Security video obtained by The Oregonian / OregonLive under a request for public records clearly shows Rep. Mike Nearman, an Independence Republican, opening two doors to the Capitol during a December 21 special legislative session, allowing violent protesters to immediately protest outside the door illegally enter the building.
The Oregon Capitol was and is closed to the public due to the pandemic, although journalists are allowed to report on the proceedings and the meetings are broadcast live and archived online.
The protesters, many of them unmasked and some carrying rifles, opposed restrictions on the state’s coronavirus and tried to interrupt the ongoing session. State officials and Salem police officers ended up preventing them from entering the building’s roundabout or reaching the House or Senate chambers, but not before some of the protesters reportedly sprayed six soldiers with a chemical that would have been pepper spray. The video shows the spray being implanted.
Some protesters physically assaulted journalists who were reporting on the event. At least one person was arrested after trying to enter the Capitol by breaking a window in a door. People also managed to get in without breaking in – and this security footage shows just how.
So far, at least two people have been arrested on charges related to the violation on the morning of December 21.
House Speaker Tina Kotek said on Thursday that legislative leaders were exploring how they could punish any legislator who helped protesters to force their entry into the Capitol on December 21. The Oregon State Police is investigating the incident, she said.
House Republicans never responded to a request for comment on the incident on Thursday.
– Hillary Borrud