Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour arrested with gun at airport
Haley Barbour
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour  says  he  will pay a fine after being arrested with a loaded handgun in  his  briefcase as  he  went through an airport security checkpoint.
Barbour -- Republican National Committee chairman in the mid-1990s and governor from 2004-12 -- told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was trying to board a flight Jan. 2 from  Jackson  to Washington. He said he forgot he was carrying the gun  which he had put in his briefcase after an assistant removed it from his car days earlier.
"This was absentmindedness and nobody's fault but mine " said  Barbour   70  who lives in Mississippi and frequently travels to Washington for  his  job as a lobbyist.
Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said a TSA officer working at an X-ray machine at a checkpoint at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport spotted a .38-caliber revolver  loaded with five bullets  in a passenger's carry-on bag. TSA contacted airport police  who arrested the passenger. The TSA would not release the passenger's name  but Farbstein confirmed it was a former governor  and  Barbour  confirmed to AP that it was he.
 Barbour  said  he  did not dispute Farbstein's use of the word "arrest " though  he  said  he  was not handcuffed and no mugshot photo was taken.  Barbour  described the TSA officers and the airport police as "very nice but very professional."
"They did exactly what they should have done  which was treat me like anybody else "  Barbour  said.
 Barbour  said the gun was confiscated and  he  boarded  his  flight to Washington.
"Next time  I'll be more observant about getting stuff out of my briefcase "  he  said.
[TGT] says   [TGT]   will pay a fine after being arrested with a loaded handgun in   [TGT]   briefcase as   [TGT]   went through an airport security checkpoint.
 [TGT]  -- Republican National Committee chairman in the mid-1990s and governor from 2004-12 -- told The Associated Press on Tuesday  [TGT]  was trying to board a flight Jan. 2 from  Jackson  to Washington. He said he forgot he was carrying the gun  which he had put in his briefcase after an assistant removed it from his car days earlier.
"This was absentmindedness and nobody's fault but mine " said  Barbour   70  who lives in Mississippi and frequently travels to Washington for  his  job as a lobbyist.
Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said a TSA officer working at an X-ray machine at a checkpoint at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport spotted a .38-caliber revolver  loaded with five bullets  in a passenger's carry-on bag. TSA contacted airport police  who arrested the passenger. The TSA would not release the passenger's name  but Farbstein confirmed it was a former governor  and  Barbour  confirmed to AP that it was he.
 Barbour  said  he  did not dispute Farbstein's use of the word "arrest " though  he  said  he  was not handcuffed and no mugshot photo was taken.  Barbour  described the TSA officers and the airport police as "very nice but very professional."
"They did exactly what they should have done  which was treat me like anybody else "  Barbour  said.
 Barbour  said the gun was confiscated and  he  boarded  his  flight to Washington.
"Next time  I'll be more observant about getting stuff out of my briefcase "  he  said.