Weapons Prosecutions for September 2024
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during September 2024 the government reported 658 new weapons prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 5.9 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 2024 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was only slightly down (-1.1%). 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 26.7 percent from levels reported in 2019.
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 September 2024 was for "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major", accounting for 100 percent of prosecutions. See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for weapons prosecutions in September 2024 was ATF accounting for 65 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of weapons referrals were: FBI (14% ), Local (8%), DHS (7%), DEA (2%). See Figure 3.
Weapons Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In September 2024, 114 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 September the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 18 U.S.C Section 922 involving "Firearms; Unlawful acts". This was the lead charge for 75.4 percent of all magistrate filings in September.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "Other US Code Section" (6.1%), "18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States" (6.1%).
Weapons Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In September 2024, 544 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during September there were an additional 125 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 September.
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 September 2024.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 541 1 1 1 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 15 3 4 2 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 15 3 12 8 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 14 5 3 5 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 11 6 8 6 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 9 7 5 3 More 18 USC 2119 - Carjacking 7 8 10 10 More 26 USC 5861 - Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts 7 8 6 7 More 18 USC 1201 - Kidnaping 5 10 13 17 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 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd were "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951 and "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846. "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 528.6 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 that involves " Attempt and conspiracy ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 400 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Kidnaping " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1201 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 9.8 percent — was " Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts " (Title 26 U.S.C Section 5861 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 58 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Firearms; Penalties " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In September 2024 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 240.9 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 Ark, E 1,611 22 1 8 13 More Okla, W 1,320 24 2 20 45 More Okla, E 1,299 8 3 55 88 More Montana 1,282 12 4 33 51 More Mo, E 1,112 27 5 1 1 More Ala, M 1,008 10 6 32 57 More Ala, S 973 7 7 37 30 More S Dakota 937 7 8 29 70 More Ala, N 834 21 9 9 16 More Iowa, N 811 9 10 21 24 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) — with 1611 prosecutions as compared with 240.9 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during September 2024. The Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) was ranked 8 a year ago.
The Western District of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City) ranked 2nd.
Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee) is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Western District of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), now ranked 2nd , and Northern District of Iowa (Cedar Rapids) at 10th In the same order, these districts ranked 20th and 21st one year ago and 45th and 24th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of weapons prosecutions compared to one year ago — 68.2 percent — was Montana . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 228.6 percent — was Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of weapons prosecutions — 41.1 percent — was Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock). But over the past five years, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) showed the largest drop — 54.9 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 September 2024 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Baxter, Susan Paradise Penn, W 14 1 More Baker, Kristine Gerhard Ark, E 9 2 More Pitman, Robert Texas, W 8 3 More Rateau, Jacqueline M. Arizona 7 4 More Autrey, Henry Edward Mo, E 6 5 More Bell, Kenneth Davis, Sr. N Car, W 6 5 More Young, Richard L. Ind, S 5 7 More Clark, Stephen Robert, Sr. Mo, E 5 7 More Watters, Susan Pamela Montana 5 7 More Whitney, Frank DeArmon N Car, W 5 7 More Cogburn, Max Oliver, Jr. N Car, W 5 7 More White, Ronald A. Okla, E 5 7 More Goodwin, Charles Barnes Okla, W 5 7 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 5 7 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 6 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 8 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 14 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Susan Paradise Baxter in the Western District of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) ranked 1st with 14 defendants in weapons cases.
Judge Kristine Gerhard Baker in the Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) ranked 2nd with 9 defendants in weapons cases.
Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 8 defendants in weapons cases.
Report Generated: November 1, 2024
