House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) was fined $5000 for his first time offense of avoiding the metal detectors on his way to the House floor.
According to a Capitol Police filing on Tuesday, Clyburn moved into the House Chamber “without being screened by the officer” after returning from a bathroom break. Clyburn “deliberately avoided being screened by refusing to submit to screening at the West lobby screening point” and “continued past the officers” to walk onto the House floor, the document says according to The Hill.
The metal detectors were installed as additional security after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack. This is a first time a Democratic lawmaker has been fined for violating the new security measure.
Multiple House Republicans, including one who left the House chamber to use the same nearby restroom as Clyburn, have also been $5,000.
Clyburn has been notified of the fine and has 30 calendar days or five legislative days, whichever comes later, to send an appeal in writing to the House Ethics Committee.
A spokesperson for Clyburn told Politico on Wednesday that the congressman “respects the rules of the chamber and he disputes the characterization of this incident.”
Clyburn also told CNN that he plans to appeal the fine.
