There are moments when one wonders whether Washington is still a capital or already a badly written Netflix series. Donald Trump has once again proven that he does not just blur the lines between justice and entertainment, he pulverizes them. His latest casting: Jeanine Pirro, Fox News host, former judge, mouthpiece of the most absurd election conspiracy theories. She is now - at least on an interim basis - the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. Pirro, famous for shouting monologues on television in which facts and fantasy blended like whiskey and water, is now allowed to decide the fate of defendants in the capital. A woman who once tried to push Hillary Clinton out of the Senate, who defended her husband after his tax fraud trial, and who reliably served as a siren for Trump’s line at Fox News, is becoming the guardian of law and order. Washington as a stage, Pirro as the main character - the script written by the man who always understood politics as reality TV.
Pure comedy, if it were not so dangerous. Unbelievable what sits in government and justice in Washington, conspiracy theorists shaking hands.
If one were not experiencing it, one would not believe it.
And indeed Pirro delivers immediately: Her first major official act is a legal thunderclap. She has instructed her prosecutors not to bring felony charges anymore against people carrying shotguns or rifles in public in Washington. Until now, that was a serious crime, punishable by up to five years in prison. From now on? No longer a case for the federal prosecutor’s office. Welcome to the new normal, where long guns are as everyday as coffee to go. The reasoning sounds like a legal high mass, but in truth it is a slalom through paragraphs: D.C.’s blanket ban on carrying long guns in public is unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court rulings District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). Heller had struck down the handgun ban in one’s own four walls, Bruen required that gun laws must have a historical tradition. Pirro concludes from this that the capital’s blanket ban is simply not tenable.
Legal experts see it differently: Heller concerned private possession, Bruen concerned carrying - but both left room for restrictions. Whether D.C.’s long gun regulation actually exceeds this leeway would have to be decided by a court. But Pirro has no interest in years of litigation. She decides with one stroke of the pen - and devalues a law that still applies, as if it were an expired stage set. In practice this means: The police can still confiscate weapons, they can arrest people if other violations are present. But the specific felony charge - the sharpest lever in criminal law - falls away. Only handguns remain in focus, and they already make up the lion’s share of crime in D.C. Yet the law certainly had symbolic value. One remembers the “Pizzagate” incident in 2016, when a conspiracy believer showed up with an AR-15 at the pizzeria Comet Ping Pong. Or the shotgun attack in 2019. Both cases in which the long gun provision was an important tool of law enforcement. All the more astonishing that Pirro’s decision comes precisely in Trump’s alleged “crime crackdown.” Officially the White House announces hundreds of arrests and confiscated weapons - but the statistics tell a different story. According to Reuters, violent crime in D.C. has recently dropped by seven percent, the murder rate is at its lowest level in three decades. As so often: Trump conjures up a crisis, only to then “solve” it with authoritarian gestures.
The reactions? A kaleidoscope of absurdities. The Washington Post revealed the internal memo, Reuters confirmed the line, Axios and AP followed, Fox News cheered. Gun control groups such as GIFFORDS sound the alarm: They see it as a security risk and a dangerous precedent against the self-government of the capital. But Pirro and Trump wave it away. For them it is a victory of freedom, a step back to the “true constitution.” The absurdity is this: While handguns continue to be strictly prosecuted, long guns may suddenly be carried through the streets unpunished - as a living reminiscence of the Wild West. Washington, once the symbol of the democratic experiment, is turning into a stage for “The Walking Rifle.”
The question remains: Where does this lead? Pirro’s step shifts the boundary between local gun law and federal discretion - without changing a law, but with massive effect. A central element of D.C.’s strict rules now exists only on paper. Whether this is necessarily constitutionally required or simply politically motivated will be decided by the courts. The fact is: This line is real, immediately effective and widely confirmed. It is a caesura that even surpasses the shock of Heller. Washington now resembles a “Comedy Network” where every piece of news is a punchline and every scandal feels like a sitcom. Jeanine Pirro, the TV judge, becomes the top prosecutor. Guns in the streets are no longer a crime. Reality has written its own satire - and the next season is likely to be even more grotesque.
FAQ: What does Pirro’s gun decree mean for everyday life in Washington?
FAQ
Am I now allowed to walk through the Mall with a shotgun?
Legally: The D.C. law still forbids it. Practically: The federal prosecutor’s office no longer brings felony charges. That means the police can stop you, confiscate the weapon, possibly charge minor offenses - but the big, hard prosecution is gone. In other words: The law exists, but no one pulls the emergency brake.
What happens if the police stop me?
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) may still control you. Officers can confiscate your weapon, charge you with misdemeanors or other offenses. But the federal prosecutor’s office will not pursue felony charges for the mere carrying of a rifle or shotgun. It remains an absurd in-between: forbidden, but without consequences.
Does the new line also apply to non-D.C. residents?
Yes. Washington is a federal district. Anyone caught here with a long gun benefits equally from Pirro’s decree. A tourist from Texas with a shotgun on his shoulder would be legally hardly different from a local. Welcome to the federal carnival.
What about pistols and revolvers?
No change. Handguns remain the main target of prosecution. Anyone caught with a pistol without a license will still face felony charges in court. Washington thus remains strict - but only if you carry the wrong kind of weapon.
Can I just buy an AR-15 and carry it through the streets?
D.C. still has registration and possession rules. Purchase is regulated, possession requires permits. But if you own a long gun and appear publicly with it, Pirro’s order applies: no felony charge. The police may hassle you, but the prosecutor shrugs his shoulders.
Does this mean D.C.’s gun law is dead?
Not yet. Formally the law remains in place, theoretically the city could defend it. But as long as the U.S. Attorney’s Office refuses to enforce the law, it is gutted. Washington has one of the strictest gun laws in the USA - on paper. In practice: a house of cards in the storm.
How dangerous is this really?
Handguns remain the far greater problem: They are responsible for the majority of violent crimes in D.C. But the release of long guns in public sends a signal: The capital suddenly accepts the image of armed citizens in everyday space. Anyone who thinks this is harmless should recall the “Pizzagate” episode of 2016.
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Ein weiterer Schritt.
Eine Loyalistin im Amt, die außer Verschwörungswahn und Trumplinie nichts kann.
Die Nationalgarde gegen die geringer Kriminalität.
Das abreißen von Obdachlosen-Zelten, weil ja solch Gefahr von ihnen ausgeht.
Aber im gleichen Atemzug das Tragen von Langwaffen nicht mehr unter Anklage stellen.
Die Proud Boys, Oath Keeper etc wird es freuen.
Trumps weiterer Schritt in Richtung „Putsch“.
Seind Getreuen können sich quasi ungestört einfinden.
Und im entscheidenden Moment die Waffe nutzen.
Ein „Versagen“ wie am 6. Januar steht für Trump nicht nochmal zur Debatte.
Es wird alles Schritt für Schritt dafür vorbereitet.
Als demokratisches Mitglied des Reprãsentantenhauses oder des Senates hätte ich ein sehr mulmiges Gefühl.
das ist kino der dritten art pur