Capitol Police Ordered to Arrest People Who Aren’t Wearing Masks, Lawmakers Say Pelosi Directed the Order

updated

On Thursday, multiple lawmakers came forward, alleging that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ordered Capitol Police to arrest staff and visitors in the Capitol who fail to comply with her mask mandate.



Pelosi is giving lawmakers a slight pass but is telling the police to report “Members to SAA for their failure to comply.”

“I cannot comply with this tyrannical order,” Rep. Cammack said. “This is the people’s house, not Nancy Pelosi’s house.”

“This is such an overstep of Speaker Pelosi’s authority to basically make our Capitol Police arrest staff members and report on members [of Congress],” Cammack said to Fox News on Thursday. “It’s absolutely unconscionable that this is where we’re at.”

As of now, it is unclear if Pelosi actually made the order but lawmakers are asserting she did.

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Check out what Fox News reported:

The Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment about the new memo, which also advises that officers must wear masks at all times while indoors. But Pelosi’s office said she did not order police to begin arresting people because it’s not within her power.

“The speaker of the House does not control the U.S. Capitol Police,” Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill told Fox News.  “We were unaware of the memo until it was reported in the press.”

GOP leadership was quick to pounce on the police’s involvement with mask enforcement. 

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Thursday pointed out the police are only permitted to arrest people on the House side of the complex, not the Senate side, because leadership in the upper chamber hasn’t brought back the mask mandates.

“If you are a Capitol police officer you got orders … if a vaccinated staffer comes across in the House side without a mask you’re ordered to arrest them, but not on the Senate side,” McCarthy said. “This is not the America we know.”

Representative Steve Scalise is also claiming that Pelosi made the order.



“To be clear: Pelosi is directing police to ARREST vaccinated people who aren’t wearing masks,” Scalise tweeted. “This isn’t about science—it’s about power and control.”

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