Cedar Rapids Felon Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm

A felon who possessed a firearm was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.

Anthony Rush, age 32, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence after a September 28, 2020 guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  At the plea hearing, Rush admitted that, in May 2020, he knowingly possessed a .380 auto caliber pistol.  The record at the sentencing hearing established that defendant ran from Cedar Rapids police officers and discarded a loaded pistol before being arrested.  Rush was convicted of attempted burglary in the second degree in Linn County in 2012. 

Rush was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Rush was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/download?inline.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 20-62.

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