GOP Rep Says House Metal Detectors ‘Unconstitutional’ — ‘I’m Going to Take Them to Court’

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who was hit with a $5,000 fine for allegedly bypassing metal detectors on his way to the House floor, plans to fight back, saying the metal detectors are unconstitutional.

“This is a constitutional issue,” Clyde said on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show. “Those metal detectors are there to detain us or to – and that’s a violation of Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution. We’re going to the House floor to vote. We represent 700,000 people in our districts. And the Constitution says that we cannot be impeded when we go to the Florida vote,” he said.

“Congressman, are you going to pay the $5,000? Are you going to pay the $5,000?” Ingraham asked.

“I’m going to fight it. I’m going to appeal it. And then I’m going to take them to court, because this is unconstitutional. We’re all set up to do that. And – but I had to have standing, Laura,” he said.

“But are you going to do it again, because it gets $10,000 next time, because it’s like running up the tab here. Are you going to go – are you going to go through the metal detector next time?” Ingraham asked.

“I think I’ve already done it at least a couple of times. That fine was for a couple of days ago. I’ve had a couple of times since then, I think, so I’m probably up to $25,000 by now.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) last week reportedly docked $5,000 each from Clyde and Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX).

In a statement Friday, Gohmert addressed the accusation that he broke the House Rule regarding metal detectors, saying, “This should come as no surprise, but Democrats are making up the rules as they go.”

He said he has complied with Pelosi’s “unconstitutional” policy for weeks:

For weeks, I have complied with Speaker Pelosi’s unconstitutional metal detector policy.

Yesterday, after complying with the metal detector screening, I was allowed to enter the House session where debate was occurring. Knowing that I would soon be giving a speech, I stepped off the House floor to use the restroom right beside the Speaker’s lobby as I have done many times since the metal detectors have been installed.

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.

Meanwhile, Republicans say they’re planning a “huge push” to force Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to pay a hefty fine after Pelosi reportedly skirted the metal detectors installed after the Jan. 6 riot inside the U.S. Capitol, defying her own rule requiring all members to submit to the increased security.

Fox News reports that members of the House GOP caught Pelosi using an alternative entrance to the House — an entrance that allows the Speaker to bypass the new security measures.

Related: Republicans Demand Pelosi Pay Fine After Speaker Defies New Rule, Bypasses House Metal Detectors

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