GOP Congresswoman Charged With Airport Weapons Violation

A Republican congresswoman was charged with a weapons violation Friday after allegedly carrying a gun into Virginia's Washington Dulles International Airport. GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana was on her way from the Washington, DC, area to Romania for a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, NBC News reports. She was issued a citation after the firearm was allegedly found in her luggage, but was allowed to continue on to her flight, CNN reports. Under Virginia law, it is illegal to "possess or transport" a number of dangerous weapons "into any air carrier airport terminal." The violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A spokesperson for Spartz says in a statement that the lawmaker, who is the first Ukrainian-born immigrant to serve in Congress, "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." A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson says, "TSA officers at IAD detected a .380 caliber firearm during passenger security screening. The firearm was unloaded and in the individual's carry-on bag." Spartz is currently running for re-election in her solidly Republican district, and won her primary in May. (More Dulles stories.)