US government orders Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed to remove blueprint for 3D-printed handgun from the web

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The blueprint has so far been downloaded more than 100,000 times since Defense Distributed - which spent a year designing the “Liberator” handgun - made it available online. The Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance wrote to the company's founder Cody Wilson demanding the designs be "removed from public access" until he could prove he had not broken laws governing shipping weapons overseas. The group’s website currently has a red banner at the top reading: “DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.” Wilson told the tech blog Betabeat: “We got an official letter from the Secretary of State, telling me who they were, what their authority was under US law and telling me they want to review these files to see if they’re class one munitions.