Capitol Hill police can't detain lawmakers on their way to a vote, but they can certainly take down a name when a Congressman, say, skips going through a metal detector on the way into the chamber.
The police on duty did just that when Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Andrew Clyde (R-GA) decided they didn't feel like following the new safety protocol. After all, it was Republicans (though not members of Congress) who rioted on January 6, so what did they have to worry about?
The names went into an "unusual occurrence report" to the House Sergeant-at-Arms, who sends notice of the fine to the member, explained Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett. The lawmakers' offenses triggered an automatic $5,000 fine (each).
Gohmert, a breathtakingly obnoxious loudmouth, grumbled and made fun of the protocol, and constituent reactions ranged from inchoate approval -- because tons of people in Tyler, TX, love the old goat -- to tweets of annoyance that Gohmert was too arrogant to do what so many people have to do every day on the way to work.
Naturally, other Republicans had Gohmert's and Clyde's backs. "Lookitt!" Republicans on the House Administration hollered (metaphorically) in a letter to Blodgett.
"Yesterday, at approximately 9:59 am, multiple members observed the Speaker of the House entering the House Chamber without completing security screening ... [It was] a clear violation of House Resolution 73 and you are required by House Rules to impose this fine." They closed with, "We look forward to a prompt response to this inquiry.”
They got that prompt response when Blodgett replied, "I have not received any unusual incident report from the United States Capitol Police concerning the Speaker of the House." No report, no fine.
"Curses! Foiled again!" the Republicans probably thought.
Score: Protocol, 1. Petty politicos, 0.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/537626-gop-lawmakers-call-for-pelosi-to-be-fined-over-new-screenings?fbclid=IwAR1bpTA-kRNPYeLrOYKI9mwHaKQoHSDIkLOjPCx35LnIGksVf-f8XshU3xU
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