Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse passes measure calling on Pence to remove Trump (D-Calif.) On Wednesday announced that lawmakers will face heavy fines starting next week if they refuse to pass through newly installed metal detectors to enter the room of the House.
Pelosi said the House will pass new rules when it returns to the Jan. 21 hearing to impose hefty fines for bypassing security: $ 5,000 for the first violation and $ 10,000 for the second. The fines are deducted from the salaries of the legislators.
“Tragically, this move is necessary, but the People’s House room must and will be safe,” Pelosi said in a statement.
The incoming fines for refusing to comply with new security measures come after countless House Republicans denounced Capitol Police agents on Tuesday and Wednesday for asking them to go through metal detectors.
Several GOP lawmakers defiantly pushed past Capitol Police and sergeant-at-arms personnel into the room without going through the magnetometers.
Members of Congress usually get a pass to go through security in the Capitol complex when they show their legislature pins. But the new security measure went into effect Tuesday after last week’s attack on the Capitol by a violent mob in support of President Trump
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“To ensure compliance with Capitol Police Board regulations regarding firearms and incendiary devices, and to provide a safe environment in which legislative business can be conducted immediately, all persons, including members, are required [to] undergo a security check upon entering the House room, ”wrote acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett in a memo to lawmakers and staff.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Who has insisted on carrying a gun in the Capitol, was spotted by reporters on Tuesday night turning off a metal detector and declining to hand in her bag to police for inspection.
Another House Republican, Rep. Steve Womack
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Five people were killed in Wednesday’s attack, including a Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, who was clubbed by the rioters. Another Capitol Police officer, Howard Liebengood, reportedly took his own life over the weekend after last serving on the day of the attack.
More than 50 other Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers were injured, including several who had to be hospitalized. And during the debate on the floor of the house Tuesday night, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon
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“On behalf of the House, I express my deepest thanks to the US Capitol Police for the courage they showed during the deadly uprising against the Capitol as they protected the lives of staff and Congress,” Pelosi said in the statement on the fines for circumventing of the metal detectors outside the living room.
“Unfortunately, just days later, many House Republicans have disrespected our heroes by verbally abusing them and refusing to follow basic precautions to keep members of our congressional community, including the Capitol Police, safe,” added Pelosi.
Two Capitol Police officers have been suspended since last week’s attack: one cop took a selfie with a rioter, while the other wore a “Make America Great Again” hat and led the crowd.
It is the second time in as many days that House Democratic leaders have imposed fines to force Republicans to abide by rules designed to ensure the safety of people in the chamber.
House Democrats passed new rules on Tuesday night to impose fines on lawmakers who fail to abide by the rules requiring masks on the house floor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to wear a mask will result in a fine of $ 500 for the first offense and $ 2500 for a repeated offense.
The approval of the fines for not wearing masks came after several House Republicans went maskless while busy with hundreds of other lawmakers in a secure room last Wednesday as police worked to clear the Capitol complex of the rioters.
Three House Democrats who were in the secure room have since tested positive for COVID-19.
Updated at 8:44 PM