Donald Trump admits he still has a gun, despite felony convictions

It is a violation of federal law for someone convicted of felonies to possess a firearm

By Nicholas Liu

News Fellow

Published June 12, 2024 12:18PM (EDT)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and attorney Susan Necheles attend his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York City. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and attorney Susan Necheles attend his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York City. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Donald Trump, recently convicted on 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records, admitted to New York officials that he had not surrendered a gun he possesses in Florida but that was registered in New York, according to CNN. It is a federal crime for someone convicted of a felony to possess a firearm or ammunition.

An official who was briefed on the pre-sentencing meeting told CNN that Trump admitted to still possessing one of the three fireams listed on his New York City permit to carry concealed weapons. Two of the three pistols he was licensed to carry were handed over to police in March 2023, after his gun license was suspended in light of his arrest by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The third gun was "lawfully moved to Florida," presumably to his estate at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, where Trump was for the remotely-conducted hearing.

Palm Beach police told CNN that they were not told of any gun that Trump might have, and none were turned over to them since his conviction in May. The New York City Police Department has now notified police in Florida and asked them to take appropriate action.

Trump, who promised the National Rifle Association to reverse President Joe Biden's gun control measures, has long bragged about his guns and what he would do with them. After the deadly 2016 terrorist attacks in Paris, Trump told a French magazine that "I always carry a weapon on me" and that if he was there, he would have opened fire on the assailants.


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