Kansas Republican Representative Mark Samsel was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery on Thursday after physically assaulting a student while substitute teaching in Wellsville.
Samsel, 36, was booked into the Franklin County Adult Detention Center after 3:30 p.m. Thursday. He has since been released on $1,000 bond, Sheriff Jeff Richards said.
Superintendent Ryan Bradbury said that Samsel will no longer be allowed to work for the district.
On Wednesday, Samsel, R-Wellsville, was substitute teaching at the Wellsville school district's secondary school. Throughout the day, high school students began recording videos of the lawmaker talking about suicide, sex, masturbation, God, and the Bible.
In one video, Samsel tells students about "a sophomore who's tried killing himself three times," because "he has two parents and they're both females."
In another video, Samsel is recorded telling students, "Make babies. Who likes making babies? That feels good, doesn't it? Procreate. You haven't masturbated? Don't answer that question. God already knows."
Still other videos shared by parents of students in the class show Samsel grabbing a male student, telling him, "You're about ready to anger me and get the wrath of God. Do you believe me when I tell you that God has been speaking to me?"
He then pushes him, and the student runs to the other side of the classroom. "You should run and scream."
In another video, he tells students, "Class, you have permission to kick him in the balls."
Parents report that Samsel then "put hands on the student" and kneed him in the crotch. In a video taken immediately after the incident, the student is shown on the ground. Samsel is standing over him and says, "did it hurt?"
Samsel addresses another student and says, "do you want to check his nuts for him, please?"
He then asks the student why he is about to start crying, pats him on the shoulder and apologizes, and then says he can "go to the nurse, she can check it for you."
Other videos show Samsel's classroom in chaos as he talks about the devil, God, and how the Bible was edited.
He tells a student to go to the office, "You were not following—not my rules—God's rules right now. You better take a Bible. Keep denying God, keep denying God, see how it's going to turn out."
The videos angered dozens of parents, who felt that their children were put in danger. Samsel works with students in several capacities, including as a referee and through church groups, parents said.
"I'm a concerned parent who doesn't want this swept under the rug," said father Joshua Zeck. "He's around kids all the time. He's a state representative. He's in a position of power."
Samsel is the second Kansas lawmaker to be arrested this year. Former Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop, a Wichita Republican, was charged with felony eluding and fleeing from police and also faces misdemeanor charges of drunk and reckless driving after allegedly driving the wrong way on Topeka highways on March 16th. He was forced to step down from his leadership post.
On Twitter, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted: "What the hell is going on with the #KSLEG this session?" He added that Samsel "shouldn't just be terminated from substituting. He should be blocked from being around all kids."
The district reported the incident, and an investigation was conducted by the Wellsville Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff's Office. After the investigation, Samsel was arrested for misdemeanor battery, according to a news release.
Samsel, who is an attorney, is in his second term in the House, where he's occasionally courted controversy. In February, he was one of just 13 lawmakers to vote against a bill that would have ended an exemption for spouses from the state's sexual battery law.
Ahead of the vote, he gave a speech in which he argued that spousal rape is not possible, because marriage implies consent.