Webb calls aide's arrest on weapons charges 'unfortunate'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Jim Webb called the arrest of a top aide on weapons charges "extremely unfortunate" Tuesday after the aide was stopped as he brought the senator's loaded pistol into a Senate office building.

Phillip Thompson was arrested Monday afternoon on charges of carrying a pistol without a license, and having an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, Capitol Police said. He faced arraignment Tuesday.

Webb, a freshman Democrat from Virginia, declined comment on details of Thompson's case, but called him "a longtime friend" and "a fine individual."

"He has worked for me since the beginning of the campaign last year," he said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I think this is one of those very unfortunate situations where, completely inadvertently, he took the weapon into the Senate yesterday."

Webb, who has a concealed handgun permit in Virginia and an A rating from the National Rifle Association, said he handed his gun off to aides before getting on a plane to New Orleans on Friday. He said he did not give Thompson the weapon directly, and was unsure how it ended up with him.

"We had three cars on Friday that were being moved about because of my trip, and that is probably a reason that this inadvertent situation developed," he said. "And that's really the extent to which I think I should be discussing."

The District of Columbia has much tighter gun laws than Virginia, and Webb declined comment on his compliance with Washington's ordinances. But he said it is important for him "to be able to defend myself and my family."

"Since 9/11, for people who are in government, I think in general, there has been an agreement that it's a more dangerous time," he said. "I'm not going to comment, again, with great specificity about how I defend myself, but I do feel that I have that right."


-- CNN's Scott Anderson contributed to this report