GOP-led Oklahoma House censures Democrat over actions after trans-rights protest altercation

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday censured a nonbinary Democratic representative for allegedly harboring a protester in the legislator’s office at the state Capitol when law enforcement officers wanted to question him. 

In a party-line vote, Republicans censured Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, for allegedly impeding a law enforcement investigation after a protester had gotten into an altercation with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. 

Turner is the first and only nonbinary member of the Oklahoma Legislature. 

Democrats said the censure — a rare legislative reprimand — sets a dangerous precedent for Republicans to strip the power of any legislative Democrat without an investigation, disenfranchising Oklahoma voters in the process. 

Until a written apology is sent to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the House Speaker, Turner will be removed from four House committees. An apology is unlikely, Turner said.

“I think an apology for loving the people in Oklahoma is something that I cannot do,” Turner said in a tearful news conference, flanked by Democratic colleagues. 

The incident in question occurred last week when a protester was arrested at the Capitol after throwing water on a Republican representative and getting into a scuffle with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. The person who was arrested was one of dozens of LGBTQ Oklahomans and their allies who were at the Capitol protesting against a bill that would dramatically curb transgender health care. 

A second protester who was involved in the altercation with the Highway Patrol trooper left the scene and was found to have been hiding in Turner’s legislative office, according to law enforcement accounts that Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, detailed on the House floor. 

After a discussion with Highway Patrol troopers, Turner reportedly refused to produce the protester, Moore said, and House leadership had to get involved. That protester eventually was arrested Monday and charged with assault and battery on a police officer, a felony, he said. 

A former prosecutor, Moore said Turner’s actions broke the state law against harboring a fugitive. 

House Majority Floor Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said in the news conference that Moore’s comments on the floor were “not based in facts.” 

When officers went to Turner’s office, the door was locked. Officers communicated with the representative through the door, but they weren’t able to get inside until they involved House leadership, said Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Foster.

Blocking officers from being able to question the protester was a violation of state law, Foster said. The details of the incident have been reported to the Oklahoma County district attorney, who will decide what happens next, he said.

In a heated debate that, at times, had Democrats shouting across the aisle, Turner said Republicans were trying to silence the constituents of House District 88. 

Transgender Oklahomans don’t feel safe in the state Capitol because of the anti-LGBTQ policies the GOP supermajority is trying to pass, Turner said. The second-term representative characterized the incident as no different than when any other constituent comes seeking an advocate.  

“What happened last week in my office was the same thing that happens all the time,” Turner said. “People do not feel represented or protected by the people within this body. They come to find refuge in my office. They come to decompress from some of the most stressful times.”

Turner also alleged that the censure was personal. As a nonbinary person, “I’m representing a culmination of things that you deeply hate,” Turner said, directing the remarks at GOP lawmakers. 

In a statement, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said Turner knowingly and willfully harbored a fugitive, lied to law enforcement and impeded an investigation. 

“The inappropriate and potentially criminal actions exhibited by this member of the House were deserving of censure, and the actions taken by the House today were both measured and just,” McCall said. 

Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, said the House conducted no investigation before censuring Turner. An attorney, he added that someone isn’t a fugitive until they have been charged with a crime. The protester who went to Turner’s office had not yet been charged with a crime. 

Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, said Turner’s punishment was worse than any for Republican lawmakers who had gotten DUIs or who had been indicted, though he did not name any specific legislators. 

Moore said any House member would face the same punishment as Turner if they had taken the same action. 

“My sincere hope and prayer today is that all involved realize the consequences proposed this morning would be the very same consequences proposed regardless of the name of the member,” he said. 

The last time the House publicly reprimanded one of its members appears to be in 2011. At least three lawmakers were reprimanded that year. None lost their committee assignments.