West Virginia House of Delegates Minority Whip Mike Caputo Faces Possible Censure, Expulsion for Kicking Door, Injuring Staffer
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CHARLESTON -- The Democratic minority whip for the House of Delegates could be facing censure and possible expulsion from the House for actions that injured a house staffer last Friday.
House Resolution 20, sponsored by 29 members of the 59-member Republican majority in the house, would censure House Minority Whip Mike Caputo, D-Marion. House Resolution 21, introduced by Del. S. Marshall Wilson, would expel Caputo for the remainder of his term of office, which ends in January 2021.
The resolutions were introduced late Thursday night at the end of a floor session that started at 9 a.m that morning. The resolutions could be taken up this morning.
The two resolutions stem from an incident last week involving a display showing a picture of the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 above a picture of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Somali refugee and Muslim who is accused of making anti-Semitic remarks.
A number of Democratic House members, including Caputo, were highly upset with the display, which was set up in front of the House Chamber during WVGOP Day at the legislature March 1. The state Republican Party has disavowed any knowledge of the display, as has ACT! for America, an organization accused of anti-Muslim hatred. The woman who set up the display, Brenda Arthur, has represented ACT in the past and was using ACT paraphernalia for her display.
After witnessing the display, Caputo admitted to kicking open the front door to the House Chamber in anger when the doors were shut in between the opening prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. When Caputo kicked the door, he allegedly injured an assistant doorkeeper in the ribs who was on the other side of the door.
Both resolutions also accuse Caputo of verbally abusing the assistant doorkeeper, though the expulsion resolution also accuses Caputo of verbally abusing Del. Sharon Malcomb, R-Kanawha, as well as elbowing her in the shoulder and chest.
A censure resolution can be adopted by a simple majority of the House, though it's also a non-binding resolution. In October, Chief Justice Beth Walker was censured by the state Senate after being acquitted during her impeachment trial.
According to House rules, an expulsion resolution would require a two-thirds vote of the house, or 67 members. The Republicans only hold 59 seats and would need eight Democrats to vote with them for the resolution to be adopted.
Caputo apologized to the Republican house caucus and the entire house March 2. Earlier this week he was removed from all committees he serves on for the remainder of the session, which ends Saturday, March 9.
Capitol Police are still investigating the incidents from March 1.