Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 3:40 PMTo: Yeatman, Erin (SAA)
Subject: Arrest In Russell Bldg.
A man entered the Lower Delaware & C Street Door of the RSOB at approximately 10:50 a.m. An administrative search (x-ray machine) revealed that he was in possession of a loaded pistol with 2 additional fully loaded magazines. It was determined that he did not have a license to carry a pistol in the District of Columbia. He was in possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition. He was subsequently placed under arrest and charged with Carrying a Pistol Without a License, Unregistered Firearm and Unregistered Ammunition.
Sgt. Kimberly Schneider
Public Information Officer
Webb's office responds:
To our knowledge, this incident was an oversight by the Senator's aide. Phillip Thompson is a former Marine, a long-term friend and trusted employee of the Senator. We are still awaiting facts.
And, it would appear, that it wasn't Thompson's pistol...
A congressional official briefed on the incident said Webb gave the gun to Thompson when the assistant drove him to an airport earlier in the day. Thompson, upon entering the Senate building, forgot he was carrying the weapon.
Heh. As I understand it - guess who gets to go through security *without* being checked? Members of Congress. Remember the brou-ha-ha over Cynthia McKinney getting stopped? Can one infer from this that the good Senator goes about his daily business of governance... armed? Doesn't bother me, personally. Except... well, it *would* be illegal, that being a Federal Building and all, and the semi-official position of the Democrat party being that one should rely on the police for their protection, one needn't go armed anywhere, ever, because, well, you know, the police will take care of that for you.
Be interesting to see how this all plays out. It will give some insight into Senator Webb, how the press will react to the Democrat majority on the issue, and how the Democrats are going to act on the issue of firearms - especially in context of the recent DC district court ruling.
That said - if you're going to carry, you've got to keep your situational awareness up. There isn't a federal government building anywhere where it's legal to carry concealed. It will be too bad if this gets an otherwise good man ground up - yet, at the same time, is Thompson any more deserving of special consideration than any other good decent DC citizen or visitor caught up in the same situation?
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