INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz has been charged with carrying a firearm through airport security, authorities said Monday.
Spartz, 45, was charged with a first-degree felony under Virginia law, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reported Monday.
A TSA spokesman said agents found an unloaded .380 caliber firearm in Spartz’s carry-on bag during security screening at Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday.
Her office said in a statement that Spartz accidentally had an unloaded firearm in the pocket of her suitcase when she went through security on her way to a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Europe.
“Rep. Spartz was issued a ticket and continued on her international flight,” the statement said.
TSA allows passengers to travel with a firearm, but it must be declared to the airline and packed in a hard-shell case in the passenger’s checked baggage. Firearms are prohibited at security checkpoints.
If convicted, the charge could result in a prison sentence of up to one year and a $2,500 fine.
The two-term congresswoman from central Indiana won a contentious and competitive primary in May after indicating she would not seek re-election in 2023.
Spartz — a Trump-aligned, Second Amendment-supporting Republican — is the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress. However, she recently voted against sending war aid to the country, a reversal from her position when Russia invaded Ukraine.
