Capitol Police have confirmed that U.S. Representative Russ Fulcher (R - ID) is not currently being investigated for allegations that he pushed a Capitol Police officer aside after setting off a metal detector inside the Capitol on January 12th.Â
The allegations came from Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller, who tweeted on February 17th that Capitol Police had reached out to interview him about an incident that he witnessed involving Fulcher and metal detectors outside the House floor on January 12th.Â
The first investigation is about Rep. Russ Fulcher manhandling an officer who was at the metal detectors outside the House floor.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) February 17, 2021
I saw him very aggressively brush a female officer aside after he set the magnetometer off the night of 1/12.
In a series of tweets, Fuller says that he witnessed Fulcher, after setting off the metal detectors, "very aggressively brush a female officer aside." Fuller also claimed that the officer "had tears in her eyes" following the encounter.Â
Fulcher denied the allegations in a statement to the Idaho Statesman, saying they were fabricated by the media and blaming a "hostile political environment" as the reason for them. He has also said that he rejects the idea of screening members of Congress via metal detectors.Â
Member screening puts our capitol police in an awkward position of screening those they are to protect, re-directs resources away from outside threats, and implies members are a threat to one another… a notion I reject.
— Rep. Russ Fulcher (@RepRussFulcher) January 13, 2021
3/5
In a letter sent to Fulcher's office on Thursday, Capitol Police Chief of Staff Salley Wood says no current investigation into Representative Fulcher is in place.Â
"I am writing to confirm that, to the Department’s knowledge, there is no current investigation into an alleged or rumored incident occurring on or around the House Floor on January 12, 2021 involving Congressman Fulcher," Wood writes.Â
"This situation has been demoralizing to me and distracting to the people I represent," Fulcher said in a statement reacting to the letter from Capitol Police, "Attacks on policy positions are one thing, but this was designed to tear down character. Unfortunately, this instance represents just one symptom of the cancel culture on Capitol Hill."
Fuller has stood by what he claims to have witnessed, and has argued that even if there is no current investigation in place, that doesn't mean an investigation might not have occurred at some point.Â
