俄勒冈州SALEM。一段视频出现后，一名共和党州议员面临被开除公职的危险，这段视频显示，他在12月份允许极右抗议者进入关闭的俄勒冈州国会大厦的几天前，精心设计了如何让极右抗议者进入这座大厦。

人群在紧急立法会议期间进入大楼，向警察喷洒化学刺激物，最终警察将他们驱逐出境。

周一，俄勒冈州众议院议长蒂娜·科泰克(Tina Kotek)提出了一项决议，如果三分之二的议员投赞成票，民主党控制的众议院将驱逐众议员迈克·尼尔曼(Mike Nearman)。她任命了一个委员会来考虑这件事。

众议院共和党议员周一也给尼尔曼写了一封信，说他应该下台。

“今天，我们强烈建议你从俄勒冈州众议院辞职，”所有22名众议院共和党人在联名信中说。“鉴于最新的证据已经曝光...作为朋友和同事，我们的信念是，从你的办公室辞职符合你的核心小组、你的家人、你自己以及俄勒冈州的最大利益。”

议员们指的是周五晚些时候在当地新闻报道中出现的视频，该视频似乎显示尼尔曼正在指导选民如何给他发短信，以便他们可以进入国会大厦。

由民主党人科特克任命的委员会将于本周晚些时候召开会议。它由三名民主党人和三名共和党人组成。

随着共和党人呼吁尼尔曼下台，他的命运似乎已经注定。如果他不辞职，毫无疑问，绝大多数众议院议员会投票将他赶下台。

尼尔曼本人周一表示，他相信有足够的票数驱逐他，他说这将使他成为俄勒冈州历史上第一个被其成员驱逐的众议院议员。他在给拉斯·拉森秀(Lars Larson Show)的电话中开玩笑说，这最终会让他成为电视节目《危险》中一个问题的主题

他没有说他会辞职。

尼尔曼说:“我会把自己托付给上帝，看看我会怎样做。”。

12月21日的事件让国会议员和工作人员感到不安，并预示着1月6日由时任总统煽动的暴徒对美国国会大厦的袭击唐纳德·特朗普。12月21日晚些时候在塞勒姆的人群中，有几个人在美国国会大厦遇袭时在华盛顿。

12月21日，议员们召开紧急会议，讨论经济衰退的影响冠状病毒大流行，极右暴徒进入大楼。在外面，抗议者打破国会大厦的窗户，袭击记者。

后来，安全摄像头的视频显示，尼尔曼打开了国会大厦的一扇门，因为这场流行病，国会大厦对公众关闭，允许抗议者进入。据称，尼尔曼在几天前的一段视频中告诉人们，如果他们给他发短信，他会让他们进来，他还提供了他的手机号码。俄勒冈公共广播公司周五首次报道了该视频的存在。

尼尔曼在广播节目中说:“我想，那段视频是我在建立21世纪。”。他指出他的行为是非暴力反抗，因为他反对国会大厦对公众关闭。

在她的决议中，科泰克说，被授权进入俄勒冈州国会大厦的人员形容12月21日是紧张、紧张、可怕和痛苦的。

“由于示威者的行动，执法人员明显受伤和颤抖，”科泰克补充说。

科特克说:“尼尔曼众议员行为的严重性以及上周披露的他们是有预谋的，需要一个特别委员会立即考虑将他驱逐出众议院。”“他故意将国会大厦里每个人——立法者、工作人员和执法人员——的人身安全置于危险之中。”

她的决议引用了俄勒冈宪法，该宪法授权众议院惩罚扰乱秩序的代表。

该决议称:“在众议院三分之二议员的同意下，尼尔曼众议员将被驱逐出众议院。”。

尼尔曼还面临两项轻罪刑事指控，并表示他将寻求陪审团的审判。

周一，他没有回复寻求置评的消息。一名坐在国会大厦办公室前厅办公桌前的妇女说，这位立法者不在场。她拒绝置评，走进尼尔曼的办公室，关上了门。

科特克说，州议会大厦的警察阻止了局势的升级。

“正如我们今年1月在美国国会大厦看到的那样，如果执法部门没有这么快介入，后果可能会很糟糕，”科泰克说。

新委员会的成员是众议员保罗·霍维，尤金;共和党众议员克里斯汀·德拉詹;D-波特兰众议员芭芭拉·史密斯·华纳;众议员丹尼尔·邦汉姆，《R-Dalles》;安德里亚·萨利纳斯议员，德湖·奥斯维戈;和众议院议员杜安·斯塔克。

Oregon lawmaker faces expulsion for assault on state Capitol

SALEM, Ore. -- A Republican state lawmaker faces being expelled from office after a video emerged apparently showing him choreographing how he would let far-right protesters into the closed Oregon Capitol days before he did so in December.

