Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was arrested earlier this month after a loaded handgun was found in his briefcase at an airport security checkpoint.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Barbour will pay a fine for the infraction, which reportedly occurred on Jan. 2 when he was attempting to board a flight from Jackson, Miss., to Washington.

Barbour told the AP that he had forgotten that he had put the gun in his briefcase after an assistant had taken it out of his car days earlier.

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"This was absentmindedness and nobody’s fault but mine," he told the AP.

The .38 caliber revolver appeared on a security X-ray of the briefcase when Barbour was going through a security checkpoint. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) then contacted airport police, who arrested Barbour. The gun was loaded with five bullets.

Barbour said he was not handcuffed by police and did not have a mugshot taken.

“They did exactly what they should have done, which was treat me like anybody else,” he said, describing the TSA agents and police officers as "very nice but very professional."

The former Mississippi governor and Republican National Committee chairman now faces a fine of at least $3,920, according to the AP.

Barbour is now a name partner at K Street giant BGR Group, a public relations and advocacy firm that earned almost $24 million in lobbying revenue last year.