Gary J. Byrne Quote

Staffers entered through the Old Executive Office Building (the Eisenhower Building), and it was a magnet for various and sundry weirdos. A polite, well-dressed, and impeccably groomed guy got in line. No problem. Secret Service checked his bag. A-okay. He chitchatted with the officers. All was normal. Yet the staffer was sockless on one foot. For some reason, he handed an officer the missing sock. Oh, and I guess I give you this, he said, shrugging and smiling as if he was hot shit, as if nothing were wrong. Sure, do, the officer said, taking the sock. The other officer instinctively drew his sidearm and issued orders: Keep your hands where I can see them! Hands up! Next I heard over the radio: Officers have just apprehended a staffer trying to enter with a pistol! That sock had a Glock pistol in it. The District of Columbia ranks among the nation’s most anti-gun locations in the country, and this new staffer was blatantly committing dozens of gun-related felonies just by possessing a handgun. He was fired, arrested, and prosecuted. He basically told UD that the rules didn’t apply to him. Idiot! But it takes one to hire one, I was learning. The incident was especially incredible knowing the Clintons’ anti–Second Amendment sentiment. Beware the Glock in a sock, we’d say to remind each other to keep an eye on staffers as much as anyone else.