Democrats are already reeling. Now this scandal is setting them even further back.
Because this Democrat arrest in Congress has dropped jaws all across Washington, D.C.
Democrats’ Gun Control Hypocrisy Explodes as Booker Staffer Caught Armed on Capitol Grounds
The sanctimonious preaching of Democrat Senator Cory Booker about the evils of guns has just been drowned out by the sound of handcuffs clicking shut. One of his senior staffers, Kevin A. Batts, was nabbed this week for toting a firearm onto the Capitol grounds—exposing the glaring hypocrisy of a party that loves to wag its finger at law-abiding gun owners while its own ranks flout the rules. For years, Booker has built his brand as a crusader for gun control, but this incident rips the mask off the Democrats’ anti-gun charade.
The drama unfolded Monday evening when U.S. Capitol Police caught Batts, a special assistant to the New Jersey senator, packing heat without a license to carry on the premises. According to the police statement, “Yesterday afternoon, a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building.” Later that night, outside the Senate Galleries, Batts—a retired law enforcement officer—fessed up to being armed. Whether Booker himself was the one who ushered Batts past security remains a juicy unanswered question, but the timing couldn’t be more poetic.
Capitol Police didn’t mince words about the rules: “All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia.” No exceptions, no excuses. Batts’ status as a former cop didn’t save him, and neither did any out-of-state concealed carry permit he might have been banking on. The law is clear, and he broke it—plain and simple.
The arrest went down just as Booker launched into a marathon speech on the Senate floor, railing on through the night. Coincidence? Maybe. But it’s hard not to smirk at the irony of a gun-control zealot’s aide getting busted while the boss pontificates to the nation. Capitol Police kept their lips sealed beyond the initial statement, leaving us to wonder what other details might be lurking in the shadows of this scandal.
Batts isn’t some low-level flunky—he’s a trusted insider. A profile on the Legistorm platform lists him as a special assistant to Booker, and the senator himself has gushed about their bond. In a video on his public Facebook page, Booker calls an individual named Kevin Batts “my friend.” That’s right—the guy caught with a gun is more than just a staffer; he’s a pal. Makes you wonder how much Booker knew about his buddy’s armed stroll through the Capitol.
For years, Booker has been a loudmouth champion of gun control, pushing policies that would choke Second Amendment rights under layers of red tape. Take his pet project, the Federal Firearm Licensing Act, which he’s filed repeatedly. It demands a federal license for anyone wanting to buy or receive a gun, complete with background checks run by the Department of Justice and renewals every five years. Booker’s argument? “The epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings continues to claim the lives of thousands of innocent Americans every year,” he declared in 2023. “If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to own and use a gun.”
The senator’s bill would hand the Attorney General power to dig into your past before you could touch a firearm, while the FBI would play babysitter with periodic compliance checks. Booker’s all about control—except, apparently, when it comes to his own team. He even cheered Joe Biden’s September 2024 executive order pushing federal agencies to tackle “emerging firearms threats” and school shootings. Yet here’s his own staffer, caught red-handed, proving the rules don’t apply when it’s inconvenient.
Booker’s office clammed up when asked for a comment by reporters. No surprise there—silence is the go-to move when the hypocrisy gets too thick to spin. But this isn’t an isolated incident. The Capitol has seen a string of firearm slip-ups lately, and they’re piling up like spent shell casings. On March 4, the day Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, a GOP staffer got pinched at a House office building entrance with a loaded handgun in his bag. Back in December, another staffer, Michael Hopkins, tried sneaking ammo and a high-capacity magazine through a secure House entrance. He claimed he “forgot” they were in his bag—sure, pal.
Hopkins, who worked as communications director for Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., got the boot after his arrest and now faces charges for unlawful possession. These incidents paint a picture of a Capitol where staffers—on both sides of the aisle—treat gun laws like suggestions. But it’s the Democrats’ holier-than-thou attitude that makes their missteps so deliciously damning. They want to strip you of your rights while their own people can’t seem to follow the rules they preach.
The Capitol Police, meanwhile, are under fire themselves after congressional investigators exposed gaping security holes tied to the Jan. 6 riots. A number of outlets reported on officers abandoning a bag of plastic handcuffs—later snatched by protesters—leaving a door unlocked for rioters to waltz through, and ignoring intelligence warnings before the chaos erupted. Protecting Congress and its grounds is their job, but they’ve stumbled hard. Maybe that’s why staffers like Batts think they can saunter in armed—lax enforcement breeds arrogance.
So where does this leave Booker and his anti-gun crusade? With egg on his face, for starters. He’s spent years painting gun owners as reckless threats to society, yet his own inner circle can’t keep their hands off the hardware. The Democrats love to play the moral superiority card, but when push comes to shove, they’re just as tangled in the gun mess as anyone else. Batts’ arrest isn’t just a personal embarrassment—it’s a neon sign flashing the party’s double standards.
This scandal should spark a reckoning, but don’t hold your breath. The left’s gun-control gospel is too entrenched, and Booker’s too slick to let a little thing like hypocrisy derail his agenda. He’ll likely dodge, deflect, and keep sermonizing about the evils of firearms—while hoping we forget his “friend” got caught with one. The rest of us, though, can see the truth: Democrats aren’t above the fray; they’re just better at pretending.
In the end, this story isn’t about one staffer’s screw-up—it’s about a party that demands you surrender your rights while its own players break the very laws they champion. Booker’s anti-gun rhetoric rings hollow now, drowned out by the clank of a gun hitting the Capitol floor. The hypocrisy is on full display, and it’s a sight to behold.
The Federalist Wire will update you on any further updates after the arrest of Sen. Booker’s staffer.
