While getting fired from “Meet the Press” must have been a blow to David Gregory, it could have been much worse; he could have gotten arrested. An affidavit released last week revealed how close former “Meet the Press” correspondent David Gregory came to being arrested for waving around a 30 round ammunition clip during an interview with Wayne LePierre, head of the National Rifle Association, according to the New York Daily News.
The interview was in 2012, and at the time NBC staff was concerned about the legality of having the actual ammunition clip on the air and asked if it would be alright. A Washington D.C. police officer warned that “possession of high capacity magazines is a misdemeanor, ” and by email suggested a photograph be used instead. According to D.C. gun laws, it is illegal to posses a “large capacity ammunition feeding device” with more than 10 rounds even if it is not attached to a firearm or is empty, according to the Washington Post. The penalty could be a year in prison and a $1, 000 fine.
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According to the affidavit, four days after the broadcast, D.C. police wanted to arrest Gregory for using an actual ammunition clip on the show, but the D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan did not charge the host and the warrant was never filed, but instead remained in the Attorney General’s office.
David Gregory was later dismissed from Meet the Press over tepid ratings. Gregory was raised in Los Angeles. His father, Don Gregory, was a film and theatrical producer and his mother Carolyn Surtees, was an account manager. Gregory’s father was Jewish, and as reported by Haaretz, is working about his Jewish faith, in which he recounts learning Torah with David Brooks, Jeffrey Goldberg and Martin Indyk.