Weapons Prosecutions for August 2023
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2023 the government reported 660 new weapons prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 5.8 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with weapons-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2023 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-11.7%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 23.4 percent from levels reported in 2018.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Weapons Prosecutions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in weapons prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of weapons prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of weapons, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within weapons are
Armed Career Criminal Act
Firearms/Triggerlock
Other Operation Triggerlock Prosecutions
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in August 2023 was for "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major", accounting for 100 percent of prosecutions. See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for weapons prosecutions in August 2023 was ATF accounting for 64 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of weapons referrals were: FBI (13% ), Local (10%), DHS (6%), DEA (2%). See Figure 3.
Weapons Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2023, 132 defendants in weapons cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in August the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 involving "Firearms; Unlawful acts". This was the lead charge for 68.9 percent of all magistrate filings in August.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US" (8.3%), "18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States" (7.6%), "Other US Code Section" (5.3%).
Weapons Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2023, 528 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 94 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of weapons matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2023.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 500 1 1 1 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 25 3 5 5 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 13 4 3 3 More 18 USC 1959 - Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity 9 5 19 - More 26 USC 5861 - Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts 9 5 7 8 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 7 7 2 2 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 6 8 9 7 More 18 USC 2119 - Carjacking 6 8 10 10 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 5 10 6 9 More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Firearms; Unlawful acts" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Firearms; Unlawful acts" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Other US Code Section" under Title U.S.C Section. "Other US Code Section" under Title U.S.C Section was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951. "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951 was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 1100 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1959 that involves " Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 67.9 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 39 percent — was " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 68.7 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Firearms; Penalties " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2023 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 224.9 weapons prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of weapons prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 weapons prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago D. C. 3,582 20 1 54 59 More Mo, E 1,889 46 2 1 1 More Alaska 1,540 9 3 83 70 More S Dakota 1,225 9 4 56 54 More Mo, W 1,035 28 5 13 6 More Ark, E 1,028 14 6 6 8 More N Car, M 817 21 7 14 11 More N Dakota 774 5 8 72 89 More Montana 761 7 9 39 42 More W Virg, N 650 5 10 47 64 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) — with 3582 prosecutions as compared with 224.9 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during August 2023.
The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 2nd. The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
District of Alaska is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Western District of Missouri (Kansas City), now ranked 5th , and Middle District of North Carolina (Greensboro) at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 13th and 14th one year ago and 6th and 11th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of weapons prosecutions compared to one year ago — 75 percent — was Alaska . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 240 percent — was North Dakota .
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of weapons prosecutions — 23.1 percent — was Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling). But over the past five years, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) showed the largest drop — 47.5 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new weapons crime cases of this type during August 2023 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Cooper, Christopher Reid D. C. 14 1 More Phillips, Mary Elizabeth Mo, W 12 2 More Autrey, Henry Edward Mo, E 9 3 More White, Ronnie Lee Mo, E 8 4 More Priest Johnson, Kimberly C. Texas, E 6 5 More Miller, Brian Stacy Ark, E 5 6 More Sippel, Rodney W. Mo, E 5 6 More Limbaugh, Stephen Nathaniel, Jr. Mo, E 5 6 More Kays, David Gregory Mo, W 5 6 More Boyle, Terrence William N Car, E 5 6 More Conley, William Martin Wisc, W 5 6 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 8 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of weapons filings per capita, while the remaining 3 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Christopher Reid Cooper in the District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) ranked 1st with 14 defendants in weapons cases.
Judge Mary Elizabeth Phillips in the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City) ranked 2nd with 12 defendants in weapons cases.
Judge Henry Edward Autrey in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 3rd with 9 defendants in weapons cases.
Report Generated: October 6, 2023
