Jeanine Pirro could turn DC into ‘nothing short of a tinderbox’ by ignoring law: expert
Jeanine Pirro, the current U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., announced last month that her office would no longer prosecute residents found in violation of the city’s ban on open carrying long guns, a decision that one gun violence expert warned could produce deadly results.
“Now, especially with the announcement that National Guard members will carry firearms, our nation’s capital has become nothing short of a tinderbox,” wrote Kris Brown, president of the anti-gun violence organization Brady, writing for the Washington Post in an op-ed published Monday.
“As the prospects for unrest persist, extremists, self-described vigilantes and Jan. 6 radicals – who have been pardoned, coddled and emboldened by the Trump administration – might see this policy shift as a no-questions-asked invitation to march the D.C. streets armed with dangerous weapons without the threat of prosecution.”
The new policy was first revealed in late August after Pirro, the former Fox News personality, announced the decision, and said that it was based on guidance from the Justice Department, as well as on two past rulings from the Supreme Court.
Pirro’s rationale for the decision, however, was ridiculed by Brown, who argued it demonstrated an “ignorance of those [Supreme Court] decisions,” with neither of the two cited cases holding that a ban on the open carry of firearms violated the Second Amendment.
“Make no mistake, refusing to prosecute those who violate gun laws in the District will have real-world consequences: exposing to unnecessary risk some of our most sensitive federal institutions and threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents and millions of D.C. visitors,” Brown wrote.
Pirro’s announcement comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s ongoing military takeover of the nation’s capital, which has seen thousands of federal officers and troops deployed to the city, and sometimes picking up garbage. Attempts to rollback D.C.’s firearm restrictions, particularly amid armed troops patrolling the city, could not only ignite tensions among its residents, but threaten Trump’s stated goal of reducing crime in the city, Brown said.
“If the goal is to reduce crime in D.C. from the recent lows it has already achieved, this is not the approach to take,” Brown wrote. “There are proven ways to lower crime in cities across the U.S., including the District.”
