In the post-“insurrection” era, D.C.’s Capitol police, who take their marching orders from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been trending toward becoming her personal partisan gestapo. In the latest example of overreach on their behalf, a routine safety procedure became somewhat of a witch hunt for one Texas congressman.
Last November, when Capitol Police noticed the door of Representative Troy Nehls’ office wide open, they went inside to ensure everything was alright. Congressman Nehls, the former sheriff of a suburban county near Houston, conceded that this was common practice and that in and of itself, it was not an issue. What the officer did that overstepped their bounds, though, was to take pictures of the congressman’s white board. Apparently this paranoid officer must have thought that Representative Nehls and his staff were planning a coup or something, because what had concerned them was a note about body armor, and a map of the nearby Rayburn House Office Building with an X marked near an entrance.
Newsweek documented Nehls’ statements regarding the incident.
Nehls detailed his accusations against Capitol Police in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
“They had no authority to photograph my office, let alone investigate myself or members of my staff,” Nehls wrote. “So, why is the Capitol Police Leadership maliciously investigating me in an attempt to destroy me and my character?”
In a separate statement, Nehls said the mention of body armor on his whiteboard was related to a bill to ensure high-quality protective equipment for law enforcement officers.
He told the Post the crude drawing of the Rayburn building, part of the Capitol complex, was for an intern so they could find the ice machine.
A piece of legislation, and directions to the ice machine. Sounds to me like the Nancy’s Capitol Police are making much ado about nothing. In that aforementioned series of Tweets, Congressman Nehls blasts the intrusion as politically-motivated targeting due to his criticism of the January 6th Committee, calling it an attack on his character.
Maybe it is because I have been a vocal critic of @SpeakerPelosi, the @January6thCmte, and @CapitolPolice leadership about their handling of January 6th, the death of Ashli Babbitt and the subsequent SHAM investigation.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) February 8, 2022
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger issued a press release later that day, stating that there was no investigation at any point against Representative Nehls or his staff.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, one of our vigilant officers spotted the Congressman’s door was wide open. That Monday, USCP personnel personally followed up with the Congressman’s staff and determined no investigation or further action of any kind was needed. No case investigation was ever initiated or conducted into the Representative or his staff.
Even if there was never any official investigation launched against Congressman Nehls, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that a member of the Capitol Police was taking pictures of a congressman’s personal effects while alone in their office without that congressman’s knowledge. I’m inclined to agree with the Representative Nehls that if he were a member of the other party, what was found on his white board would almost certainly be given the benefit of the doubt instead of being photographed and sent up to the top brass for further examination.
Brady Bowyer is a veteran of many political campaigns ranging from the municipal to federal level, as well as several pro-freedom PACs and nonprofits. Check out more of Brady’s work on his Substack, Leaning into Liberty. He and his wife are proud to call South Carolina’s Lowcountry their home.
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