The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against the City and County of Denver on May 5, 2026, seeking to strike down a municipal ordinance that has prohibited assault-style weapons, including AR-15-style rifles, since 1989 [1]. The DOJ filed the complaint less than 24 hours after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston publicly refused a DOJ demand to cease enforcement of the ban [2]. The case is captioned United States v. City and County of Denver.
The Civil Rights Division is leading the litigation under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon [1]. The complaint rests on Second Amendment grounds, arguing that Denver's ordinance unconstitutionally restricts the right to keep and bear arms as interpreted by the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires firearms regulations to be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation [1]. The suit is among the first actions taken by the DOJ's newly established Second Amendment Section, which was created to challenge state and local gun laws the current administration views as constitutionally infirm [1].
Denver's 1989 ordinance predates federal assault weapons legislation and has survived prior legal challenges at the state level [2]. Mayor Johnston, in rejecting the DOJ's pre-suit demand, stated that the city would defend the ordinance and characterized the federal ultimatum as an overreach of executive authority [2]. The Denver Police Department enforces the ban, and enforcement has not been suspended pending litigation [2].
The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and, if fully litigated, would produce a ruling subject to review by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals [1]. A Tenth Circuit decision on the constitutionality of assault weapons bans would carry significant weight across the circuit's six-state jurisdiction and could create a circuit split depending on how other appellate courts resolve similar challenges pending elsewhere [1][2]. Denver has not yet filed an answer or motion to dismiss, and no scheduling order has been entered.
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