Fines for US lawmakers who refuse to walk through metal detectors

© ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS US Capitol Police stand near a metal detector outside chamber of the House of Representatives

US lawmakers who refuse to go through metal detectors installed at the House of Representatives after last week's Capitol riot will be fined, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said late Wednesday.

The fine for the first offense will be $5,000, and $10,000 for the second, Pelosi said in a statement. Fines will be docked directly from members' salaries.

"It is tragic that this step is necessary, but the Chamber of the People's House must and will be safe," Pelosi said as she announced the measure.

Tighter safety rules came into effect after a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump violently broke into the building on January 6 in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the next US president.

Five people died in the day of violence.

Video: Congress to investigate law enforcement handling of deadly Capitol breach (NBC News)

Congress to investigate law enforcement handling of deadly Capitol breach

NBC News See more videos

SHARE

SHARE

TWEET

SHARE

EMAIL

What to watch next

• 

  Where the investigation into the Capitol Hill riots now stands

  
  NBC News
• 

  Ohio lawmaker: Do Blacks get coronavirus because they ‘do not wash their hands’?

  
  NBC News
• 

  Trump record makes weak case for future intelligence briefings

  
  NBC News
• 

  Now and Then: Threats to Roe v. Wade in 90s versus today

  
  NBC News
• 

  Dr. Vin Gupta on booster shots to fight COVID-19 variants

  
  NBC News
• 

  Appeals court dismisses Democrats’ emoluments case against Trump

  
  NBC News
• 

  James Carville: Clyburn's endorsing Biden 'saved the Democratic Party'

  
  NBC News
• 

  Rounds: Trump impeachment is 'a moot point'

  
  NBC News
• 

  11 Chinese miners rescued from gold mine shaft

  
  NBC News
• 

  Jaime Harrison: 'Organize, organize, organize' will be the Dems' strategy

  
  NBC News
• 

  Former FBI official-turned-NBC News analyst speaks out against ‘bureau bashing’

  
  NBC News
• 

  Super Bowl Trumped by Politics

  
  NBC News
• 

  Biden's first call to a foreign leader goes to Trudeau after cancelling Keystone Pipeline

  
  NBC News
• 

  Alarming Covid vaccine shortages across U.S.

  
  NBC News
• 

  NeNe Leakes: I’m ‘nervous’ about new reality show

  
  NBC News
• 

  CO Governor urges federal government to ‘get that dose out’

  
  NBC News

Click to expand

Replay Video

• Where the investigation into the Capitol Hill riots now stands NBC's Ken Dilanian and Tom Winter break down where the investigation stands, how clues are helping the FBI track down people who were at the riots, and who law enforcement officials may prosecute. NBC News
• Ohio lawmaker: Do Blacks get coronavirus because they ‘do not wash their hands’? An Ohio lawmaker is facing backlash for asking whether the “colored population” is more susceptible to the coronavirus because they “do not wash their hands as well as other groups.” NBC News
• Trump record makes weak case for future intelligence briefings Former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson remarks on some instances where former presidents need to be kept in the loop on top secret matters in order to better advise a serving president. Donald Trump, however, is not likely to be called upon for such consultations. NBC News

UP NEXT

Metal detectors were installed at the entrances to the US House for the first time Tuesday in response to the riot.

Magnetometers have been used for years at all visitor and staff entrances to the Capitol and many other federal buildings. 

But lawmakers have been allowed to go around those security screenings provided they were wearing their congressional pin.

Since the metal detectors were installed several Republican lawmakers have pushed past police even after setting off the metal detectors. 

On Wednesday, first term Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert, who had threatened to bring her firearm, was in a standoff with police when she refused to hand over her bag after the metal detector started beeping.

"Sadly," Pelosi wrote, just days after the new safety protocols were in place, "many House Republicans have disrespected" the Capitol police "by verbally abusing them and refusing to adhere to basic precautions keeping members of our Congressional community, including the Capitol Police, safe."

ch/jfx