Weapons Convictions for August 2026
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2026 the government reported 693 new weapons convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 0.9 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for 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 2026 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-8%). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 13 percent from levels reported in 2021.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Weapons Convictions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in weapons convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of weapons convictions 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 convictions of these matters in August 2026 was for "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major", accounting for 100 percent of convictions. See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for weapons convictions in August 2026 was ATF accounting for 62 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of weapons convictions were: FBI (15% ), Local (9%), DHS (5%), DEA (2%). See Figure 3.
Weapons Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2026, no defendants in weapons cases for these matters were convicted 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.
Weapons Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2026, 691 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 0 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 August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of weapons matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2026.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 584 1 1 1 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 23 2 4 4 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 16 3 3 5 More 18 USC 933 - Trafficking in firearms 13 4 - - More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 12 5 5 2 More 26 USC 5861 - Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts 6 6 7 8 More 18 USC 2119 - Carjacking 5 7 8 10 More 18 USC 751 - Escape - Prisoners in custody 4 8 14 - More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 4 8 8 6 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 3 10 10 9 More 18 USC 932 - Straw purchase firearms 3 10 - - More 18 USC 2261 - Interstate domestic violence 3 10 - - More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"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 "Firearms; Penalties" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 924. "Firearms; Penalties" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 166.7 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 that involves " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 58.4 percent — was registered for convictions under " Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 33.3 percent — was " Escape - Prisoners in custody " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 751 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 49.2 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 243.8 weapons convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of weapons convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 weapons convictions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago D. C. 5,126 30 1 85 54 More Mo, E 1,598 39 2 1 1 More Tenn, W 1,466 19 3 21 15 More Montana 1,055 10 4 14 36 More S Dakota 1,053 8 5 46 43 More Iowa, N 896 10 6 32 21 More Ark, E 799 11 7 20 11 More Ala, M 697 7 8 58 80 More Mo, W 687 19 9 5 4 More W Virg, N 645 5 10 65 43 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The District of Washington, D.C. (Washington) — with 5126 convictions as compared with 243.8 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during August 2026.
The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 2nd. The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Montana , now ranked 4th , and Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock) at 7th In the same order, these districts ranked 14th and 20th one year ago and 36th and 11th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of weapons convictions compared to one year ago — 822.2 percent — was Washington, D.C. (Washington). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 246.2 percent — was Middle District of Alabama (Montgomery).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of weapons convictions — 22.1 percent — was Eastern District of Arkansas (Little Rock). But over the past five years, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) showed the largest drop — 63.8 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 resulting in convictions of this type during August 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Clark, Stephen Robert, Sr. Mo, E 13 1 More Osteen, William Lindsay, Jr. N Car, M 8 2 More Parker, Thomas Lee Robinson Tenn, W 8 2 More Phillips, Mary Elizabeth Mo, W 7 4 More Garcia Marmolejo, Marina Texas, S 6 5 More Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 6 5 More Brooks, Timothy Lloyd Ark, W 5 7 More Jackson, Amy Berman D. C. 5 7 More Brady, Holly Ann Ind, N 5 7 More Caldwell, Karen K. Ken, E 5 7 More Limbaugh, Stephen Nathaniel, Jr. Mo, E 5 7 More Dever, James C., III N Car, E 5 7 More Eagles, Catherine Caldwell N Car, M 5 7 More Kasubhai, Mustafa T. Oregon 5 7 More Lipman, Sheryl Halle Tenn, W 5 7 More Crone, Marcia A. Texas, E 5 7 More O'Connor, Reed Charles Texas, N 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 convictions per capita, while the remaining 11 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 17 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Stephen Robert Clark, Sr. in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 1st with 13 convicted in weapons convictions.
Judges William Lindsay Osteen, Jr. in the Middle District of North Carolina (Greensboro) and Thomas Lee Robinson Parker in the Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) ranked 2nd with 8 convicted in weapons convictions.
Report Generated: October 27, 2026
