On December 16, 2025, the USA Division of Justice (DOJ) filed a significant lawsuit within the District Court docket of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. John Division, in opposition to the Authorities of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Police Division (VIPD), and Police Commissioner Mario Brooks. The Justice Division accuses the defendants of systematically violating the Second Modification rights of law-abiding residents via unconstitutional insurance policies and practices associated to firearm licensing. The criticism, spanning 12 pages, seeks declaratory and equitable aid below the Violent Crime Management and Regulation Enforcement Act of 1994 to revive these elementary human rights.
The lawsuit hinges on the assertion that the Second Modification, affirmed as a “elementary proper” by the Supreme Court docket in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, protects the precise of people to maintain and bear arms each at house and in public for lawful functions, equivalent to self-defense. This proper, prolonged to the Virgin Islands below 48 U.S.C. § 1561, has been upheld in circumstances equivalent to McDonald v. Metropolis of Chicago and District of Columbia v. Heller. Nevertheless, the U.S. alleges that the Virgin Islands defendants have defied these rulings, rendering the constitutional proper to bear arms “a digital nullity” throughout the U.S. territory.
Justice Division Sues the Virgin Islands Police Division for Unconstitutional Practices Leading to Efficient Denials of Gun Permits
“This Civil Rights Division will shield the Second Modification rights of law-abiding residents,” stated @AAGDhillon. “The newly-established… pic.twitter.com/ai8M1t7Fqh
— DOJ Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) December 16, 2025
Central to the criticism are a number of particular grievances. The VIPD, below Commissioner Brooks’ supervision since January 23, 2025, enforces legal guidelines that require candidates to undergo warrantless house searches and to put in safes bolted to their flooring or partitions as situations for acquiring a firearm allow. These necessities, deemed unconstitutional by Heller, which struck down related restrictions, impose vital monetary burdens and privateness invasions. Moreover, the processing of purposes is delayed by a number of months to a yr, with no possible trigger to justify house inspections. Non-compliance ends in de facto denials, additional obstructing residents’ rights.
The criticism outlines three counts of violation below 34 U.S.C. § 12601. Depend I addresses “Unconstitutional Circumstances,” arguing that requiring warrantless searches and secure installations violates the Second Modification by conditioning the precise to bear arms on waiving constitutional protections in opposition to unreasonable searches and imposing monetary expenditures. Depend II, “Unreasonable Delays,” highlights extreme wait instances and the dearth of standing updates, which deny candidates well timed entry to firearms and compel them to administrative exhaustion. Lastly, depend III, “Unconstitutional ‘Correct Motive’ Requirement,” challenges the Virgin Islands’ legislation, mirroring the New York statute struck down in Bruen, which mandates candidates show a “correct purpose” for carrying a firearm, a discretion left completely to the Commissioner.
The regulatory framework within the Virgin Islands exacerbates these points. Possession of a firearm is against the law except licensed, with permits legitimate for 3 years and tied to particular firearms, and permits require annual inspections. The undefined “good ethical character” and “correct purpose” standards permit arbitrary denials, whereas penalties for unlicensed possession embrace as much as 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of $10,000 to $15,000. These stringent measures, mixed with the VIPD’s sample of denying licenses to these with “too many” firearms, create a formidable barrier to exercising Second Modification rights.
Factual allegations, based mostly on accounts from a number of allow candidates, element the arduous course of. Candidates should present a goal for possession, endure obligatory house inspections with out authorized justification, and set up expensive safes even in shared households. The VIPD’s reliance on “character vouchers” and its discretionary energy to outline “correct purpose” additional situations rights on exterior approval, contradicting Bruen’s rejection of “particular want” necessities.
The U.S. seeks a declaration that these practices violate federal legislation, a everlasting injunction in opposition to implementing offending Virgin Islands statutes on this method, and extra aid as justice requires. This motion underscores a broader effort to make sure that legislation enforcement practices align with constitutional protections, notably in territories the place native insurance policies might diverge from federal requirements.
The lawsuit’s timing, filed on the identical day as its documentation, displays the urgency of addressing these alleged violations. Led by U.S. Lawyer Adam Sleeper and Assistant U.S. Lawyer Angela P. Tyson-Floyd, with help from the Civil Rights Division below Assistant Lawyer Basic Harmeet Okay. Dhillon, the case pits federal authority in opposition to territorial governance. The result might set a precedent for the administration of Second Modification rights throughout U.S. territories, probably reshaping firearm licensing nationwide.
For residents of the Virgin Islands, this case represents a vital juncture. The alleged bureaucratic hurdles and unconstitutional situations have lengthy annoyed law-abiding residents’ capability to defend themselves, a proper the Supreme Court docket has repeatedly affirmed. Because the authorized battle unfolds, it can check the steadiness between the U.S. Virgin Islands authorities’s needs and particular person liberties, with implications which will prolong past the Caribbean to the mainland United States.
This lawsuit is a daring assertion of federal oversight to guard constitutional rights within the Virgin Islands. By difficult the VIPD’s practices, the U.S. goals to dismantle what it describes as a coordinated effort to nullify Second Modification protections via unconstitutional means. Because the case progresses, it can doubtless draw vital consideration from authorized students, gun rights advocates, and policymakers, providing a possible roadmap for resolving related disputes elsewhere.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA teacher and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed folks from all walks of life, and on the Structure. John lives in Northern Virginia together with his spouse and sons, observe him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
