A congressional staffer for Sen. Cory Booker was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license after being escorted into the U.S. Capitol by a member of Congress and allowed to bypass security by the New Jersey Democrat himself, Fox News has learned.
Booker led the aide around a U.S. Capitol Police security checkpoint on Monday night, later resulting in the arrest. Capitol Police officers are required to check aides and others at checkpoints, regardless if they are with a member of Congress.
The United States Capitol Police said in a statement, “Yesterday afternoon, a Member of Congress led an ID’ed 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.
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Booker at the U.S. Capitol March 11, 2025 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. 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,” the statement continued.
The incident is one of several instances where officers appear to not have followed proper protocols for security inspections at the Capitol in recent months.
Batts is listed as a “special assistant” to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Legistorm, a research entity that routinely updates salaries and information about lawmakers and their staffs.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Booker spokesperson Jeff Giertz said, “Sen. Booker’s office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this.”
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The U.S. Capitol (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In 2016, Booker shared a video of Batts on social media, identifying Batts as a former detective in Newark. At the time, Batts said he had worked for either the city of Newark or Booker’s office for 28 years.
“Kevin Batts has been a friend and team member since 2006 when I became mayor and even before,” the senator wrote on Instagram. “I so deeply appreciate his steadfast friendship, incredible dedication to Newark and now his service to the state. Kevin was raised in Columbus Homes projects in Newark, then spent 6 years in the United States army reserves and then joined the Newark Police Department and became a detective in 2004.
“In 2006, he joined my security detail as a member of Newark’s executive protection unit. In 2013 he joined my Senate staff. I am truly blessed by his friendship and loyal hard work.”
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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee markup at Hart Building May 11, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Booker also mentioned Batts in a 2017 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania.
“And as I told my driver, an incredible officer named Kevin Batts, retired from the Newark Police Department, joined my staff because of our friendship and our bond, I said to him, “Kev, we’re almost home but do you mind? We have to swing through the drive-thru,” he said.
Batts’ arrest comes as Booker continues to break records for one of the longest floor speeches in American Senate history.
The senator, who began speaking Monday night, now holds the fourth-longest Senate floor speeches, recently surpassing Sen. Robert La Follette, R-Wis., who spoke for 18 hours and 23 minutes in 1908.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during votes in the U.S. Capitol Dec. 5, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Next up is the record held by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whose speech against Obamacare in 2013 went on for 21 hours and 19 minutes.
The record holder is Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against a civil rights bill in 1957.
If Booker continues to speak, he will break Thurmond’s record around 7:19 pm Eastern time on Tuesday night.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.