'All because I've spoken up': Police seize Brian Tamaki's firearms, revoke gun license

Author: NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026, 9:36am

Brian Tamaki's hunting guns were seized by police. Photo / Getty Images/@BrianTamakiNZ

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki says police have confiscated his hunting firearms and revoked his gun licence following incendiary comments made on social media.

In a livestream on his Facebook page, the controversial Christian leader filmed police at his home this morning confiscating several large weapons.

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“NZ Police turned up to my house this morning to confiscate my hunting guns, and to advise that they have revoked my gun license,” he wrote on Facebook.

“All because I have spoken up about Mass Immigration!”

It comes after Tamaki’s comments on social media earlier this month, where he accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of targeting Indian Christians with threats and violence.

“I think we should reciprocate in kind. Let’s purge New Zealand of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims,” Tamaki said.

“And, while we’re at it, if they’re burning churches down, why don’t we burn mosques and their temples down? Tit for tat.”

On Tamaki’s livestream this morning, he said the police actions were “all to do probably with the community that I’m saying have drenched the country and overflooded it”.

“They’ve complained to the police that probably I’m dangerous because of the threats they said about the mosques, the temples, which was never going to be happening. I wouldn’t burn their temples down, and neither would I do anything dangerous.

“But here it is, right here. Just busted up and never told me. They cancelled it [his gun licence] two days ago, and now they’re taking my firearms, which are all registered.”

On stream, police can be seen questioning Tamaki over the serial numbers of his firearms.

Tamaki, who has been a licensed gun owner for “over 30 years for hunting”, added on stream that “some people are upset, they think I’m dangerous”.

Brian Tamaki filmed police seizing several large hunting rifles from his home.

In a message to his critics, Tamaki said: “You can hate all you like, but I want to stand up and protect my country.”

Last week, Act MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar said she wrote to the Police Commissioner asking police to investigate whether Tamaki broke the law over his comments on social media.

In a post on Facebook, Parmar shared a response from Assistant Commissioner Tim Anderson dated June 25 saying “this matter is under investigation and being considered with legal advice”.

Parmar said she believed Tamaki’s comments had “crossed the line”.

“Those comments, in my view, they incite crime,” Parmar told the Herald last week. “He has definitely crossed the line because public safety for me is really important here.

“He always talks about Kiwi values, and it is quite actually hypocritical and ironic that he actually wants to import foreign problems to New Zealand.

“Because here we should never aspire to become a country where religious freedom is restricted and where places of worship are burned down because of their religion.

“These are not Kiwi values.”

Asked for comment on Tamaki having his guns seized by police, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he had not had an update on that.

“All that I know is that police were initiating an investigation into Brian Tamaki after the public comments that he made targeting ethnic communities and religious groups,” Mitchell, who is also the Minister for Ethnic Communities, told media in Wellington.

Mitchell added that he condemns Tamaki’s comments “strongly”.

Police have been approached for comment.