Pelosi announces fines for members avoiding metal detectors on Capitol Hill



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House of Commons Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday the chamber plans to pass new rules fining members for refusing to pass through newly installed metal detectors on the U.S. Capitol or for refusing to go. comply with safety regulations after last week’s deadly assault.

The fines – $ 5,000 for a first offense and $ 10,000 for a second offense – will come into effect when the House resumes its session on Jan. 21 and will be taken from MPs’ pay, according to a press release from the president’s office. .

Pelosi in a statement said she expressed “deep gratitude to the Capitol Police for the bravery they displayed” during the pro-Trump riot and claimed that some Republicans “did not respect our heroes by verbally insulting them and refusing to respect basic precautions “. when they refused to go through the metal detectors.

She added that the new security changes are necessary to ensure the safety of this work in the Capitol, including the Capitol Police.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., An ally of President Donald Trump, walks through a metal detector before entering the House chamber, a new security measure put in place after a crowd took over storming the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday January.  December 12, 2021 (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., An ally of President Donald Trump, walks through a metal detector before entering the House chamber, a new security measure put in place after a crowd took over storming the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday January. December 12, 2021 (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

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The speaker said it was “tragic that this step is necessary”.

Several Republicans refused to comply with the procedure this week, while others complained to Capitol Hill security and House Democrats that the security measures were instituted without adequate notice and consultation.

In a heated meeting, House administration ranking member Rodney Davis, R-Ill., Exchanged harsh words with the Capitol Police as well as with the House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Davis grew angry after security denied him access to a staircase near the speaker’s lobby, which is usually open to members.

“Steny, those are bulls —,” Davis said.

“Rodney, we all go through magnetometers. All of us,” Hoyer replied as Davis chatted with the officer.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., Was one of the Republicans in the House who chose not to go through metal detectors.

“The House Floor Metal Detector Policy is unnecessary, unconstitutional and endangers members,” Roy said in a statement on the incident. “I didn’t comply tonight. I won’t comply in the future.”

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Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Who campaigned on his commitment to the Second Amendment and advocated for his right to be armed on Capitol Hill, refused to return his purse when he triggered the metal detector . She was eventually allowed to enter the chamber of the Chamber.

“We didn’t need more metal detectors when we were locked in the rooms on the 6th,” she later wrote on Twitter.

Democrats lambasted Republicans for their challenge.

“Don’t these people understand that everyone has to go through metal detectors to get in here?” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., Tweeted. “Ordinary people can’t bring guns into the United States Capitol in normal times. Get over it.”

In a tweet to Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy, Representative Ted Lieu, D-California, wrote that everyone will be required to go through metal detectors at Biden’s inauguration, “y including GOP members who think they don’t have to listen. Do you commit to having your caucus go through metal detectors at the inauguration? “

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Timothy P. Blodgett, the acting House Sergeant-at-Arms, told members on Tuesday in a memo that they would be newly required to go through metal detectors.

House Democrats also imposed a new rule on Tuesday, fining MPs $ 500 for not wearing masks on House floors.

Thomas Barrabi of Fox News contributed to this report.

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