Applicability of Ten-Year Minimum Sentence to Semiautomatic Assault Weapons

Applicability of Ten-Year Minimum Sentence to Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Semiautomatic assault weapons are no longer among the firearms to which the ten-year minimum sentence in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(i) applies. November 24, 2009 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIMINAL DIVISION You have asked whether possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime is conduct that remains subject to a mandatory ten-year minimum sentence. Having carefully considered the views of the Criminal Division and the Bureau of…