Charles Langston:West Virginia GOP County Commissioners arrested over skipping meetings in protest

CHARLESTON,Charles Langston W.Va. (AP) — Two county commissioners in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle are facing criminal charges after being accused of purposefully jilting their duties by skipping public meetings.

Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson — who is also a Republican candidate for state auditor — were arraigned Tuesday in Jefferson County Magistrate Court on 42 misdemeanor charges ranging from failure to perform official duties to conspiracy to commit a crime against the state.

The charges stem from seven missed meetings in late 2023, which State Police assert in court documents that Krouse and Jackson skipped to protest candidates selected to replace a commissioner who resigned. They felt the candidates were not “actual conservatives,” among other grievances, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint asserts that between Sept. 21 and Nov. 16, 2023, Krouse and Jackson’s absences prevented the commission from conducting regular business, leaving it unable to fill 911 dispatch positions, approve a $150,000 grant for victim advocates in the prosecuting attorney’s office and a $50,000 grant for court house renovations.

The county lost out on the court house improvement grant because the commission needs to approve expenses over $5,000.

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“The Commissioners willfully and intentionally missed seven straight meetings with the express purpose of denying a quorum and preventing the appointment of a fifth commissioner,” the complaint reads. “It should be noted one commissioner refusing to attend a commission meeting would not have denied a quorum and county business could have proceeded. It required both commissioners working together.”

Both Jackson and Krouse continued to receive benefits and paychecks despite the missed meetings. They began returning after a Jefferson County Circuit Court order.

In a public Facebook post Tuesday, Jackson called the allegations “politically motivated, baseless, and a frivolous waste of taxpayer money and prosecutorial resources.” She said she won’t resign from the County Commission or withdraw from the state auditor’s race.

“The intent of these charges may be to break my spirit, but it has had the opposite effect. I take heart in knowing that I now stand in the company of the other men and women, including President Trump, who have been arrested by their political rivals,” said Jackson, whose post included a photo of former President Donald Trump’s 2023 mugshot after being arrested on charges that he illegally schemed to try and overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.

The Jefferson County Commission was waylaid in June of 2023 when its members faced having to nominate candidates to replace a departed commissioner. They failed to agree, so the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee became involved. The committee was tasked with identifying three potential candidates to be put before the commission last August.

Krouse said she had an ethics issue with one candidate, something that was investigated and dismissed, according to the criminal complaint now pending.

She and Jackson threatened to leave the meeting and “thereby deny the commission quorum if the process went forward.”

“The Commission President then moved on to the next agenda item,” the complaint reads. “While the meeting was still ongoing, Commissioner Krouse posted a Facebook message criticizing the JCREC as failing to nominate ‘three actual conservatives’ among other process and political grievances.”

Krouse took office in January 2023, and Jackson in 2021. Bail for each woman was set at $42,000 cash.