Full Breakdown
DOJ Targets Denver and Colorado Gun Restrictions: A Federal Legal Push
5/27/2026, 10:11:15 PM
Federal Lawsuit Targets Denver and Colorado
On May 5 2026 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado challenging Denver’s ban on “assault-weapons” style rifles. The following day, May 6 2026, the DOJ filed a second suit against Colorado’s law limiting magazine capacity to 15 rounds. Both complaints invoke the Supreme Court’s 2022 *Bruen* decision, which requires gun regulations to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Background & Legal Context
The *Bruen* ruling held that the Second Amendment protects commonly owned firearms used lawfully, and that any restriction must be justified by historical precedent. The DOJ’s filings argue that Denver’s “assault-weapons” terminology and Colorado’s magazine limit fail that test.
Key Figures
Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, is the lead DOJ official on the cases. Dhillon has framed the lawsuits as a strategic effort to create circuit-court splits that increase the likelihood of Supreme Court review.
Timeline
- May 5 2026 – DOJ sues Denver over its assault-weapons ban.
- May 6 2026 – DOJ sues Colorado over the 15-round magazine restriction.
- August 2025 – DOJ expands its Washington, D.C., assault-weapons challenge to include a suppressor ban.
- 2022 – *Bruen* decision establishes the historical-tradition test for gun laws.
- Future – Cases proceed through district court; DOJ anticipates a Supreme Court decision.
Data & Statistics
- Colorado’s statute caps detachable-magazine capacity at 15 rounds.
- Standard-issue magazines for many AR-15-style rifles and handguns such as the Glock 17 exceed that limit (typically 17 rounds).
- The DOJ contends that the 15-round cap renders a substantial portion of legally owned firearms “unusable.”
Official Statements & Responses
Dhillon told Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie Frontline” that Denver’s ban relies on a “fake term called ‘assault weapons’” used to “slant the public against the most commonly owned rifle in the United States…the AR-15.” She described Colorado’s magazine restriction as “semantics” that “sweeps in standard equipment,” calling the 15-round cap “a backdoor way of banning these firearms that are popular and lawful.” Dhillon added that the DOJ is “targeting those jurisdictions like Colorado, where there is no ruling in the circuit court” and that the agency “has a process and a method” to shepherd the issues toward the Supreme Court.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The DOJ has not yet challenged similar bans in states where appellate courts have already ruled, such as Connecticut, Maryland, or California. No source provides a definitive timeline for when the Supreme Court will hear the cases, leaving the ultimate judicial outcome uncertain.
What’s Next
Dhillon predicts that “the Supreme Court is going to decide the issue… it’s going to happen soon.” The lawsuits will move through the district courts, potentially to the 10th Circuit, before any appellate review. A Supreme Court ruling could set a nationwide precedent for how “assault-weapons” designations and magazine-capacity limits are evaluated under the Second Amendment.
Verbatim Quotes
- “In the case of Denver, they have this fake term called ‘assault weapons’ and they use that to slant the public against [the] most commonly owned rifle in the United States…the AR-15.” — Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
- “large capacity magazines are actually the standard issue magazines for many of [the firearms]” — Harmeet Dhillon
- “a backdoor way of banning these firearms that are popular and lawful.” — Harmeet Dhillon
- “What we've been doing at the DOJ is targeting those jurisdictions like Colorado, where there is no ruling in the circuit court,” — Harmeet Dhillon
- “And I think that is absolutely going to happen. It's going to happen soon,” — Harmeet Dhillon
