The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced that Indiana Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has been charged with carrying a firearm through Dulles airport security. Spartz, 45, was charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia law following the incident where Transportation Security Administration officers discovered an unloaded .380-caliber firearm in her carry-on luggage on June 28. Her office explained that the handgun was mistakenly packed in her suitcase as she was en route to attend a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

It is a requirement for passengers to declare and pack firearms in a hard-sided case within their checked baggage if they wish to travel with them. Despite the incident, Spartz was issued a citation and proceeded with her international flight. Notably, Spartz, who is the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress, made headlines for her recent decision to vote against sending war aid to Ukraine, marking a change from her previous stance during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.