A second anti-gun activist was escorted from a gun-control hearing Monday after reportedly using a police officer to circumvent security measures and bring in a firearm receiver.
The hearing, which was open to the public and addressed a number of proposed gun control measures, attracted activists on both sides of gun issues. A large group of anti-gun activists, wearing matching shirts from the group Connecticut Against Gun Violence, attended to hear testimony from Executive Director Jeremy Stein.
IF IT'S MEANT TO BE USED TO MAKE A GUN, IT SHOULD BE REGULATED LIKE ANY OTHER FIREARM. That's the gist of Executive…
Posted by Connecticut Against Gun Violence on Monday, March 11, 2019
According to Ray Bevis, legislative coordinator for the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Stein’s testimony did not go exactly as planned. Bevis told The Daily Caller that Stein had asked to bring as a prop a firearm receiver — and had been told that he would not be allowed to bring it.
But instead of making his point without the prop, Stein reportedly asked Bridgeport Police Chief A.J. Perez to bring the firearm component in for him, thus circumventing security measures. Perez also testified on Monday in favor of stricter gun control laws.
Bevis shared a photo and video of Stein then being escorted from the building. “Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence being escorted out of a public hearing for smuggling a firearm receiver into the hearing,” he captioned the post. “He used a police chief as his mule.”
The hearing had already been disrupted once before when a woman was escorted from the room after being caught sending what appeared to be a text threatening the lives of Republican Connecticut State Sen. Rob Sampson and any NRA members.
“If I had a gun, I’d blow away Sampson and a large group of NRA,” the text read, according to a photo. (RELATED: Woman Reportedly Booted From Gun Hearing After Threatening To Shoot Lawmaker, NRA Members)
The woman told Capitol Police upon being asked to leave that she was sending the message to her daughter. They determined that she was not in possession of a firearm — nor does she even own one — and she immediately complied when officers asked her not to return for the remainder of the day.
“She was asked to leave for the day, and she did so,” Capitol Police Lt. Glen Richards told the Hartford Courant. “She was cooperative with us. She was very apologetic and understood what she did was wrong.”
Connecticut Against Gun Violence shared a post after the woman was removed, saying that they did not condone the language she used.
The group has not responded to requests for comment with regard to Stein being escorted from the property.