Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) filed a lawsuit looking for $2.5 million in damages after a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer entered his workplace, prompting claims from the GOP congressman that he’s “worried and anxious” about his interactions with the company.
The go well with stems from a 2021 incident wherein an officer entered Nehls’s workplace over the Thanksgiving break, relaying that he discovered the door to the workplace huge open.
Upon seeing a white board with “suspicious writings mentioning body armor with an outline of the Rayburn Building next to the Longworth building with an ‘x’”’ marked” on the map, the officer forwarded the data to supervisors. Three sergeants within the Intelligence Operations Part of the USCP later visited Nehl’s workplace and requested concerning the white board.
“Congressman Nehls was later informed by his staff of the unauthorized entry of his office, the photographing of his whiteboard, and the questioning of his staff about the contents of his writings on the whiteboard. He was appalled and outraged by the invasion of his privacy, and he regarded the actions of the Capitol Police to be a threat to the liberties of the people of his district and the nation as a whole,” Nehls wrote.
“Capitol Police treated the matter as criminal in nature, impairing the Congressman’s reputation. He has suffered mental and emotional distress, anxiety, and humiliation,” he added.
Nehls’s go well with disputes quite a few gadgets within the officer’s account, together with whether or not the door was open. He additionally argues {that a} “reasonable” officer would have understood the notes on the white board had been merely brainstorming about his laws.
A 2022 USCP inspector common’s report largely discovered no fault with the officer and mentioned the company ought to replace its insurance policies for locating open doorways that “strikes the proper balance of protecting congressional representatives and their staff from physical outside threats while simultaneously protecting their legislative proposals and work product from possibly inappropriate photography, scrutiny, and questioning by USCP employees.”
The USCP didn’t instantly reply to request for remark. Nonetheless, it defended its actions on the time in a press release to Politico.
“The U.S. Representative was never under criminal investigation. His staff was never under criminal investigation. The Inspector General’s report supports these conclusions,” the USCP mentioned of the report. “Spreading unfounded conspiracy theories in the press undermines the work our brave men and women do every day to protect the Members of Congress, the Capitol Complex, and the legislative process.”
Nehls’s go well with, filed in his house state of Texas quite than in Washington the place his workplace is situated, went on to claim his criticism of Capitol Police has made him a goal.
“He has had to worry that he was targeted for his criticism of the Capitol Police and that he may be subject to additional searches of his office. He took precautions and asked the Architect of the Capitol to sweep his office for listening devices. He remains worried and anxious about what else the Capitol Police might do to him,” the go well with states.
