Oregon state lawmaker Rep. Mike Nearman (R) was charged last month with first-degree official misconduct and second-degree criminal trespass for opening the back door to the closed state Capitol to allow Covid-restriction protesters to storm the building. Nearman has claimed that he didn't intentionally open the door to let them in, but a newly surfaced video shows Norman telling people about "Operation Hall Pass," which involves opening the back door for protesters to enter the Capitol.
From the video:
"We are talking about setting up Operation Hall Pass, which I don't know anything about; and if you accuse me of knowing something about it, I'll deny it. But there would be some person's cell phone which might be [phone number bleeped out by CNN] but that is just random numbers that I spewed out; that's not anybody's actual cell phone. And if you say, 'I'm at the west entrance' during the session and text to that number there, that somebody might exit that door while you're standing there. But I don't know anything about that, I don't have anything to do with that, and if I did I wouldn't say that I did. But anyways that number that I didn't say was [phone number bleeped out by CNN]. So don't text that number but a number like that … and you'd have to say what entrance you're at, but that's not really going to happen so just don't worry about that, nobody said anything."
CNN confirmed the number is for Nearman's phone.
From CNN:
"You're not allowed in the Capitol, so that's, that's kind of a problem but that's where we're at," Nearman said.
A man from the audience then asks Nearman when would be a good time to show up at the Capitol.
"So if people were to show up at the Capitol, you know hypothetically speaking, would it be better to do it during the week or on the weekends because I notice a lot of rallies and things like that happen on the weekends when no one is working?"
Nearman then goes into a variety or scenarios, but says, "so Wednesday at 10 o'clock in the morning, that's when I am working at the Capitol, theoretically, if there's a session going on."
Surveillance video at the state Capitol allegedly shows Nearman leaving the building on December 21 through a locked door that was surrounded by anti-restriction protesters, which allowed the protesters to enter the building.