House administrative staffer charged after carrying gun on Capitol Hill
Jeffrey Allsbrooks told police he forgot the weapon was in his bag
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Your support makes all the difference.A staffer with a nonpartisan administrative office on Capitol Hill was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license on Thursday after a handgun was found in his bag at a security X-ray checkpoint.
The incident occurred in the Longworth office building, where members of the House of Representatives have offices. The staffer arrested was 57-year-old Jeffrey Allsbrooks, an employee of the House Chief Administrative Office, which serves as an administrative and technical support office for members.
US Capitol Police announced the news in a press release, stating that Mr Allsbrooks admitted to officers that the gun was his while claiming that he had forgotten it was in his bag when he took it through security. Firearms are heavily regulated in Washington DC, and mostly prohibited in the Capitol complex.
According to the news release, four minutes elapsed between the time officers recognised a gun in Mr Allsbrooks’ bag, and the moment he was arrested. Capitol Police added in the department’s statement that “[t]his case remains under investigation and the Department is looking into what happened before, during and after those four minutes.”
The Longworth House Office Building was briefly locked down as a result of the confusion, but reopened normally following the disturbance, which took place around 7.40 a.m.
While firearms are generally prohibited on Capitol Hill except in the hands of law enforcement, some members of Congress have opted to obtain Washington DC concealed-carry permits allowing them to carry firearms in the complex.
Rep Lauren Boebert, a far-right member known for her offensive statements about Muslims including some of her fellow members of Congress, made headlines earlier this year when she refused to allow Capitol Police to search her bag while she was apparently carrying a weapon. She later confirmed through staff that she had received a concealed-carry permit, and “proudly helped some of her colleagues receive this permit as well”.
Security on Capitol Hill was tightened and metal detectors installed around the complex after the deadly riot on 6 January 2021, when hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump battled with law enforcement and breached the Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of his 2020 election defeat.
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