Dexter Taylor isn't a warlord. He's not a gangster, a gunrunner, or a killer. He's a software engineer from Brooklyn who likes to build things. Specifically, he liked building firearms at home—something that, despite years of fear-mongering, is still legal in much of the country.

But not in New York.

For the "crime" of constructing unregistered firearms in his Bushwick apartment, Dexter Taylor is now serving ten years in prison. He harmed no one. He sold nothing. He committed no violence. His real offense? Daring to be self-sufficient in a state that demands dependency.

They called them "ghost guns," of course. Because when you're out of real arguments, slapping a scary name on a piece of plastic is a great way to terrify the public into compliance. In reality, Taylor had a collection of firearm parts, kits, and unfinished receivers—entirely victimless hardware that Big Brother finds intolerable. So they came down on him like he was El Chapo with a printer.

On April 6, 2022, NYPD's "Field Intelligence Team" raided his apartment, seizing parts for AR-15-style rifles, handguns, and ammunition. No evidence he ever used them. No sale records. No threat. Just a guy with a 3D printer, a workbench, and too much independence for the comfort of the state.

In May 2024, Taylor was convicted on 11 counts related to criminal weapons possession. His sentence? Ten years. That's longer than many violent criminals ever see—including child rapists. 

Let's put that in perspective.

In the same state that locked Taylor away for a hobby, violent criminals and predators routinely walk free. According to a Fox5 NY investigation, New York City judges release defendants charged with serious violent crimes 85% of the time. That includes assaults, rapes, and homicides. One man was released after sexually abusing five victims, including children. Another flung feces at a woman on the subway. Probation. Meanwhile, Dexter Taylor built a gun—not used, not fired, not sold—and got a decade behind bars.

But hey, he didn't ask permission.

And that's the point.

The state doesn't punish danger. It punishes defiance. You can shatter someone's skull and get supervised release, but build an AR at home and suddenly you're the Grim Reaper of Bushwick. Taylor's real crime wasn't endangering society—it was building something the state couldn't track, license, or control.