In an interesting twist of events, the State Department has refused an export license from Sig Sauer valued at $1.2 Million to sell firearms to the personal security detachment that protects Turkish President Recep Tiap Erdogan on a daily basis. The move has come after the extremely controversial and embarrassing brawl that occurred outside the Turkish embassy when the President visited the United States in May of this year. The President himself made comments about the loss of the sale, criticizing the United States for freely supplying Kurdish groups with small arms while halting actual purchases by Turkey. What makes this particular case noteworthy is the direct tie to the attack on the protesters. Usually countries halt arms sales due to much larger events such as wars or human rights violations.

At $1.2 Million, the sale appears to be an entire assortment of small arms, possibly various handguns, submachine guns, and rifles. It probably also includes a large amount of ammunition and various accessories such as optics made under license for the New Hampshire based Sig Sauer.

This is news footage of the brawl where Turkish PSD members are seen outright attacking Kurdish protesters during the visit. A number of members of the PSD have been charged with assault in the United States.