BISMARCK, ND (AP) – The North Dakota House voted on Thursday to expel a legislator accused of sexually threatening and harassing women on Capitol Hill, the first time in state history a legislator has been expelled.
Members voted 69-25 to expel Congressman Luke Simons, a Dickinson Republican, for a pattern of behavior that was said to have occurred shortly after he took office in 2017. The expulsion came with strong support from Simons’ own party, which holds an absolute majority in the chamber.
Majority leader Chet Pollert, who co-sponsored the resolution to expel, said Simons had “multiple chances to avoid being in this situation”.
“There is only one way to stop this behavior and that is to expel Mr Simons from this Chamber,” said Pollert.
Simons, who denied any wrongdoing, was challenging before the vote. He blamed the accusers for “distorting my words”, said any other lawmaker could be in his position and complained that he was not having due process.
“I could make any accusation against any of you,” said Simons before the vote. “Under this circumstance that we are in, you are guilty.”
Surrounded by his family and friends after the vote, Simons said he believed he would have “much more support” from fellow legislators.
Lynn Boughey, his lawyer, said he could discuss the case in court, but would leave it to Simons “after he speaks to his family”.
Simons is accused of a pattern of sexually aggressive, obscene and threatening behavior. Republican MP Emily O’Brien said her harassment was so widespread that she switched tables to stay away from him.
“Before I introduced myself, I didn’t know if that was something I wanted to relive,” she told other members of the Chamber. “It is difficult to recall the unjustified, disturbing and uncomfortable experiences. I think ‘shame on you, Emily O’Brien, for not introducing yourself and being a voice for others.’ “
A 14-page document compiled by the non-partisan Legislative Council includes allegations that Simons made “advances” in relation to female employees and interns, commented on his appearances and tried to give an employee an unsolicited shoulder massage. One employee described his behavior as “really scary”.
The council released two additional documents this week alleging inappropriate and bizarre behavior by Simons, a 43-year-old farmer and barber who is married and has five children. A woman said that Simons referred to her as “that beautiful one” and insulted her husband, “saying that usually women who dress in class like me are married to idiots like my husband”.
The woman, whose name was written on documents, also claimed that Simons once put his lunch box in his office before going out to use the bathroom and said, “I bet you hope there isn’t a bomb there, huh?”
Republican MP Shannon Roers Jones, a lawyer, said in plenary on Thursday that the action to remove Simons is about improper behavior, not about targeting a political ideology, as Simons claimed. Simons is a member of the loosely organized Bastiat Caucus, a far-right group that supports limited government and arms rights. Much of the legislation proposed by Simons over the years reflected this.
“We pushed women away from him, we limited his ability to work with them, but in doing so, we are also punishing women,” said Roers Jones. “When we transfer women or restrict who they work with, we are limiting a woman’s ability to do her job and therefore limiting her ability to move forward because of a member’s actions.”
Democratic minority leader in the House, Josh Boschee, of Fargo, who co-sponsored the resolution, looked at Simons and said, “You hurt people. You have damaged the integrity of the legislative assembly. “
The North Dakota Constitution says that any of the chambers can expel a member with two-thirds approval. This means that at least 63 members had to pass the resolution to expel Simons. Republicans have an 80-14 lead in the House.
Opponents of the resolution said the process was flawed and that Simons did not have due process. Pollert said the process for expelling Simons was “above and beyond what is legally required”.
Republican MP Rick Becker, who heads Bastiat Caucus, argued that Simons’ behavior did not justify expulsion and sought to change the resolution to censor him. That failed, 66-28.