Kaylee Domzalski
Originally published on June 3, 2021 9:08 am
State Rep. Mike Nearman “more likely than not” purposefully allowed far-right demonstrators into the locked Oregon Capitol in December as his fellow lawmakers met inside, an investigation has found.
That conclusion, reached in an investigatory report made public Wednesday, could pave the way for official findings that Nearman violated workplace rules when a committee takes up the matter on June 9. The hearing will dictate whether Nearman, a Polk County Republican, will face penalties as severe as expulsion from the Legislature for his role in the Dec. 21 incursion.
“The evidence supports a conclusion that it is more likely than not that Rep. Nearman intentionally aided demonstrators in breaching Capitol security and entering the building on December 21, 2020, when it was closed to the public,” says a seven-page report authored by private attorney Melissa Healy.