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Attorney Arrested for Bringing Gun to 'Dark Knight' Movie Theater

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on August 09, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A prominent lawyer arrested for bringing a gun to a movie theater insists he did nothing illegal. Sung-Ho Hwang, 46, of New Haven, Conn., says he only carried his gun for self-protection, the Connecticut Post reports.

Hwang, an immigration lawyer who graduated from UConn, is president-elect of the New Haven County Bar Association. He also has a valid permit to carry a pistol in Connecticut, police said.

At a news conference Wednesday, Hwang told reporters he did nothing wrong. But New Haven's mayor questioned Hwang's judgment. "Sometimes just because something is legal doesn't make it right," he said, according to the Post.

In the lawyer's arrest for bringing a gun to a movie theater, Sung-Ho Hwang had tucked a pistol into his waistband near the small of his back, police said. Hwang showed up with the gun at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" about 10 p.m. Tuesday, and theater managers called police.

Officers entered the theater and ordered patrons to put their hands in the air as they were patted down for weapons, the Associated Press reports.

But Hwang allegedly refused, and was taken into custody by force. He faces charges of breaching the peace and interfering with police.

Those charges are baseless, Hwang told reporters. "There is no posting at [the theater] that states that weapons are not permitted," he said, according to The Hartford Courant. "As far as the law is concerned, I have a right to carry there."

Hwang also made a point to say his Second Amendment rights were being abridged, ABA Journal reports.

Sung-Ho Hwang's incident follows the mass shooting at a "Dark Knight" screening in Aurora, Colo., and several other incidents of moviegoers getting arrested for bringing guns into theaters. If convicted, the lawyer arrested for bringing a gun to a movie theater could face fines and possible jail time.

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