A longtime staffer for Senator Cory Booker (D-NY) was arrested Monday for illegally carrying a firearm on Capitol grounds, according to a statement from U.S. Capitol Police.
The staffer, identified as 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was taken into custody after admitting to officers he was armed while inside the Senate office complex. Batts, a retired police detective and currently listed as a “special assistant” to Booker on Legistorm, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license.
“Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. “Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed.”
“The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia.”
The arrest unfolded just as Sen. Booker was making headlines for his own reasons—delivering an overnight marathon