Pork executive arrested on gun charge in Washington D.C.
Capitol police arrested Ronald Prestage yesterday morning as he attempted to enter the Cannon House Office Building with a gun in his possession. Carrying a firearm without a District of Columbia license is illegal in the city, which has very strict gun laws, reports the Wall Street Journal. Prestage is the owner of Prestage Farms, a pork and turkey processor with its headquarters in Clinton, N.C., and additional locations in Iowa, Oklahoma, Mississippi and South Carolina. According to the Huffington Post, Prestage has a concealed carry permit in South Carolina.
Prestage is the president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council. A spokesman for the organization said that Prestage had come to town on Tuesday to do some lobbying work for the organization. The spokesman said the visit Wednesday to the Cannon building wasn’t related to Pork Producers business, but added that he also does lobbying work for the National Turkey Federation. A spokesman for that organization wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Officer Shennell S. Antrobus, a spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police, said officers found the loaded Ruger handgun in Prestage’s bag. A spokesman for D.C. central block said he will likely not be arraigned until Thursday.
Source: The State, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
