Judge blocks plans to post blueprints for printing 3D weapons on the internet

A U.S. judge in Seattle has blocked the Trump administration from allowing a Texas company to post online plans for making untraceable 3D guns.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had sought an injunction to stop a settlement that the government had reached with Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed.

The states, including California, argued that online access to the undetectable plastic guns would pose a security risk and could be acquired by felons or terrorists.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik agreed Monday, saying the government's actions, "Not only impact national security but have domestic repercussions as well."

The State Department had reached the deal with the company after the agency removed the 3D gun-making plans from a list of weapons or technical data that are not allowed to be exported.

After the injunction was granted California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said, "When the Trump Administration inexplicably gave the green light to distribute on the internet blueprints of 3D-printed, untraceable ghost guns, it needlessly endangered our children, our loved ones and our men and women in law enforcement. The Trump Administration's actions were dangerous and incompetent. Today's ruling should serve as a wake-up call to the Administration: if you continue to sabotage law enforcement's work to keep communities safe, we will hold you accountable."

Becerra was part of the coalition of 20 Attorneys General who argued for the injunction.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.