Harmeet Dhillon Pounces On US Territory’s Semi-Auto Ban After Key Ruling

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon (Harmeet Dhillon/Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s Civil Rights Division asked a federal judge Wednesday to block the Virgin Islands from enforcing its recently enacted ban on modern semiautomatic firearms.

The Virgin Islands has come under scrutiny over its firearms laws during the second Trump administration, with the DOJ initially filing suit against the Caribbean territory in December over its licensing scheme. Dhillon confirmed the division’s Second Amendment Section pounced on the territory’s gun ban in a Wednesday night post on X.

“Yes we did. Among so many other things we did today! So proud of the great team of lawyers at @CivilRights @TheJusticeDept under [acting Attorney General] Todd Blanche’s leadership!” Dhillon said in reply to a Firearms Policy Coalition post about the court filing, marking the second DOJ request for an injunction.

The DOJ previously sought an injunction in June over the territory’s very stringent gun licensing laws, accusing Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Mario Brooks of adding conditions to the licenses, including prohibiting the acquisition of detachable magazines holding more than ten rounds, requiring prospective gun owners to submit to home visits and restrictions on where a person could possess firearms.

“I’m proud of the great team of lawyers at the Civil Rights Division who filed our motion for preliminary injunction against the U.S. Virgin Islands’ glaringly unconstitutional magazine ban,” Dhillon told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are moving swiftly to vindicate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in the territory.”

Democratic Virgin Islands Territorial Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed Act 9113, which banned the receipt, transfer and sale of modern semiautomatic firearms and standard-capacity magazines on June 24, which was cited by attorneys for the territory in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit as moot.

The Civil Rights Division cited Friday’s en banc decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Attorney General of New Jersey that struck down the state’s ban on modern semiautomatic firearms. The case was heard by all 15 sitting circuit judges on the Third Circuit following an appeal of the ruling from a three-judge panel.

The Virgin Islands are under the jurisdiction of the Third Circuit, as is Delaware, which also passed bans on so-called “assault weapons.”

“Act 9113 bans possession, receipt, purchase, sale, import, or transfer of magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds. Nothing more need be said. ANJRPC squarely holds that this is unconstitutional,” Wednesday’s motion for an injunction says. “Secondly, ‘AR-15s and similar sports rifles in circulation . . . typically come standard with twenty- or thirty-round magazines.’ Under Act 9113, no firearm in the USVI may contain a magazine of 15 rounds or greater.”

“Accordingly, the USVI bans standard-capacity AR-15 rifles,” the filing continues. “Moreover, owners of firearms that were ‘manufactured to hold’ more than fifteen rounds cannot sell or transfer their firearm. The restriction on the private purchase, sale, or other transfer of constitutionally protected arms is itself unconstitutional.”

Bryan and Attorney General Gordon Campbell Rhea did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.

United States District Judge Evan Rikhye of the District Court of the Virgin Islands chastised attorneys for the tropical territory for filing a response six days after the deadline in a Saturday ruling, calling it an “inexcusable lapse.”

The Virgin Islands also face legal action from Gun Owners of America over its ban on non-residents carrying or possessing firearms. The pro-Second Amendment group noted the territory had rescinded what limited recognition it previously gave to people with concealed carry permits in a complaint filed Monday, leaving people the choice of going defenseless or facing a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.