Air Force veteran tied up in Massachusetts guns case released on bail: 'Legalize freedom'

Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald on Oct 30, 2025

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BOSTON — The Air Force veteran imprisoned for over four months for possessing firearms without a Massachusetts license has been released on bail and has a simple message for lawmakers: “Legalize freedom.”

Kyle Culotta, who served four years as a postal specialist in the Air Force, is making that appeal after being released from the Worcester County House of Correction in West Boylston on Monday – an end to a jail stay that has sparked a movement to repeal Massachusetts’ gun laws.

Speaking to the Boston Herald less than 24 hours after his release, Culotta said he was “not in the condition” to fully answer any questions. “I am really tired,” he added.

There was a clear joy in Culotta’s voice, though, as he spoke alongside his fiancée, Sarandë Jackson, and defense attorney, Daniel Hagan, on Tuesday night, reflecting on the past four months and where the saga will take them now as his criminal case proceeds.

Jackson collected more than $27,000 from supporters who donated to an online fundraising campaign, with a bulk of that money going towards getting Culotta out of jail. Financial assistance quickly piled up after a Gardner District Court judge finally granted Culotta bail early last week.

Culotta, 51, said he looks at his supporters as “angels.”

“When he first got past the guard and got to give me a kiss and a hug, I was very relieved,” Jackson said. “It still didn’t feel real; it was like the last four months didn’t feel real because our lives looked absolutely nothing like they did four or five months ago.”

Culotta and Jackson traveled to Massachusetts from Arizona on June 23, planning to find an apartment that they could settle into. But their lives turned upside down just 30 hours after they arrived in the Bay State.

Authorities stopped Culotta and Jackson while driving in Gardner the night of June 24 because Jackson’s vehicle had expired auto insurance. Culotta, the driver, reportedly informed police officers that he had weapons in the car and a pistol in his pocket.

Police found three handguns, five rifles, and a “fully stocked military-style ammo” case in Jackson’s vehicle, according to court documents. Culotta had a license to carry firearms in Arizona but not in Massachusetts.

Authorities quickly detained Culotta, beginning his months-long imprisonment. Three judges denied bail requests, determining that the veteran posed a threat to the local community and ordered him held without bail.

Last month, prosecutors dismissed Culotta’s “most serious charges,” which included “assault style firearm” and “large capacity” magazine and firearm offenses. Then last week, the Gardner District Court judge who offered bail also determined Culotta was no longer dangerous.

Hagan told the Herald that a petition is pending with the state Supreme Judicial Court regarding the constitutionality of a dangerousness statute that allowed authorities to hold Culotta for four months without bail.

“Kyle sort of serves as the figurehead for the very negative effects of the Massachusetts gun laws,” Hagan said. “He stands there as a decorated war veteran, a clean record for 51 years of his life, and he now finds himself held without the right to bail simply for being accused of possessing a firearm.”

“It doesn’t get really worse than that,” the attorney added. “It’s disgusting how Massachusetts repays people, like Kyle, who are otherwise law-abiding people but venture over the border by a few miles.”

Culotta’s arrest and pre-trial detention have escalated a fight to strike down a landmark firearms law Beacon Hill Democrats approved in July 2024, and Gov. Maura Healey declared an emergency measure months later.

A rally is scheduled for Friday morning outside the State House to repeal Chapter 135 before a hearing in which Jackson says she will be testifying – “so we can testify to the realities of these laws.”

“We are hoping a lot of people show up that day,” she said, “because it is very important that the people making these laws fully understand how they affect the citizens … I don’t think they know.”

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