The Justice Department’s top official in charge of civil rights has joined the legal battle over Illinois’ controversial assault weapons ban, and is expected to personally argue against the law this month before the federal appeals court in Chicago.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed late last week to hear from Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights. A group challenging Illinois’ gun law agreed to cede five minutes of its time before the court to Dhillon, records show.

It’s “extremely unusual” for the Justice Department “to treat Second Amendment rights as civil rights and advocate for them in such a direct and personal way at the appellate level,” Hannah Hill, vice president of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, told the Chic

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