Two convicted felons from Washington, DC, who showed off guns in music videos and Instagram livestreams are now headed to federal prison after investigators determined the weapons in those clips were very real. Travis Foster, 25, and Reginald Monroe, 23, were sentenced to a combined 103 months behind bars, with each also facing three years of supervised release once they get out.
According to Daily Voice, federal prosecutors said Foster received 57 months while Monroe was sentenced to 46 months, bringing their combined total to 103 months in prison. The sentences cap a case that began in 2023, when federal investigators started looking into online firearm displays posted by Foster and his associates.
Music Videos and Livestreams Drew Investigators' Attention
Foster and his associates appeared in music videos, YouTube posts, and Instagram livestreams showing off firearms fitted with extended magazines, per the outlet's reporting. Investigators recognized the weapons on display as real firearms, including Micro Draco pistols capable of firing rifle rounds rather than mere props or replicas.
That online activity eventually led officers to a night of surveillance on October 19, 2023, when they tracked Foster, Monroe, and their associates from a dinner gathering to a nightclub in Northwest DC and then to a nearby parking garage. During that operation, officers recovered three firearms and 842 suspected fentanyl pills from a stolen Audi Q7, along with six additional guns found inside a Chrysler 300, the outlet reported.
DNA Evidence and a Freezer Full of Trouble
Surveillance footage captured Monroe exiting the Chrysler, and prosecutors said DNA evidence later linked him to a Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol recovered from the Audi as well as a Glock 32 .357-caliber pistol found inside the Chrysler. Those two pistols, prosecutors said, had been equipped with devices that converted them into machine guns. Two Micro Draco pistols turned up in a backpack that also contained Foster's prescription paperwork, according to prosecutors.
A search of a home associated with Foster turned up a loaded pistol with an extended magazine hidden inside a chest freezer, more than a pound of marijuana, and a money counter. Investigators also recovered Foster's Instagram voice messages in which he referred to the confiscated firearms as his own and discussed replacing them, while his social media posts separately advertised marijuana for sale.
Guilty Pleas Led to October Sentencing
Monroe pleaded guilty on July 23 to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of a machine gun. Foster pleaded guilty the following day, July 24, to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the Daily Voice account. Both men are from Washington, DC.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Foster and Monroe flaunted guns for cameras, brandished weapons in music videos, and carried an arsenal into the community. She warned that convicted felons who continue to arm themselves and put the public at risk will face prison time.
Part of a Broader Federal Crackdown
The case fits a pattern federal authorities have flagged in Washington in recent years. In a separate 2025 case, the U.S. Department of Justice said Corey Whittico, 22, of Washington, DC, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison after livestreaming himself on Instagram while brandishing a pistol equipped with a machine-gun conversion device.
The devices themselves have become a growing enforcement priority. The ATF has said the number of machine-gun conversion devices recovered by law enforcement nationwide increased more than 500 percent between 2017 and 2021. The agency has also stressed that a conversion device on its own counts as an illegal machine gun under federal law, meaning it cannot legally be possessed even without an attached pistol or rifle.
