Oregon Republicans calling on Rep. Nearman to resign after new video surfaces
By SIMON GUTIERREZ
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SALEM, OR (KPTV) — Republicans in the Oregon House of Representatives are calling on one of their own, Rep. Mike Nearman to resign, after new video surfaced that suggested he might have planned in advance to allow demonstrators inside the locked and secured capitol building.
In the video, which was posted on YouTube, Nearman can be heard mentioning something he called “Operation Hall Pass,” which he claimed to know nothing about, and sharing a phone number, which he repeated three times.
In the video, Nearman claimed the number phone number was comprised of “random numbers.”
Nearman went on to say that if someone were to text that number and indicate which entrance to the building they were near, that “somebody might exit that door while you’re standing there.”
Surveillance video taken during a protest at the Capitol on December 21, 2020, shows Nearman walking out an exterior door, and demonstrators immediately rushing in the open door.
Last month, a group of House Democrats called for Nearman’s resignation, and on Monday, House Republicans followed suit.
House Minority Leader Christine Drazan said Nearman’s actions did not meet the standards public servants should be held to.
“It was a decision to expose our state troopers and the occupants of the building to the potential for violence. That is not acceptable,” said Drazan.
An outside investigation into Nearman’s role in the protest recently found Nearman “more likely than not intentionally assisted demonstrators in breaching security and entering the capitol.”
The House Committee on Conduct will be discussing Nearman’s role in the capitol demonstration on Wednesday.
Nearman’s office did not reply to requests for comment.
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