While New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was causing good trouble on the Senate floor, one of his staffers was getting in some real trouble outside the room. Capitol Police led him away in handcuffs over what he tried to bring in the building.
A representative for the U.S. Capitol Police tells The New York Post that a member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening in the Hart Senate Office Building on Monday, April 1. However, later that evening, the staff member in question told officers he was armed.
The staffer was identified as 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts, a retired Newark law enforcement officer and allegedly one of Sen. Booker’s best friends, according to a dated social media post. The two had been working together since 2014, gaining him the nickname of “The Batt Man.” In a statement, Booker’s spokesperson told The Post Batts was a retired detective who drives for Booker and often comes to events with him.
However, another post from Booker suggests the two go wayyyy back.
“Kevin Batts has been a friend and team member since 2006 when I became mayor and even before. I so deeply appreciate his steadfast friendship, incredible dedication to Newark and now his service to the state,” Booker said in a January 2016 Instagram post.
At the time of the arrest, Booker was already over 12 hours into his stride toward breaking the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s filibuster record from 1957. It’s unclear how Batts got through security in the first place but the authorities made it clear the gun was a big no-no.
“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,” authorities say, per the report.