Top House Dem Clyburn Could Be Facing $5,000 Fine for Skipping Pelosi’s Metal Detectors

House Majority Whip James Clyburn could face a $5,000 fine for bypassing the metal detectors that were installed off the House floor as part of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s security protocols following the…

IJR SyndicatedApr 23, 20213 min read

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“Congressman Clyburn respects the rules of the chamber and he disputes the characterization of this incident,” a spokesperson for the lawmaker said in a statement.

The incident has been referred to Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett, who will decide if the top House Democrat will face the fines set in place by Pelosi.

The speaker oversaw the installation of the metal detectors following the Jan. 6 incursion into the Capitol. If a lawmaker bypasses the metal detectors, he or she is fined $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second.

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas faced a similar fine after walking around the detectors in February and unsuccessfully appealed the fine in March.

“The officer said I needed to be wanded but since I had already been through the metal detector thoroughly and having never before been required to be wanded after already having entered the floor properly, I returned to the House floor to engage in my turn to debate the bill under consideration,” Gohmert wrote in his appeal.

“I did all of that to enter the House floor. Further, there was no notice of the change in the requirement that once all of the requirements were met and the House floor was entered, that I would have to be wanded when returning from the restroom mere feet from the Speaker’s Lobby where there were no metal detectors.”

The House Ethics Committee announced that Republican Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky is facing a $5,000 fine for skipping “complete security screening” prior to a vote last week.

Rogers allegedly set off the metal detector and continued to walk into the chamber after a Capitol Police officer tried to wand him.

He came back after he voted and asked the officers what he needed to do to complete his screening, but was told the screening needed to be completed before he voted.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.