2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Sen. Pete Ricketts invoked Capitol Police on a false pretext to block a reporter's McConnell-health questions

On July 30, 2026, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) directed U.S. Capitol Police to stop TMZ DC reporter Charlie Cotton from continuing to question him about Sen. Mitch McConnell's health, falsely telling officers that Cotton and a second reporter had not passed through security. Cotton, who had already been credentialed and screened, was stopped from continuing his questions in a Senate hallway as a result. Ricketts later called Cotton to apologize, but a second reporter present, Myles Morrell, said he received no similar apology.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Pete Ricketts (U.S. Senator, R-NE)

On July 30, 2026, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) invoked U.S. Capitol Police to stop a credentialed reporter from continuing to question him about Sen. Mitch McConnell's health. TMZ DC reporter Charlie Cotton, who had already passed through Capitol security, followed Ricketts through a Senate office hallway asking whether McConnell — hospitalized since June 14 — needed to do more to demonstrate his fitness to serve. As Ricketts approached a security checkpoint, he gestured toward Cotton and a second reporter, Myles Morrell, and told officers "Stop them," falsely claiming the pair had not been screened. Police then stopped Cotton from continuing his questions.

Video of the exchange, posted by Cotton, showed Ricketts singling out the two reporters as not being "with him" while a Capitol Police officer told Cotton he still needed to go through security, despite Cotton's on-camera protest that he had already been through it. The incident drew criticism from other Capitol Hill press as an inappropriate use of police power against reporters engaged in ordinary newsgathering in a public area of the Capitol complex.

Updates

2026-07-30 — Ricketts apologized to Cotton by phone; second reporter got none [1, 2, 4]

Ricketts called Cotton after the incident to apologize, posting publicly, "I reacted poorly. I appreciate [Cotton] taking my phone call so I could apologize." Myles Morrell, the second reporter Ricketts had also waved off, said he had not received a similar apology.

Why we recorded this

The First Amendment protects journalists' right to question public officials in public spaces without government interference. Sen. Pete Ricketts invoked U.S. Capitol Police on a pretextual, false basis to stop a credentialed reporter from continuing to question him, and later admitted he "reacted poorly." Using official police power to shut down in-progress newsgathering — rather than answering or simply declining to answer — erodes the norm that elected officials remain accountable to press scrutiny in the institutions the public funds them to work in.

Sources

  1. GOP senator calls over Capitol Police after reporter asks him about Mitch McConnell's health — The Independent primary accessed August 1, 2026
  2. MAGA Senator Pete Ricketts Calls Security to Dodge Missing Mitch McConnell Question — The Daily Beast investigative accessed August 1, 2026
  3. Senator apologizes to reporter after using Capitol Police to block questions — WJLA (Sinclair/TNND) investigative accessed August 1, 2026
  4. Ricketts Gets Capitol Police to Stop TMZ's Charlie Cotton — Mediaite secondary accessed August 1, 2026
  5. Ricketts issues apology to TMZ DC's Charlie Cotton over Capitol Police move — The Hill secondary accessed August 1, 2026

See also