PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Dozens of community groups across Oregon have signed a letter calling for the state Legislature to immediately remove Rep. Mike Nearman from office after he allegedly helped far-right protesters break into the state Capitol last month.
KOIN 6 News first obtained security footage showing the Republican from Independence leaving the Capitol on Dec. 21 through a side door without doing anything to stop two protesters from going inside.
Video then caught Nearman on camera in the next five minutes, first catching him as he walked through the protest crowd, then as he circled the Capitol building to go back inside the south entrance.
Groups such as the NAACP of Eugene-Springfield say it was the culmination of a years-long pattern enabling white nationalism.
“Over the last four years, white nationalists and others have grown bolder and increasingly their narrative has been normalized,” Eric Richardson of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP said at Monday’s press conference. “Unfortunately, that’s due to elected officials in the Republican party supporting this narrative.”
Nearman issued a statement last week saying he hopes for due process but has not said he plans to resign.
