Lawmakers suspend Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller pending investigation of incident with staff member

PIERRE — South Dakota senators are now calling for a special committee to investigate the conduct of Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, R-Rapid City, following an incident with a legislative staff member that led to her being stripped of her senate committee assignments Wednesday.

And after a successful vote Thursday in the Senate to suspend the rules to form the disciplinary committee, senators also immediately suspended Frye-Mueller from her rights and privileges in the Senate until the committee pending the outcome of the investigation. The decision came after a 40-minute delayed start to Thursday's Senate floor hearings.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree said the motion had come from a serious discussion within the state's GOP caucus and between the Democratic caucus.

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However, senators and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, who presides over the Senate, were split about whether the decision removed Frye-Mueller's constitutional right to due process.

Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown and President Pro-Tempore, said the Senate has the right to protect the decorum of the body.

"This motion is appropriate," Schoenbeck said. "It provides a due process opportunity. It does not remove the Senator from office. It's what any employer would do similarly situated if addressing these issues. It's a suspension."

Rhoden, in response, spoke to how suspending the rules can be used frequently, such as bypassing deadlines. However, by suspending Frye-Mueller before the investigation had even started, the Senate risked taking away her due process, he said.

"We've put the cart ahead of the horse in first, suspending a member and taking their ability to represent the people that elected them to serve that office away from them before they've had a jury of their peers or the board have been established," he said, before denying the motion.

Schoenbeck appealed the ruling and was supported by a majority of the Senate. The vote to suspend the rules then followed.

Sen. Tom Pischke, R-Dell Rapids, opposed the motion, saying it was a "she said, she said" case.

"When [the motion] occurs, your bias toward a certain senator is going to come into play," Pischke said. "Now, I don't care how you feel about the senator that is my seatmate. This is principle, ladies and gentlemen. I would make the same speech for each and every one of you."

Frye-Mueller said during the debate on the rules suspension she had not been presented with information about why she was being suspended, echoing comments she had told reporters earlier in the day.

"I am not getting my due process," she said. "I have to defend myself. None of you have talked to me. I don't know what was said against me.

“I know there’s an agenda behind this,” Frye-Mueller added in the Senate hearing. “This is going somewhere. I have no clue where, but I would ask you all to vote your conscience.”

What led to this?

Frye-Mueller was stripped of her committee assignments on Wednesday at the start of the afternoon Senate session by Schoenbeck. She had sat on Senate Local Government and Senate Heath and Human Services.

Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, will replace her on local government while Sen. Al Norstrup, R-Aberdeen, will replace her on health and human services.

More:Rapid City Senator Julie Frye-Mueller stripped of committee assignments

During a press conference with reporters Thursday morning, Frye-Mueller said she had not received any formal written complaint or charge. She would not answer reporters' questions.

"It has come to my attention that the issue may involve a conversation I had with staff, where I promoted my well-known stance on medical freedom and the ability of individuals to choose the best courts of medical treatment for themselves," Frye-Mueller said.

Crabtree said the incident was a personnel issue Thursday.

A bill sponsored by Frye-Mueller was filed Wednesday that would limit schools from requiring additional vaccines outside of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to the South Dakota Legislature website. It's unknown if this bill directly contributed to the altercation.

It's unclear when the last time a lawmaker, Republican or Democrat, was stripped of their committee assignment.

This is Frye-Mueller's second term in the South Dakota Senate. She narrowly won her primary by less than 40 votes in June against a Schoenbeck-backed opponent. Prior to serving in the Senate, Frye-Mueller had served in the House of Representatives.

What's the reaction from other lawmakers?

Rhoden told reporters he couldn't remember the last time a sitting senator had their privileges suspended prior to the findings of either a House or Senate committee on discipline and expulsion.

He said he learned of the motion when senators had returned from caucus.

Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Sioux Falls, said he was sad and disappointed about Thursday's vote. He'd voted against suspending the rules.

"As I thought, as I prayed about it, I didn't feel called the vote yes for the immediate expulsion in the view of the current rules and her rights," he said, adding he voted to overrule Rhoden's motion to deny.

Pischke, who was visibly upset, said he was discouraged by the results.

"It's an attack on our Republic," he said. "That's an attack against the people of District 30. Julie was duly elected by the people of District 30. It doesn't matter if you've been adamantly disagree with her on every issue. Her people elected her to represent them in this body."

What happens next?

Crabtree in a statement to reporters after the vote said because of the nature of the allegation, it was important to act quickly.

"We will have due process in public with a goal to complete the process early next week," he said.