Mayor Avula says Office of Gun Violence Prevention won’t be affected as DOJ cancels grants

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said his new Office of Gun Violence Prevention won’t be affected by federal grant cuts.

On Wednesday, April 23, the Department of Justice (DOJ) canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in grant awards to local governments and community organizations.

According to the DOJ's Office of Justice programs, the canceled awards did not align with the Trump administration’s priorities.

Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media, saying the DOJ started cutting millions of dollars in quote “wasteful” spending.

Mayor Avula said that, funding the city receives from the state and local budgets are reasons why they won’t be impacted. However, Avula also said the extent of cuts in Richmond isn’t clear.

“I think maybe some of the impacts may end up impacting like, academic institutions, VCU as one example, but we have not gotten a full analysis of what other partners are impacted by any federal cuts at this time,” Avula said.

Virginia Moms for Change, a bipartisan group of mothers advocating for gun violence prevention, could see effects from cuts. President Sarah Kaufman called the decision ironic.

“It's appalling at how little progress the leadership of this country has made in addressing this issue,” Kaufman said. “I think it's a moral failure to our children and providing them with a safe future to grow up within. I think it's a failure of leadership. As a private citizen, I'm confused on how you can take away funding that was already allocated.”

8news reached out to the DOJ to see if they have any alternatives to help local groups combat gun violence and haven’t heard back.