Rep. Mike Nearman, a Republican in the Oregon House of Representatives, was ejected from it Thursday over his part in an armed incursion there last year. The vote to expel him was 59-1; he was the only member to vote against it. Video evidence was key in condemning him so completely.
In a widely anticipated vote, the Oregon House approved a resolution that formally found Nearman's act of opening a Capitol door for a far-right crowd on Dec. 21 amounted to "disorderly behavior", the constitutional standard for ejecting a legislator. The resolution passed by a vote of 59-1, with only Nearman voting against.
"This is potentially the most serious and historic vote any of us will ever take in our career as legislators," said state Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, toward the end of a somber, relatively brief debate in which Nearman was the only Republican to speak.
