Walmart pays California $500,000 in brass knuckles case

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Brass knuckles are classified as a deadly and illegal weapon in a number of states, including California, where selling them is punishable by up to a year in prison.

Investigations into the retail giant first began in 2018 when the Merced County District Attorney found Walmart sold and allow third-party sellers to sell brass knuckles on its website, officials said at a news conference. The Department of Justice conducted the years-long investigation and hearing in cooperation with the district attorney’s offices of Merced, Ventura, and Yolo counties.

Brass knuckles, which are typically made of metal or hard plastic, could break bones, injure people or even cause fatal injuries, Bonta said, calling the settlement “a huge win” for California consumers.

“We make it clear that we will not stand by while any corporation, no matter the size, allows Californians to be armed with illegal weapons,” Bonta said. “This is a crucial setback for an e-commerce giant that will have a significant impact on the industry.”

said Walmart in a statement that it has not violated any California laws and admits “no liability for wrongdoing” but agreed because “we believe this agreement is in the best interests of all parties.”

As part of the settlement, Walmart will pay the Justice Department and the district attorney’s offices $125,000 each in civil penalties. The country’s largest retailer will also be required to stop selling brass knuckles on its website and allow any sale.

Investigators found about 250 products on Walmart’s website that could be classified as brass knuckles. 60% of these were offered directly by the retailer and 40% of them were available from third-party suppliers, according to the authorities.

The settlement also requires Walmart to inform customers who bought brass knuckles that the gun is illegal.

Authorities said they were investigating others for illegal arms sales, but did not name the suspects.

“While Walmart has been particularly cooperative in this case and has done its best to remove the illegal guns from their websites, there are others who haven’t and they need to know we’re going to get them,” the assistant district attorney said of Ventura County, Karen Wold said Tuesday.

Walmart is a major gun seller in the United States, but has taken action to curb firearm and ammunition sales since 2015.

The giant retailer stopped selling ammunition for semi-automatic rifles and handguns after 2019 killed 23 people at one of its stores in El Paso, Texas. The company stopped selling semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 style rifle in 2015 raised the minimum age Buy firearms between the ages of 18 and 21 in 2018.