Attorney General Announces Launch Of Project Guardian - A Nationwide Strategic Plan To Reduce Gun Violence

 Initiative emphasizes enforcing gun prohibitions based on domestic violence convictions and mental health denials                             

Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Project Guardian, a new initiative
designed to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws across the country. Specifically,
Project Guardian focuses on investigating, prosecuting, and preventing gun crimes.

Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws have always been among the Department’s
highest priorities. In order to develop a new and robust effort to promote and ensure public
safety, the Department reviewed and adapted some of the successes of past strategies to curb gun
violence. Project Guardian draws on the Department’s earlier achievements, such as the
“Triggerlock” program, and it serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe
Neighborhoods (PSN). In addition, the initiative emphasizes the importance of using all modern
technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.

“Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America.
Today, the Department of Justice is redoubling its commitment to tackling this issue
through the launch of Project Guardian,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Building on the
success of past programs like Triggerlock, Project Guardian will strengthen our efforts to reduce
gun violence by allowing the federal government and our state and local partners to better target
offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally.”

“The most effective way to reduce gun violence is through partnerships – federal, state, and local
agencies working together to effectively enforce the laws,” said Lawrence Keefe, United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “This strategy has been successful in this area,
including such cooperative initiatives as ALLinLEON and Protect Pensacola, which are making a
meaningful difference to reduce gun violence in those communities. Project Guardian
will go even further to enhance public safety.”

“ATF has a long history of strong partnerships in the law enforcement community,” said Acting
Director Regina Lombardo. “Make no mistake, the women and men of ATF remain steadfast to our core
mission of getting crime guns off of our streets. ATF and U.S. Attorneys nationwide will leverage
these partnerships even further through enhanced community outreach initiatives and coordination
with local, state, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to cut the pipeline of crime guns
from those violent individuals who seek to terrorize our communities. Project Guardian will enhance
ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence, to include identifying, investigating and prosecuting those involved
in the straw purchases of firearms, lying on federal firearms transaction forms, and those subject
to the mental health prohibition of possessing firearms.”

     Project Guardian’s implementation is based on five principles:

1) Coordinated Prosecution. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement will coordinate with state,
local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to consider potential federal prosecution for new
cases involving a defendant who: a) was arrested in possession of a firearm; b) is believed to have
used a firearm in committing a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime prosecutable in federal
court; or c) is suspected of actively committing violent crime(s) in the community on behalf of a
criminal organization.

2) Enforcing the Background Check System. United States Attorneys, in consultation with the Special
Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in their district,
will create new, or review existing, guidelines for intake and prosecution of federal cases
involving false statements (including lie-and-try, lie-and-buy, and straw purchasers) made during
the acquisition or attempted acquisition of firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees.

Particular emphasis is placed on individuals convicted of violent felonies or misdemeanor crimes of
domestic violence, individuals subject to protective orders, and individuals who are fugitives
where the underlying offense is a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; individuals
suspected of involvement in criminal organizations or of providing firearms to criminal
organizations; and individuals involved in repeat denials.

3) Improved Information Sharing. On a regular basis, and as often as practicable given current
technical limitations, ATF will provide to state law enforcement fusion centers a report listing
individuals for whom the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has issued
denials, including the basis for the denial, so that state and local law enforcement can take
appropriate steps under their laws.

4) Coordinated Response to Mental Health Denials. Each United States Attorney will ensure that
whenever there is federal case information regarding individuals who are prohibited from possessing
a firearm under the mental health prohibition, such information continues to be entered timely and
accurately into the United States Attorneys’ Offices’ case-management system for prompt submission
to NICS. ATF should engage in additional outreach to state and local law enforcement on how to use
this denial information to better assure public safety.

Additionally, United States Attorneys will consult with relevant district stakeholders to assess
feasibility of adopting disruption of early engagement programs to address mental-
health-prohibited individuals who attempt to acquire a firearm. United States Attorneys should
consider, when appropriate, recommending court-ordered mental health treatment for any sentences
issued to individuals prohibited based on mental health.

5) Crime Gun Intelligence Coordination. Federal, state, local, and tribal prosecutors and law
enforcement will work together to ensure effective use of the ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers
(CGICs), and all related resources, to maximize the use of modern intelligence tools and
technology. These tools can greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness in identifying
trigger-pullers and finding their guns, but the success depends in large part on state, local, and
tribal law enforcement partners sharing ballistic evidence and firearm recovery data with the ATF.

Federal law enforcement represents only about 15% of all law enforcement resources nationwide.
Therefore, partnerships with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the communities they
serve are critical to addressing gun crime. The Department recognizes that sharing information with
our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners at every level will enhance public safety,
and provide a greater depth of resources available to address gun crime on a national level.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that
serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access
available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office,
Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.