Ag committee chair suspended from leadership role after sexual assault allegation

Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) has lost — at least temporarily — his chairmanship position with the House Agriculture Finance Committee.

Serving his seventh term, Hamilton has been accused of sexual assault.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) and House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers) noted Hamilton reported the accusation to the director of the Human Resources Department.

Per the statement: “We are suspending his chairmanship and have instructed the House's non-partisan HR department to begin their complaint process per the new House Policy on Discrimination and Harassment.”

Rep. Rod Hamilton

In a statement, Hamilton denied his actions were sexual misconduct.

"I categorically deny accusations of sexual assault … according to a spokesperson from the Ramsey County attorney's office, these actions '...did not meet the elements of criminal sexual conduct.' In the interest of full transparency and cooperation, I have reported this incident to the House Human Resources Department. To date, I have not been contacted by law enforcement regarding these allegations, but I will cooperate fully with any investigation conducted either by law enforcement or the House Human Resources Department."

The allegations come one day after a new sexual harassment policy was approved by the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee. In part, it requires the House investigate complaints from third parties against House employees and members. The director of human resources can hire outside investigators to look into whether the policy was violated.

Another change specifies that conduct does not need to meet the “severe and pervasive” court standard to qualify as a violation of House policy.