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DOJ Drops Controversial NFA Charge Against Pardoned Jan. 6 Protestor

Monday, April 21, 2025

DOJ Drops Controversial NFA Charge Against Pardoned Jan. 6 Protestor

Last February, NRA-ILA’s reporting exposed the case of Taylor Taranto, a pardoned January 6 protestor separately arrested on firearm charges in Washington, D.C. One of those charges alleged possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle (SBR) under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The firearm in question was a CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 with an attached SB Tactical stabilizing brace, which would not have been considered an SBR until a 2023 rulemaking by the Biden-Harris administration reclassified potentially millions of braced pistols as SBRs. By the time of Taranto’s prosecution, that rule had been vacated by a federal judge in Texas. Yet the same Biden-era U.S. attorney who had charged Taranto for his presence at the January 6 protest insisted that the government could continue to prosecute Taranto under the rule’s terms as “ATF’s best understanding of the [underlying] statute.” On April 16, however, that U.S. attorney’s successor, Edward Martin, moved for dismissal of the NFA count against Taranto “in the interest of justice.”

What this move portends for the government’s position on braced pistols generally is not immediately clear. The Biden-Harris rule, Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces,” remains on the books, although its enforcement is still enjoined. The government’s former position in the Taranto case, however, tried to circumvent the court rulings prohibiting enforcement of the rule by claiming ATF still had the authority and mandate to enforce the NFA itself. And if the agency’s enforcement decisions “tend[ed] to look substantially like the determinations that would follow from applying the clear framework outline in the rule,” then so be it, the government argued in a brief. 

Taranto’s attorney had characterized this position in a court filing as “truly astonishing,” as well as “contradictory, unfair, and most importantly not legally sound.”

The arguments supporting the NFA charge had been raised by former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves, also known for aggressive pursuit of January 6 protestors, including those – like Taranto – charged with misdemeanors. Graves resigned on January 16, 2025, shortly before President Trump took office in his second term.

Although President Trump pardoned the January 6 protestors, Taranto remained in D.C. jail on the firearm-related charges. His tribulations in confinement have been extensively documented online, including his description of being confined to a cell with water seeping through the walls, resulting in continual mold growth and water on the floor. The obvious unhealthiness of these conditions, according to Taranto, is exacerbated by lack of light, long periods of confinement to the cell, lack of basic sanitation, and poor nutrition. It is unclear if Taranto will be released, as he still faces a pending felony count of carrying the CZ Scorpion in D.C. without a license, as required by District of Columbia law.

Ironically, although the NFA charge had required the government to argue the braced CZ Scorpion was a rifle, the charge under D.C. law simultaneously required it to argue the same firearm is a handgun.

The dismissal of Taranto’s NFA charge follows an April 7 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice and ATF of a “comprehensive review of [the] stabilizing brace regulations.” This will involve “consultations with stakeholders, including gun rights organizations, industry leaders and legal experts,” with the goal of ensuring the resulting policies are “constitutional and protective of Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”

The position former U.S. attorney Graves had taken in Taranto’s case with respect to the NFA charge obviously would not have survived this kind of scrutiny, and it is commendable the government appears to have recognized as much. NRA-ILA’s original reporting, and subsequent efforts by other pro-gun groups, including Gun Owners of America and the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Council, undoubtedly contributed to this outcome.

We will report on further developments of the government’s ongoing review of the braced pistol rule, as well as on Taranto’s remaining charge, as they become available.

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North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Friday, October 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi, urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision upholding the Federal ...

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

News  

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

With the free speech debate recently co-opted by one TV host’s use of false and incendiary remarks about his political opponents, it might have been easy to miss another important First Amendment story last week. 

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Friday, October 3, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii’s law forbidding carry on private property open to the public (such as restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores) ...

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.