Protecting Law Enforcement Officers, Judges, Prosecutors, and Their Families
The order directs federal agencies to remove barriers preventing current and retired federal law enforcement officers from carrying concealed firearms under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, and instructs the Attorney General to open a pathway for federal prosecutors facing personal risk to carry concealed firearms through special deputation as Deputy U.S. Marshals.
It also requires proposed legislation extending concealed-carry rights to federal judges, higher penalties for violence against judicial and law enforcement personnel, and steps to strip personal home-address information from public records for these officials.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs all executive agencies employing federal law enforcement officers to identify and remove obstacles preventing those officers — current and retired — from carrying concealed firearms as permitted under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004. It instructs the Attorney General to propose a new regulation granting federal prosecutors who face personal risk a special deputation as Deputy U.S. Marshals, conferring the right to carry firearms but not broader arrest or court powers, conditioned on firearm safety training. The Attorney General is also directed to prioritize Marshals Service protection of federal judges and prosecutors, and to prioritize investigation and prosecution of crimes involving threatened or actual violence against judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and their families.
The order further directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to review feasibility of minimizing publicly available personal identifying information for federal judicial and law enforcement personnel, and directs all agencies to allow these officials to use Post Office box addresses in lieu of home addresses. It instructs the Attorney General to develop and propose federal legislation within 30 days covering enhanced concealed-carry rights for judges, stiffer criminal penalties for violence against protected officials, and PII removal measures. The order does not itself change any statute, and most of its operative force depends on future rulemaking, legislative proposals, and agency policy revisions.
Who it affects
Current and retired federal law enforcement officers seeking concealed-carry rights under LEOSA, federal prosecutors facing personal safety risks, federal judges, U.S. Marshals Service personnel, all federal agencies with law enforcement employees, and family members of covered officials who may be targeted because of those officials' roles.
Why it matters
Federal prosecutors gain a near-term path to carry firearms if they face credible threats, and agencies must formally audit barriers to concealed carry for their law enforcement personnel. Judges and prosecutors may gain stronger legal protections against having home addresses publicly searchable, reducing a known tactic used to threaten them.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
Implementation unfolds in parallel tracks. Within 30 days, all agencies with law enforcement personnel must submit reports on LEOSA obstacles; the Attorney General must propose the prosecutor deputation regulation, assess whether 28 CFR 0.111(e) needs revision, and draft proposed federal legislation. The AG and DHS Secretary must conduct a separate PII-removal feasibility review with no fixed deadline. Actual concealed-carry expansion for prosecutors and changes to the CFR are contingent on completing the regulatory notice-and-comment process. Proposed legislation requires Congressional action. The order carries a standard appropriations-availability caveat and no private right of enforcement.
Actions and deadlines
- All agencies employing federal law enforcement officers submit reports on LEOSA implementation and concealed-carry obstacles
- Attorney General proposes regulation granting special Deputy U.S. Marshal deputation to federal prosecutors facing risk of harm
- Attorney General revises Department of Justice policies to permit special deputation for prosecutors consistent with the new regulation
- Attorney General assesses need to revise 28 CFR 0.111(e) and, if needed, initiates proposed rulemaking to protect federal prosecutors
- Attorney General develops and proposes federal legislation providing additional protections for judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers
- Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security coordinate review of feasibility of minimizing PII in public sources for covered officials
- All agency heads examine collection of PII from judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers and allow Post Office box addresses in lieu of home addresses