BREAKING: Dem Staffer Caught Trying to Smuggle Ammo Cache Into Cannon House

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Well, this is a bit odd. The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a congressional staffer on Monday morning after he was caught trying to smuggle ammo into the Cannon House Office Building.

The staffer works for Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), who currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is the Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration.

The USCP said in a statement:

At approximately 8:45 a.m., a House staffer entered the Cannon House Office Building and put his bag through screening. USCP officers noticed what appeared to be ammunition on the x-ray screen. After a hand search of the bag, officers found four ammunition magazines and eleven rounds of ammunition. The staffer told the officers that he forgot the ammunition was in the bag. 38-year-old Michael Hopkins was arrested, and he is facing charges for unlawful possession of ammunition, including one charge for possession of a high-capacity magazine.”

Perhaps he “forgot” about the ammo in the same way I’ve forgotten which lake my AR-15s disappeared into after that tragic boating accident last year. Or maybe it was just an innocent mistake, and he didn’t remember the four mags bumping around in the bottom of his gym bag.

Nevertheless, it’s not clear whether Hopkins is licensed to carry a firearm in the notoriously strict District of Columbia. Even if he does possess a license to carry, he may not be permitted to possess ammo outside the confines of his home or place of business, according to a D.C. criminal defense attorney:

When a person’s firearm is registered, they can keep ammunition for that firearm at their home or place of business. However, if they are found to be in possession of that ammunition outside of their home or place of business and they do not have the proper licensing to do that, they can be still charged with the crime. A separate license is required to carry the firearm and ammunition for that firearm outside of someone’s home or place of business.

Morelle’s office said in a statement on Monday:

This morning, our office was informed that a member of our staff was arrested by Capitol Police. We are currently gathering more information regarding the circumstances of the arrest. Our office is fully committed to cooperating with the investigation. As Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, Congressman Morelle is devoted to ensuring a safe and secure workplace for all.

According to his House bio, Morelle is a member of the Gun Violence Task Force, which makes this a little awkward, no? (He’s also a member of the “Wine Caucus,” which I didn’t know existed until one minute ago.)

On his Issues page, Morelle touted his tough stance on firearms and insisted, “I’ve spent my entire career fighting for gun reform and it’s one of my top priorities in Congress. Together we have made progress, but there is still so much work to do to keep families safe.”

The suspect, Michael Hopkins, is listed as Morelle’s communications director. He’s also worked for Charlie Cris (ew) and the Hillary for America campaign. Lately, he’s been tweeting/retweeting a lot about trans bathrooms in Congress and congressional offices. Make of that what you will.

It’ll be interesting to see if the leftist media covers this story. If it were, say, someone who worked for Matt Gaetz, this story would be headline news with wall-to-wall coverage. Don’t hold your breath. Whatever happens, you can count on PJ Media to bring you stories that matter throughout this coming year (and for however long the tech gods allow us to exist). If you’re not yet a PJ Media VIP member, why not sign up today? We’re having a tremendous Cyber Monday sale with 47% off when you use the promo code POTUS47. That takes the price down to $2.16 per month for standard membership and less than $4 per month for VIP Gold! That code expires at midnight, so don’t wait. If you’re already a VIP member, thank you! Please consider a gift subscription for a friend or family member who needs to be in the loop.