Rep. Dan Crenshaw fined $5,000 for skipping Pelosi’s metal detectors, police memo describes incident

U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) is the latest Republican to be fined for allegedly bypassing the metal detectors in the House of Representatives.

The House Committee on Ethics released a statement on Wednesday that the Houston-area congressman and ex-Navy SEAL violated House Resolution 73 that imposes the $5,000 penalty for first-time noncompliance and $10,000 per incident thereafter.

“On September 27, 2021, the Committee received a notification from the Office of the Sergeant at Arms that Representative Dan Crenshaw has been fined pursuant to House Resolution 73.  Pursuant to Section 1(a)(3) of House Resolution 73, the Committee hereby publishes the fine notification,” the committee explained.

Crenshaw, or anyone else sanctioned under the rule, can appeal within the committee pursuant to a 30-day deadline. The committee added that it “will refrain from making further public statements” until the process plays out.

As of this writing, neither Crenshaw, who is very active on social media, nor his office have released a statement of their own in response.

If the monetary penalty is finalized, it will be directly deducted from Crenshaw’s paycheck as standard procedure.

The Democrat-controlled chamber under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) authorized the metal detectors at Capitol entrances after the January 6 riot along with the associated fines.

A Capitol Police “investigation revealed that Crenshaw and an unknown man, who appeared to be a former member of Congress, entered the House chamber without clearing security,” The Washington Post reported.

Cops allegedly identified Crenshaw by reviewing video footage. Crenshaw allegedly avoided the metal detector about 10 minutes after the unidentified man purportedly did so.

House Sergeant at Arms William Walker, the official in charge of imposing the penalties, formally notified Committee Chair Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) of Crenshaw’s alleged transgression in a letter dated September 24, including attaching a brief police report with the subject line “unusual occurrence” that detailed the situation.

Walker also notified Crenshaw in writing of his first-time offense for “failure to complete security screening” on September 23.

U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) are among the lawmakers who have been hit with fines for sidestepping the detectors.

In June, they sued Walker and another administrator in federal court on grounds that the rule was unconstitutional and selectively enforced against the GOP.

“Clyde and Gohmert said Democrats have been allowed to enter the floor without being screened, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Feb. 4,” AP reported.

Crenshaw was one of the lawmakers who criticized Pelosi for apparently flouting her own rules.

At the time, Crenshaw observed that “When you’re a liberal there’s a propensity for action, even if that action is not effective. There’s a propensity for virtue-signaling even when that signaling is not effective.”

When the rule was first rolled out, several Republicans insisted they would defy the security screening because the Constitution does not allow lawmakers to be detained coming or going from the House floor.

Clyde and Gohmert’s lawsuit, among other things, alleges that the fines that are subject to the automatic payroll deduction “violate the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bans changes to congressional salaries until after an ensuing election.”

The duo’s legal claim also maintains that noncompliance does not rise to “‘disorderly conduct’ for which a member can be punished and because members can’t be arrested except for ‘treason, felony and breach of the peace.'”

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) has also reportedly been fined under the resolution.

In the same time frame, Pelosi implemented a new rule that fines lawmakers $500 for not wearing a face mask on the House floor.

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