FAIRFAX, Va. – The father of one of the victims of the Columbine High School shooting massacre was arrested during a demonstration outside National Rifle Association headquarters.
Thomas R. Mauser, 49, was charged with trespassing after about a dozen people demonstrated Wednesday, Fairfax County police said.
When the protesters were asked to leave the driveway, Mauser repeatedly refused and was the only one arrested, police said.
Workers at the NRA called police after seeing Mauser pacing outside the headquarters and carrying a sign with a photo of his slain 15-year-old son, Daniel.
He was released from jail about two hours, and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 22.
Mauser said he was protesting because NRA president Charlton Heston hasn't responded to a letter he sent about the massacre in Littleton, Colo.
The letter asks why the NRA opposed a ban on the type of assault weapon that Columbine Seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used in the April 1999 massacre in which they killed 13 people before committing suicide.
NRA spokesman Bill Powers said he was not familiar with the letter but acknowledged it might have been better for the NRA to respond.
"A kind of courtesy could be expected, yes," he said. Powers said the NRA had no problem with Mauser protesting in front of the building so long as he did it on public property.
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