Source: (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has been charged with a weapons violation at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority confirmed to I-Team 8 that Spartz was charged Friday. The spokesperson says Spartz received a summons to appear in a court in Virginia. Additional details were not immediately available.
The office of Victoria Spartz released a statement Monday afternoon:
“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. Rep. Spartz was issued a citation and proceeded on her international flight to the OSCE PA meeting in Europe.”
“As a member of Congress, Victoria Spartz should be well aware of the fact that you can’t carry a gun – loaded or unloaded – past airport security. Despite this, she carried a weapon in her carry-on bag in violation of federal law,” said Indiana Democratic Party Executive Director Dayna Colbert.
“It’s clear from her time in Congress that Spartz doesn’t like following rules. The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into her treatment of staff just last month, and claimed the government was attacking children during the riots at the Capitol on January 6th. Hoosiers simply deserve better than the constant embarrassment coming from Rep. Spartz’s lack of leadership. It’s time to retire her this November.”
The 45-year-old from Noblesville serves the Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. The district includes Hamilton County and other counties north and northeast of Indianapolis.
She is seeking re-election in November’s election. She fended off eight rivals in the May Republican primary just months after she decided to run for reelection in a campaign that focused attention on her opposition to sending aid to her native Ukraine. She is the first and only Ukrainian-born member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Original article by WISH-TV Channel 8 in Indianapolis.
