The GOP-controlled House of Representatives in North Dakota voted 69-25 to expel one of its members over allegations of sexual harassment.
The chamber voted one week to replace the Republican Rep. Expel Luke Simons after allegations against him were made back in 2017, according to The Associated Press. This is the first time in the history of North Dakota that a legislature has been removed from the state legislature.
Before the vote, Simons blamed his defendants for distorting his words, according to the newspaper, saying other lawmakers could be in his position.
“I can make any accusation against any of you,” Simons told AP. “Under these circumstances, we are guilty.”
Simons posted a photo of the vote on Facebook, with the caption “Well, that’s it, no trial, no trial and no evidence. “Based on the accusations made, I was expelled from the house and now I am outside the legislature.” The Bismark Tribune reports.
After the vote, Simons’ attorney, Lynn Boughey, said they would review their options, and according to the Tribune “as discussed – take it to the North Dakota Supreme Court,”
“I need to talk to my client to determine how he wants to proceed,” Boughey was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The Legislative Council of the State Legislature last week released a 14-page report outlining various complaints of harassment, according to The Grand Forks Herald.
One staff member claimed that Simons had given her an unsolicited shoulder rub during a committee meeting, and another said Simons said she could “lick and sniff” a stain on a piece of paper he slid across her desk. .
The details of Simons’ misconduct came to light for the first time last month after an altercation in the state’s Capitol’s cafeteria last month between him and two female Democratic lawmakers, according to the Herald. The news office reported that Simons was responding to lawmakers when they asked him to wear his mask while waiting for his food.