Topline
A Republican leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives resigned Thursday three weeks after he was found guilty of sexual harassment by an ethics subcommittee, following an investigation by a local affiliate that discovered he made inappropriate advances toward two legislative interns.
Rep. Scotty Campbell (R) resigned Thursday.
Key Facts
Rep. Scotty Campbell, a Republican leader who voted to expel three Democrats from the state House earlier this month, was found to have violated the legislature’s discrimination and harassment policy after complaints against Campbell were filed by two teen interns to an ethics subcommittee, according to affiliate WTVF.
While the ethics subcommittee found Campbell guilty on March 29, Campbell faced no repercussions until local news outlet WTVF questioned him about the allegations on Thursday, according to the outlet’s report.
Campbell initially indicated he would not leave office, but hours later he resigned.
The House did not act to remove Campbell during the three weeks following the subcommittee’s ruling, though some representatives told The Tennessean they were unaware of the findings until Thursday.
Campbell denied his interactions with the two interns as inappropriate and said he “had consensual, adult conversations” with them, adding he would record any future conversations with interns.
Family members of one intern said Campbell made sexually suggestive comments toward both interns in an interaction, indicating he had thought about them “performing sexual acts on one another”—claims that Campbell has denied.
The legislature spent thousands of dollars to relocate one intern to a hotel because she lived in the same apartment building as Campbell, WTVF reported.
Surprising Fact
This is not the first time a Tennessee state representative was removed or resigned following allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct. Democratic Rep. Rick Staples resigned in 2019 after violating the state legislature’s sexual harassment policy, following an investigation by an ethics subcommittee that discovered he inappropriately grabbed a woman’s waist and made comments about her appearance. Republican Rep. Mark Lovell resigned in 2017 following several allegations of sexual harassment. In 2016, Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham was expelled after an investigation found he engaged in sexual misconduct with 22 women.
Tangent
Campbell voted to expel three Democrats over their participation in a gun reform protest a week after the subcommittee’s ruling. Tennessee’s House expelled Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, while a vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson fell one vote short. Campbell said prior to the vote that he would support expelling any representative “if you were in court and behaved like those three did.”
Further Reading
REVEALED: GOP Leader, Who Voted To Expel Tennessee Three, Found Guilty Of Sexually Harassing Interns (WTVF)
Tennessee House Expels 2 Democrats Over Gun Reform Protest (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/04/20/tennessee-republican-resigns-over-sexual-harassment-of-interns/