Tea-party leader shocked by arrest on gun charges :: 12/19/2011

Faces up to 15 years in prison, despite concealed-carry permit

Mark Meckler, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, one of the largest and most prominent tea-party groups, was arrested today at New York City's LaGuardia Airport on a gun charge - despite showing police his pistol permit and explaining that the weapon is registered in California.

"Mark Meckler, an attorney and national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, who holds a concealed-carry permit from the state of California, today was charged with a firearms violation at LaGuardia Airport in New York City," said Brian Stapleton, Meckler's lawyer, in a statement.

"While in temporary transit through the state of New York in possession of an unloaded, lawful firearm that was locked in a (Transportation Security Administration)-approved safe, he legally declared his possession of the firearm in his checked baggage at the ticket counter as required by law and in a manner approved by TSA and the airline, yet was arrested by port authority for said possession," Stapleton said.