On First Day Back in Power, Republicans Remove Metal Detectors Placed in House Chambers After Capitol Riots

Virginia Chamlee
·2 min read
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A metal detector stands outside of the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on January 22, 2021 in Washington, DC.
A metal detector stands outside of the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on January 22, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Sarah Silbiger/Getty

The metal detectors that went up outside the House chambers in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots — in which a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building in a scene that eventually turned deadly — are now down after Republicans took control of the House on Tuesday.

The removal of the metal detectors was among the first projects taken on by House Republicans, who have so far failed to elect a leader amid party infighting.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who has been open about her intent to carry a concealed weapon in the Capitol building, told reporters she had been "waiting for this day for a long time."

"I think [the metal detectors] need to be removed from the Capitol, filled with Tannerite and blown up," she added.

RELATED: Republicans Reps. Complain About New Metal Detectors in Capitol After Riots

Lauren Boebert
Lauren Boebert

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert

Boebert is one of a handful of Republicans who have criticized the metal detectors since they were first erected.

Just one week after the riots took place, Boebert was reportedly "in a standoff with Capitol Police" after refusing to allow them to search her bag when the machine began beeping.

"I am legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, D.C. and within the Capitol complex," she tweeted at the time. "Metal detectors outside of the House would not have stopped the violence we saw last week — it's just another political stunt by Speaker Pelosi."

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Democrats, meanwhile, have lambasted those who refused to use the metal detectors, arguing that lawmakers should be subject to the same scrutiny as anyone else entering the government building.

"Do these people not understand that literally everyone else has to go through metal detectors to get in here?" tweeted Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, one week after the 2021 riots. "Average people do not get to bring guns into the United States Capitol in normal times. Get over yourselves."

After they were installed, members of Congress who refused to comply with the metal detector screening were fined thousands of dollars, though some flouted the security measure anyway.

Two of those fined — Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Rep. Andrew S. Clyde of Georgia — filed a federal lawsuit in June 2021, claiming the use of metal detectors to screen members of Congress was unconstitutional and that it was a way of harassing Republicans, The Washington Post reported.

A federal judge ultimately upheld the lawmakers' fines, saying the issue was an internal House matter.