A Mississippi man, James Harris, 33, has entered a guilty plea for charges related to the possession of machine guns. The plea occurred on Wednesday, in front of United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance. This case falls under a larger operation against illegal arms trafficking and comes with severe potential penalties for Harris, including up to a decade behind bars, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Investigations conducted by special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) pinpointed individuals linked to firearm trafficking in New Orleans. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, from September 2023 to November 2023, agents were in communication with Harris regarding the purchase of machine guns and other firearms. On November 15, 2023, Harris handed over machine guns and firearms to undercover ATF agents in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The sentencing for Harris is scheduled to take place on August 13. If convicted, Harris faces severe repercussions including a fine of up to $250,000, up to ten years of imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release post-imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. The case against Harris is a segment of a broader initiative "Operation Take Back America" which combines resources from various departments to tackle the issue of illegal arms and the threats they pose to communities, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"Operation Take Back America" spearheads the Department of Justice's efforts against illegal immigration, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations that perpetrate violent crimes in the U.S. The program pools resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood to streamline these initiatives. Assistant United States Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit is handling the prosecution for this case, as revealed by the U.S. Attorney's Office official statements.
