Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) said Feb. 24 he’s appealing to the House Ethics Committee the $5,000 fine he was assessed earlier this year for refusing to go through metal detectors blocking access to the House chamber.
“Today, with the assistance of my private counsel, I appealed the fines I incurred as a result of my refusal to abide by Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unconstitutional placement of magnetometers in front of the entrance to the Floor of the House of Representatives,” Clyde said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.
“While my name formally appears on the documentation, I am filing this appeal symbolically on behalf of my constituents in the Ninth Congressional District of Georgia, because it is their vote that is being impeded by Speaker Pelosi’s egregious actions,” Clyde said.
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) is chairman of the ethics panel. A Deutch spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ordered the installation of metal detectors to guard access to the House chamber following the Jan. 6 breach into the Capitol in which hundreds of protestors penetrated security and entered the chambers of both the Senate and House.
Clyde said in his statement on Feb. 24 that the metal detectors are “part of the Democratic Party’s ongoing attempt to treat Republicans as a threat when no such threat exists. The ongoing militarization of Capitol Hill, including the placement of metal fencing, razor wire, and the deployment of National Guard troops, are also part of this perverse strategy.”
“The Democratic Party’s motive in crafting this narrative is to silence us through fear and intimidation, with the ultimate goal being the creation of domestic terrorism legislation and a political litmus test for all elected officials, public servants, and members of the Armed Forces. Make no mistake, Democratic Party leaders would rid anyone who does not agree with their fringe ideology from public service and the political sphere if given the opportunity,” he stated.
Gohmert issued a statement at the time of his fine, saying he had stepped out of the House chamber to use a nearby restroom.
“At no time until yesterday did anyone mention the need to be wanded after entering the restroom directly in front of the guards. The three main entrances have metal detectors, but the House floor entrance from the Speakers’ Lobby does not. Originally, I had gone around the metal detectors a few times until it was mandated. I have been complying for weeks since,” he stated.
“I explained to the Capitol Police officer that I had never been required to be screened again from the restroom immediately by the House floor since the metal detectors had been in place at the other doors. I said they had witnessed me walk the few feet to the men’s room, enter and take the few steps back. No one ever mentioned or made that a requirement until yesterday.
“Unlike in the movie ‘The Godfather,’ there are no toilets with tanks where one could hide a gun, so my reentry onto the House floor should have been a non-issue.”
