Conn. woman, 86, arrested for bringing BB rifle to town hall meeting, police say

(CBS) HARTFORD, Conn. - An 86-year-old woman from Westport, Conn. was arrested after bringing a BB rifle with ammunition to a town hall meeting on Tuesday evening, CBS New York reports.

According to the station, Estelle Margolis said the idea was to demonstrate how easy it is to buy a gun.

Before driving to the meeting, she reportedly drove to a local Walmart, picked out a gun, and headed for the clerk at the check out register, the station says.

"I paid in cash. He did not ask for my name. He did not do anything to record the sale for anybody. Gave me my receipt and I walked out of the store," she told WCBS 880. "What I wanted to do was to bring that gun to the stage during the discussion about gun control."

Margolis had the gun hidden away in a laundry bag, but a few people at town hall reportedly suspected she might be carrying a gun and alerted police on the scene.

Police ultimately confiscated the weapon and charged Margolis with breach of peace, CBS New York reports.

According to the Westport News, Margolis is the widow of civil-rights layer Emanuel Margolis and is known for her strong anti-war views. She reportedly holds weekly peace vigils and was previously arrested in the late 1960s after blocking traffic in a protest against the Vietnam War. Those charges were later dropped, according to the paper.

Margolis is due in court in Norwalk on January 18.