Oregon lawmaker ousted for aiding armed intruders

[NFA] The Oregon House of Representatives on Thursday night voted to expel one of its own members accused of coordinating with protesters, some of whom were armed, to allow them into the state Capitol.

Lisa Bernhard produced this report.

A member of Oregon’s House of Representatives is out a job Friday after being expelled by his colleagues for allowing protesters into the state Capitol last year.

Security footage showed Republican Mike Nearman opening a locked side door to the Capitol while the House was in session last December and allowing in a group of protesters, some of whom were armed.

The intruders damaged property and clashed with law enforcement while calling for the arrest of Oregon's governor over her pandemic restrictions.

The lawmakers said Nearman had engaged in "disorderly behavior" by helping the protesters enter the building in defiance of health protocols.

Nearman made a brief statement during the House debate on Thursday, saying the effort to expel him lacked due process, according to local reports.

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Democrat who sponsored the resolution to remove Nearman, said in a statement on Twitter that the House vote to remove one of its own members was "unprecedented" but "the only reasonable path forward." Nearman is also being prosecuted on misdemeanor charges.