A federal judge says that a mask mandate imposed on lawmakers in the House of Representatives did not violate the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton on Wednesday dismissed a case from three Republicans who sued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the rule, which was enacted in May 2020 and updated in January 2021 to include fines for offenders.
Judge Walton said the lawsuit filed by Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, offered "vague, generalized, and unsupported arguments," according to CNN.
The lawmakers filed their lawsuit in July, challenging fines they received for not wearing masks on the House floor. The lawmakers argued that in May 2021, they were each slapped with $500 fines after entering the House floor without wearing masks, which they did as a way to "engage in symbolic protest speech."
"This protest speech was a protest against the double standard being enforced by Defendants, the well-founded beliefs shared by Plaintiffs that mask wearing is not scientifically based, that mask wearing is not necessary for the vaccinated or naturally immune, that mask wearing is merely political theater, that one's bodily integrity should be free from government control, that individuals should have the liberty to choose what they wear on their face, and that individuals should be free to make their own medical decisions," according to the lawsuit, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The lawmakers further claimed that the fines were collected through salary reductions in violation of the 27th Amendment, which prohibits Congress from changing its salary compensation without an election.
On the issue of the First Amendment, Judge Walton wrote in his opinion that the House's mask mandate did not violate any free speech as the lawmakers "had myriad means of expressing their stated messages, including wearing masks or other clothing containing the messages they wanted to convey, or making speeches from the House Chamber or elsewhere on the subject."
As far as the 27th Amendment, Walton said no violation took place because the fines were issued "conditionally and indirectly based on the Member's own behavior" and did not change the base compensation for their services in Congress.
Disappointed by the decision, Rep. Massie hinted that an appeal may be planned.
"The judge came to the tortured conclusion that collecting mask fines by direct reduction of members’ salaries did not constitute reductions in salary, which is otherwise prohibited by the Constitution," Massie said in a statement to the Courier Journal. "We are glad to have a ruling that gets us one step closer to the Supreme Court, where we believe a plain reading of the Constitution will clearly show Speaker Pelosi has violated the Constitution."
The mask mandate was dropped last month after the U.S. Capitol's attending physician issued a memo citing new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which drop mask recommendations for most of the country, CNN reported.
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