Attorney General Neronha joins coalition to prevent Trump Administration efforts to distribute thousands of machine gun devices across country

"We will not accept this attack on our communities, and we will do everything in our power to stop them from aiding and abetting gun violence and deaths.”

From a press release:

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha announced he is joining a coalition of 15 other attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration, and in particular the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), over its official plans to distribute thousands of machinegun conversion devices (MCD) to communities across the United States.

The Bureau’s action involves Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs), which enable even novice shooters to achieve the firepower of a military machine gun. Although ATF previously classified FRTs as machineguns, ATF, under directive from Trump Administration leadership, signed a settlement agreement that promises to stop enforcing federal law against FRTs. The agreement also promises to redistribute thousands of FRTs that the Bureau had previously seized. The multistate litigation seeks to prevent that imminent redistribution, because FRTs are illegal to possess under federal law.

“Every year, tens of thousands of Americans die from gun violence, and yet with this action, the Trump Administration seems intent on growing that staggering number exponentially,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Over the years, ATF has worked to remove FRTs from our streets, and this settlement agreement threatens to undo that progress. Further, the Administration’s plans to redistribute previously confiscated FRTs back into our communities are wildly reckless, adding insult to injury in states that are already reeling from the devastating impacts of gun violence. Finally, if the federal government pushes FRTs back into states where they are prohibited by law, it is complicit in any violations that occur from them doing so. We will not accept this attack on our communities, and we will do everything in our power to stop them from aiding and abetting gun violence and deaths.”

In recent years, machinegun conversion devices like FRTs, which dramatically increase a firearm’s rate of fire, have been frequently used in violent crimes and mass shootings, worsening the gun violence epidemic in the United States. Firearms equipped with MCDs can exceed the rate of fire of many military machine guns, firing up to 20 bullets in one second. The Bureau has noted a significant rise in the use of MCDs, resulting in an increase in machinegun fire incidents – up 1,400% from 2019 through 2021.

Since at least 1975, ATF has classified devices that operate similarly to FRTs as machineguns prohibited by federal law. These devices replace the standard trigger on a semiautomatic firearm to allow the shooter to maintain continuous fire with one trigger pull, similar to the operation of fully automatic weapons. Despite the prohibition, in recent years, ATF estimates that at least 100,000 FRTs have been distributed across the country. The Bureau’s records also establish that machinegun conversion devices, including FRTs, are showing up more often at crime scenes.

Multiple lawsuits seeking either to enforce or challenge the prohibition on FRTs were filed during the Biden Administration. A federal judge in New York agreed that FRTs are banned under federal law. A federal judge in Texas disagreed and held that FRTs do not qualify as machineguns under federal law, but that ruling was on appeal.

On May 16, 2025, the Trump Administration announced that it had settled these lawsuits—and done so in a way that effectively eviscerates the federal FRT prohibition. The Bureau has agreed to abandon its enforcement actions and appeals, promised to cease enforcing the federal ban on machineguns against FRTs, including against individuals and sellers who were not parties to any of these lawsuits, and pledged to redistribute FRTs that it had previously seized.

Today’s lawsuit seeks to prevent the redistribution of FRTs because they are prohibited by U.S. law, which prohibits anyone from owning machineguns, including devices that convert firearms into automatic weapons. The lawsuit explains that the federal government cannot violate U.S. law, even when it tries to bury those violations in a settlement agreement.

The coalition will seek a preliminary injunction to halt the Trump Administration from distributing FRT devices in ways that directly harm Plaintiff States in contravention of federal law.

The lawsuit explains that the redistribution of machinegun conversion devices will permanently threaten public safety nationwide. And as the lawsuit highlights, ATF has even admitted that returning FRTs in states that prohibit them would “aid and abet” violations of state laws. The attorneys general seek to prevent those harms from occurring.

In Rhode Island, this matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Stephen Provazza.

Attorney General Neronha joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia in filing this lawsuit.