House GOP Majority Orders Metal Detectors Removed

(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives has uninstalled the metal detectors outside the chamber floor, which were installed by the Democrat majority after the January 6, 2021, breach of the US Capitol.

The GOP House majority had the metal detectors removed shortly after the new US Congress convened, Axios reported, as cited by Newsmax.

That is three days before the second year since the events of the January 6 storming of the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump over 2020 election fraud concerns.

Later in January 2021, then-House Speaker, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi, had magnetometers installed outside the House chamber.

Her move enraged some Republican representatives who initially defied it by going around the magnetometers and pushing their way past Capitol Police officers.

However, Pelosi reacted by instituting noncompliance fines under which House members were fined $5,000 for their first offense and $10,000 for the second.

At least eight GOP representatives and one Democrat got fined thousands of dollars under Pelosi’s order for refusing to go through the magnetometers, according to a 2021 report by The New York Times.

The metal detectors outside the chamber floor were uninstalled based on a new package of rules adopted by the House Rules Committee.

“[The package eliminates] Democrat fines for failure of Members to comply with unscientific mask mandates and security screenings before entering the House floor,” the new rules state, according to one Republican committee member.

“Members should not face unnecessary disruptions as they carry out their constitutional duties,” they add.

The new rules package is yet to be voted on. However, Axios commented it was part of the efforts of the top House Republican, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, to win the support of his intra-party opposition as he is trying to be elected Speaker of the House.

On Tuesday, McCarthy’s candidacy failed after three ballots, as he got 203 votes in the first two ballots and 202 votes in the third ballot, with 218 needed to become Speaker.

The GOP has a majority of 222 seats, while the Democrats have 213 seats in the new House of Representatives.

Also on Tuesday, Republican US Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who opposes McCarthy’s Speaker bid, posted a Twitter video showing the metal detectors’ removal.

In the video, Boebert stands before one of the magnetometers as it is uninstalled and taken to an elevator.

She comments that the Republicans are “turning Nancy Pelosi’s House back into the people’s House.”

Boebert, a strong Second Amendment advocate, has been calling for allowing House members to carry guns into the Capitol.