A federal judge will consider dismissing a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the 2023 Lewiston mass shooting, after hearing a motion filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ.)
U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker held the hearing in Portland on Thursday, October 8, where the DOJ argued that federal law protects the government from liability for the shootings. The man who carried out the massacre, Andrew Card, was a U.S. Army reservist whose mental health had dramatically declined in the months prior to the attack, according to his family.
Survivors of the shootings filed the lawsuit in 2025, alleging that the U.S. Army could have intervened to stop Card before it was too late. According to the plaintiffs, “By March 2023, the United States knew Card was paranoid, delusional, violent, and lacked impulse control. The Army knew he had access to firearms. The Army promised to remove his guns but did not fulfill that promise.” Card had been hospitalized by the Army in July 2023 due to his mental health problems, and Army Reserve officials have stated that he was not monitored to ensure he was taking his medication.
In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the DOJ claimed that Army decisions regarding Card’s medical care were individual judgment calls allowed under federal law. The department also argued that the plaintiffs’ claim regarding Card’s access to guns was incorrect, stating that his hospitalization did not legally prohibit him from owning firearms.
The Lewiston mass shooting was the deadliest in Maine history, and led to a push for gun control in the state, which has historically been friendly to gun owners. In 2025, Maine voters approved a red flag law that allows family members to ask a judge to temporarily confiscate weapons from someone deemed a risk to themself or others.
Notably, Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, argued against voting for the law, claiming that it would create an unnecessary new process that would not improve public safety. Mills is a supporter of the state’s yellow flag law, which allows law enforcement, not family members, to ask a judge to remove weapons from individuals deemed a safety risk.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
