Pro-Trump, Pro-Gun Apparel Company Fined For Faking 'Made In USA' Claims

A pro-Trump and pro-gun apparel company based in Utah has been fined for illegally labeling its products with "Made in USA" tags, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said.

Lions Not Sheep, an apparel company known for making pro-Trump and pro-gun shirts, as well as its owner Sean Whalen have been required by the FTC to pay $211,335 in fines after the company removed "Made in China" tags on its clothes and replaced it with fake "Made in USA" labels.

"Whalen and Lions Not Sheep must stop claiming that products are made in the United States unless they can show that the product's final assembly or processing — and all significant processing — takes place here and that all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced here," the FTC said in a press release.

In addition to paying the fines, the FTC is also ordering Lions Not Sheep and Whalen "to stop making bogus Made in USA claims" and disclose "about the extent to which the product contains foreign parts, ingredients or components, or processing."

The FTC first launched an investigation into the apparel company after Whalen published a video titled "Made in America!" on his social media accounts in October 2020. In the video, Whalen said he could conceal the origins of products by ripping out tags and replacing them with labels stating the item was made in the U.S.

Some of the tags used by Lions Not Sheep included "Made in the USA," "Made in America," "Are your products USA Made" and "100% American Made," according to Deseret News.

Lions Not Sheep first made waves during the COVID-19 pandemic when it released shirts with the phrase "give violence a chance." The shirt also included images that depicted former President Donald Trump as a terminator armed with military-style rifles.

Lions Not Sheep is also known for selling merchandise featuring phrases like "Let's Go Brandon" and "Shall Not Be Infringed." Every purchase of Lions Not Sheep products also comes with a copy of the U.S. constitution, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.