Posted on 01/13/21
| News Source: The Hill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday that starting next week, lawmakers will face hefty fines if they refuse to go through newly installed metal detectors to enter the House chamber.
Pelosi said that the House will adopt new rules when it returns to session on Jan. 21 to mandate stiff fines for bypassing security: $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second. The fines will be deducted from lawmakers' salaries.
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“It is tragic that this step is necessary, but the chamber of the People’s House must and will be safe," Pelosi said in a statement.
The incoming fines for refusing to comply with new security measures come after numerous House Republicans berated Capitol Police officers on Tuesday and Wednesday for asking them to go through the metal detectors.
Several GOP lawmakers defiantly pushed past Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms staff into the chamber without going through the magnetometers.
Members of Congress are typically given a pass on going through security in the Capitol complex if they show their lawmaker pins. But the new security measure went into effect on Tuesday in the aftermath of last week's attack on the Capitol by a violent mob in support of President Trump that tried to stop Congress from ratifying President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. Read more at The Hill