Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp issued an order for the National Guard to seize residents’ lawfully-owned firearms and ammunition, ostensibly as a means of promoting public order and protecting life and property during Hurricane Irma. The order states, in no uncertain terms, that the Adjutant General of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Guard is “authorized and directed to seize arms, ammunition, explosives, incendiary material and any other property” deemed necessary to the mission of maintaining or restoring order during the storm. 

Governor of Virgin Islands Orders National Guard to Seize Americans’ Firearms