Republican Congressman, Harold Rogers, of Kentucky, was fined $5,000 after bypassing a security check on his way to the House floor, becoming the third Republican to be handed the penalty after violating a rule adopted in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Rogers set off a magnetometer last week on his way to the chamber floor and rejected a Capitol Police officer’s request to screen him with a wand. The lawmaker said he will appeal the fine, claiming it was “a misunderstanding.”
“There was a simple misunderstanding on the House Floor after I went through the metal detectors to vote,” Rogers said in a statement.
Rogers is the third member — all on the GOP side — penalized for violating the rule adopted by the chamber in February that fines members who avoid security screening $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for each additional one.
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Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas received a $5,000 fine, and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia received one for $15,000. Both unsuccessfully appealed to the House Ethics Committee. Clyde is taking his matter to federal court.
According to a Capitol Police account, Rogers walked through and set off the magnetometer at a door to the House floor on April 14. A Capitol Police officer then tried to screen Rogers with the hand wand, but Rogers ignored him and proceeded toward the chamber.
When the officer told Rogers he needed to be screened by the wand, the lawmaker responded, “Maybe later; I have to vote.”
