A6
STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Finding that ‘words have consequences,’
judge throws out Sen. Brian Boquist’s lawsuit
The lawsuit related to the walkout of
GOP Senators last session alleged that
Senate President Peter Courtney and
others violated Boquist’s rights
A federal judge com-
pared state Sen. Brian
Boquist to the actor Clint
Eastwood and a playground
bully Jan. 7 in dismiss-
ing the Dallas Republican’s
claims that Senate Presi-
dent Peter Courtney and oth-
ers attempted to silence him
and otherwise abused their
power.
Boquist,
representing
himself, sued in July after
last year’s contentious leg-
islative session. He acted
after the bipartisan Senate
Special Committee on Con-
duct unanimously decided
that the senator would have
to give 12-hour notice to
Oregon State Police before
entering the Capitol build-
ing over comments he made
that were perceived to be
threatening.
During the legislative
session, Boquist was one of
11 Republican state senators
who walked out of the Sen-
ate to deny majority Dem-
ocrats a quorum needed to
pass a controversial carbon
bill. Gov. Kate Brown said
she would use her constitu-
tional authority to send state
police to bring the Republi-
cans back.
In response, Boquist
addressed Courtney during a
Senate session: “If you send
the state police to get me,
hell’s coming to visit you
personally.”
Oregon Capital Bureau file photo
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by state Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, that
accused Senate President Peter Courtney and others of abuse of power and attempting to
silence him.
Later that day, he told a
KGW reporter that if police
come to get him they’d bet-
ter “send bachelors and
come heavily armed. I’m not
going to be a political pris-
oner in the state of Oregon.
It’s just that simple.”
Boquist’s comments drew
national attention, and a pri-
vate attorney hired by legis-
lative leaders recommended
he not be allowed back in
the Capitol because he was
perceived by employees as a
threat.
Boquist claimed in his
federal complaint that his
First Amendment rights
were violated and that his
1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439
BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7
ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY
MOVIE SCHEDULE JAN. 17-23
1917 (R) Two young British soldiers
during the First World War are given an
impossible mission.
FRIDAY
(4:00)
7:00
SAT - MON (1:00) (4:00)
7:00
TUES-THURS
7:00
DOLITTLE (PG) Starring Robert
Downey, Jr. A physician discovers that
he can talk to animals.
FRIDAY
(4:10)
7:10
SAT - MON (1:10) (4:10)
7:10
TUES-THURS
7:10
JUST MERCY (PG-13)
World-renowned civil rights defense
attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a
wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
FRIDAY
(3:45)
6:45
SAT - MON (12:45) (3:45)
6:45
TUES-THURS
6:45
S165259-1
By Jake Thomas
Oregon Capital Bureau
$9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth
remarks regarding “hell”
were religious.
However, U.S. Dis-
trict Court Judge Michael
McShane found otherwise.
“These statements, apart
and together, resonate more
as threats than the expres-
sion of theological ideas,”
McShane wrote in his Jan.
7 order.
In withering terms,
McShane
wrote
that
Boquist’s words were
“those of a bully on the
playground” and that the
senator had been disciplined
for perceived threats, not
political viewpoints. The
judge said Boquist “seems
to overlook the fact that he
sounds more like a charac-
ter out of a Clint Eastwood
movie than he does Mother
Teresa.”
McShane added, “Words,
it turns out, sometimes have
consequences.”
Besides
Courtney,
Boquist sued state Sens.
James Manning and Floyd
Prozanski,
Democratic
members of the Senate con-
duct committee, legislative
staffers and the private attor-
ney hired to investigate his
conduct.
Boquist claimed in his
complaint that the defen-
dants conspired to block his
access to the Capitol and
denied his access to “ongo-
ing secret political investi-
gations.” He also likened the
call to arrest fleeing Repub-
lican legislators to fascist
Germany and the Soviet
Union.
His lawsuit asked the
judge to acknowledge that
his rights had been violated
and for unfettered access
to the Capitol, recognition
of senators’ rights to free
speech and due process. He
also asked for court fees and
costs.
McShane
dismissed
the claims against legisla-
tive employees and the out-
side attorney, writing that
they were “only tangentially
involved.”
The judge found that
Boquist failed to make the
case that a secret investiga-
tion violated his rights. The
judge also disagreed that
Boquist had been denied
due process noting that the
senator hadn’t been arrested
and the fine was returned.
Finally, McShane wrote that
Boquist cited a federal law
concerning Native Ameri-
can tribes for his claims of
abuse of office, which didn’t
apply.
McShane
dismissed
the case “with prejudice,”
meaning it can’t be refiled.
Courtney’s
office
declined to comment.
Boquist has a separate
case pending in Marion
County Circuit Court over a
dispute over state records he
said he has been denied.
Boquist said that he was
reviewing the judge’s order
and was considering sub-
mitting his claims as a tort
against the state.
“We will wait and see,”
he said.
Grant County Snowballers - Event
FAMILY FUN DAY AND
SKILLS TRAINING DAY
Jan. 25, 2020 • 9 A.M.
S165194-1
ALL
ILERS
B
O
M
SNOW
COME
L
E
W
ARE
HOT D
O
WILL B GS
PROVI E
DED
Meeting at Summit
Prairie County Road 62
and USFS Road 16
S165199-1
S165624-1