House ethics committee drops magnetometer fines for Reps. Rogers, Clyburn

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The House Ethics Committee Thursday dropped $5,000 fines facing both House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., after they successfully appealed allegations that they skirted House magnetometers.

Lawmakers are required to walk through metal detectors erected outside the House chamber – a security measure instated following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

Five lawmakers, including GOP Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and most recently Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, have all been slapped with $5,000 fines for reportedly evading the security measures. 

Cylburn — the only Democrat to be issued a fine – and Rogers are the first lawmakers to successfully appeal their fines to the House Ethics Committee.

Appeals by Gohmert and Clyde were rejected earlier this year. 

Fox News could not reach Foxx for comment on whether the congresswoman, who was issued a fine Tuesday, will seek an appeal.

Clyde is the only congressman to have received two separate fines, which means he has been forced to pay out $15,000, as a second offense is a hefty $10,000 fine.

Much to the dismay of Republican lawmakers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposed the security protocol and it was approved by the Democrat-controlled House earlier this year. 

The fine system was imposed after over a dozen Republican lawmakers refused to walk through the magnetometers on their way to the House floor.

Less than a week after the U.S. Capitol attack, Gohmert caught the media’s attention after he refused to abide by Capitol police and pass through the magnetometer.

The congressmen from Texas infamously yelled back at security officials, “You can’t stop me; I’m on my way to a vote.”

The fines are paid straight from the lawmakers as campaign funds or money allocated for office operations are not allowed to be used to cover their charges.

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