House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday denied ever accusing any lawmakers of being a threat to other members of Congress.
The issue arose with the placement of metal detectors at entrances to the House floor, which, among other things, are meant to screen for guns being carried by lawmakers. Freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, has said she and other Second Amendment advocates are being unfairly targeted.
The metal detectors and other safety measures are a result of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, in which supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the building to try and overturn his Electoral College loss.
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“I have not made that accusation, but others have, and it’s being investigated,” Pelosi told the Washington Examiner when asked about lawmakers being threats to one another.
“The purpose of today was about securing the Capitol. It was not about pursuing members of the Congress,” the California Democrat noted, referencing findings by a panel, led by retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, to review security measures at the Capitol.
During a Jan. 28 press conference, Pelosi said Congress should pass a supplemental spending bill to provide funds “for security for members, when the enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about, in addition to what is happening outside.”
Pelosi added at the time, “We have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress.”
However, Capitol officials who briefed House lawmakers two weeks ago confirmed there’s no indication any lawmaker was ever a threat to another lawmaker.
“The chief of the Capitol Police and the acting sergeant-at-arms both admitted that there is no intelligence indicating that any member of Congress was a threat to any other member of Congress,” said the Republican lawmaker, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “They iterated that twice, which is why we raised a ruckus.”
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House Administration Committee ranking member Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican, confirmed the GOP lawmaker’s account to the Washington Examiner.
Nevertheless, Pelosi ordered additional security measures, which included metal detectors at the entrances of the House floor, when new Republican members took office who had talked about violence against other lawmakers prior to taking office or wanted to carry firearms around the capitol complex.
