U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) were ordered to start arresting visitors and staff who refuse to wear a mask on the House side of the Capitol complex starting Thursday, according to a police memo issued by new USCP Chief Thomas Manger that was obtained by a member of Congress.
Police were also advised not to arrest members of Congress for failing to wear masks but to report the lawmakers' noncompliance to the House sergeant-at-arms, the memo says.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., got a copy of the memo distributed at Thursday's morning roll call from an unnamed police officer, she told Fox News. Police she's spoken to are "very uncomfortable" with this new directive that Cammack describes as "tyrannical."
The two-page guidance was issued by the new police chief, Manger, who took over on Friday to lead the Capitol Police force, which is still reeling from the Jan. 6 riot and Good Friday attack at the Capitol.
The memo says the police who work on the House side of the Capitol "shall enforce this mask policy on all staff and visitors" in "House Office Buildings, the Hall of the House, and House Committee meetings."
If a visitor or staff member fails to wear a mask, they will be not allowed entry. "Any person who fails to either comply or to leave the premises after being asked to do so would be subject to an arrest for Unlawful Entry," the memo says.
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