Weapons Convictions for June 2026
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during June 2026 the government reported 664 new weapons convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 17.3 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 (-6.2%). 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 3.1 percent from levels reported in 2021.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Weapons Convictions
The leveling out 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 June 2026 was for "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major", accounting for 100 percent of convictions. See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for weapons convictions in June 2026 was ATF accounting for 64 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of weapons convictions were: FBI (12% ), Local (11%), DHS (6%), DEA (3%). See Figure 3.
Weapons Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In June 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 June 2026, 664 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during June 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 June.
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 June 2026.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 535 1 1 1 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 23 2 4 3 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 22 3 3 5 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 19 4 6 2 More 18 USC 933 - Trafficking in firearms 12 5 - - More 26 USC 5861 - Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts 9 6 7 7 More 18 USC 1959 - Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity 7 7 12 13 More 18 USC 2119 - Carjacking 6 8 9 10 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 6 8 8 8 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 5 10 5 6 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 3 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 91.3 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 2119 that involves " Carjacking ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 300 percent — was registered for convictions under " Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1959 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 57.8 percent — was " Smuggling goods from the United States " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 554 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 40.9 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Attempt and conspiracy " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In June 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government obtained 234.3 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 Mo, E 2,008 49 1 1 1 More Tenn, W 1,698 22 2 18 15 More Montana 1,266 12 3 14 22 More Ala, M 1,194 12 4 37 69 More S Dakota 1,185 9 5 56 42 More Mo, W 1,085 30 6 9 6 More Ga, S 1,074 15 7 58 36 More Vermont 925 5 8 74 78 More W Virg, N 902 7 9 62 46 More Iowa, N 896 10 10 24 22 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) — with 2008 convictions as compared with 234.3 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during June 2026. 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.
The Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) ranked 2nd.
District of Montana is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Montana , now ranked 3rd , and Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) at 2nd In the same order, these districts ranked 14th and 18th one year ago and 22nd and 15th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of weapons convictions compared to one year ago — 74.2 percent — was Southern District of Georgia (Savannah). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 286.7 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 — 30 percent — was Vermont . But over the past five years, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) showed the largest drop — 55.8 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 June 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Ross, John Andrew Mo, E 10 1 More Parker, Thomas Lee Robinson Tenn, W 9 2 More Ketchmark, Roseann Ambrosia Mo, W 8 3 More Sippel, Rodney W. Mo, E 7 4 More Phillips, Mary Elizabeth Mo, W 7 4 More Bough, Stephen Rogers Mo, W 7 4 More Lipman, Sheryl Halle Tenn, W 7 4 More Guaderrama, David C. Texas, W 7 4 More Baker, R. Stan Ga, S 6 9 More Hendrix, James Wesley Texas, N 6 9 More Peterson, James Donald Wisc, W 6 9 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 8 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 3 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge John Andrew Ross in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) ranked 1st with 10 convicted in weapons convictions.
Judge Thomas Lee Robinson Parker in the Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) ranked 2nd with 9 convicted in weapons convictions.
Judge Roseann Ambrosia Ketchmark in the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City) ranked 3rd with 8 convicted in weapons convictions.
Report Generated: August 12, 2026
