Trump DOJ quietly restores felons' gun rights, AZ lawmaker included

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Updated March 10, 2026, 5:54 p.m. ET


The Trump administration quietly restored the gun rights to 22 people who had lost them because of felonies, indictments or other convictions this year as it prepares to revive a long-dormant program that's expected to draw a tsunami of applications.

Department of Justice officials listed the names of nearly two dozen people in late February in the Federal Register. Their crimes ranged from nonviolent drug offenses to bribery and fraud. It includes many who have previously applied for pardons or commutations − but also those who have recently sued the department.

In one notable case, the Justice Department restored the rights of Jake Hoffman, an Arizona state senator charged in the state’s fake elector scheme to keep Trump in the White House in 2020. Trump already pardoned Hoffman for any federal charges, but since he's facing a state indictment in Arizona, he's federally prohibited from buying new firearms. Hoffman declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY.

Federal law generally prohibits felons from possessing guns. It also blocks gun sales to those convicted of misdeamenor domestic violence. Now, the Trump administration is ramping up a relief procedure that's been dormant since 1992 to make it easier for nonviolent felons to get their gun rights back. Gun groups are eager for that program to start, said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2026/03/10/trump-felons-gun-rights-mel-gibson/89069619007/

[progree]

1. The repukes try to keep felons from voting (including ones who have served their sentences). But it's OK for them to

have guns.