Oregon House officially expels Mike Nearman over involvement in State Capitol breach

Oregon lawmakers have moved to expel Rep. Mike Nearman (R-Ore.) from the Oregon House of Representatives following his decision to aid far-right demonstrators by letting them into the state Capitol.

On Thursday, June 10, House lawmakers voted 59-1 in favor of a resolution condemning Nearman's decision to open the doors of the State Capitol for a crowd of protesters on Dec. 21 of last year. Lawmakers agreed that Nearman's actions, which they described as "disorderly behavior" were enough cause for them to expel him, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Prior to the highly publicized vote, top-ranking House lawmakers weighed in with their opinion of Nearman's actions. When House Republican Leader Christine Drazan appeared on the public radio show Think Out Loud, she admitted that protesters' intrusion could have easily escalated into a deadly encounter similar to the one that unfolded at the White House on Jan. 6.

"(Nearman) made a decision to intentionally come up with a plan to let people into the building (when) he did not know how that would turn out and he was comfortable with that," Drazan said. "I am not comfortable with that. There could easily have been a death on that day."

However, Nearman, who cast an opposing vote on the resolution, argued that he had also sought to keep the doors of the Capitol open at the onset of the pandemic. He also insists there is one silver lining in regard to his expulsion. During a recent radio interview, he said, "Someday you're gonna be watching Jeopardy and somebody's gonna say, 'Who is Mike Nearman?' And that's gonna be the right answer."

Nearman is the first Oregon lawmaker to ever be expelled from the state's House of Representatives.