Political | Process

In response to the allegations, the Capitol Police chief suggested the officer activity in Nehls’s office was part of standard protocol, but Nehls remains resolute.

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Nehls, sheriff of Fort Bend County, Texas, for eight years before winning his suburban Houston-area House seat in 2020, accused Capitol Police of entering his office for an investigation on two occasions in November.

Nehls’s accusation comes as Tom Manger confirmed an inspector general investigation was opened to examine Capitol Police monitoring members of Congress.

• “On November 20th, 2021, Capitol Police entered my office without my knowledge and photographed confidential legislative products,” Nehls said.

• “Two days later on Monday November 22, 2021 (Thanksgiving week), three intelligence officers attempted to enter my office while the House was in recess,” the congressman continued.

• “Upon discovering a member of my staff, special agents dressed like construction workers began to question him as to the contents of a photograph taken illegally two days earlier.”

• According to the Federalist, the officer took a photo of a whiteboard that Nehls and his staff used to brainstorm legislative ideas. The officer reportedly wrote in a police report after the incident that the board included “suspicious writings mentioning body armor.”

• Nehls said neither he nor any of his staff was notified of being investigated or told why, suggesting the reason has to do with his vocal criticism of the House select committee formed to investigate the Capitol riot.

• Nehls was initially selected by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to sit on the Jan. 6 panel, but Republicans boycotted the committee after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed two of McCarthy’s picks.