‘Is it tannerite or C4 we want to put in those metal detectors when we blow them up?’
Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert and her fellow GOP House member, Matt Gaetz from Florida, have come under fire for joking about blowing up the Capitol metal detectors.
Mr Gaetz was speaking at a rally for Florida State Representative and Congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini on Sunday when he falsely claimed that the metal detectors were installed because of Ms Boebert, who carries a firearm.
The metal detectors were installed following the Capitol riot on 6 January when a mob of Trump supporters laid siege to the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.
“My friend Lauren Boebert from Colorado – they put in metal detectors on the floor of the House … because she’s a five-foot-nothing woman, she carries a firearm for her personal protection,” Mr Gaetz told rallygoers.
“They got triggered by that. I said, ‘Is it tannerite or C4 we want to put in those metal detectors when we blow them up?’” he added.
“I’ll bring the Tannerite!” Ms Boebert tweeted on Sunday evening. “To the fools who think this would be done inside the Capitol: get a life! The metal detectors are useless and we are getting rid of them when Republicans take back the House,” Ms Boebert later added as Twitter users started tagging the FBI, the Secret Service, the Justice Department, and other institutions in their responses to Ms Boebert and Mr Gaetz.
Among the Fray 