Local prosecutors dropped a weapons charge against Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) for bringing a firearm to Dulles International Airport over the summer, court records show.
Spartz was scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charge on Friday, but the case docket was updated to enter a nolle prosequi, a legal term that translates to “not to wish to prosecute.”
In a statement, the congresswoman’s office said she completed a gun safety training after the incident.
“It’s an automatic charge under Virginia law regardless of the circumstance, but since it was an innocent mistake, it was dismissed by the prosecutor after the Congresswoman completed a gun safety course,” the statement read.
The Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not return requests for comment.
The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) had said it detected an unloaded .380 caliber firearm in Spartz’s carry-on bag while she was being screened on June 28 at Dulles Airport, which is located in the Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital.
At the time, Spartz’s office confirmed the incident and described it as an accident, noting that she still went on to travel to Europe for her scheduled meeting after being issued a citation.
She was charged with carrying a weapon in an airport terminal, a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia that could’ve carried a sentence of up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Spartz, who was first elected in 2020, represents Indiana’s 5th Congressional district.
The TSA discovered 3,269 firearms during the first half of this calendar year, which is roughly even with the same period a year prior even as passenger totals increased, according to the agency’s data.
