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| ‘Don’t arrest me, Pelosi’: House Republicans protest mask rules by walking to Senate side of Capitol | ‘Don’t arrest me, Pelosi’: House Republicans protest mask rules by walking to Senate side of Capitol |
| (30 days later) | |
| A group of Republican members of Congress has walked over to the Senate side of the Capitol in protest over the mask mandate imposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) under threat of arrest and fines. | A group of Republican members of Congress has walked over to the Senate side of the Capitol in protest over the mask mandate imposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) under threat of arrest and fines. |
| Refusing to wear face coverings, the group gathered in the Capitol rotunda for a photo-op on Thursday afternoon, before proceeding to the Senate chambers to hear a speech by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) denouncing the new mask mandates as unconstitutional and unscientific. | Refusing to wear face coverings, the group gathered in the Capitol rotunda for a photo-op on Thursday afternoon, before proceeding to the Senate chambers to hear a speech by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) denouncing the new mask mandates as unconstitutional and unscientific. |
| Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina), Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Louie Gohmert and Chip Roy of Texas were among the rebel Republicans. | Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina), Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Louie Gohmert and Chip Roy of Texas were among the rebel Republicans. |
| Videos from inside the Capitol show the group posing for photos and walking to the Senate chambers. | Videos from inside the Capitol show the group posing for photos and walking to the Senate chambers. |
| Earlier, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) had also gone over to the Senate side in protest at the new House rules by “Queen” Pelosi, as he referred to the speaker. | Earlier, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) had also gone over to the Senate side in protest at the new House rules by “Queen” Pelosi, as he referred to the speaker. |
| “Might as well come into my office and arrest my entire staff,” Massie had tweeted earlier in the day. “We are not wearing masks … the physician and the chief of police don’t have this authority.” | “Might as well come into my office and arrest my entire staff,” Massie had tweeted earlier in the day. “We are not wearing masks … the physician and the chief of police don’t have this authority.” |
| A memo circulated by Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger on Wednesday instructed officers to remove from the building any visitors and staff who refused to wear masks, and to arrest them for unlawful entry if they refused. | A memo circulated by Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger on Wednesday instructed officers to remove from the building any visitors and staff who refused to wear masks, and to arrest them for unlawful entry if they refused. |
| Capitol Police officers were also ordered to file a report with the House sergeant-at-arms if any members of Congress refused to comply so they would be subject to fines. | Capitol Police officers were also ordered to file a report with the House sergeant-at-arms if any members of Congress refused to comply so they would be subject to fines. |
| Pelosi first mandated masks on the House floor last year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, and eventually extended that rule even to people speaking inside the chamber. The restriction was lifted in May, as part of the Biden administration’s push to encourage vaccinations, but reinstated this week, amid claims the Delta variant of the virus was causing cases across the US to surge. | Pelosi first mandated masks on the House floor last year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, and eventually extended that rule even to people speaking inside the chamber. The restriction was lifted in May, as part of the Biden administration’s push to encourage vaccinations, but reinstated this week, amid claims the Delta variant of the virus was causing cases across the US to surge. |
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