NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
What is machine gun possession charges
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – who has over 40 years of combined experience with our team handling federal firearms cases. You’ve probably heard of some of the cases we’ve worked on. Todd Spodek represented Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series. We also handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case and defended clients in cases ranging from securities fraud to weapons charges that other firms wouldn’t touch.
If you’re reading this, you or someone you care about is facing machine gun possession charges. That’s a federal felony – and it’s one of the most serious gun crimes prosecuted in federal court. We’re going to explain what machine gun possession charges actually mean, what penalties you’re looking at, and why the ATF has ramped up enforcement so dramatically in 2025.
The Federal Law That Bans Machine Guns
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), it’s illegal to transfer or possess a machine gun – with very limited exceptions. This law came from the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986, which froze the civilian market for machine guns. If a machine gun wasn’t lawfully owned and registered before May 19, 1986, you can’t legally possess it as a private citizen. Period.
What counts as a machine gun? The National Firearms Act defines it as any firearm that fires more than one round per trigger pull. That includes fully automatic rifles, submachine guns, and – this is important – any device that converts a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic one.
Those conversion devices are causing the biggest problems right now. The ATF calls them “machine gun conversion devices” or MCDs. You might know them as auto sears, Glock switches, or forced reset triggers. They’re small pieces of metal or plastic that modify a regular gun to fire automatically. Between 2018 and 2023, ATF recovered more than 31,000 of these devices – and seizures increased 800% since 2019.
People think these devices are just accessories. They’re not. Possessing one is the same as possessing a machine gun under federal law.
The Penalties Are Severe
Basic possession of an unregistered machine gun carries up to 10 years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000. That’s under both 18 U.S.C. § 922(o) and 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). But those are just the maximums. What you actually get sentenced to depends on your criminal history, whether the gun was loaded, where you had it, and what you planned to do with it.
Real sentences vary. William Kristofer Wolf from Bozeman got 72 months – six years – for possessing an unregistered machine gun. Christopher Joseph Kiss from Tulsa got 37 months for being a felon in possession of firearms, making unregistered machine guns, and possessing unregistered silencers. These aren’t slaps on the wrist.
If you possess a machine gun during a violent crime or drug trafficking offense, the penalties jump dramatically. Federal law mandates a minimum of 30 years to life in prison. A second conviction involving a machine gun during a crime means mandatory life in prison. No parole in federal prison – you serve at least 85% of whatever sentence the judge gives you.
ATF Enforcement Is Ramping Up
In September 2024, the Justice Department announced increased efforts to locate machine gun conversion devices and federally prosecute people who possess them. U.S. Attorney Offices across the country were directed to prioritize MCD prosecutions through district-specific enforcement strategies.
The ATF isn’t just looking for traditional machine guns anymore. They’re training agents to recognize conversion devices. In 2023 alone, ATF seized more than 5,800 conversion devices – compared to just a few hundred in 2019.
Federal prosecutors are filing charges even when defendants didn’t think they were breaking the law. Some people buy these devices online thinking they’re legal accessories. None of that matters. Ignorance of the law isn’t a defense. If you possess a device that converts a semi-automatic gun into a fully automatic one, you’ve violated federal law.
The Exceptions Are Extremely Narrow
You can legally possess a machine gun in only a few situations. If the machine gun was lawfully possessed and properly registered under the National Firearms Act before May 19, 1986, you can own it – assuming you’ve maintained proper registration and paid all required taxes. These pre-1986 machine guns are expensive, costing $10,000 to $40,000 or more.
Government agencies can possess machine guns for official use – federal law enforcement, state and local police, military personnel. Dealers with special licenses can possess them for demonstration to law enforcement.
That’s it. Those are the exceptions. If you’re a regular person who acquired a machine gun after 1986, or if you possess a conversion device that turns your Glock into a fully automatic weapon, you don’t fall into any exception. You’re committing a federal felony.
2025 Legal Uncertainty
There’s a complication in 2025 that’s creating confusion. In May 2025, the Trump Administration settled lawsuits involving forced reset triggers – or FRTs. The settlement promised to stop enforcing federal machine gun laws against FRTs and to redistribute thousands of FRTs that ATF had previously seized.
Sixteen state attorneys general sued the federal government to block the distribution of these devices, arguing that machine gun fire incidents increased 1,400% from 2019 through 2021. People who own FRTs don’t know if they’ll face prosecution.
Don’t rely on that settlement. Federal law hasn’t changed. Prosecutors in many jurisdictions are still filing charges. We’ve seen cases filed in 2025 where defendants thought they were protected – they weren’t. Possessing a machine gun or conversion device remains a federal crime, and people are going to prison for it.
What We Do for Clients Facing These Charges
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended clients facing federal firearms charges for years. Machine gun cases are different – the statutes are more complex, the penalties are higher, and the prosecutors are more aggressive.
We look at every element the government must prove. Did you actually possess the item? Is it legally a machine gun under the statutory definition? Was it registered before 1986? Were your Fourth Amendment rights violated? Sometimes the government’s case has holes. We’ve seen situations where the device didn’t function as a machine gun, where the search was illegal.
We also negotiate with federal prosecutors. Not every machine gun case goes to trial. If you cooperate, if you have no criminal history, sometimes we can negotiate a plea agreement that reduces your exposure. Acceptance of responsibility can reduce your sentence. Substantial assistance can reduce it further through a 5K1.1 motion.
Machine gun charges are serious. Federal prosecutors know these cases get attention. You need a lawyer who understands federal court and has experience handling weapons cases in front of federal judges.
We’re that law firm. We’ve represented clients in complex federal cases – many of the cases we’re famous for handling are cases that others said were unwinnable. We’ve been featured in the New York Post, Newsweek, Bloomberg, and Fox News for our work on high-profile federal cases. We’re available 24/7 because we know federal cases don’t wait for business hours.
If you’re facing machine gun possession charges, call us. The sooner you get experienced legal representation, the better your chances of getting the best possible outcome.