As Congress continues to grapple with the fallout from last week’s violent insurrection on Capitol Hill, law enforcement has already begun ramping up security around “The People’s House” to ensure no lawmaker is injured in the coming days. 

What You Need To Know

  • Republican lawmakers have expressed frustration with heightened security measures on Capitol Hill following last week's violent insurrection

  • Many GOP House members have been spotted circumventing metal detectors in place outside the House floor, with others decrying the heightened security on social media

  • Acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett reportedly sent a memo to all legislators and their staff saying the heightened security is to ensure members comply with regulations that prohibit guns on the House floor

  • At least two members of Congress have spoken about their intent or desire to carry weapons on the House floor

Hours after the mob of President Trump’s supporters were cleared from Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 7-foot-high fences were erected around federal buildings across the city. And as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a single article of impeachment against Trump on Wednesday, hundreds of National Guard troops have been stationed inside the U.S. Capitol building to protect lawmakers.

But several Republican members of Congress have expressed frustration over the heightened security, with most taking particular issue with the addition of metal detectors placed outside the House floor. 

The metal detectors were installed this week, with Acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett reportedly sending a memo to all legislators and their staff saying they were being implemented to ensure members comply with regulations that prohibit guns on the House floor. 

“Members are reminded that pursuant to the firearms regulations that Members received on opening day, firearms are restricted to a Member's Office," the memo stated, per a CNN report. "Thank you in advance for your (cooperation) with the United States Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms staff during the screening process."

Soon after the installation of the metal detectors, members of Congress decried them as excessive. 

GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona on Tuesday likened the precautions to “being wanded like criminals,” saying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is creating a “communist America.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a newly-elected official from Colorado, was spotted physically pushing her way through the security detail outside the House Floor on Tuesday. Multiple reports say Boebert initially refused to show officers what was in her bag, but was eventually allowed entry.

Boebert faced immediate backlash for her actions, so much so that the freshman lawmaker took to Twitter, claiming her “concealed carry permit was issued by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police.”

“I am legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, D.C. and within the Capitol complex,” Boebert continued. “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.”

Boebert is one of at least two GOP lawmakers who has openly discussed carrying a weapon on the House floor, and had released an ad in early January promising to “carry my Glock to Congress.”  

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a newly-elected official from North Carolina, told the Smoky Mountain News he “was armed” while on the House floor when insurrectionists breached the Capitol last week. 

Democratic lawmakers have slammed their colleagues’ complaints as hypocritical, with many pointing out similar security measures at schools and airports. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan offered pointed criticism for her Republican colleagues.

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said schoolchildren across the country handle going through security “more maturely than Members of Congress.”