BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Monday that he has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The lawsuit seeks to prevent the planned distribution of thousands of machinegun conversion devices (MCDs) to communities across the United States.
The legal challenge centers on Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs), which the attorneys general contend allow users to achieve firepower comparable to military machine guns. The lawsuit aims to halt the redistribution of these devices, arguing that they are illegal to possess under federal law.
According to the coalition, the ATF had previously classified FRTs as machineguns. However, under directive from Trump administration leadership, the ATF recently signed a settlement agreement. This agreement reportedly commits the ATF to cease enforcing federal law against FRTs and to redistribute thousands of FRTs that the agency had previously seized.
Attorney General Brown stated that FRTs “turn semi-automatic firearms into weapons of war capable of inflicting devastating impacts on Maryland communities.” He added that the administration’s decision to return these previously seized devices to Maryland, where they are illegal under state law, makes residents “more vulnerable to mass shootings.”
The lawsuit claims that the planned return of FRTs will have significant consequences for Maryland, where the devices are prohibited. It argues that their distribution could lead to increased criminal use, greater public safety risks, and higher law enforcement costs. Furthermore, the coalition asserts that firearm-related injuries already cost Maryland over $60 million annually, and weapons with an accelerated rate of fire can cause more severe injuries and higher victim counts per incident, increasing the state’s healthcare burden and strain on public resources.
The lawsuit highlights that MCDs, including FRTs, have been increasingly used in violent crimes and mass shootings. The ATF itself has noted a significant rise in the use of MCDs, with incidents of machine-gun fire reportedly up 1,400% from 2019 through 2021. Devices like FRTs replace a standard trigger on a semiautomatic firearm, enabling continuous fire with a single trigger pull, similar to fully automatic weapons. The ATF estimates that at least 100,000 FRTs have been distributed nationwide.
The current legal dispute follows earlier lawsuits concerning FRTs during the Biden administration. While one federal judge in New York affirmed that FRTs are banned under federal law, a federal judge in Texas disagreed, a ruling that was under appeal.
On May 16, 2025, the Trump administration announced it had settled these lawsuits. The settlement reportedly includes the ATF agreeing to abandon enforcement actions and appeals, to stop enforcing the federal ban on machineguns against FRTs (including for individuals and sellers not party to the lawsuits), and to redistribute previously seized FRTs.
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Brown and the coalition seeks to prevent this redistribution, asserting that the federal government cannot violate U.S. law, even through a settlement agreement. The coalition plans to seek a preliminary injunction to halt the distribution of FRT devices, arguing that it would directly harm the plaintiff states and contravene federal law. The lawsuit also notes that the ATF has acknowledged that returning FRTs to states where they are prohibited would “aid and abet” violations of state laws.
In addition to Maryland, the lawsuit includes attorneys general from New Jersey, Delaware, Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
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