Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) was charged with a weapons violation after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Dulles International Airport (IAD) found a firearm in her carry-on.
Spartz, who is Ukrainian-born, was charged on Friday with violating a Virginia law that prohibits carrying a weapon in an airport terminal, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) confirmed to Breitbart News.
Under Virginia law § 18.2-287.01, it is “unlawful for any person to possess or transport into any air carrier airport terminal in the Commonwealth any (i) gun or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind, (ii) frame, receiver, muffler, silencer, missile, projectile or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon, and (iii) any other dangerous weapon, including explosives,” and “stun weapons.”
A spokesperson for the TSA confirmed to Breitbart News that “officers at IAD detected a .380 caliber firearm during passenger security screening.”
“The firearm was unloaded and in the individual’s carry-on bag,” the TSA spokesperson said. The TSA spokesperson noted that the TSA “does not confirm the name of passengers.”
The spokesperson provided background information that stated that “passengers may travel with a firearm,” however, it must be “secured in the passenger’s checked baggage,” “packed unloaded,” “locked in a hard-sided case,” and “declared to the airline when checking the bag at the ticket counter.”
“Last Friday, Rep. Spartz accidentally carried an empty handgun in her suitcase with no magazine or bullets, which she did not realize was in the pocket of her suitcase while going through security at Dulles airport,” Spartz’s office said in a statement to the New York Post.
Spartz has represented Indiana’s Fifth Congressional District since 2021. In May, she won the Republican primary as she seeks another term in Congress, according to the Hill.
Breitbart News reached out to Spartz for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
