Sure, unlike some of her colleagues, Jeanine Pirro was actually nominated and confirmed by the Senate to her U.S. Attorney position, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t out of her depth.
The latest, but far from only, example of that happened Monday at her old stomping grounds, Fox News. The attorney that rose to prominence as a TV personality found that not all cable news hits are going to be, well a hit with the MAGA base. Yesterday, Pirro appeared on Fox News with Martha MacCallum, and made some interesting comments.
“I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back, and that makes all the difference,” Pirro said in a rant worthy of any flaming liberal. Particularly when Pirro followed up, adding, “And you bring a gun into the district, you mark my words, you’re going to jail.”
Now, sure, she was trying to give Donald Trump and his gross occupation (and 9,500 arrests) of Washington D.C. credit for the decline in homicides in 2026 (there was also subfreezing weather for a significant portion of January keeping people indoors, but SHHHHH), but these strident statements about the limits of the Second Amendment were noteworthy for the MAGA faithful.
That was certainly the take of the far right.
“I bring a gun into the district every week,” Rep. Greg Steube wrote on X. “I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others. Come and Take it!”
Rep. Thomas Massie asked his followers, “Why is a ‘conservative’ judge threatening to arrest gun owners?” Well, she’s the current U.S. Attorney for the District but the point remains.
Stephen Gutowski, founder of The Reload, slammed Pirro and Fox’s MacCallum for “cheering her on.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sounded off on X, “Second Amendment rights are not extinguished just because an American visits DC.”
Kostas Moros, director of legal research for the nonprofit Second Amendment Foundation, said it was a “moronic statement.”
The backlash led Pirro to walk back her statements, saying “We’re taking guns off the street, illegal guns in the hands of criminals who want to use those guns to victimize law-abiding citizens. There’s a big difference here. You’re responsible, you follow the laws, you’re not going to have a problem with me.”
Ahh, Pirro is just using gun laws as a pretext to go after the “wrong” kind of gun owners. Gotcha. That’s disappointing, but much more on brand for her.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s Swift Right Wing Backlash appeared first on Above the Law.
Sure, unlike some of her colleagues, Jeanine Pirro was actually nominated and confirmed by the Senate to her U.S. Attorney position, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t out of her depth.
The latest, but far from only, example of that happened Monday at her old stomping grounds, Fox News. The attorney that rose to prominence as a TV personality found that not all cable news hits are going to be, well a hit with the MAGA base. Yesterday, Pirro appeared on Fox News with Martha MacCallum, and made some interesting comments.
“I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back, and that makes all the difference,” Pirro said in a rant worthy of any flaming liberal. Particularly when Pirro followed up, adding, “And you bring a gun into the district, you mark my words, you’re going to jail.”
Now, sure, she was trying to give Donald Trump and his gross occupation (and 9,500 arrests) of Washington D.C. credit for the decline in homicides in 2026 (there was also subfreezing weather for a significant portion of January keeping people indoors, but SHHHHH), but these strident statements about the limits of the Second Amendment were noteworthy for the MAGA faithful.
That was certainly the take of the far right.
“I bring a gun into the district every week,” Rep. Greg Steube wrote on X. “I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others. Come and Take it!”
Rep. Thomas Massie asked his followers, “Why is a ‘conservative’ judge threatening to arrest gun owners?” Well, she’s the current U.S. Attorney for the District but the point remains.
Stephen Gutowski, founder of The Reload, slammed Pirro and Fox’s MacCallum for “cheering her on.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sounded off on X, “Second Amendment rights are not extinguished just because an American visits DC.”
Kostas Moros, director of legal research for the nonprofit Second Amendment Foundation, said it was a “moronic statement.”
The backlash led Pirro to walk back her statements, saying “We’re taking guns off the street, illegal guns in the hands of criminals who want to use those guns to victimize law-abiding citizens. There’s a big difference here. You’re responsible, you follow the laws, you’re not going to have a problem with me.”
Ahh, Pirro is just using gun laws as a pretext to go after the “wrong” kind of gun owners. Gotcha. That’s disappointing, but much more on brand for her.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s Swift Right Wing Backlash appeared first on Above the Law.
