House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Tuesday that there will be a “zero-tolerance policy” for disturbances in effect for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US Capitol — and warned lawmakers that they could be arrested for violating the order.
“Due to the attention garnered by the prime minister’s address, there will be an increased police presence around the Capitol complex and in the House Chamber,” the House speaker wrote in a letter to colleagues.
“In the interest of all involved, we will enforce a zero-tolerance policy for disturbances in the building.”
Johnson, 52, told lawmakers to remind their guests ahead of Netanyahu’s Wednesday appearance on Capitol Hill that “any disruption of the proceedings of the House is a violation of the rules and may subject the offenders to prosecution.”
“If any disturbance does occur, the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol police will remove the offending visitor(s) from the gallery and subject them to arrest,” he wrote.
The House speaker further suggested that members of the House of Representatives could be subject to similar penalties for flouting the lower chamber’s rules.
“If any Member creates a disturbance, the Sergeant at Arms will request that such action be ceased immediately, and we trust that request will be heeded,” Johnson noted.
The letter comes days after the House speaker vowed that arrest would be made should anyone in the chamber make a spectacle during the 74-year-old prime minister’s speech.
“There will be extra sergeants at arms on the floor … If anybody gets out of hand, we’re gonna arrest people,” Johnson said at a Republican Jewish Coalition event on the sidelines of last week’s Republican National Convention.
Capitol Police announced the arrest of about 200 anti-Israel protesters Tuesday for illegally demonstrating inside the Cannon House Office Building on the eve of Netanyahu’s speech.
Netanyahu’s upcoming address to Congress has spurred protests and condemnation from several Democratic lawmakers opposed to Israel’s war against Hamas, with several, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), announcing that they will boycott the speech.
Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump later in the week.