Republican congressional candidate fined for gun at airport

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Details are emerging about a Wisconsin congressional candidate who was found with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag at an Iowa airport last year.

Republican Derrick Van Orden is running to fill the seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind. Van Orden was cited in August for having a loaded 9mm Sig Sauer handgun in his bag at the security checkpoint at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, airport, according to court records.

Van Orden, of Prairie du Chien, entered a guilty plea in December. A magistrate ordered him to pay $360 and show he had taken a firearms safety course. He was also fined an undisclosed amount by the Transportation Security Administration, his campaign said.

Van Orden declined to be interviewed, the Journal Sentinel reported. His campaign said he brought the gun to the airport checkpoint by mistake.

The GOP candidate launched his bid for the 2022 election soon after losing to Kind in 2020. Kind, of La Crosse, announced in August that he would not seek another term.