CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia delegate-elect was deposed Wednesday while locked in his home Allegations related to terrorist threats against his colleagues.
Joseph de Soto, a recent Democrat, was elected in November to represent southern Berkeley County in West Virginia’s 91st District as a Republican. He was arrested in December after saying God called him to kill several members of the Legislature, including House Speaker Roger Hanshaw and House Majority Leader Pat McGeehan, both Republicans.
De Soto, 61, was released on bond Dec. 23 in Berkeley County Magistrate Court and sentenced to house arrest while awaiting grand jury deliberations. The conditions of his detention stipulate that he must not have contact with those he allegedly threatened and must not have access to deadly weapons.
The Republican majority in the House voted to declare de Soto’s seat vacant, meaning the governor must appoint someone from his district to fill it. Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey, also a Republican, is scheduled to be sworn in Monday to replace outgoing Gov. Jim Justice, who is heading to the U.S. Senate.
The decision followed a tense back-and-forth in the House over due process between Democratic Rep. Shawn Fluharty and McGeehan, who explained the decision to vacate de Soto’s seat.
Fluharty said the state constitution requires an elected lawmaker to refuse to take the oath in order for the seat to be declared vacant, and asked McGeehan if there was any evidence that de Soto had rejected it.
“Look, this guy has to go – I absolutely agree with that,” Fluharty said. “But I want us to do it right.”
“I think the refusal is based on the fact that he is currently in home confinement,” McGeehan replied.
When Fluharty later asked again whether de Soto had had an opportunity to take the oath, McGeehan told him, “You can ask the prison.”
Fluharty noted that several other elected delegates were unable to be at the Capitol on Wednesday, but there were no resolutions calling for them to vacate their seats. He said he feared a procedural error could lead to legal action.
The proper way to remove de Soto would have been to send a proposal for his expulsion through the House Judiciary Committee, which doesn’t meet until February, Fluharty said.
McGeehan said the other members who did not attend did so due to unplanned circumstances or conflicts that arose. In de Soto’s case, he couldn’t be at the Capitol on Wednesday because he was under house arrest.
The disagreement came after Democratic Rep. Mike Pushkin introduced a failed amendment that would require de Soto’s seat, if declared vacant, to be filled by a Democrat. Although de Soto was elected as a Republican, he switched his party to Democrat the day before his arrest.
The West Virginia Constitution states that vacancies must be filled by the governor from a list submitted by the party’s executive committee of three people “affiliated with the same political party as the person holding the office immediately prior to the vacancy at the time of the vacancy.” In his opinion, Pushkin said that meant a Democrat should be appointed to replace de Soto.
Despite rejecting Pushkin’s amendment, the Berkeley County Democratic Committee sent out a press release shortly thereafter inviting county Democrats interested in the position to come forward.
De Soto was elected to his first term in the West Virginia House of Representatives in November as a Republican representing part of Berkeley County in the state’s eastern panhandle. He received 72% of the vote in the general election after defeating two other Republicans in the May primary.
If convicted, de Soto faces a maximum fine of $25,000 and three years in prison.
