Cory Booker personally walked his armed staffer around a Capitol security checkpoint last year – and nobody in Washington blinked.
Now a top aide to Pete Sessions is facing felony charges for doing something millions of law-abiding Americans do every day.
What he told investigators about how it happened exposes the rule Congress wrote for everyone but themselves.
How a Congressional Gun Loophole Let a Loaded Pistol Through Capitol Security
Luis Angel Vega – Sessions' chief of staff and the man now facing two felony counts – wasn't stopped at the door.
Capitol security officers spotted the pistol and ammunition when Vega's bag passed through an X-ray scanner shortly before 6:30 a.m. at a House office building entrance.
Officers told Vega to return the bag to his car and come back for a second screening.
He did – and cleared it.
Guards found nothing on the second pass and waved him through.
What the court documents reveal is why Vega thought he could get away with it in the first place.
Vega told Capitol Police that he usually enters the Capitol complex alongside Pete Sessions – and Sessions, like all members of Congress, is exempt from security screenings entirely.
"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 filings state.
His standard move was to skip the magnetometers by walking in behind his boss.
Sessions himself is not charged, accused of wrongdoing, or implicated in the firearm incident.
No Gun License? No Problem — If You Work for a Member of Congress
Here's what should fire you up.
Democrats have spent years demanding background checks, red flag laws, and magazine limits for the American public.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the people writing those laws walk around metal detectors freely – and their top aides know exactly how to exploit that access.
This isn't a one-off.
In 2025, Sen. Cory Booker personally walked his own staffer around a U.S. Capitol Police security checkpoint at the Hart Senate Office Building – bypassing the magnetometers entirely.
That staffer was later found to be carrying an unlicensed pistol.
Also in 2025, a staffer for Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles was arrested for attempting to bring a loaded handgun through security – and told police he had successfully brought the weapon onto the Hill the day before without being stopped.
The pattern is the same every time: congressional member exemptions from screening create predictable blind spots, and staffers use them.
The people demanding you prove you deserve your Second Amendment rights have built themselves a system where the rules simply don't apply.
Luis Vega Faces Felony Gun Charges Months After Capitol Incident
Vega – Sessions' chief of staff and top aide – was formally charged Wednesday with two felony counts: carrying a pistol outside his home without a license and unlawful conduct on Capitol grounds, according to court documents.
He appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Friday in handcuffs, still wearing his work clothes from the morning.
A judge cut him loose without bail.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. has offered no explanation for why charges took nearly six months to arrive after the December 22 incident – and Sessions' office has not returned requests for comment.
The Capitol Security Exemption That Lets Staffers Bypass Metal Detectors
Capitol Police have acknowledged attempts to strengthen screening procedures after a string of incidents.
The exemptions that let members bypass checkpoints entirely remain in place.
Think about that.
The same lawmakers who want to restrict what firearms you can own, how you store them, and where you can carry them have preserved for themselves an express lane around the very security measures they tout as essential.
Vega walked a pistol and ammunition into one of the most secured buildings in America by exploiting a loophole built for his boss.
Until Congress closes the member exemption that makes this possible, nothing changes – and they know it.
Sources:
- Fernando Cervantes Jr., "Pete Sessions' chief of staff charged with bringing gun into Capitol complex," USA TODAY, June 5, 2026.
- Newsmax Staff, "Rep. Sessions' Chief of Staff Charged in D.C. Gun Case," Newsmax, June 5, 2026.
- Mychael Schnell, "Chief of staff for Rep. Pete Sessions faces gun charges," The Hill, June 5, 2026.
- Emily Brooks, "Senate staffer arrested for carrying unlicensed pistol in the Capitol," Roll Call, April 1, 2025.
- Fox News Staff, "Cory Booker staffer arrested for allegedly carrying pistol without license at Capitol," Fox News, April 2025.
