Donald Trump has been questioned about his continued possession of a gun as a convicted felon.
At his first probation meeting since his conviction for falsifying business records, an official from the New York City Department of Probation asked the former president about a gun he registered in New York.
Read More:- A jet missing since 1971 was found submerged in Vermont’s Lake Champlain
Trump admitted to keeping the gun during Monday’s probation meeting, CNN reported, citing a “city official briefed on the exchange.” It is a federal crime for a convicted felon to own a gun or ammunition.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was found guilty on May 30 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Read More:- Concern as Joe Biden appears to freeze during White House Juneteenth celebration
The New York Police Department has now notified police in Florida that Trump has the gun and has asked them to take whatever action is appropriate, according to CNN.
It was previously reported that Trump surrendered two pistols to New York police on March 31, 2023, while a third gun listed on Trump’s license is in Florida, according to an explanation Trump gave to the probation service.
The Palm Beach Police Department told CNN that they were unaware that Trump had a gun and said it had not been surrendered to them. Palm Beach is the location of Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Read More:- Heat at Trump Las Vegas rally sends 6 to hospital, fire department says
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, the NYPD and the Palm Beach Police Department via email for comment on Wednesday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had suspended Trump’s gun license when he was arrested in 2023, and it was fully revoked when he was convicted in May.
“A New York official briefed on the probation investigation said the information on the outstanding gun ‘will be referred to local authorities in Florida to take whatever steps are necessary,'” CNN reported.
Read More:- Biden vs. Trump: Here’s what the next president means for your taxes
Trump was allowed to conduct his probation meeting remotely from his Mar-a-Lago estate, where the third gun is allegedly stored. His lawyer, Todd Blanche, was with him during the meeting.
In 2012, Trump told The Washington Times that he had a concealed weapon permit and owned both a .45 caliber Heckler & Koch and a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson. He did not mention a third gun, which may have been purchased after the interview.
As president in 2018, he said he would have tried to stop Florida’s worst-ever school shooting and would have “run in” with a gun. The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 people dead.
Also Read– Donald Trump Issues Warning to Americans in New Video
Trump has advocated for teachers to be permitted to carry concealed weapons in class as a protective measure.
At a White House meeting with lawmakers in the wake of the Parkland shooting, Trump said that gun-free zones were not working.
“Ninety-eight percent of all mass shootings in the U.S. have taken place in gun-free zones. If you have one person in that room who could carry a gun and know how to use it, it wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
