Rep. Bill Huizenga, accused of walking around House metal detector, fined $5,000

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, was fined $5,000 by the House Sergeant at Arms on Friday for skirting a metal detector leading onto the chamber floor.

He said he plans to appeal, calling the move an outrageous overreach.

"I use the word absurd," said his spokesman, Brian Patrick, on Friday. "It's the sad state of (House) Speaker Nancy Pelosi's house — it sows mistrust between the members."

According to Patrick, here's what happened: Called back to Washington this week, Huizenga went through the detector leading onto the House floor on Monday, when his son — who works for another member — called to him from the neighboring cloakroom.

Huizenga went out, spoke to his son and then reentered to the floor — this time without going through the detector. An officer noticed, leading to the fine.

The House Ethics Committee on Friday put out a news release noting that Huizenga had been fined but said nothing about the amount or the infraction. 

It's not the first time Huizenga, who has been a member of the House since 2011, has had a problem with the metal detectors installed by Pelosi this year following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

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Back in January, Huizenga walked through a detector, setting it off, but refused to stop. He later told a west Michigan TV station that he thought it was insulting, time-consuming and, possibly, unconstitutional, given rules against obstructing members from voting.

He also noted that he can enter the White House without going through a metal detector.

But Patrick said since then Huizenga has followed the rules regarding the detectors, even if he disagrees with them. 

Fines have become an issue in the current Congress. Several members have been fined hundreds of dollars at times for not wearing masks as required by House rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Bill's not trying to skirt the rules," Patrick said. "This is a total technicality."

Contact Todd Spangler:tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.