The North Dakota Republican Party is calling for their fellow member to step down from his role as state representative. This decision comes in response to an incident where police body cameras recorded him using derogatory slurs directed at a police officer during a DUI traffic stop.
The leadership in the state’s GOP called his actions during his Friday night, Dec. 15 arrest, “verbally abusive, homophobic, racially abusive and discriminatory.”
The footage shows lawmaker Nico Rios, who represents Williston, progressively becoming increasingly agitated because he was stopped and detained for drinking and driving.
Early in the recording, he attempts to leverage his position to evade legal consequences. However, his efforts are thwarted when the arresting officers refuse to accept the politician’s official business card, intended as a “get out of jail” card. Rios proffers the card when asked for his registration.
Despite his intoxicated state and slurred speech, he managed to request that one of the officers disable the camera. The officer, who was in utter disbelief at the ask, declined his request and left him cuffed in the back of the patrol car. This seemed to infuriate the state legislator.
At one point in his back-and-forth with the cops, he barked, “You don’t know who the f—k I am!”
After being cuffed and his histrionics were ignored, the freshman politician — elected to office in 2022 — turned his attention to an officer who moved from his homeland of England to live and work in the American Midwest. First, he called him a homophobic slur and then he asked him if he loved his country. Within minutes, he escalated his inquiry and asked him why he was arresting him instead of all the immigrants and refugees in his country “raping” the women there.
His outrageous behavior prompted Republican North Dakota House Majority Leader Mike Lefor to issue a…
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