FBI raided Tennessee lawmakers’ homes and offices
'I can only confirm the presence of FBI agents at these locations and cannot comment on the nature," said David Boling, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville
Federal authorities raided the homes and offices of several Tennessee lawmakers on Friday, including the property of former state House Speaker, Glen Casada, officials said.
Taking full ownership of his actions, Casada stepped down from his leadership role in the summer of 2019 when he admitted to sending a series of sexually inappropriate and racist test messages.
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On Friday, FBI agents searched residences with “addresses associated with” Casada, which included fellow GOP state Reps. Robin Smith and Todd Warner, and Casada’s former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, according to David Boling, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville.
According to NBC News, Boling declined to identify several lawmakers whose offices were also raided on Friday.
“I can only confirm the presence of FBI agents at these locations and cannot comment on the nature,” Boling told the outlet. Casada, Smith and Warner’s representatives could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday afternoon.
“I have been, and I will continue to be in full cooperation with the authorities as their investigation continues,” the state’s current House speaker, Cameron Sexton, told reporters.
“On the advice of both ethics and legal counsel, I am placing everyone that was subject to the execution of today’s search warrants on administrative leave until further notice,” said Sexton.
“A personal note … this has been a trying week for our country and this will be a difficult time for our state as well as we go down this road,” Sexton continued. “Personally, these are our friends and colleagues of ours that we worked with for many years.”
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