U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde said Monday he'll go to federal court to challenge a House rule that congressmen must pass through metal detectors to get to the House floor.
Clyde and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas were fined $5,000 last week for refusing the screening. Clyde argues that the metal detectors are unconstitutional.
"It is clearly written in there that representatives cannot be impeded or arrested except for things like treason, felony or breach of the peace when they are on their way to their respective houses," Clyde said in an interview Monday on WDUN. "Anything that impedes you is unconstitutional."
He told WDUN host Martha Zoller that he opted to forego the screening so that he would have standing to challenge the rule in U.S. District Court, which he said he will do.
"We're taking this to federal court and we're going to have this overturned," he said.
The House approved the rule requiring metal detectors last week, one of the measures implemented after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The rules had strong support from Democrats, but some Republicans, including Clyde and Gohmert have refused to comply.
Members who refuse the scan are fined $5,000 for a first offense and $10,000 for a second.
"This is all part of a narrative that (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi started a couple of weeks ago when she declared that 'the enemy is within' and that the enemy is Republicans," Clyde said. "And that's just absurd. We're not the enemy."
Clyde, a Republican from Jackson County, was elected in November and is serving his first term as the representative from Georgia's Ninth Congressional District. He appeared this morning on WDUN's "Morning Talk with Martha Zoller."
