Texas Republican sues over Capitol Police office search

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) filed a lawsuit seeking $2.5 million in damages after a U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer entered his office, prompting claims from the GOP congressman that he is “worried and anxious” about his interactions with the agency.

The suit stems from a 2021 incident in which an officer entered Nehls’s office over the Thanksgiving break, relaying that he found the door to the office wide open. 

Upon seeing a white board with “suspicious writings mentioning body armor with an outline of the Rayburn Building next to the Longworth building with an 'x'”' marked” on the map, the officer forwarded the information to supervisors. Three sergeants in the Intelligence Operations Section of the USCP later visited Nehl’s office and asked about the white board.

“Congressman Nehls was later informed by his staff of the unauthorized entry of his office, the photographing of his whiteboard, and the questioning of his staff about the contents of his writings on the whiteboard. He was appalled and outraged by the invasion of his privacy, and he regarded the actions of the Capitol Police to be a threat to the liberties of the people of his district and the nation as a whole,” Nehls wrote.

“Capitol Police treated the matter as criminal in nature, impairing the Congressman’s reputation. He has suffered mental and emotional distress, anxiety, and humiliation,” he added.

Nehls’s suit disputes a number of items in the officer's account, including whether the door was open. He also argues that a “reasonable” officer would have understood the notes on the white board were simply brainstorming about his legislation.

A 2022 USCP inspector general’s report largely found no fault with the officer and said the agency should update its policies for finding open doors that “strikes the proper balance of protecting congressional representatives and their staff from physical outside threats while simultaneously protecting their legislative proposals and work product from possibly inappropriate photography, scrutiny, and questioning by USCP employees.”

The USCP did not immediately respond to request for comment. However, it defended its actions at the time in a statement to Politico.

“The U.S. Representative was never under criminal investigation. His staff was never under criminal investigation. The Inspector General’s report supports these conclusions,” the USCP said of the report. “Spreading unfounded conspiracy theories in the press undermines the work our brave men and women do every day to protect the Members of Congress, the Capitol Complex, and the legislative process.”

Nehls’s suit, filed in his home state of Texas rather than in Washington where his office is located, went on to assert his criticism of Capitol Police has made him a target.

“He has had to worry that he was targeted for his criticism of the Capitol Police and that he may be subject to additional searches of his office. He took precautions and asked the Architect of the Capitol to sweep his office for listening devices. He remains worried and anxious about what else the Capitol Police might do to him,” the suit states.