OKC Standard

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, the Supreme Court in United States v. Rahimi upheld the constitutionality of the federal statute prohibiting individuals subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a firearm or ammunition. This law is a critical tool in the ongoing violent crime initiative, Operation 922.

In 2018, the Western District of Oklahoma launched Operation 922 as the local implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice program aimed at reducing violent crime. The specific strategy focuses on reducing gun violence by targeting domestic violence incidents.

“The Supreme Court’s decision today is vital to our office’s ongoing commitment to address domestic violence through enforcement of federal firearms laws,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “We cannot have safe neighborhoods without first having safe homes. By bringing the power of federal prosecution to hold domestic abusers accountable, particularly when they possess a firearm, we are protecting the lives of women and children in abusive relationships, and the police officers who respond to domestic calls.”

Domestic abusers are found in all neighborhoods, regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, educational level, employment status, or geographic area. When domestic violence escalates to involving firearms, the threat to physical safety increases significantly for intimate partners, children of partners, and law enforcement officers responding to domestic calls.

Operation 922 prioritizes prosecutions of repeat domestic abusers and particularly violent offenders in domestic settings who violate federal law (primarily firearms offenses). It brings together law enforcement, prosecutors, and non-profit entities with a common purpose and clear direction – to protect victims of domestic violence and hold abusers accountable.

Since Operation 922 was launched in 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma has charged 338 individuals with federal offenses stemming from domestic violence. To date, 321 have been determined guilty through trial or plea agreements, and 291 have been sentenced to an average of more than 74 months in federal prison. Cases have originated in 26 different counties within the Western District of Oklahoma.