So what happened? He was traveling with his wife on vacation, flying from San Francisco to the Hong Kong airport, and says he didn't realize his firearm, a pistol, was in his briefcase when he went through US security at the airport. He realized his unloaded weapon was in his briefcase when he was ON THE PLANE, which means he made it through security with a firearm - which is not a good thing. He was traveling with his wife on a five week vacation. I guess if senators are taking 5 weeks off, that partially explains why nothing ever seems to get done with government, right?
CBS News reported on the lawmaker arrested in Hong Kong, saying the following a breaking news story:
Possession of arms or ammunition without a license in Hong Kong carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$100,000 ($12,800) fine. A Hong Kong magistrate on Monday granted Wilson's bail, confiscated his travel documents, and ordered him not to leave the city, according to Hong Kong broadsheet Sing Tao Daily.
In a statement, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it was "aware that a passenger on a flight departing from Portland International Airport (PDX) Saturday (10/21) passed through security and traveled with an unloaded firearm in his carry-on bag," and that it was "currently investigating the circumstances."
"TSA officers nationwide are catching firearms at checkpoints," the agency noted, with a warning that traveling with a gun could prove an "expensive mistake for those who are stopped at checkpoints," as in can carry a fine of up to $15,000.The TSA said in January that it had confiscated more than 6,542 firearms from airport passengers in 2022 — the highest number it had ever recorded.
Washington state's Senate Republican leader John Braun said he was watching the situation closely and hoped it would be resolved in a timely manner.
"We are learning about the incident with (Wilson) at the same time as the press and public here in America. As I understand it, this was an honest mistake," Braun wrote in a statement.
Trending Politics reported on the lawmaker arrested in China as well, adding some more information about the senator arrested in China.
Photo: Hamedog, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons