Lauren Boebert Faces $5,000 Fine after Setting off Capitol Metal Detector: Report

Newsweek 1/22/2021 Tom Batchelor

a woman holding a baseball bat: Lauren Boebert addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Colona, Colorado on October 10, 2020. Boebert's meteoric rise into politics began in September 2019 when she confronted US Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke at a campaign rally and stated "Hell no, youre not!" to his proposed mandatory buyback of both AR-15 and AK-47 semi-automatic weapons.

© JASON CONNOLLY/AFP/Getty Images Lauren Boebert addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Colona, Colorado on October 10, 2020. Boebert's meteoric rise into politics began in September 2019 when she confronted US Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke at a campaign rally and stated "Hell no, youre not!" to his proposed mandatory buyback of both AR-15 and AK-47 semi-automatic weapons.

Pro-gun Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert reportedly set off a metal detector and refused to comply with US Capitol Police Thursday, leaving her facing a possible $5,000 fine.

The newly elected Colorado congresswoman, an ardent support of former President Donald Trump who campaigned on a conservative platform that included fierce opposition to gun control, was said to have ignored a new requirement for representatives and senators to pass through a scanner inside the Capitol building.

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Journalist Hugo Lovell tweeted: "House Republican Lauren Boebert now sets off the metal detector and refuses to comply with US Capitol Police, waking into the chamber [sic].

"USCP not making a big deal but $5,000 fine comes out of member's pay."

Newsweek contacted Boebert's team for comment.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced earlier this month that lawmakers would be fined if they refused to go through metal detectors to enter the House chamber after an angry mob of extremists supporting Trump's false claims that the presidential election was "stolen" stormed the building.

A first offense will result in $5,000 deducted from a lawmaker's Congressional pay, while a second offense comes with a $10,000 fine.

Several GOP lawmakers have been accused of flouting the new rules, including Boebert.

GOP Representatives Louie Gohmert and Van Taylor from Texas, Steve Stivers from Ohio, Debbie Lesko from Arizona and Larry Bucshon from Indiana were among those who refused to comply with the screening or vocally protested its implementation, NBC News reported.

Although members of Congress and aides are legally allowed to carry weapons on Capitol grounds, House rules prohibit them being taken inside the chamber.

Boebert, owner of Shooters Grill, a restaurant that made headlines for letting staff openly carry weapons as they serve customers, has pushed for congressional staff to be permitted to carry a gun anywhere in the Capitol.

After Pelosi's metal detector measure was announced, Boebert tweeted that lawmakers "were not in need of more metal detectors when we were locked in the Chambers" during the Capitol riots.

On Thursday, she received support from Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who tweeted: "They're trying to disarm @laurenboebert on the floor of the House of Representatives because, ultimately, they're coming to disarm many, many more."

Boebert responded: "If Members of Congress won't take a stand for our Constitutional rights in DC, you can bet they won't take a stand back at home either."

In a video released by the Colorado congresswoman on 3 January, she was seen chambering a clip for her Glock pistol and placing the gun in a concealed holster underneath her jacket.

Boebert was then shown walking down a city sidewalk, stating that even though she works "in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refuse to give up my rights, especially my Second Amendment rights."

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Lauren Boebert Faces $5,000 Fine after Setting off Capitol Metal Detector: Report

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