Nancy Pelosi says no plans to remove metal detectors five months later

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she has no plans to order the removal of metal detectors that were placed by the doors of the House chamber after the U.S. Capitol was attacked over five months earlier.

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, told reporters during a press conference that the metal detectors will remain in place for now despite objections from some Republicans in the House of Representatives.

“No, no, no,” Mrs. Pelosi said in response to a journalist’s question about whether there is a plan for the potential removal of the metal detectors from by the doors of the House chamber.

“As long as there is a threat, we’ll have protection,” Mrs. Pelosi added.

Under security measures put in place after the U.S. Capitol was violently invaded Jan. 6, House members and staff are required to pass through metal detectors in order to be allowed to enter the chamber.

House members subsequently adopted a rule to impose fines on colleagues who bypass the security screenings, ranging from $5,000 for the first offense, to $10,000 for the second and subsequent violations.

Reps. Andrew S. Clyde of Georgia and Louie Gohmert of Texas, both Republicans, filed a federal lawsuit over the weekend requesting that a judge block the House from imposing or collecting the fines.

“We represent 700,000 people in our districts, and the Constitution says that we cannot be impeded when we go to the floor to vote, and those metal detectors are unconstitutional,” Mr. Clyde said previously.

Hundreds of people from across the U.S. have been charged with crimes related to the rioting at U.S. Capitol, which disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.