The chief of staff for Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, was charged Wednesday with bringing a firearm into the US Capitol complex, in response to court docket paperwork obtained by NCS.
Luis Angel Vega appeared in DC Superior Court Friday on the fees, which stem from an alleged incident in December.
Vega faces two counts: carrying a gun exterior his house with out a license and carrying a firearm onto the Capitol grounds.
He was in handcuffs and his white button-down shirt was untucked. A decide launched him with out setting bail.
In December, Capitol safety officers discovered the black pistol and ammunition Vega allegedly carried when he despatched his bag via a safety checkpoint on the entrance of a House workplace constructing that’s half of the Capitol complex, the court docket paperwork mentioned. They then instructed Vega to lock up the firearm in his automobile after which return for his bag to be re-screened, which he did, in response to the filings.
The charging paperwork describe a phone interview that US Capitol Police performed with Vega a week after the alleged December 22 episode. Vega instructed the police officer that he didn’t have a license to hold the pistol, in response to the court docket filings, and that often he enters the House workplace constructing with Sessions — referred to was “Witness-1” within the paperwork — who’s exempt from being screened by the mags.
“The day of the offense was out of the ordinary in that Witness-1 entered the building separately from the defendant and the defendant forgot there was a pistol in his bag,” the court docket filings mentioned.
It shouldn’t be clear why the warrant for Vega’s arrest was issued months after the incident, prompting his first court docket look set for Friday.
NCS reached out to Session’s workplace for remark. A lawyer for Vega has not but been recognized.
The US Capitol Police didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
The US Attorney’s Office declined to remark Friday on its choice to cost the case.
Vega’s subsequent court docket look is ready for June 10.
NCS’s Ellis Kim contributed to this report.
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