The crowd entered the building during an emergency legislative session and sprayed chemical irritants at police who finally expelled them.

On Monday, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek introduced a resolution that would have the Democrat-controlled House expel Rep. Mike Nearman if two-thirds of its members vote in favor. She appointed a committee to consider the matter.

GOP members of the House also wrote a letter to Nearman on Monday, saying he should step down.

“Today, we strongly recommend that you resign from the Oregon State House of Representatives,” all 22 House Republicans said in the joint letter. “Given the newest evidence that has come to light ... it is our beliefs as friends and colleagues that it is in the best interest of your caucus, your family, yourself, and the state of Oregon for you to step down from your office.”

The lawmakers were referring to video that emerged late Friday in local news reports that appeared to show Nearman coaching constituents on how to text him so they could get into the Capitol.

The committee appointed by Kotek, a Democrat, will convene later this week. It is composed of three Democrats and three Republicans.

With Republicans calling for Nearman to step down, his fate appeared sealed. If he does not resign, there was little doubt that an overwhelming number of House members would vote to cast him out.

Nearman himself said Monday he believes there are enough votes to expel him, which he said would make him the first House member to be expelled by its members in Oregon history. He joked in a call to the Lars Larson Show, a conservative talk radio program, that this would eventually make him the subject of a question on TV's “Jeopardy!”

He did not say he would resign.

"I’ll put myself in God’s hands and see how that works out for me,” Nearman said.

The incident on Dec. 21 rattled lawmakers and staff inside the Capitol and foreshadowed the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by rioters spurred on by then PresidentDonald Trump. Several of those who were among the crowds in Salem on Dec. 21 later were in Washington during the U.S. Capitol attack.

As lawmakers met in emergency session on Dec. 21 to deal with economic fallout from thecoronaviruspandemic, far-right rioters entered the building. Outside, protesters broke windows on the Capitol and assaulted journalists.

Later, security camera video emerged showing Nearman opening a door to the Capitol, which was closed to the public because of the pandemic, allowing protesters to enter. Nearman allegedly told people in a video days earlier that he would let them in if they texted him, and he provided his cellphone number. The existence of the video was first reported Friday by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

“That video was me setting up the 21st, I think,” Nearman said on the radio show. He indicated that his actions were civil disobedience because he objected to the Capitol being closed to the public.

In her resolution, Kotek said personnel who were authorized to be in the Oregon Capitol described Dec. 21 as intense and stressful, terrifying and distressing.

“Law enforcement officers were visibly injured and shaken due to the demonstrators’ action,” Kotek added.

“The severity of Representative Nearman’s actions and last week’s revelation that they were premeditated require a special committee to immediately consider expelling him from the House of Representatives,” Kotek said. “He knowingly put the physical safety of everyone in the Capitol — lawmakers, staff and law enforcement — in jeopardy."

Her resolution cites the Oregon Constitution, which empowers the House to punish a representative for disorderly behavior.

“With the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives, Representative Nearman (shall) be expelled from the House of Representatives,” the resolution says.

Nearman also faces two misdemeanor criminal charges and has said he will seek a trial by jury.

He didn’t respond to messages seeking comment Monday. A woman sitting at a desk in the anteroom of his Capitol office said the lawmaker was not present. She refused to comment, went into Nearman’s office and shut the door.

Kotek said police in the state Capitol prevented the situation from escalating.

“As we saw in January at the U.S. Capitol, the ramifications could have been dire if law enforcement had not stepped in so quickly,” Kotek said.

Members of the new committee are Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene; Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby; Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland; Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles; Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego; and Rep. Duane Stark, R-Grants Pass.