Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Delivers Remarks on Combating the Production of Unlawful Machinegun Conversion Devices

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Director Dettelbach, for that kind introduction.  

Before I begin, I want to echo the Director and express my sympathies to the families and loved ones impacted by Wednesday’s horrific school shooting in Georgia. The Department stands with all law enforcement and community members responding to this tragedy.

Now, turning to our mission today.

I’m grateful to Director Dettelbach, and the leadership and vision from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in gathering the group around this table — folks from law enforcement, academia, and the private sector — coming together to tackle the spread of machine gun conversion devices and the violence they leave in their wake.

I also want to extend a special welcome and thank you to our partners from Dartmouth College, Wichita State University, Oak Ridge National Lab, and representatives from the 3-D printing industry for coming together to address the abuse and misuse of technology to accelerate violence in our communities.

Thank you for your engagement over the last year as we work together to identify ways to get these deadly devices off our streets.

The Department of Justice has no higher priority than keeping our communities safe.

We’ve been all-in on reversing the violent crime uptick that started during the pandemic in 2020 — an uptick defined by an increase in gun crimes in too many communities. 

Gun crimes made more violent and more deadly by machine gun conversion devices.

Since 2021, the Justice Department has been executing a comprehensive strategy to reduce violent crime — one rooted in local communities and built on four pillars:

1. Going after the most significant drivers of violent crime — like gun crimes, dangerous weaponry, and violent repeat offenders;
2. Fostering trust and earning legitimacy in the communities we serve;
3. Investing in community-based prevention and intervention programs; and
4. Measuring the results of our efforts by impact, through actual decreases in violent crime.

Our strategy is having an impact, in the form of crimes prevented and lives saved.

According to available data from 2023 — murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault show considerable declines from 2022.

And in nearly 90 major cities across the country, violent crime has continued to drop during the first six months of this year compared to the same time period last year, including a 17% decrease in homicides.

While these are promising trends, we can’t afford to let up.

Far from it.

We must continue our focus on the most significant drivers of violent crime and identifying emerging threats to our communities. 

We’re here to discuss one such emerging threat: machine gun conversion devices — or MCDs — also known as “switches” or “auto sears.”

These highly dangerous devices, that are often just a small piece of metal or plastic, can convert a run-of-the-mill firearm into a weapon of war.

From a shooting at a sweet sixteen party in Dadeville, Alabama, which claimed four lives — to a drive-by in Cincinnati, Ohio killing an 11-year-old boy in the crossfire — MCDs can transform a street corner into a combat zone, devastating entire communities.

The law classifies an MCD as an illegal machinegun.

I want to be clear — because of its destructive effect, the possession of an MCD is illegal under federal law.

So, the proliferation of these MCD devices requires our immediate and sustained attention.

Machinegun conversion devices convert handguns and rifles into machine guns.

The result is a deadly combination — more rapid firing — amounting to hundreds of bullets in mere minutes — with one pull of a trigger.

So even as the number of shootings goes down — when the spread of MCDs is unchecked, the number of fatalities can go up.

Using MCDs is illegal. Selling MCDs is illegal. And being in possession of MCDs is also illegal.

They’re cheap. They’re not hard to manufacture, often with 3-D printers. And they’ve been proliferating for years.

Today, MCDs are the most frequently recovered type of illegal firearm.

The growing use of MCDs by criminals presents a danger to the public and to brave members of law enforcement who put their lives on the line everyday — and who should not have to face such dangerous weaponry. 

So, given the clear danger MCDs pose to our communities, today, I am issuing a Department-wide directive, and we are taking action to confront this rising threat in three ways.

First, I am establishing the Justice Department’s Action Network to Terminate Illegal Machinegun Conversion Devices — or ANTI-MCD for short.

The ANTI-MCD Committee will be co-chaired by ATF and one of our U.S. Attorneys who’s been employing innovative strategies to address the MCD threat.

The committee will include representatives of the Department’s law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial components.

