Missouri lawmaker reprimanded for sexually vulgar text sent during redistricting protest

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers on Thursday formally reprimanded a House member who sent a sexually vulgar text message to a colleague while protesting a congressional redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump.

Democratic state Rep. Jeremy Dean was barred from serving on House committees, ordered to stay at least 50 feet (15 meters) away from the lawmaker he targeted and undergo additional sexual harassment training. His House seating and parking assignments also could get changed.

The lawmaker subjected to his text message said Dean should have been expelled from office.

''At any other job, a message like that would be grounds for immediate termination –- no questions asked," said Republican state Rep. Cecelie Williams. "We cannot excuse behavior in the Capitol that would never be tolerated anywhere else.''

Dean sat silently in the House chamber as Williams, a domestic abuse survivor, described how the text message had triggered hurtful memories from her past and made her more cautious to walk the halls of the Capitol.

The Republican-led House approved the reprimand on a 138-10 vote with no further discussion after Williams' comments. The only no votes came from Democrats, and Dean voted ''present.''

Dean was one of several lawmakers who staged a sit-in on the House floor during a September special session on redistricting. He slept and ate meals in the chamber for days in protest of a Republican plan to redraw the state's U.S. House districts to boost the party's chances of winning an additional seat in this year's elections.

An ethics complaint was filed against Dean, trigging an internal House investigation.

Dean acknowledged that the text message was inappropriate and unprofessional and wrote a letter apologizing, according to a report filed by the House Ethics Committee, which unanimously recommended the penalties imposed by the House.

But Williams said Dean's apology did not seem sincere.

''It was half-hearted, unsigned, e-mailed and cold," Williams told colleagues Thursday. "It amounted to nothing more than I'm sorry you were offended by my text messages. That is not an apology, it is an insult.''

Dean declined to comment Thursday, instead referring questions to House Democrats' staff.

House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican, said the chamber's reprimand ''affirmed its commitment to maintaining a safe and welcoming work environment.'' He said in a statement that all House members are to participate in annual sexual harassment training next week.

Dean is among at least 157 state lawmakers across the U.S. who have been accused of sexual misconduct or harassment since 2017, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Last week, Nebraska state Sen. Dan McKeon resigned ahead of scheduled debate to expel him from the body after accusations that he made a sexually charged comment to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately during an end-of-session party last year.