DOJ Dismisses Case Challenging Concealed Carry Ban in U.S. Post Offices

On Friday, August 15, the Department of Justice (DOJ) communicated their intent to dismiss their appeal in yet another Second Amendment-related case, this one challenging the ban on concealed carry of a firearm in U.S. Post Offices.

The one-page letter was addressed to Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and signed by John Sauer, the Solicitor General. It states:

Consistent with 28 U.S.C. §530D, I write to advise you that the Department of Justice has decided to dismiss its pending appeal in the above-pending case, which concerns the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. §930(a), the federal statute prohibiting the possession of firearms in federal facilities. A copy of the district court’s decision is enclosed….The Department of Justice plans to dismiss its appeal by August 22, 2025.

The case at hand is known as United States v. Ayala.

Emmanuel Ayala, a U.S. Postal Service truck driver in Tampa, Florida, who held a valid Florida concealed carry permit, was carrying a concealed pistol for self-defense while walking from the employee parking lot to retrieve his work truck at a post office. On September 14, 2022, after clocking in, Ayala was stopped by two agents from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General, who attempted to detain him. Ayala fled but was later arrested by the Tampa Police Department. A grand jury indicted him on two counts, possessing a firearm in a federal facility, and for forcibly resisting arrest.

Pointing to the Bruen decision, Ayala challenged the charges, stating that the ban violated his Second Amendment right to carry a firearm for self-defense; the statute was vague and ambiguous; and that the arrest was unlawful under the Fourth Amendment and common law.

The District Court dismissed the charge for carrying in a federal facility, ruling that the statute violated the Second Amendment because the government failed to demonstrate a historical tradition of banning firearms in such facilities, but did not dismiss the resisting arrest charge, nor did it address the Fifth Amendment challenge. The State appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 24, 2025, with the National Rifle Association filing an amicus brief in support of Ayala.

Today’s letter from the DOJ notes that, “The resisting-arrest charge against the defendant remains pending. Dismissing the appeal would enable the district court to resolve that charge promptly, while pursuing the appeal could significantly prolong this litigation. The Department has determined that, in these circumstances, continuing to pursue the appeal is not an appropriate use of prosecutorial resources.”