I’ll be asking the ANTI-MCD Committee for recommendations on how to best deploy Department resources to reduce the proliferation of MCDs.

To ensure seamless coordination, spot trends, and gather intelligence, the ANTI-MCD Committee will work with the Department’s law enforcement components to update the tracking of MCD seizures and prosecutions in real time.

And the Committee will help drive best practices for work across law enforcement and across government on joint initiatives and prosecution efforts to crack down on MCDs.

Key to getting MCDs off the streets is training those on the front lines confronting these deadly devices on the latest MCD technologies and enforcement authorities.

So, the second action I’m announcing today is the creation of a national MCD Training Initiative — spearheaded by ATF and designed to equip law enforcement and prosecutors with the tools they need to combat MCDs.

Given how quickly MCD design and distribution networks are evolving, ATF will continually update training driven by the latest intelligence.

Just today, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and ATF are releasing a new training module for law enforcement around the country, educating them on detecting and identifying MCDs.

And while we’re improving our training and data, we’ll also be adding to our capabilities.

ATF will designate a National MCD Coordinator — to serve as a hub of expertise for all our partners.

Now, as law enforcement adapts to the MCD landscape, so too must Department prosecutors, led by the U.S. Attorney community.

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are already doing great work here — and I want to thank Chris Kavanaugh for his leadership representing our U.S. Attorneys today and for his work on this issue with the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

So, today, to continue building on that work, I’m directing all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to prioritize MCD prosecutions by employing comprehensive and district-specific MCD enforcement strategies.

Over the next 90 days, each U.S. Attorney’s office will meet with federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners to identify promising MCD-related enforcement practices.  

Many U.S. Attorneys are already doing this.

For example, Project Switch Off was launched late last year by Bob Troester, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. 

And working with ATF, his federal prosecutors have trained nearly 500 Oklahoma City police to recognize and refer MCD offenses for federal prosecution. 

His office has also provided training to the district’s judges to underscore the dangers posed by MCDs. 

Bob’s office is prioritizing the prosecution of MCD offenses.

In less than a year, the Western District of Oklahoma has charged nearly 40 individuals with MCD-related offenses — that’s compared to eight total between 2020 and 2022, before this initiative.

And you know what?

Switches aren’t appearing like they used to on their streets or on social media.

A member of the Oklahoma City Police Department recently reported to the U.S. Attorney the impact of these federal prosecutions, saying:  

“Gang members are scared to death to use the switches because their buddies are going to federal prison…”

“It is very clear your prosecutions are making a huge difference in our community.”

This is a powerful example of how — working together — we can make a difference for our communities. 

And that’s why I’ve asked Bob to serve as the co-chair of our ANTI-MCD Committee.

Now as we focus on getting MCDs off our streets, this much is clear: law enforcement can’t do this alone.

Today’s convening is a critical step, but we’re still at the beginning of this work — work that can’t be limited to how we train law enforcement and prosecute offenders.

It must also include stopping these devices from reaching criminals in the first place.

While many MCDs are manufactured in the United States, others are imported from overseas markets like China. 

We need to do more to disrupt that illicit flow.

We need to engage software developers, technology experts, and leaders in the 3-D printing industry to identify solutions in this fight. 

And we have to do all of this while raising public awareness about the deadly threat posed by MCDs.

Combating this threat will take all of us — industry, academia, and government — working together. 

Because, you know your industries and this technology better than anyone.

You are the ones leading the research that will inform the next innovations

You are the ones on the cutting edge in your sector.

You all bring different expertise to this challenge, but we all share the same goal: ensuring that those innovations and that technology isn’t being used to harm communities.

We will keep at this work — trying to stop the proliferation of MCDs.

Our ask is that when you return to your companies, agencies, and institutions, that you do the same. 

Today, with your help, your ideas and your commitment, we are moving this forward.

Once again — thank you — all of you — for leading the way.

I look forward to seeing where we go from here in our collective efforts to keep our communities safe.