U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro drew sharp criticism from gun rights advocates when she threatened to “jail” anyone who brings a gun into Washington, D.C.
She made the comments while interviewed by former Fox News colleague, anchor Martha MacCallum, on Monday’s episode of The Story with Martha MacCallum about the recent drop in crime in Washington D.C., including a three-week period where there were no homicides in the nation’s capital.
Pirro said that her office was “very, very proud of what’s going on in the district here,” crediting President Donald Trump for being “willing to give us the resources that we need to make a difference in the district.”
“So what is this all about?” Pirro continued. “This is about getting chronic offenders off the street. It’s about making sure there are consequences when we do get them off the street, and it’s about taking guns off the street. Now, since the surge happened, there have been 9,500 arrests and almost 1,000 guns taken off the street.”
“When you do that, those guns cannot be used in homicides, or assaults with deadly weapons, or in any kind of carjacking, or any kind of robbery,” she continued. “What we’ve got now is a clear focus where my office, under my leadership, is now involved in making sure that only 10% of the cases go unprosecuted. My predecessor had 60% of the cases that went unprosecuted. My prosecutors know that they’ve gotta put a case together, they’ve gotta make it solid and we take it to court. We find the disruptors and those committing the violence, and we make sure that they are the ones who are accountable.”
Last December, a federal magistrate judge in D.C. lambasted the DOJ for a troublesome series of errors made by its prosecutors that were becoming an unfortunate “broader pattern of unprecedented prosecutorial missteps resulting in a 21% dismissal rate of the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office’s criminal complaints over eight weeks, compared to a mere 0.5% dismissal rate over the prior 10 years.” Another notable black eye for Pirro’s office was the infamous “sandwich thrower,” whom a jury found not guilty last November.
Pirro then spoke specifically about guns.
“And you bring a gun into the district, you mark my words, you’re going to jail,” she said. “I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you are a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else, you bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back — and that makes all the difference.”
“Yeah, it’s amazing how accountability works,” said MacCallum. “When people think that if they actually get arrested, they might have to do time, and they might be taken off the street, it sort of puts a little different message in people’s heads.”
Pirro’s threat to “jail” anyone with a gun in D.C. drew quick and vociferous criticism.
Stephen Gutowski, a gun safety instructor and firearms reporter who writes at The Reload, expressed shock at hearing such views from Pirro on Fox News, noting that he has a non-resident D.C. carry permit that made it “perfectly legal to carry into the city.”
“What is Pirro talking about here, and why is a Fox anchor cheering her on?” he asked.
If you have a non-resident DC carry permit (like I do), it’s perfectly legal to carry into the city. What is Pirro talking about here, and why is a Fox anchor cheering her on? https://t.co/HyTzFibniV
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 2, 2026
“Pirro’s attitude toward prosecuting people for what are essentially paperwork crimes has been a point of contention among at least some gun-rights activists since the DC takeover last year,” Gutowski added. “They generally dislike standalone carrying-without-a-permit charges.”
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) wrote that he has a license in Florida and D.C., “bring[s] a gun into the district every week,” and “will continue to carry to protect myself and others” — challenging Pirro to “Come and Take it!”
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! https://t.co/GThPY2I8HO
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) February 3, 2026
Kostas Moros, the Director of Legal Research and Education for the Second Amendment Foundation, wrote a thread blasting Pirro for her “moronic statement.”
What a moronic statement. The Trump Administration needs to put a muzzle on certain people (sometimes even Trump himself) because they are doing real damage to perceptions, even as the Admin is making very real progress for 2A rights in a ton of ways. Do they want gun… https://t.co/8ZoPxF5Szb
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) February 2, 2026
“The Trump Administration needs to put a muzzle on certain people (sometimes even Trump himself) because they are doing real damage to perceptions, even as the Admin is making very real progress for [Second Amendment] rights in a ton of ways,” wrote Moros. “Do they want gun rights-focused voters to show up in November or not?”
He then offered a detailed rebuttal to Pirro:
1. DC issues nonresident permits, so lots of people “bring guns into the District” legally.
2. Even assuming she is aware of that and meant to exclude it, DC’s refusal to recognize your right to carry unless you get a DC permit is completely unconstitutional. As we argue in urging the Supreme Court to grant cert in the matter of Gardner v. Maryland, the historical tradition of traveler’s exception laws make clear that visitors from other states were always given more leeway in exercising the right to carry.
3. She seems to imply people with carry permits from other states are a criminal threat. That’s insane, and there is nothing to support that. She is sounding as unhinged as some of the most notoriously antigun Blue State AGs.
4. Harmeet Dhillon was literally arguing the opposite not long ago!
A sampling of additional reactions is below.
As a Virginia resident with concealed carry permits from 3 states and the District of Columbia, this is a terrifying attitude for the government to have about my decision to protect myself and my loved ones from criminals in Washington. https://t.co/7MI3frU04a
— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) February 3, 2026
I’m the first woman to get a legal permit to carry a gun in DC for self defense. It’s our Second Amendment right to bear arms. Should I tell her the legal cases that got us here?
— emily miller (@emilymiller) February 3, 2026
A reminder that Heller, the case which revived the modern view of the 2nd Amendment, was specifically about striking down a ban on possessing handguns in Washington, DC. https://t.co/hWsaxSlFDf
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) February 2, 2026
Republican/conservative support for the Second Amendment was always a mile wide and an inch deep—and largely performative. Ask me how I know. pic.twitter.com/IeHqKGHb57
— Clark Neily (@ConLawWarrior) February 3, 2026
Jeanine Pirro threatening to arrest people for carrying in DC, even if they are law-abiding and licensed, shows how broken and out of touch these gun laws are.
Unacceptable and intolerable comments by a sitting US attorney.
This is why we need Real Constitutional Carry… https://t.co/qCLQhy92EW
— National Association for Gun Rights (@gunrights) February 2, 2026
Democrat Congressmen are openly mocking the Trump Administration’s missteps on gun policy on social media & tagging Gun Owners of America.
This was certainly not on my bingo card for 2026! https://t.co/1aUX0JoBA3
— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) February 3, 2026
This is a wild, scary thing to hear from a sitting US attorney. Has she even read the Constitution? And if she gets the Second Amendment this wrong, what else is she getting wrong? https://t.co/ueFvbL7xLE
— Hannah Hill (@hannahhill_sc) February 3, 2026
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