Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News star who became the Trump administration’s U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, just told gun owners they’re going to jail—and MAGA is absolutely losing it.
“You bring a gun into the District [of Columbia], you mark my words: You’re going to jail. I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else,” Pirro declared on Monday. “You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get your gun back.”
THE DETAILS: Pirro’s threat sent the right-wing gun lobby into an immediate meltdown. GOP Representative Greg Steube fired back on X: “I bring a gun into the district every week, @USAttyPirro. I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others. Come and Take it!”
The National Association for Gun Rights called her comments “unacceptable and intolerable,” adding: “This is why we need Real Constitutional Carry nationwide. Bureaucrats act like the 2A does not exist and brag about jailing people for exercising their rights.”
Gun Owners of America piled on: “Concealed Carry Permit holders are statistically some of the most law abiding citizens in society—even more law abiding than police. We ARE NOT the problem.”
BUT BUT BUT: Here’s where it gets truly bizarre. Just last summer, the Trump administration tried to loosen concealed carry laws in D.C. And in December, the DOJ literally sued the D.C. government, arguing that its gun restrictions violated the Second Amendment—the very same amendment Pirro is now threatening to use against licensed gun owners.
So which is it? Is the Second Amendment sacred, or is it jail time for carrying?
WHY IT MATTERS: Conservative commentator Erick Erickson summed up the political damage: “The GOP Leadership is doing everything it can to keep second amendment voters from showing up in November.”
Registered gun owners are more than twice as likely to vote Republican. Pirro just told them their licenses don’t matter and they should “hope” they get their guns back after being arrested. For an administration that’s built its brand on defending gun rights against supposed liberal overreach, this is a stunning own goal.
The GOP has spent decades cultivating single-issue Second Amendment voters with promises that Democrats would come for their guns. Now it’s a Trump appointee making the threat.