Overview
- The Justice Department formally opened the inquiry on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, and sent a notice letter to Mayor Cherelle Parker and Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel.
- Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon directed the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section to review Philadelphia Police policies and practices for issuing and revoking licenses to carry firearms.
- Investigators will gather documents and interview city officials, police personnel, and people who used the permitting system, and the DOJ said it has not reached any conclusions.
- The probe was prompted in part by local reports that the department revoked permits for members of a Black armed citizens group after a North Philadelphia confrontation, and some applicants have appealed with a few permits later restored.
- The review will test the city’s rules against Supreme Court rulings that protect individual gun rights and limit licensing officials’ personal discretion, and could end in a negotiated corrective plan or federal litigation if constitutional violations are found.