During a news conference on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened up about concerns over threats she and other members of Congress have received in the wake of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, as reported by ABC News . She admitted that a bill will likely be required to increase funding for additional security measures for lawmakers and noted that much of the unease has been because an “enemy is within the House of Representatives.”
“It shouldn’t be that not only is the president of the United States inciting an insurrection, but keeps fanning the flame endangering the security of Members of Congress, to the point that they’re even concerned about Members in the House of Representatives being a danger to them,” Pelosi said in her remarks, which are available on the official website of the house speaker.
While she did not specify which members of Congress she was referencing when reporters pressed her about the “enemy is within” comment, she did mention an effort by some lawmakers to bring guns into the House chambers.
“It means that we have Members of Congress who want to bring guns on the Floor and have threatened violence on other Members of Congress,” she said.
Earlier in January, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland attempted to bring a gun on the House floor, while Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has advocated for firearms to be carried in the U.S. Capitol, as reported by The Guardian . Following the events at the Capitol, metal detectors were installed outside of the chambers and Pelosi called on fines to be issued against politicians who refused to be screened before entering.
She was directly targeted by another member of the House of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who allegedly liked a since-deleted Facebook post in January 2019 which called for the execution of the House Speaker and other prominent Democrats.
Pelosi expressed outrage that Greene was placed on the House Education and Labor Committee by Republican leadership, in particular due to previous comments about school shootings. Greene has a history of harassing the survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and alleged that and other school shootings were staged events.
“What could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous of a word for what they might be doing. It is absolutely appalling,” Pelosi said.
House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said that he will speak with Greene over her activities on social media.