10:31D.C. Attorney Jeanine Pirro addresses reporters alongside President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington.Alex Brandon/AP
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has directed the prosecutors in her office to stop pursuing felony counts against residents who possess lawfully registered rifles and shotguns in the city, according to individuals with knowledge of the decision who spoke to ABC News.
Those sources indicated that the change in policy was influenced by worries conveyed by the Justice Department’s Solicitor General, John Sauer, about the capital’s stringent gun regulations potentially violating Second Amendment protections reaffirmed in recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions.
“We will keep confiscating every unlawful or unregistered firearm and will prosecute any offenses tied to them with full vigor,” Pirro declared in a message to ABC News. “Felons found carrying such weapons will still be charged. Any flaws in the D.C. code do not diminish our commitment to combating crime, and the DOJ is working to address those statutory deficiencies.”
Pirro emphasized in the same release: “Individuals armed without authorization will still face prosecution.”
D.C. Attorney Jeanine Pirro addresses reporters alongside President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington.Alex Brandon/AP
Initially broken by the Washington Post, the altered stance emerges as the administration promotes its elevated tally of confiscated illicit guns under a surge of federal resources aimed at curbing crime in the nation’s capital.
Pirro’s office clarified that it will still move forward with cases involving other firearm violations; the directive addresses only a local provision that forbids transporting shotguns or rifles in D.C. without specific permits—a rule now seen as contradicting Supreme Court precedents handed down in 2008 and 2022.
“Memoranda from the Department of Justice and the Solicitor General’s Office in no way restrict this office from pursuing felons who possess any kind of firearm—including rifles, shotguns, or high-capacity magazines—under D.C. Code 22-4503,” Pirro told the Post. “However, that guidance does bar an additional separate charge for simply possessing a registered rifle or shotgun.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
