A violent outburst allegedly fueled by mental health problems has landed a freshly reelected Missouri Democrat in jail.
On Wednesday, according to WDAF-TV in Kansas City, police arrested 32-year-old Missouri state Rep. Anthony Ealy Jr.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, police were called to an apartment in Jefferson City, where Ealy had allegedly trespassed and threatened a woman and her husband.
“I’m going to kill you,” the Democrat allegedly told the husband.
Multiple witnesses reportedly corroborated the incident, including Ealy’s alleged threats.
In fact, the arrest report described Ealy as having “some sort of panic attack or mental health crisis,” per The Kansas City Star.
The Democrat also “said something about a gun” and threatened to kill whoever called the police.
Ealy now faces a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree domestic assault and disturbance of the peace. He could receive up to 18 months in prison and $3,000 in fines.
Meanwhile, another witness described Ealy as also disrupting a funeral service.
“It was definitely a scene; it was pretty chaotic,” the witness told WDAF.
Apart from severe mental distress, however, reports did not indicate what, if anything, might have triggered those incidents.
A licensed attorney and the managing partner of Ealy Law, Notary & Consulting, LLC, Ealy currently represents Jackson County’s District 36 in the Missouri House.
The young Democrat first won election to the Missouri House in 2022. On Tuesday, he won reelection with 68 percent of the vote.
In the Missouri state capital of Jefferson City, Democratic leaders had already noticed their colleague’s erratic behavior.
Those leaders, in fact, reportedly had asked Ealy not to seek reelection.
Marc Powers, chief of staff and communications director for the Missouri House Democrats, added that House Minority Leader Ashley Aune wanted Ealy to step away from politics altogether until he got healthy.
“Ashley removed him from all his committees back in the spring so he could address some personal issues. There are no plans to restore him to the committees in the upcoming session,” Powers said, per The Kansas City Star.
Ealy remained in jail as of Thursday morning.
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Original Article: Democratic Lawmaker Arrested Less Than 24 Hours After Being Reelected