Washington, D.C
Jeanine Pirro says anyone who brings a gun to D.C. is ‘going to jail,’ prompting conservative backlash
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, is facing widespread criticism from conservatives after she said in a Fox News interview Monday that anyone who brings a gun into the nation’s capital would face jail time.
“You bring a gun into the district, you mark my words, you’re going to jail,” Pirro said in the interview. “I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back.”
Her comments prompted swift backlash from a slew of Republican lawmakers and gun rights advocates, marking another rare divide among conservatives who typically are in lockstep on gun policies. Pirro walked back her comments Tuesday morning in a pair of posts on X, saying she was focused on people “unlawfully” carrying firearms.
Pirro said she is “a proud supporter of the Second Amendment” and a gun owner herself.
“We are focused on individuals who are unlawfully carrying guns and will continue building on that momentum to keep our communities safe,” she said in a post.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reposted her Tuesday comments, adding that “this Administration and Department of Justice will fiercely protect Second Amendment rights.”
The backlash from proponents of gun rights was swift and fierce, with some lawmakers pointing to their own firearms.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., said in a post on X on Tuesday that he brings a gun to D.C. “every week,” adding that he was licensed to carry a firearm in Florida and D.C.
“And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others,” he said in the post. “Come and Take it!”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., pointed out in a post on X on Monday that nonresidents in D.C. can obtain gun permits, adding, “don’t ask me how I know.”
“Why is a ‘conservative’ judge threatening to arrest gun owners?” he added Tuesday.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said in a post on X on Monday, “This is not how this works,” adding that Attorney General Pam Bondi “needs to have a quick conversation & course correction here.”
Gun rights groups also chimed in, with the National Rifle Association urging Congress to pass the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would broaden concealed carry rights across state lines.
“Your right to self-defense should not end simply because you crossed a state line or into Washington, D.C.,” the NRA said in a post.
The National Association for Gun Rights called Pirro’s comments “unacceptable and intolerable.”
Pirro’s comments mark the latest rupture on the right in recent weeks over Second Amendment rights. The issue flared last month when administration officials pointed to the fact that Alex Pretti, who was licensed to carry, was armed when he was shot and killed by federal agents while protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As NBC News has previously reported, multiple videos of the shooting showed that Pretti was not holding a firearm during his struggle with officers.
Several gun rights groups slammed the implication from Trump administration officials that lawful gun carriers could not bring a firearm to a protest.
President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter last week whether he believed that Pretti was acting as an “assassin,” referencing deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s comments, for which Miller did not provide evidence. Trump said no, but criticized Pretti for having a gun, saying, “You can’t walk in with guns.”
Later that day, during the president’s trip to Iowa, a reporter again pressed Trump on top administration officials jumping to label Pretti an “assassin” or “domestic terrorist,” which officials later walked back.
Trump echoed his previous comments, saying that Pretti, who had a gun license, “shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.”
“I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines,” Trump said, though there’s no evidence that Pretti was carrying additional ammunition. “That’s a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, I say that’s very unfortunate.”
To mark Gun Violence Awareness Month, residents in Southeast D.C. came together to search for a lasting solution.
The Trigger Project held a peace walk Saturday afternoon reflecting on lives impacted by gun violence
The Trigger Project decided to host the walk to give victims’ loved ones a chance to be among others who have experienced the pain of losing a loved one.
The agency said it prides itself on getting the word out about how to prevent gun violence through lived experiences, community leadership and partnerships. The group aims to uplift young people through healing, opportunity and connection while addressing the root causes of gun violence. Another critical part of the event was to ensure that young people have a safe space where they can hang out.
“We’re losing too many of our babies to the streets, you know what I’m saying?” said Darlene Williams, who said she has been a victim of gun violence and also lost her granddaughter to gun violence. “Like I say, the guns don’t kill, people kill. [..] Be around other people, you know what I’m saying, that’s going through the same thing that we’re going through.”
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Back to The Atlantic
(NEWS FROM THE STATES) – Visitors from across the United States traveled to the National Mall Thursday for the opening day of the Great American State Fair, a days-long event that is part of President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
States and territories showed off cultural and agricultural exports at exhibits stretching nearly a mile. Attendees snapped photos on the small Grand Ole Opry stage in the Tennessee booth, kids tried putt-putt at Indiana’s miniature golf course and cowboys rode horses at Montana’s rodeo.
A 110-foot Ferris wheel slowly turned at the center of the freshly manicured lawn, framing the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance on either side. Nearby stood a model of Trump’s controversial “triumphal arch.”
People collected swag from each state — drawstring bags from Ohio, stickers from South Dakota, snacks from Tennessee — and could receive a stamp on state fair passports.
The fair is part of the larger Freedom 250 programming and kicked off Wednesday night with a rally on the mall featuring a speech from the president that closely resembled his remarks along the 2024 presidential campaign trail. The festivities will continue over Independence Day, when Trump will deliver a second speech followed by what is promised to be an impressive fireworks display.
The president will visit North and South Dakota as part of his Freedom 250 tour for the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt presidential library and Independence Day eve fireworks above Mount Rushmore.
Freedom 250 then extends into August with a high school athletic competition in Washington, D.C., dubbed the “Patriot Games” and a Freedom 250 INDYCAR race around the National Mall.
The administration’s celebration is separate from the America250 commission, created by Congress a decade ago, and which has its own nationwide programming this year.
From Lake Erie to the Ohio River
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and first lady Fran DeWine greeted guests in Ohio’s pavilion. The couple posed for photos in front of a map of the Buckeye State.
“We wanted to see on the wall all the different things, from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, all the different fun things you can do in Ohio,” the Republican governor said, adding the state has local celebrations and initiatives planned for the 250th anniversary, including “Movies in Ohio” for community showings of films that feature the state.
Ohio’s first lady showcased a children’s literacy exhibit on the opposite wall and touted the roughly 427,000 participants in the state’s partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that mails free children’s books monthly to households with kids under age 5.
“We’ve mailed out 27 million books. We know that a child’s brain is 80% developed by age 3, so we want to get them those books early,” she said.
Reflecting on America’s milestone birthday, the governor said, “We’re always a work in progress, Ohio’s a work in progress, this country is a work in progress.”
“I think you know the thing we need to keep in mind, all of us, is there’s some essential core principles that we all believe in. … We may disagree about different policies, but the core principles are the same,” he said.
Cartwheels on the lawn
People from various states walked from exhibit to exhibit, while stopped in the nation’s capital during road trip vacations.
Tanya Geders, 43, of St. Louis, Missouri, did a cartwheel in the mall lawn, trying to persuade her son to join in. The family stopped at the state fair on their way to Virginia Beach.
“We’re like, well, if we go to the ocean, we can go to D.C. and what a better time to be here than the 250th anniversary,” Geders said.
Robyn Toman, 71, of Severn, Maryland, escorted her 12-year-old grandson Miles to meet DeWine and grab a photo with the governor.
Toman said she remembers the country’s bicentennial.
“I was a kid about his age, and I came in 1976. I said, ‘We’re gonna go, let’s go down to D.C. for a couple days and see this,’” she said.
“We’ve enjoyed it. We went over to the archives yesterday, and saw the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. And, oh, that was so nice, that was fantastic.”
Not all states are there. A spokesperson for Washington state’s lieutenant governor’s office told States Newsroom the administration declined to join because of “the costs to the state associated with participating.”According to news reports, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont did not contribute exhibits, though many are still represented by flags outside the individual booths.The state officials did not immediately respond to States Newsroom for confirmation.
All states that reportedly did not participate, with the exception of Vermont, are Democratic-led.
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