Lawton Man Sentenced to 57 Months for Illegal Possession of 11 Firearms Under Protective Order
A federal judge sentenced a Lawton, Oklahoma, man to 57 months in prison for possessing 11 firearms while subject to a court protective order. The conviction triggers a lifetime federal firearms prohibition and requires three years of supervised release upon completion of the prison term.
foxnews.comA federal judge sentenced Lawton resident Christopher D. Goforth to 57 months in prison for illegally possessing 11 firearms while subject to a protective order, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on June 3, 2026.
Goforth, 40, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to one count of possession of a firearm while subject to a court order, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). The sentence includes three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Court records show Goforth possessed six handguns, four rifles and one shotgun.
The conviction carries a lifetime ban on firearm possession under federal law. Upon release, Goforth must also pay a $100 special assessment to the federal crime victims fund.
The case forms part of routine federal enforcement of prohibitions on firearm possession by individuals under domestic-violence protective orders. Federal law bars such persons from shipping, transporting, possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition.
The statute applies once a court issues an order that restrains the individual from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner or child, after notice and hearing.
This sentencing concludes one prosecution under the statute in the Western District of Oklahoma. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma handled the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
The original protective order remains in effect. Federal courts have imposed similar sentences in other districts for violations of the same statute in the past 24 months, typically ranging from 18 to 60 months depending on criminal history and number of firearms recovered.
Congress enacted the core prohibition in the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. The law has produced thousands of federal prosecutions since passage. No legislation currently pending in Congress would alter the scope of the 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) prohibition.
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