Department of Justice
Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman (R-AZ) is among a small group of people who recently had their federal firearms rights restored by the Trump administration, a move that's drawing attention, given that Hoffman still faces an active state indictment.
Sen. Hoffman is one of the Arizona Republicans charged in connection with the state's fake elector scheme, a coordinated effort to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss in Arizona.
While President Donald Trump had already issued Hoffman a federal pardon, shielding him from any federal prosecution, that pardon alone was not enough to restore his ability to legally purchase or possess firearms.
Federal law prohibits individuals facing certain criminal charges from buying guns, and Hoffman's unresolved state indictment kept that barrier firmly in place until the Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Hoffman was among 22 individuals whose federal gun rights had been formally reinstated.
The restoration is connected to a larger push by the Trump administration to resurrect a firearms relief program that had sat dormant for more than three decades.
Trump signed an executive order early last year directing the expansion of gun rights, and the DOJ followed with a formal proposal allowing felons and other restricted individuals to apply for reinstatement.
USA Today reported that the effort has strong support from gun rights organizations and opposition from gun violence prevention advocates. A review of thousands of public comments submitted on the proposal found that 90% favored moving forward.
For Hoffman, the federal action removes only one legal consequence. The state indictment in Arizona, which centers on his alleged role in the fake elector plot, remains active.
That case will continue working its way through the Arizona court system regardless of what happens at the federal level.
Hoffman has not commented publicly on either the gun rights restoration or the status of his state case.
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