North Dakota Republican leaders are urging a state lawmaker to resign after he allegedly made homophobic and derogatory comments toward a police officer during a DUI stop earlier this month.
North Dakota House Majority Leader Mike Lefor led the call for state Rep. Nico Rios to resign on Tuesday after a police officer’s report claimed the lawmaker was “verbally abusive, homophobic, racially abusive and discriminatory.” Rios was arrested on drunk driving charges on Dec. 15 after he was pulled over for not staying in his lane.
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“There is no room in the legislature, or our party, for this behavior,” Lefor said, according to the Associated Press. “I understand people make mistakes, but his comments and defiance to law enforcement are beyond the pale. In addition, any lawmaker attempting to use his or her elected position to threaten anyone or skirt the law is completely unacceptable.”
The Williston representative allegedly used his station to threaten the officers by claiming he would call the state’s attorney general to report the incident. He also used racial and homophobic slurs and questioned one officer’s accent, according to a video obtained by the outlet.
North Dakota Republican Party Chairwoman Sandi Sanford also claimed that Rios’s actions “fall short of the basic decency we expect from any of our neighbors. He endangered the community he was elected to serve and disrespected peace officers. This violates our core values as Republicans.”
Rios, who represents District 23, apologized for his behavior in a post to X on Dec. 18, claiming he had a “few too many drinks” at a Christmas party the night of the arrest.
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“I owe it to myself, my district, and everyone and I vow to make sure this never happens again,” Rios said. “Moving forward after this night I feel like I have to emphasize my complete and total commitment to supporting Law Enforcement. I messed up big time and I am truly sorry.”
Rios was first elected to the state legislature in 2022. He has been charged with misdemeanor counts of drunken driving and refusing to provide a chemical test. He is also expected to appear at a pretrial conference on Feb. 5, 2024, in municipal court.
