Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JAMES HARRIS (“HARRIS”), age 33, of Mississippi, pled guilty on April 23, 2025, before United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance, to being in possession of machine guns, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o)() and 924(a)(2), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
According to court documents, special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) identified individuals involved in trafficking firearms in New Orleans. Between September 2023 and November 2023, agents communicated with HARRIS about purchasing machine guns and firearms. On November 15, 2023, HARRIS sold machine guns and firearms to undercover ATF agents in the eastern District of Louisiana.
HARRIS is scheduled for sentencing on August 13, 2025. HARRIS faces up to ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three (3) years of supervised release following imprisonment and, a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The prosecution is being handed by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit.