After last week’s insurrection at the Capitol, metal detectors were installed at certain entrances to the building, including to the House chamber. Pretty much immediately, Republican members of Congress pitched a fit about it. Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says lawmakers will be fined $5,000 if they try to skip past the new security measures.
Anyone who has visited Capitol Hill knows that, for members of the public, it was already full of metal detectors. Members of Congress, however, were often able to bypass security so long as they showed their lawmaker pins. But the Capitol insurrection has changed all that. On Jan. 12, memos regarding the new security measures were sent to all members of Congress by newly appointed acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett, who assumed the position after Michael Stenger resigned.
“To ensure compliance with Capitol Police Board regulations concerning firearms and incendiary devices, as well as to provide a safe and secure environment in which to conduct legislative business, effective immediately, all persons, including members, are required [to] undergo security screening when entering the House chamber,” Blodgett wrote in his memo, according to The Hill. Continue reading.