Cabot High School Alumni
Cabot, Arkansas (AR)
Cody Wilson (2006)
Weapons developer and founder of Defense Distributed
What is Cody Wilson (2006) known for?
Cody Rutledge Wilson, born on January 31, 1988, in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a notable American weapons developer and activist for gun rights. He graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2010 and is a notable alumnus of Cabot High School in Cabot, Arkansas.
As a vocal proponent of the right to bear arms, Wilson is best known for his role as founder and director of the non-profit organization, Defense Distributed. The organization stirred global controversy in 2013 when it published online the plans for the "Liberator" - the first widely available functioning 3D-printed pistol.
In 2012, Wilson, alongside his associates, initiated the Wiki Weapon Project, aiming to raise funds for designing and releasing the files for a 3D printable gun, thereby sparking a paradigm shift in the weapons industry. However, facing legal threats from Stratasys, the 3D-printer manufacturer, the initial project met with hurdles. But Wilson did not back down. In 2013, after acquiring a Federal Firearms License (FFL), he successfully test-fired a pistol called the "Liberator", made using a 3D printer purchased on eBay. Despite facing challenges from the State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance, Wilson continued his work, contributing significantly to the evolution of the open-source gun design industry.
Besides his work on weaponry, Wilson, in collaboration with Amir Taaki, started developing Dark Wallet in 2013. Aiming to anonymize financial transactions, this Bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet marked Wilson's foray into the world of crypto-anarchism. His engagement with this project led him to represent Dark Wallet at the popular SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, in 2014.
Despite facing a legal issue in 2018, which led him to resign temporarily from Defense Distributed, Wilson rejoined the organization following a plea deal in 2019, marking his return to the forefront of the open-source weapons industry.