers in Factory Sit-in Social War Chicago: Thoughts on the Republic Window takeover Ilinois Threatens Bank Over Sit-In Blagojevich Reckless, Obama Evasive on Bank of America and Chicago ... Plan To Save Citigroup Could Be Model For Bank Of America Plan Small banks want their bailout Flashback: Republic Windows closing doors (Dec. 4) Angry laid-off workers occupy factory in Chicago (Dec. 6) Greedy Bank of America Engineers "Fake Rescue" in Sub-Prime Fire.