Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), has been doing yeoman’s work in the defense of the Second Amendment. Dhillon was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2025, and by December, she had created the first Second Amendment Section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division (CRIT).
Dhillon has also overseen investigations into policies that may conflict with protections enshrined in the Second Amendment, and her office has filed a number of lawsuits challenging unconstitutional laws.
Lawsuits filed include challenges to the length of time it takes carry permits to be issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Virgin Islands Police Department implementing “an unconstitutional permitting process” in the U.S. jurisdiction, and bans on popular semi-automatic rifles in both Denver, Colo., and Washington, D.C.
These are just some of the official actions taken under Dhillon’s watch, which are all, of course, in the furtherance of President Donald Trump’s agenda to defend the Second Amendment. The groundwork for that agenda was laid last year, shortly after Trump took office, when he issued his Executive Order on Protecting Second Amendment Rights.
More recently, the Assistant AG announced a focused effort to hire and train more lawyers specifically for CRIT’s Second Amendment section. A report from The Washington Times stated, “her office’s goal is to have all state regulations that are inconsistent with pro-Second Amendment cases be struck down, settled or withdrawn by the time she leaves her post.” While certainly an ambitious agenda, Dhillon is clearly invested in making progress on this historic undertaking.
Next on her to-do list? The City of Brotherly Love.
On June 9, Dhillon sent a letter to the Mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle Parker (D), stating:
“This letter is to inform you that the United States Department of Justice is commencing an investigation of the City of Philadelphia (City) and the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). The investigation concerns possible violations of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. The Civil Rights Division's Second Amendment Section will conduct the investigation.”
This investigation would appear to have been instigated after reports of the revocation of permits held by several members of the group The Black Lion Party for International Solidarity, a far-left organization that appears to have its roots in the Black Panther Party founded in the 1960s.
According to an article first published by The Philadelphia Enquirer, the revocation of the permits “came shortly after some members got into a verbal altercation with police officers in North Philadelphia.” The members of the group (which the article refers to as The Panthers) were notified “that their gun permits had been terminated (while) offering little explanation beyond saying the decision was based on ‘good cause’ as well as ‘character and reputation.’”
According to the article in the Enquirer, an attorney representing the group’s leader noted two members who had permits revoked have already successfully appealed the decision. Other members are awaiting appeal hearings.
Whatever the group’s politics, the apparent incident that precipitated the revocations – which seems to have involved merely an exchange of words – did result in any known arrests for illegal activity. There is, needless to say, no requirement under the Second Amendment that citizens take a favorable view of the police or their activities, or, indeed, the activities of any public officials.
DOJ’s CRIT investigation is still in its early stages, and it remains to be seen what the evidence will ultimately reveal. But if it is shown that the permits were cancelled for little more than expressions of dissatisfaction with the police, it may be that both Second Amendment and First Amendment rights were violated.
What the investigation underscores, however, is that CRIT’s enforcement of the Second Amendment is not based on the party affiliation or politics of the aggrieved party. This, in an America where the Second Amendment is increasingly being embraced across demographics and ideologies, is the essence of a true civil right.
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