Metal detectors installed outside the House while Democrats express security concerns about their colleagues

Metal detectors installed outside the House while Democrats express security concerns about their colleagues

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The development comes after several House Democrats told CNN that they are concerned about some of their Republican colleagues and that there have been several conversations about the need for each member of Congress and their guests to start passing metal detectors.

Capitol Police installed metal detectors outside the Chamber on Tuesday afternoon and all members of the Chamber, officials and advisers will have to pass through them, the aide said. A US Capitol Police source confirmed that the measures are in place.

Acting weapons sergeant Timothy Blodgett said in a memo to all members of Congress and his staff that metal detectors were being installed to ensure compliance with police regulations banning guns and incendiary devices in the chamber.

Members are reminded that, according to the firearms regulations that members received on opening day, firearms are restricted to a member’s office, “the memo said.” We thank you in advance for your (cooperation) with the United States Capitol Police and the Sergeant of Arms team during the selection process. “

House Democrats told CNN that they are concerned that some lawmakers are ignoring the House’s rules on firearms.

“There have been growing tensions with certain incoming freshmen for months who insist on bringing firearms in violation of the law and guidelines,” said a House Democrat, in a reference to Republican representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Madison Cawthorn of Carolina of the North and others.

Boebert was shot in a campaign ad swearing to carry his Glock gun across the Capitol in Washington, DC. and said he would take his gun to Congress. The district has strict gun laws and the Washington police chief warned the congresswoman that she is subject to the same laws as everyone else in the nation’s capital.

Meanwhile, Cawthorn said in an interview with Smoky Mountain News last week that he was armed when a crowd broke into the Capitol.

“Fortunately, I was armed, so we would have been able to protect ourselves,” Cawthorn told the newspaper.

CNN contacted Cawthorn and Boebert’s offices for comment.

According to the US Capitol Police website, firearms are prohibited on Capitol grounds, even if someone has a possession license from Washington, DC or another state. Police officers who are performing their official duties and meet “certain established criteria” may be allowed to transport their weapons to the Capitol.
The Washington Post reported in 2018 that guns are completely banned in legislative chambers, with the exception of chamber gun sergeants.

A second Democratic member of Congress told CNN that the concern extends to the people that members of Congress can invite to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

“There are concerns about the armed members in hand, but we also don’t know who they are going to bring into possession to bypass the metal detectors,” said the second Democrat in the House. “Until there is an investigation and until we understand the level of complicity of our colleagues in the attack, we don’t know how involved they really were. Until we have the answers, I don’t think we should trust them – not all, of course, but some of them. ”

The second Democrat noted that some of the House Republicans rose to the floor of the House after the attack and continued to share electoral lies. This Democrat added that some refused to wear masks while they were sheltering in the place and now at least three Democrats have tested positive for Covid-19.

This is a last-minute story and will be updated.

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