Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty
The metal detectors that went up outside the House chambers in the wake ofthe Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots— in which a violent mob ofDonald Trumpsupporters stormed the building in a scene that eventually turned deadly — are now down after Republicans took control of the House on Tuesday.
Republican Rep.Lauren Boebert, who has been open about her intent tocarry a concealed weaponin the Capitol building,told reportersshe had been “waiting for this day for a long time.”
“I think [the metal detectors] need to be removed from the Capitol, filled with Tannerite and blown up,” she added.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert.Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Boebert is one of a handful of Republicans who have criticized the metal detectors since they were first erected.
Just one week after the riots took place, Boebert was reportedly “in a standoff with Capitol Police” after refusing to allow them to search her bag when the machine began beeping.
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Democrats, meanwhile, have lambasted those who refused to use the metal detectors, arguing that lawmakers should be subject to the same scrutiny as anyone else entering the government building.
“Do these people not understand that literally everyone else has to go through metal detectors to get in here?“tweetedVirginia Rep. Don Beyer, one week after the 2021 riots. “Average people do not get to bring guns into the United States Capitol in normal times. Get over yourselves.”
After they were installed, members of Congress who refused to comply with the metal detector screening were fined thousands of dollars, though some flouted the security measure anyway.
Two of those fined — Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Rep. Andrew S. Clyde of Georgia — filed a federal lawsuit in June 2021, claiming the use of metal detectors to screen members of Congress was unconstitutional and that it was a way of harassing Republicans,TheWashington Postreported.
A federal judge ultimately upheld the lawmakers' fines, saying the issue was aninternal House matter.
source: people.com
