Capitol Police arrested one of Senator Cory Booker’s staffers on Monday evening for carrying a pistol without a license on Capitol grounds.

The arrest occurred as the New Jersey lawmaker began a nearly-18 hour long floor speech in opposition to President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The staffer, identified by police as 59-year-old Kevin Batts, was arrested after authorities learned outside of the Senate galleries that he was armed. Booker reportedly guided Batts around security screening earlier on Monday.

“Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed,” a Capitol Police spokesman said on Tuesday.

“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.”

Members are allowed to bypass security screening, and occasionally, although it is discouraged, staffers and guests who accompany them skirt around security as well.

“Senator Booker’s office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events,” Jeff Giertz, a spokesperson for Booker, said this week. “We are working to better understand the circumstances around this.”

In 2016, Booker posted a video of Batts on Instagram, and said that “Kevin Batts has been a friend and team member since 2006 when I became mayor and even before.” Batts “spent 6 years in the United States army reserves and then joined the Newark Police Department and became a detective in 2004,” Booker added in the post.

A gun control advocate, Booker introduced in 2019, then reintroduced in 2023, a federal firearm licensing act.

“If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to own and use a gun,” Booker said in a statement in 2023. “Data shows that states that have implemented licensing laws have significantly reduced gun-related deaths. This legislation would mirror this common-sense idea at the federal level and enhance public safety by ensuring that individuals seeking to purchase firearms pass a standard background check and are properly trained before obtaining a required license.”

Civilians are banned from carrying firearms on Capitol grounds regardless of whether they have a license to carry.