Capitol Police are now investigating after a congressman was discovered in possession of a gun while attempting to go onto the House floor.
This comes less than two weeks after the Capitol riots, which left five people dead and led to the second impeachment of then-President Trump.
Sources told CNN that the gun was discovered by metal detectors that have now been set up outside the legislative chamber; this is the first time that such an incident has occurred.
In the video below, Tucker Carlson mocks AOC for saying her life was in danger during the Capitol riot:Rep. Andy Harris, of Maryland, set off the metal detector on Thursday (January 21) because he was carrying a firearm, a Capitol official told the news outlet.
Harris was subsequently sent away, and he asked a fellow Republican, Rep. John Katko of New York, to hold his weapon.
Katko, however, refused to hold the firearm as he did not have a license, and Harris left the area to return shortly afterward and enter without setting off the metal detector.
CNN reports that it is illegal to take a firearm into Congress, although some members have been granted an exception under a 1967 regulation from the Capitol Police Board.
Members of Congress can carry firearms in the halls of Congress and on Capitol grounds providing they have a license, and under no circumstances are they permitted on the House floor.
On Thursday night, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, told CNN's, Chris Cuomo: "I think a very considerable amount, a lot of members" of the House "still don't yet feel safe around other members of Congress," she said, slamming Harris for his decision to attempt to bring a gun onto the House floor.
"The moment you bring a gun onto the House floor in violation of rules, you put everyone around you in danger. It is irresponsible, it is reckless, but beyond that, it is the violation of rules," she said.
She continued: "You are openly disobeying the rules that we have established as a community, which means that you cannot be trusted to be held accountable to what we've decided as a community. And so I don't really care what they say their intentions are, I care what the impact of their actions are, and the impact is to put all 435 members of Congress in danger."
Ocasio-Cortez said that Harris "tried to hand off his gun to another member who didn't have a license, and any responsible gun owner knows that you don't just hand off your gun to another individual, you have to clear it, et cetera."
"That just goes to show, it doesn't matter what your intention is if you are irresponsible if you are trying to break rules if you're trying to sneak a firearm onto the floor of the House," she added. "I don't care if you accidentally set it off, I don't care if you intentionally set it off, I don't care if you don't set it off at all, you are endangering the lives of members of Congress. And it is absolutely outrageous that we even have to have this conversation."
